William J. Clinton was president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He spoke before the nation on October 7, 1993, in a televised broadcast following the events in the Battle of Mogadishu, which had taken place earlier that week on October 3 and 4. The Somali Civil War had resulted in the destruction of crops, causing a mass famine. Millions of Somalians died of starvation.