Saddam takes lessons from Hollywood

Saddam Hussein is said to have told his troops to use the film Black Hawk Down, the story of how American soldiers were drawn into a bloody urban battle in Somalia, as a lesson for the Iraq war.

The film showed in graphic detail how US Army Rangers and members of Delta Force killed hundreds of Somalis who attacked them with an unexpected ferocity.

Mark Bowden, author of the 1999 book, wrote recently: "The lesson our retreat taught the world's terrorists and despots is that killing a few American soldiers, even at a cost of more than 500 of your own fighters, is enough to spook Uncle Sam."

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Humm, a Pentagon spokesman, said: "Whether or not the Iraqis are using Black Hawk Down as a manual, they would be well advised to consider that we have also learned lessons from our past."

Herald Feature: Iraq war