Read the review of "Black Hawk Down."

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Andrew O'Hehir does a terrible job with his review of "Black Hawk Down." He says: "For all its pulse-pounding death and terror, all its blood and screaming, all its slo-mo animation of rocket-propelled grenades in flight, 'Black Hawk Down' never gives you the sense that it has an idea in its head or a clear destination."

No idea and no clear destination is the statement made by the movie. It's the single important point, and the answer to the haunting question, "How did this happen?"

Mr. O'Hehir would perhaps like the battle to have the clarity and purpose of the storming of Normandy. While that might have given him more enjoyment, it would have been utter fiction.

-- Steve Story

Andrew O'Hehir's criticism of Ridley Scott's film version of Mark Bowden's excellent research that comprises the book "Black Hawk Down" is revealing in that he inadvertently answers the questions that encompass his criticism. O'Hehir's recurring theme, dripping with sarcasm, is that the film fails to ask or answer central questions or provide compelling reason to anticipate the outcome, thus becoming "an endless battle scene in search of a movie." Specifically, O'Hehir rhetorically asks, "But what were they doing in Somalia in the first place? Why did an entire city seem to rise up in hatred against them? What purpose did their bravery serve? 'Black Hawk Down' never answers these questions, or even quite asks them."

O'Hehir is apparently faulting Scott's film and Bowden's book for not satisfactorily explaining and commenting on the whole philosophy behind U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War era, specifically the episode in Somalia. The tragedy, and thus the compelling human element of the film and story, is the idea that, regardless of the political or even logical reasons, U.S. soldiers, human beings with loved ones and families, follow orders and often die gruesome deaths in faraway places, and it is the audience who should have the intellectual fortitude to ask and answer questions of "why" for themselves.

-- Brian Brashear

Andrew O'Hehir nails with pinpoint accuracy the reasons for the utter failure of the movie "Black Hawk Down."

It beggars the imagination that with Mark Bowden's exquisitely researched book as source material, Ridley Scott could completely miss the point to such an extent.

The only fidelity in the whole mess is that the pointless, confused, technophile gun-geekism that led directly to the tragedy in Mogadishu is exactly the same juice that powers the film.

-- Shannon Roy

You're missing the point. Mogadishu was a case of underarmed soldiers trying to make up for their lack of equipment through sheer valor. I know you don't believe me, having seen the movie. But did you notice any artillery being used? Any American tanks or APCs? Just one battery of four howitzers would have saved a whole lot of lives, Somali included.

-- Frank Hilliard

Andrew O'Hehir's review of "Black Hawk Down" is factually incorrect. Not a single soldier of the Special Forces was involved in the conflict in Mogadishu. The term "Special Forces" refers specifically to the Green Berets, very specialized troops whose job is to rendezvous with sympathetic locals and train, equip and guide them in conflicts.

I believe Mr. O'Hehir is looking for the term "Special Operations." Both Rangers and Delta Force soldiers fall under the auspice of "Special Operations" or SpecOps -- but have absolutely nothing to do with Special Forces. I'm quite certain the Rangers and Delta Forces would be upset to learn that they'd suddenly been transferred to Special Forces. The term Special Operations is broad, covering many different kinds of soldiers who do unconventional jobs. The term Special Forces is very specific and should be used precisely.

It is one thing for Mr. O'Hehir's reviews to be precious and snide -- and another thing entirely to be factually incorrect. I suppose Salon doesn't mind precious and snide, but I hope that you generally keep a higher standard of accuracy.

-- David Krieger

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