US military To Reuters: Trump approved 1st covert counterterrorism operation w/o sufficient intell [View all]

[kpete]

Last edited Thu Feb 2, 2017, 09:31 AM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that an investigating team had "concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed" during Sunday's raid. It said children may have been among the casualties.

Central Command said its assessment "seeks to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight."

U.S. military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.

As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger than expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists.

The Pentagon directed queries about the officials' characterization of the raid to U.S. Central Command, which pointed only to its statement on Wednesday.

"CENTCOM asks for operations we believe have a good chance for success and when we ask for authorization we certainly believe there is a chance of successful operations based on our planning," CENTCOM spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN15G5RX


"Trump approved his first covert CT op without sufficient intel, ground support or adequate backup preparations."
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/world/middleeast/donald-trump-yemen-commando-raid-questions.html


Trump's disastrous first military strike had previously been rejected by Obama
http://theweek.com/speedreads/677442/trumps-disastrous-first-military-strike-previously-been-rejected-by-obama


Pentagon Points Finger of Blame at Trump
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/pentagon-points-finger-of-blame-at-trump