slate - "U.S. Officials Dispute Trumps Claim That Yemen Raid Uncovered Any Vital Intelligence

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/01/u_s_officials_dispute_trump_claim_yemen_raid_got_vital_intelligence.html

By Elliot Hannon

U.S. officials, on Wednesday, again disputed Donald Trump’s characterization of the January raid in Yemen as a success, as 10 current government officials, briefed on the operation, told NBC News the intelligence collected during the deadly raid has so far proven neither vital nor actionable. The renewed pushback comes a day after Donald Trump brought up the death of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens in his address to Congress Tuesday night. Trump addressed Owens’ widow, Carryn Owens, lauding the fallen commando.

As part of his tribute, however, Trump added:

I just spoke to our great Gen. Mattis just now, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, “Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies.” Ryan’s legacy is etched into eternity. Thank you.
The Jan. 29 Yemen raid, which involved dozens of U.S. commandos from Navy SEAL Team 6, was Trump’s first covert counterterrorism operation as president. Despite the White House’s representation of what transpired, the New York Times reported at the time: “Almost everything that could go wrong did.” The Trump administration hailed the operation as a success—because of laptops, hard drives, and cellphones that were recovered—despite an avalanche of evidence that disputes that interpretation. First, the real target of the raid was reportedly to capture or kill al-Qaida leader Qassim al-Rimi. Al-Rimi—the head of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and one of the most wanted terrorists in the world—either escaped the raid or was tipped off and was not there when the American forces arrived. Second, a Navy SEAL was killed in action, a consequence that one might think would significantly raise the bar on what would constitute a successful mission. But beyond Owens’ death, six other U.S. forces were injured, at least 25 civilians were killed, including many children, and a military aircraft was lost during the raid that reportedly resulted in a fierce 50-minute firefight.

The Trump administration has been particularly sensitive to accusations that the military operation was too risky and insufficiently planned, as well as factual accounts that the execution was botched. “One senior Pentagon official described the information gathered as ‘de minimis,’ and as material the U.S. already knew about,” according to NBC News.

[Wellstone ruled]

1. This slug is channeling Reagan.

Remember the Space shuttle. Yep,needed a shot in the arm for his Image. Are we seeing certain similarities,Actor playing the part of President while a group of shadowy people rum the Country to their behest.