There were undoubtedly clandestine CIA & SF forces on the ground in Somalia. They were probably being run out of Djibouti, where we have declared force (as MedMech indicated). People on the ground probably fingered the Al Qaedistas and painted them with laser that night so the folks in the spook plane could target them precisely. This is the clandestine side of the WoT.

There are at least 3 other parts, covert war (unacknowledged, non-uniformed contractors and CIA working with partisans), diplomacy, and financial. The covert war we should never hear about (ideally), whether we win or lose. The clandestine war you may hear about because it uses combined CIA & uniformed services. Uniformed services MUST obey the UCMJ and Geneva Conventions (covert ops do not). In this engagement the aircraft was clearly marked and I'll bet the people on the ground were disguised military and CIA and partisans.

If you are asking is it a "Wag the Dog" type thing, I don't believe so.