Page 144 - What Kind of Yemen ?

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American soldiers always win in American films. The most com-
plex operations take place, the victory is won and the hostages are
freed. American superiority is always symbolized. But is that how it is
in the real world? If you look at history you will see that the facts do
not always match what the films say. The operation known as Opera-
tion Eagle Claw is one example of this. The operation staged by the

U.S. military in April 1980 to free 52 U.S. citizens being held hostage in
the U.S. Embassy in Iran ended in a debacle due to a sudden sand-
storm. An accident during refueling en route to the USS Nimitz, the
center of the operation, led to the destruction of a C-130 Hercules plane
and a U.S. helicopter. The U.S. Army lost eight servicemen and a trans-
port aircraft, and had to withdraw from the region without carrying
out the operation.
Another instance took place in Somalia. An operation in 1994
under the command of Gen. William F. Garrison ended in a fiasco and

the deaths of 24 Pakistani and 19 U.S. troops in fighting in Mogadishu.

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