CRITICAL ESSAY OVERVIEW

CRITICAL ESSAY OVERVIEW
Assignment learning outcome: apply abstract political concepts to every day media
Summary: compare and contrast the late Michael Crichton’s novel (not the movie) Jurassic Park with the U.S. military mission to Somalia as presented in the PBS Frontline special Ambush in Mogadishu.

Jurassic Park and Ambush in Mogadishu – Background

Encyclopedia Britannica Online (UHD Library Account)Michael Crichton (American author)chaos theory (mathematics and mechanics)Somalia interventionMuhammed Farah Aydid
Tracking Questions for Ambush in MogadishuPOLS,Use these questions to keep track of Ambush in Mogadishu as you watch the video.
You Tube: PBS Frontline Ambush in MogadishuI. INTRODUCTION How long was the mission chronicled by this PBS report supposed to take?How long did it actually last?What was the goal of the mission?Who were the targets of the mission?Who are the interview subjects?Who was captured by Somali gunmen?How many American soldiers died on the mission?How many Somalis died on the mission? II. FAMINE What president ordered U.S. troops into Somalia?What was their original goal?How were they initially treated by the Somalis?What problems did international food convoys have?Why did Somali militias want food?Who followed George Bush as U.S. president?What did the U.S. government ask the United Nations to do in early 1993?How did “nation-building” put the United States into conflict with Mohammed Aideed?According to PBS, what was the relationship between Aideed and Osama bin Laden?What happened to Pakistani troops in June 1993 that made Aideed a wanted man?How many officials of the Clinton administration agreed to be interviewed for this report?When were U.S. Army Rangers deployed to Somalia?What worried one U.S. Army Ranger about the apparently simple act of flying over Somalis with his feet hanging out of a helicopter?Who did the Rangers code-name Lincoln?According to the PBS report, did an Aideed agent infiltrate the American command?According to the PBS report, how well did the Clinton administration communicate with the U.S. military in Somalia? III. SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER 1993 Who did the Rangers code-name Elvis?How many Somalis did U.S. troops capture that day?What U.S. resource did Aideed’s forces specifically target during the battle? What code made the Rangers stay in the target area?How many helicopters were shot down that day?How did United Nations forces try to relieve the Rangers?What countries besides the United States contributed to the relief force? IV. FALLOUT How did the White House react to the events of October 3?How might the Somalia experience relate to Bosnia and Rwanda?What effect may it have had on Al-Qaeda?What graffiti did U.S. troops leave behind?