Controversy Stirs After American Raid on Yemen

posted on: Feb 13, 2017

BY: Diego Reyes/Contributing Writer

Conflict between the U.S. and Yemen reached new heights last week. After the January 28 U.S. black ops operation in Yemen, the media and Congress are debating whether the deadly event was successful or not.

The operation’s main objective was to gain information needed to aid future strikes against Al Qaeda and prevent terror attacks, but other motives were discovered. The Trump administration announced that this was an intelligence mission only, but it was later discovered that the real goal was to capture and/or eliminate Al Qaeda leader, al-Rimi, who was thought to be in a fortified complex.

The information, however, was not accurate and there were casualties. The operation involved elite US Navy SEALs, Special Forces from the UAE, and support from nearby drones. The plan was supposed to be smooth and easy, but it all went downhill when the operatives were spotted and began to take fire. Knowing that they could not take on the full force of fire, an airstrike was called in, killing nearly two dozen innocent Yemeni civilians and NAVY seal Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens. Others were injured, as well.

The White House began to take heat after President Trump called the operation a success. He believes that by gaining intel and eliminating some of the radical leaders, the mission was worthwhile, but there is much controversy to this belief.

One of the biggest critics of Trump’s reaction was Senator John McCain (R-NV), chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He stated, “when you lose a $75 million airplane and, more importantly, an American life is lost and wounded I don’t believe you can call it a success.” Sen. McCain speaks from experience, as he spent more than five years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In Trump’s eyes, McCain was no hero, though. During his campaign, Trump ridiculed McCain for being a prisoner of war, saying, “I like people who weren’t captured.”

Trump took to Twitter to fight back against McCain’s statement, tweeting that the Senator has been losing so long he no longer knows how to win.

President Trump did not just stop with Sen. McCain. He went on to attack the entire media and how they are not reporting on terrorism anymore. At the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Trump stated that terrorism has “gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported, and in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it.”

His comments in Tampa sparked nation-wide debate about whether or not the media actually is reporting on every terrorist incident. No evidence has been found yet to support Trump’s accusation.

President Trump learned about the Yemeni operation a few days after taking office. It was already in the works during the Obama administration but was never given the green light because of its possible complications. Obama knew that this operation was controversial, but had already been conducting airstrikes in Yemen for a few years in his effort to diminish Al Qaeda’s control over the territory. However, Obama never allowed American troops on the ground in Yemen. Rather, he played a delicate game in Yemen that allowed him to continue his operations without breaking ties with the Yemeni government.

This week, that relationship is being tested.

In order to keep this anti-terrorism relationship going between Yemen and the US, more carefully developed plans and missions must first be run between both parties so a more efficient outcome could be reached without any casualties.