This is what the American public had issues with because in our effort to create a more peaceful Somalia, we were losing some of our troops in the process.
Providing relief to eliminate starvation should not mean the loss of life for anyone. On the one hand, we want to help those who are severely in danger. On the other hand, does this mean that those we send to aid and assist can expect to lose their lives by doing what is considered humanitarian? The right thing for most of us is to do what is humanitarian by providing food for those that are starving. When met with opposition, it is natural for this country to feel the need to help those in need. It must be understood that in any war, lives will be lost. While we do not want to face this fact, the bottom line is that it is true and the troops generally know this before signing up to serve in the military.
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In a perfect world this would be doable, but we do not live in a perfect world and the reality is that sometimes peace and relief efforts can be fatal. Thankfully, the number of lives lost during this time was minimal. The peace efforts in Somalia were considered non-vital to some, but as a country based on freedom for all it is difficult for us to sit back and watch the attempts to feed the hungry thwarted by others. America will have to decide the extent of its peace efforts. Do we want to just provide aid and relief, or should we place ourselves in the middle of such things as civil wars that will put our troops in danger. This is an issue that policy makers will have to decide and sadly, whatever decision is made will not be supported fully by all of the American people.
