“It disappeared behind the tree line, and then we heard a big bang,” a witness said.

An unease grew in John Spinelli, deputy chief of station for the CIA in Mogadishu. His stomach knotted itself into a giant wad of apprehension. Something didn't feel right, but there was no turning back now. He had to move on.

Is this pure coincidence? Or, does it illustrate (too well, in this case) the acumen of the Pentagon in the mediating of war access?