 On 1 August , before leaving the US to take up his post in Mogadishu , Ambassador Bishop visited United States Central Command — the military command for the Middle East and northeast Africa — where he spent most of the day with its commander , Gen. Norman <unk> . Ambassador Bishop , aware of the ongoing <unk> , believed " the odds were better than even that we would have to leave Mogadishu under less than favorable circumstances . " Ambassador Bishop understood from his past experiences in Beirut and <unk> the importance of being prepared to deal with <unk> and spent the afternoon working with military experts to review the embassy 's <unk> and <unk> ( E & E ) plan until he was " satisfied ... that [ Central Command ] realized that it might have to conduct an evacuation from Mogadishu and was prepared to do that . " In its analysis of Operation Eastern Exit , the Center for Naval Analyses cited the Ambassador Bishop 's previous experience and " clear understanding of his role " in the operation as one of the reasons Operation Eastern Exit went so well . 
