Zanzibar Chest Chronicles pages 250-265

My complete notes are here.

p. 250 Aiden describes first day of UNITAF UN Task Force for OPERATION RESTORE HOPE. 

This was the only western military intervention done for strictly humanitarian reason.  Consisted of “battalions for peace.”  It would be interested to compare these with Beebe’s idea of ‘engagement brigades.’

p.252 “Africa Wins Again—AWA” Marine captains description of what would happen after they would deliver food, only to have it taken from the peasants by the militia once the marines left.

p.253  “At least I get to do what they taught me in the foreign service and have drinks with a room full of mass murderers.” –John Fox on a cocktail party the UN threw for the warloads in Addis.  Aydiid were invited to peace conferences instead of prosecuted or killed. 

p. 256  Mogadishu is called “Skinnyland” by the marines and is separated physically and emotionally from their base at the airfield.  Aiden describes this early time with female USArmy soldiers on the beach in bikinis with their M-16 slung over their soldiers.  This would be a key image in a movie version of the book. 

p. 257 MAY 1993 UNOSOM (UNISOM) takes command from the marines.  SC resoluation 814 Peacekeeping troops given Chapter VII ROE:  permits them to disarm militias and police cease-fire, ‘take appropriate action” to prevent resumption of violence.  It’s commanded by General Cevik Bir.  Real command though was by: ADM Howe (RET) as civilian special envoy and MAJ Gen Montgomery—he compared Mogadishu to Idniana Jones and the Temple of Doom. 

p. 263  “Experience is an art to be studied rather than a haphazard process.” Lord Belhaven

p. 265 As Aiden retraces his father and davey’s steps 60 years later through the deserts of Arabia he recollects another quote by Belhaven:

“We carry our deserts with us through the world…and there is none more deadly than the empty heart, when the springs of hope are left behind.”



LINKS:
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/09/africa-book-recommendation-zanzibar.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/following-adm-stavridis-advice-on.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chronicles-continues.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chronicles-continue.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue_10.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continues.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue_11.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue_13.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/02/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/02/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue_17.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/02/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue_19.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/02/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continues.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/03/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/03/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue_22.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/05/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue.html