Jonathan Howe

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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 in what was described by one American official as "the miscasting of the century." [3] In this capacity he came under criticism for hiding away from the action in his fortified bunker, [7] [3] and for his pursuit of Somali military leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid, which was called a "personal vendetta." [7]

On July 12, 1993, Howe oversaw the event Somalis call Bloody Monday. [3] 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. [3] The gathering had been publicized in Somali newspapers the day before the attack as a peace gathering. [3] After being tipped off by an undercover operative, American Cobra attack helicopters launched TOW missiles and 20 mm caliber cannon fire at the structure. [3] According to a Somali survivor, American ground troops killed 15 survivors at close range with pistols, a charge American commanders deny. [3] According to the International Committee of the Red Cross there were over 200 Somali casualties. [2] Four Western journalists were killed at the scene by Somalis following the attacks. [3]

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." [3] 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. [2] Human Rights Watch declared that the attack "looked like mass murder." [9]

Personal life

Howe is author of the 1971 book Multicrises: Seapower and Global Politics in the Missile Age. [10]

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 and his father, Hamilton W. Howe, was a Navy Admiral. [11] She was an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Florida. [12]

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. [13]

Notes

  1. Department of Public Information, United Nations (1997-03-21). "United Nations Operation in Somalia II – (UNISOM II)" . Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. "Board of Trustees and Staff". The Arthur Vining David Foundations. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  5. "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.
  6. "Bush Names Security Deputy". The New York Times . 1991-11-20. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  7. 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.
  8. Kempe, Frederick (1990). Divorcing the dictator : America's bungled affair with Noriega. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN   0399135170. OCLC   20933992.
  9. "SOMALIA". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  10. Howe, Jonathan T. (1971). Multicrises: Seapower and Global Politics in the Missile Age. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN   0-262-08043-5. OCLC   159041.
  11. 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.
  12. "Sociology Department faculty". University of North Florida. Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  13. "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

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