The book Black Hawk Down (which accepts and promotes the official justification for the invasion) gives a picture of the mindset of the U.S. troops in Somalia. They strutted around like they owned the world and had the right—and the power—to fukk anyone or anything they wanted. They greeted each other with "Hoo-ah!" They considered Somalis less than human, calling them "skinnies" or "sammies." This mindset was a reflection of widespread racist vilification of the Somali people, Africans, and Black people in general as uncivilized savages. NBC News Executive Producer Jeff Gralnick, for instance, called Somali clan leader (and target of U.S. occupation) Mohammed Farrah Aidid an "educated jungle bunny."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
People from all over the city of Mogadishu armed and unarmed, attacked downed Army Rangers from every side. Battle locations were communicated by smoking tires. Neighborhood patrols gathered their fighters and weapons by word of mouth. The book Black Hawk Down describes instance after instance of amazing courage and determination, from the perspective of shocked U.S. soldiers. U.S. troops were stunned that unarmed civilians would rush toward a firefight and not away from it, and to see women and children shooting at them! At the cost of at least hundreds of lives, the Somali people cracked the aura of invincibility that the U.S. was trying to project through terror in Somalia.
Shortly after the Black Hawk down battle, the U.S. withdrew from Somalia, bringing to a close this particular chapter in the history of U.S. wars of shame.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know skinnies but what does sammies stand for. Could Mad Mac care to translate that for us since he claims to be one of those who coined the nick?
