Najib later criticized the UN's Somalia operation as putting too much emphasis on military action.

Within the Administration, the Somalia operation is not considered a complete failure.

The Somalia operation was supposed to restore its credibility after the fiasco in the former Yugoslavia.

In the 16-month Somalia operation, which involved a total of 96,000 American forces, only one service member committed suicide.

By setting a specific withdrawal date, Mr. Clinton hoped to ease Congressional pressure to end the Somalia operation immediately.

In the long run, it will be impossible for the Somalia operation to succeed without a working government.

But most of the money will go to the military, with $750 million for the Somalia operation.

But most young troops interviewed in the first two weeks of the Somalia operation said there were some things here that they had to learn firsthand.

Planning for the Somalia operation is on a "fast track," a Pentagon official said.

The Clinton Administration then moved to turn the Somalia operation back to the United Nations.