In 1993, bin Laden sent his top lieutenants to help a local warlord, Mohamed Farah Aideed, and ever since then, this country has been an al Qaeda headquarters.

In a firefight in Mogadishu, Aideed's army killed 18 U.S. army troops who were serving at U.N. peacekeepers. The citizens dragged the bodies through the streets, and these images were shown on television.Then-President Clinton responded by withdrawing from the country.