Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is at the spot light of yet another controversy after an investigative report found a tweet from back in 2017 where she appeared to criticize the role of American troops during the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993.
Early during Bill Clinton’s presidency, American forces became involved in a brief conflict after Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid attacked U.N. peacekeepers.
The tragic battle lasted for about 18 hours and resulted in the deaths of 18 American soldiers and hundreds of Somali people. During the battle, two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, setting the basis for the film “Black Hawk Down.”
Following a back and forth between two Twitter users about the horrific 2017 bombings in Mogadishu that killed hundreds of people, Rep. Omar joined in with another Twitter user and appeared to compare the casualties from the terrorist attack to the actions of “American forces” at the Battle of Mogadishu.
The tweet was dug up by the Investigative Project on Terrorism and became was widely criticized on social media. People were outraged that Rep. Omar appeared to compare the actions taken by American soldiers to that of a horrific terrorist attack.
Others were questioning her placement on the Foreign Affairs Committee, given her policy outlook on the mission run by Clinton during the Battle of Mogadishu.
Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant was shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu. He told IPT that Rep. Omar was wrong to place the blame for casualties on Americans instead of the warlord.
“Losses taken on the Somali side came as a result of their attempts to ambush our ground convoy and flight of aircraft. Our forces, being vastly outnumbered, fought to save their own lives. All the Somali militia had to do was walk away, but they persisted.” he said.
Durant also claimed that he “takes issue” with Rep. Omar’s comments because he believes the mission helped to end the suffering of some Somali people, risking American lives in the process.
“As a nation, we and our political leadership should be proud of what we did there,” Durant told IPT.
“We put our most precious resource on the line to help starving people. In return, my friends’ remains and those of my comrades were dragged through the streets.” he concluded.
