Jonathan Howe

Last updated

In 1992, Howe was selected by the Clinton Administration to head UNOSOM II - the UN operation in Somalia that took over from the US in May. [4] In this capacity he came under criticism for remaining physically distant from field operations [17] [4] and for his pursuit of Somali military leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid, which was called a "personal vendetta." [17] The State Department and the NSC staff supported the strategy that removing Aideed would mprove stability in the region. [19]

On July 12, 1993, Howe oversaw the event Somalis call Bloody Monday. [4] According to American war correspondent Scott Peterson a group of Somali elders had gathered at a house to discuss a way to make peace to end the violence between Somali militias and the UN forces. [4] The gathering had been publicized as a peace gathering in Somali newspapers the day before the attack. [4] After being tipped off by an undercover operative, American Cobra attack helicopters launched TOW missiles and 20 mm caliber cannon fire at the structure. [4] According to a Somali survivor, American ground troops killed 15 survivors at close range with pistols, a charge American commanders deny. [4] According to the International Committee of the Red Cross there were over 200 Somali casualties. [3] Four Western journalists were killed at the scene by Somalis following the attacks. [4]

Howe claimed that the mission took out a "very key terrorist planning cell" and that no civilians were killed. He stated, "We knew what we were hitting. It was well planned." [4] The event is considered a turning point in the war as Somalis turned from wanting peace to wanting revenge, ultimately leading to the Black Hawk Down Incident. [3] Human Rights Watch declared that the attack "looked like mass murder." [20]

Personal life

Howe is the author of the 1971 book Multicrises: Seapower and Global Politics in the Missile Age [21] and the 2025 book Opportunity Lost or Mission Impossible? [22]

Howe was chairman of the board of the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville from 2006–2012. [23] The World Affairs Council of Jacksonville began its own Academic WorldQuest program in 2005, the Admiral Jonathan T. Howe Academic WorldQuest, which features a trivia-style six-round, ten-question competition. [24]

He also served as chairman of the board of Fleet Landing, and was a past president of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville. [25]

Admiral Howe was married to Dr. Harriet Mangrum Howe, whom he met in high school; her father, Richard C. Mangrum, was a U.S. Marine Corps general and served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. [26] Howe's father, Hamilton W. Howe, was a US Navy Admiral awarded the Navy Cross for sinking a German U-boat in the Atlantic during World War II. [27] Harriet was an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Florida. [28]

Admiral Howe has six grown children and currently resides in Florida.

Awards and decorations

On January 13, 1993, after retirement, he received the National Security Medal. [29]

Notes

  1. "Nixon Legacy Forum Transcript: The Opening to China" (PDF). Nixon Foundation. November 14, 2014.
  2. Department of Public Information, United Nations (1997-03-21). "United Nations Operation in Somalia II – (UNISOM II)" . Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Megas, Natalia (2019-01-06). "Did the U.S. Cover Up a Civilian Massacre Before Black Hawk Down?" . Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Peterson, Scott (2000). Me against my brother : at war in Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda : a journalist reports from the battlefields of Africa. New York: Routledge. ISBN   0415921988. OCLC   43287853.
  5. "Board of Trustees and Staff". The Arthur Vining David Foundations. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  6. "Nomination of Jonathan T. Howe to be Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs". George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. 1991-11-19. Archived from the original on August 25, 2004. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  7. "Jonathan Howe". Hall of Valor: Medal of Honor, Silver Star, U.S. Military Awards. 2024-11-09. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  8. Marbut, Max (2012-01-12). "Workspace: Jonathan Howe, executive director, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations". Jax Daily Record. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  9. Department of State Office of Press Relations.
  10. 1 2 "Nomination of Jonathan T. Howe To Be Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs". The American Presidency Project. 1991-11-19. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  11. Howe, Lieutenant Commander Jonathan T.; Navy, U.S. (1967-08-01). "Polaris Duty: Pinnacle Or Predicament?". U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  12. 1 2 "Nixon Legacy Forum Transcript: The Opening to China" (PDF). Nixon Foundation. November 14, 2014. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  13. "Kissinger Party Flying to Peking; Is Due W ednesday". The New York Times. 1971-10-17. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  14. "Kissinger to Begin Trip To Peking on Saturday". The New York Times. 1971-10-15. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  15. "Richard Nixon Presidential Library Document Withdrawal Record" (PDF). Nixon Foundation. February 29, 1972. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  16. "Bush Names Security Deputy". The New York Times . 1991-11-20. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  17. 1 2 3 "'Briefcase admiral' blamed in Somalia crisis: American UN envoy" . The Independent. 1993-10-08. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  18. Kempe, Frederick (1990). Divorcing the dictator : America's bungled affair with Noriega. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN   0399135170. OCLC   20933992.
  19. Poole, Walter S. (2005). The Effort to Save Somalia, August 1992-March 1994 (PDF). Washington, DC: Joint History Office, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. ISBN   0-16-075594-8.
  20. "SOMALIA". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  21. Howe, Jonathan T. (1971). Multicrises: Seapower and Global Politics in the Missile Age. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN   0-262-08043-5. OCLC   159041.
  22. "Opportunity Lost or Mission Impossible?: My Year in Somalia as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, 1993–1994: Howe, USN (Ret.), ADM Jonathan T.: 9798338340370: Amazon.com: Books". Amazon.com. Spend less. Smile more. 2025-05-14. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  23. Mathis, Karen Brune (2012-06-22). "Howe retires as World Affairs Council chairman, Cook is successor". Jax Daily Record. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  24. Hester, Britt (2024-05-14). "Creekside High School Triumphs at the 2024 Admiral Jonathan T. Howe Academic WorldQuest". The World Affairs Council of Jacksonville. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  25. Marbut, Max (2012-01-12). "Workspace: Jonathan Howe, executive director, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations". Jax Daily Record. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  26. Patton, Charlie (June 12, 2006). "City will meet the world through his steering". Florida Times-Union. Swarthmore College – Swarthmore in the News, June 29, 2006. p. B-1. Archived from the original on July 19, 2007.
  27. "Hamilton Howe". Hall of Valor: Medal of Honor, Silver Star, U.S. Military Awards. 2024-11-05. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  28. "Sociology Department faculty". University of North Florida. Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  29. "Remarks on Presenting the National Security Medal to Admiral Jonathan T. Howe and an Exchange With Reporters". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
Jonathan T. Howe
Jonathan howe.jpg
18th United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office
November 7, 1991 January 19, 1993
Government offices
Preceded by Director of the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs
1982–1984
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Deputy National Security Advisor
1991–1993
Succeeded by