WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2001 — It says something about these times that the Wall Street Journal leads today’s paper with a feature story about a movie, headlined HOW HOLLYWOOD SELLS A RISKY WAR MOVIE DURING A TIME OF WAR. The movie the Journal focuses on is not just any movie, but one about a war: Black Hawk Down, based on Mark Bowden’s 1999 book of the same name (Atlantic Monthly Press), which tells the story of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.

There has been much debate in the press about how Hollywood will respond to the events of September 11. At first, film studios held back movies that portrayed explosions and other acts of terror — the usual grist for cinematic blockbusters. Warner Brothers, for example, withheld an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle titled Collateral Damage. The Journal reports that rather than postpone Black Hawk Down, producer Joe Roth and Sony Corporation have decided to rush the movie into production and have scheduled it for a January 18 release. Notwithstanding the movie’s eventual box-office take — always captive to the whims of the fickle public, the decision to bring the movie out quickly could not have been more wise. No movie could be more relevant to current events than Black Hawk Down, which, as the subhed of the book title says, is a " story of modern war. "

You won’t find the names Osama Bin Laden or Mohammed Atef in Black Hawk Down. But intelligence officials say that Bin Laden’s key operative, Atef, played a vital role in training the warring gangs that battled American Delta Force and Ranger units on that October 1993 day. Those forces were engaged in exactly the kind of work that will be required of American forces as they scour Afghanistan in search of Bin Laden.

That’s not all. Somalia itself threatens to be in the news soon. Bush-administration officials say Somalia, with its pro-terrorist training camps, is a likely candidate for post-Afghanistan military action. Some even believe Bin Laden may try to flee to Somalia for safety. The Battle of Mogadishu itself represented a turning point in Bin Laden’s view of the United States. Bin Laden saw Mogadishu, with the sight of the corpses of dead servicemen being dragged through the streets, as symbolizing American cowardice. Here are Bin Laden’s comments about Somalia in a 1997 interview with Peter Arnett, then of CNN: " The US government went there with great pride and stayed there for some time with a strong media presence wanting to frighten people that it is the greatest power on earth, " Bin Laden declared. " With Allah’s grace, Muslims over there cooperated with some Arab ‘Mujahideen’ who were in Afghanistan. They participated with their brothers in Somalia against the American occupation troops and killed large numbers of them... The American troops left after achieving nothing. They left after claiming that they were the largest power on earth...The Americans ran away from those fighters who fought and killed them, while the latter were still there. "

At the time, the spectacle of the defeat in Mogadishu was indeed enough to frighten the Clinton administration into hastily calling American forces home. An air of shame hung about the mission. Bowden’s book stressed, and the soon-to-be released movie will emphasize, the courage of the individual American soldiers involved in the battle. The film, in particular, will show how a small group of outgunned and outnumbered Americans overcame overwhelming odds — an apt wartime message. The Journal quotes a character played by actor Josh Hartnett as saying, " Nobody asks to be a hero. It just sometimes turns out that way. "

Tucked away in a remote corner of Arlington National Cemetery is a modest tree with a slab of stone with the words " Operation Restore Hope " under it. The tree and stone are the memorial to those killed in the Battle of Mogadishu. Visitors to Arlington Cemetery can easily miss the tribute in the midst of memorials honoring American military victories and dignitaries — the Rough Riders Memorial, the Marine Corps Memorial, John F. Kennedy’s gravesite, etc. The official Arlington National Cemetery Web site does not even list the memorial on its lists of " places of interest " .

In his 1997 interview, Bin Laden taunted America about the defeat in Mogadishu. " If the US still thinks and brags that it still has this kind of power even after all these successive defeats in Vietnam, Beirut, Aden, and Somalia, then let them go back to those who are awaiting its return, " he said.

Well for all Bin Laden’s bravado, it’s now the year 2001, and Hollywood’s releasing a movie about Somalia. America, contrary to what bin Laden may believe, hasn’t forgotten. If bin Laden tries to escape to Somalia, I hope he expects the US’s return. He’s already put out his invitation.

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