Operation Quick Draw is a very poorly attested operation in Somalia that took place at some point during 1994. Although low-level US military operations continued during 1994, the association of these operations with this operation name is not immediately apparent.
In 1994 the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit/Special Operations Capable (MEU/SOC) deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia, where 11th MEU/SOC participated in Operation Quick Draw. The Americans had finally left Somalia in March 1994, and Somalia was designated as a "quiet" area, even though the reality was very different. The US Embassy in Mogadishu had been evacuated and closed indefinitely in January 1991.
After the withdrawal of US forces on 25 March 1994, the United States maintained a liaison office in Mogadishu in an attempt to further the process of political reconciliation in Somalia. Security for this office was provided by a Fleet Anti-terrorist Security Team (FAST) platoon.
Fighting began 23 June 1994. A detachment of approximately 50 Marines provided security at the US Liaison Office in mogadishu. About 30 US officials were assigned to the Liaison Office. Around 200 other Americans were working in Somalia as contractors, NGO workers, or as employees of the UN.
The absence of progress toward reconciliation and a continued decline in security led to the relocation of the US Liaison Office from Mogadishu. As conditions in Mogadishu deteriorated, the liaison office relocated to Nairobi and the FAST platoon redeployed to Mombasa, Kenya, on 15 September 1994, with FAST redeploying to home station three days later. US diplomats based in Kenya made periodic visits to Somalia after that date.
The UNOSOM goal of assisting the process of political reconciliation was becoming ever more elusive, while the burden and cost of maintaining a high level of troops were proving increasingly difficult for Member States to justify. The presence of UNOSOM II troops was having a limited impact on the peace process and on security in the face of continuing inter-clan fighting and banditry. In November 1994, in the absence of political reconciliation and a deteriorating security situation, the UNSC ordered a total withdrawal of UNOSOM from Somalia by March 31, 1995. At year's end close to 10,000 peacekeepers from Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Zimbabwe remained on the ground.
