Somalia families Loathed Clinton, Media Didn't Report

"I began working on this story about two-and-a-half years after the battle was fought. I had been intrigued by the early accounts of the fight, both as a citizen and a writer. It was clearly an important and fascinating episode, one with tragic consequences for many and lasting implications for American foreign policy. Given the fierce but limited nature of the gunfight- a small force of Americans pinned down overnight in an African city- I realized that it might be possible to tell the whole story. But the undertaking intimidated me. I had no military background or sources, and assumed that someone with both would tell the story far better than I could."

"Nevertheless I remained curious enough to read whatever stories I saw about the incident. I was especially intrigued by President Clinton's subsequent struggles to deal with it. Particularly poignant were newspaper accounts I read of Clinton's meeting with the parents of the men killed in the battle. Larry Joyce and Jim Smith, the father of Corporal Jamie Smith had reportedly questioned the president sharply in one of those meetings. I wondered about the informal visit the president paid to the soldiers wounded in Mogadishu as they recuperated in Walter Reed Army Hospital. How did those men feel about meeting with the man who had sent them on the mission, and then abruptly called it off? At the Medal of Honor ceremony for the two Delta soldiers, I read that the father of posthumous honoree Sergeant Randy Shughart insulted the president, telling him he was not fit to be commander in chief."

It is striking how the grievances of the Somalia families received so little attention. In the screen adaptation, it wasn't even clear who was President at the time.

Needless to say, Hollywood and the mainstream media never covered the anti-Clinton sentiment of the families of those who died due to Clinton's fecklessness.

As we assess the Bush administrations current difficulties, we must be kind. They are dealing with a partisan, hostile press that's committed to its demise. It's amazing that Bush's poll numbers are as high as they are.

Unbelievable. The Leftist media seeks out families mad at Bush, yet they suppressed the families (of soldiers who died in Somalia) who opposed Clinton.

Needless to say, Hollywood and the mainstream media never covered the anti-Clinton sentiment of the families of those who died due to Clinton's fecklessness.

If I recall .. they tried everything they could to hide the families

3 posted on 03/14/2004 8:22:40 PM PST by Mo1 (Do you want a president who injects poison into his skull for vanity?)

4 posted on 03/14/2004 8:25:51 PM PST by nuconvert (CAUTION: I'm an acquaintance of someone labelled :"an obstinate supporter of dangerous fantasies")

You're so right. That is tough stuff when A FATHER OF A DEAD Delta Force Soldier says to the President at the Medal of Honor Ceremony that he's not fit to be Commander in Chief--that's a helluva story, and the media buried it. Sickening! Had the same thing happened to Bush-- the coverage would have been wall to wall.

5 posted on 03/14/2004 8:34:21 PM PST by faithincowboys ( Zell Miller is the only DC Democrat not committing treason.)

Had the same thing happened to Bush-- the coverage would have been wall to wall.

If Bush had said what Clinton did .. he would deserve to be nailed to the wall for a comment like that

But Bush would never make a comment like that ... he has more respect then to do such a thing

Some in the press/media don't even know what the word respect means .. and the way they covered for Clinton proves that

6 posted on 03/14/2004 8:44:14 PM PST by Mo1 (Do you want a president who injects poison into his skull for vanity?)

What are you talking about? What did Clinton say?

Remember the father of a medal of honor winner who died in Somalia said to clinton, that Clinton was unfit to be Commander in Chief. had that been said to Bush by a dead MOH winner's father, it would get more cverage than Jackson's boob.

7 posted on 03/14/2004 8:48:49 PM PST by faithincowboys ( Zell Miller is the only DC Democrat not committing treason.)

You can say that again, unfortunately Kerry's playing of the Vietnam card has confused many Americans. many don't realize how profoundly anti-American he was after he got back. The Leftist media keeps at least half of the country in the total dark. It falls to us to introduce them to what's really happened and what's really going on.

9 posted on 03/14/2004 8:59:14 PM PST by faithincowboys ( Zell Miller is the only DC Democrat not committing treason.)

You know, I always wondered about Mogadishu and those soldiers and their families...

Of course, that was long before the days when I had Free Republic here to set me straight.

Thanks for posting this. (And YES, WHY was it suppressed for so long?)

10 posted on 03/15/2004 12:31:45 AM PST by KangarooJacqui ("If you can't be a good example,you'll just have to be a horrible warning." - Kerry campaign slogan?)

because it made a Democrat look bad, thus the media thought it wasn't fit for public consmption. It's really that simple. The bias of the media is going to be so great in the next 8 months that even people like us who know they're Leftist hacks are going to be shocked.

They really have it out for Bush, it'll be amazing if he gets reelected with the way they are behaving.

11 posted on 03/15/2004 12:43:47 AM PST by faithincowboys ( Zell Miller is the only DC Democrat not committing treason.)

12 posted on 03/15/2004 5:42:11 AM PST by Maria S ("I will do whatever the Americans want…I saw what happened in Iraq, and I was afraid." Gaddafi, 9/03)

I know. The question answers itself. They are so biased--it's not even arguable any more. There are still Lefties saying the media is conservative-- How ridiculous!

13 posted on 03/15/2004 5:43:40 AM PST by faithincowboys ( Zell Miller is the only DC Democrat not committing treason.)

Don't forget that crissy mathews will be attpempting to rehabilate Kerry tonight 3-15-04 on his Hardball show. He will be using the Nixon tapes along with Kerrys statement before the Senate, after returning from Vietnam. MSNBC had been promoting this all day.

Everybody knows that the people hate NIXON, so this is an effort by crissy to make Kerry look good.

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