Black Hawk Down (2002) - Full Reaction

Cassie, you asked about some of the failures. 1) change of administrations Bush to Clinton. 2) depending on the UN. 3) Top line generals having to play politics. Maj. Gen. David Meade of the Army, whose command included the largest American component of the peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, had foreseen events clearly. Weeks before the battle, in a classified memo to the Army chief of staff, he warned that Somalia was about to erupt. “You’re likely to have a big fight over some period of time with considerable casualties,” he wrote. “And, in the end, you’re going to turn over the city to the Somalis.” General Meade urged immediate steps, which might have forestalled the incident we now call Black Hawk Down. Finally, America had the first president in modern times that didn't serve in the military. President Clinton left the door open to Islamist extremes for the last 30+ years. Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden By Jake Miller July 31, 2014 / 4:33 PM EDT / CBS News Unfortunately, Maj. Gen. David Meade side-stepped the change of command with his memo & that pretty much ended his career. Four years after the battle, the only schools open in Mogadishu were those run by Islamists. "So we, by withdrawing from Somalia, left a lawless region ripe for al-Qaida and gave at least a whole generation of Somalis over to these Islamist fundamentalists to be educated and groomed," Bowden says. When the U.S. announced its withdrawal, it also gave Osama bin Laden a narrative to latch onto. "His message was, 'Well, we can defeat this great power because they're not used to hardship and tragedy, so if we can inflict that they'll retreat,' " Bowden says. That message was aimed at those who might have previously been deterred by the United States' power. Mark Bowden is a journalist and the author of many books, including “Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War.”

Greggory Shaw

You should give the film "Tears Of The Sun" a try with Bruce Willis.

To the extent that there is a "message" in this movie, it was basically two-fold. First, it was part of the post-9/11 resurgence in the American public's interest and grassroots support for the military--which led to a shift away from ficional-events-within-a-war movies that invariably portrayed the military negatively (e.g. Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Courage Under Fire) to those that portrayed true events and the valor of those who were there (e.g. We Were Soldiers, Lone Survivor, American Sniper). The second purpose--and the one of the author of the book it was based on--was demonstrated by you yourself: even those who were alive at the time have little recollection of the event and even less understanding of what occurred or why. Because of the book and especially the movie, the people and events have been forever ingrained into America's collective memory. In other words, it is a "never forget" memorial.

Andrew MacP.

Check out a movie called we were soldiers

Andrew Engelhart

I don't think the movie has a message. It's just telling the the story of what happened.

The whole point of this movie, from my point of view, is at the beginning of the movie: The line from the Plato.

Jason Chao

POPCORN IN BED CASSIE, WE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU BEHIND! POPCORN IN BED CASSIE, WE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU BEHIND!

Lamar Smith

Dearest Cassie, I’m concerned radical fundamentalist moths in the employ of a local warlord may be attacking your bed. Do you require extraction? Can you pop red smoke or illuminate with IR strobe?

Lamar Smith

If you want something along the same lines but, certainly, a bit more light-hearted, try ‘Generation Kill,’ but I REALLY hope you’ll do ‘Fury,’ soon.

Lamar Smith

Great movie! This movie is really my introduction into the war genre. I have read the book this is based on and did extensive research. Aidid was a warlord who was stealing all rations that were being delivered to the Somali people. The US military was initally sent as apart of the United Nations force to help distribute the food. With rations being failed to be distributed by the UN because of Aidid stealing the rations for control, the U.S. sent Task Force Ranger to capture or kill Aidid so food could be distributed to the Somali people. This was strictly a humanitarian mission otherwise. Most of Mogudishu and Somalia supported the U.S./UN involvement but this one particular warlord did not. Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon were the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War (at that point). They exemplified why that medal is awarded to service members. The guy who called his wife early on was supposed to be Randy Shughart. Also to be noted, Grimsey was a character that was renamed because the real life guy who he portrayed commited a crime that was absolutely disgusting and was jailed for it. So instead of honoring that guy, they told that guys story and renamed him to not take away from the story.

Brandon Dague

Awesome. Thank you for the correction.

Uncle Phoenix

No offense but you are wrong. HUA (as you put it) is spelled in the Army as Hooah. It is essentially what you said it stands for plus it is an acknowledgement, motivational, etc. In all honesty, this movie over used it and killed its meaning. Anyone in the Army rarely uses Hooah unless it is to make fun of it.

Brandon Dague

H.U.A. means Heard, Understood, and Agreed. (Obviously, any army guys please correct me if I am wrong.)

Uncle Phoenix

I haven't watched this one yet. Did she go for the regular or extended version?

Obsolyeet