U.S. Speeds Somalia Review in Wake of 4 Soldiers’ Deaths : Africa: The accelerated study seeks to determine under what conditions American forces can come home.

The Clinton Administration has accelerated its review of U.S. policy in Somalia after the deaths Sunday of four American soldiers--possibly with an eye toward pinpointing more sharply when U.S. troops might leave, U.S. officials said Monday.

Although no decisions have been made, the officials said that the White House has asked the State Department and the Pentagon to speed up recommendations on how Washington should respond to the current situation and under what conditions American forces eventually could come home.

The review also will explore whether the United States should step up its efforts to capture fugitive warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid, who Administration officials say is to blame for the deaths of the four soldiers over the weekend.

A senior Administration official said the Pentagon has been pressing the White House to develop more specific “time lines” on when U.S. forces might be able to leave. “In other words, what is the end game?” the official asked.

The action follows a high-level State Department tour of Somalia in late July that was designed to update Washington’s assessment of conditions there. The State Department and Pentagon already had begun reviews but accelerated them after the White House request.

Separately, the Pentagon disclosed that the land mine that killed the four U.S. soldiers on Sunday was detonated on command--meaning that the mine was deliberately set off to kill the men and did not just explode accidentally when their vehicle ran over it.

The Administration has been frustrated by the situation in Mogadishu because, although American forces have accomplished their initial mission to end the famine and starvation in Somalia, they have been unable to rebuild the country’s political structure.

If the only criterion for withdrawing American forces from Somalia were whether the people are being fed, “we’d do it (withdraw) this month,” a senior official said. But, he added, that is not possible yet and may not be for some time.

U.S. officials stressed that there are no immediate plans either to withdraw U.S. forces soon or to launch new attacks against Aidid, who is still being sought by U.N. forces for having prompted a raid on U.N. peacekeeping units that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

But one senior strategist pointed out that as long as Aidid is urging his supporters to disrupt U.N. peacekeeping operations, the ability of the United Nations to bring long-term political stability to Somalia will be impeded.

U.S. warplanes led a major air strike against Aidid’s headquarters and arsenals in mid-June, and U.N. troops have been conducting house-to-house searches in an effort to locate him. So far, however, he has managed to elude them.

As a result, one official added, while it is too soon to say whether the United States will propose another major attack against Aidid, one question in the Administration’s review of the situation will be whether to intensify the search for Aidid even further.

Aidid’s continuing challenges to U.N. authority have been a growing source of frustration to U.S. and U.N. authorities. The deaths of the four soldiers Sunday sparked some calls in Congress for early withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country.

U.S. officials argue that because Aidid is on his home turf, he is able to hide his daily movements. “It’s easy to know two days later where he was,” one official said. “It’s difficult to know where he’ll be in 20 minutes.”

What is more, U.S. and U.N. officials both contend that except for the guerrilla tactics that U.N. forces face in Mogadishu, the aid effort has been working successfully, with outlying areas of Somalia now enjoying crop surpluses.

U.N. Force in Somalia

Since early June, 39 U.N. peacekeepers have died in fighting in Somalia. Here’s a breakdown of the force: Pakistan: 4,718 soldiers (21%) U.S.: 3,881 (17%) Italy: 2,442 (11%) Germany: 1,700 (8%) Others: 9,813 (44%) Total U.N. forces: 22,554 soldiers Source: La Repubblica, Rome