What We Know So Far About Incompetent Trump Sending SEAL Owens To Die

[paralleluniverse]

Amazing. Contrast the extensive, exhaustive, exacting planning process under Obama to Trump's hasty and careless 25 minute planning session.

According to current and former officials, the discussions leading up to the Jan. 29 raid, intended as the first step in a major expansion of U.S. counterterrorism operations in Yemen, marked a departure from the more hands-on, deliberative process used by the previous administration.

The raid, the product of a more abbreviated White House process, has been followed by confusion within the U.S. government over how operations against al-Qaeda in Yemen will proceed. It has also generated friction with a key counterterrorism ally, smarting from the lack of adequate notice about the raid and, according to local reports, up to 31 Yemeni civilian deaths.

[...]

In early January, White House officials examined the military request but decided to table a decision for the new administration, recommending to incoming officials that they conduct a thorough review of the proposal.

On Jan. 25, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis requested urgent approval at a dinner meeting with Trump of a nighttime mission that represented a first step in expanding activities against AQAP. The meeting was also attended by Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; then-national security adviser Michael Flynn; CIA Director Mike Pompeo; and a handful of others. Trump approved the operation.

According to one senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide new details of the internal deliberations, Trump was provided information on the proposed raid earlier that day, during his morning intelligence meeting. He also briefly dropped by a discussion on the topic that Flynn was holding in his office.

[...]

In part because the operation had already been approved by Trump and in part because the meeting was also scheduled to cover other topics, discussion of the raid was as short as around 25 minutes, according to several accounts, and as long as 40, according to the senior administration official.

In either case, the brisk treatment of a high-risk operation stands in contrast to similar deliberations during the Obama administration, known for its extensive litigation of risks in military activities and tight control of tactical decision-making.

“In previous operations like this, we would sit around the table for two hours and scrub everything. The intelligence agencies would put down maps. We’d have congressional folks talk about reaching out to Congress. The State Department would do its political assessment,” Kahl said. “You can’t cover the complexity of a topic like that in 23 minutes.”

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.040dee2da0e5

So, in summary:

1. Trump approved the raid over dinner, because he was told the Obama Administration wouldn't be bold enough to try it and wanted the glory.

2. The raid was discussed for 25 minutes in a planning meeting.

3. Instead of being in the Situation Room during the raid, he was tweeting.

4. The raid was a total failure, everything went wrong yet they did not abort. Owens got killed, at least 3 SEALs were injured, a $75M aircraft was lost, dozens of civilians got killed.

5. Trump's total incompetence and negligence got Owens killed yet he says it was a great success.

6. Trump blames the generals for the raids failure. (But it was a great success!)

7. The Trump Administration lied about the usefulness of the intelligence gathered, 10 military sources disprove this lie, saying that no useful intel was gathered.

8. Trump tries to wrap his colossal fuck-up in phony patriotism, parading the widow that he created at the Joint Address.

If this happened under Clinton, there would be dozens of House GOP investigations and calls for impeachment. So what we have is a brash and incompetent president obsessed with chasing glory and totally out of his depth, and the result is that he gets people killed.

[Jtbrig7390]

If this happened under Clinton, there would be dozens of House GOP investigations and calls for impeachment. So what we have is a brash and incompetent president obsessed with chasing glory and totally of his depth, and the result is that he gets people killed.

Its like I have said before, Only reason Trump ran for president is to boost his ego.

Like you said if this was Clinton people would be demanding her head on a fucken pike.

[Pipebomb]

This theory I linked below is still floating around. MSM hasn't touched the Awan brothers yet, neither has the FBI, odd...

Muslim Spy Ring Linked To Navy SEAL's Death
http://www.americanow.com/story/soci...vy-seals-death

[Stacyrect]

Amazing. Contrast the extensive, exhaustive, exacting planning process under Obama to Trump's hasty and careless 25 minute planning session.



So, in summary:

1. Trump approved the raid over dinner, because he was told the Obama Administration wouldn't be bold enough to try it and wanted the glory.

2. The raid was discussed for 25 minutes in a planning meeting.

3. Instead of being in the Situation Room during the raid, he was tweeting.

4. The raid was a total failure, everything went wrong yet they did not abort. Owens got killed, at least 3 SEALs were injured, a $75M aircraft was lost, dozens of civilians got killed.

5. Trump's total incompetence and negligence got Owens killed yet he says it was a great success.

6. Trump blames the generals for the raids failure. (But it was a great success!)

7. The Trump Administration lied about the usefulness of the intelligence gathered, 10 military sources disprove this lie, saying that no useful intel was gathered.

8. Trump tries to wrap his colossal fuck-up in phony patriotism, parading the widow that he created at the Joint Address.

If this happened under Clinton, there would be dozens of House GOP investigations and calls for impeachment. So what we have is a brash and incompetent president obsessed with chasing glory and totally out of his depth, and the result is that he gets people killed.

This.
everything went wrong yet they did not abort

/thread

[Kellhound]

The President has no purpose in micromanaging a tactical military operation, period. The failure is not his (nor would the glory had it succeeded).

[Cuppy]

The President has no purpose in micromanaging a tactical military operation, period. The failure is not his (nor would the glory had it succeeded).

I'm gonna go with this too. I doubt the president has anything to do with military operations, other than accepting/denying them.
And tbh, if you are a soldier, you risk your life. It's very simple. If you don't like to risk your life and act as a chesspiece for some dickwad, then don't join the army. Simple as fuck imo.

[thilicen]

This theory I linked below is still floating around. MSM hasn't touched the Awan brothers yet, neither has the FBI, odd...

Muslim Spy Ring Linked To Navy SEAL's Death
http://www.americanow.com/story/soci...vy-seals-death

Even if it was Obama. It's ridiculous how people will just go "Oh you know, Trump's gonna Trump" when he does the same shit people would be rioting over if it was anyone else.

[Kaleredar]

I'm gonna go with this too. I doubt the president has anything to do with military operations, other than accepting/denying them.
And tbh, if you are a soldier, you risk your life. It's very simple. If you don't like to risk your life and act as a chesspiece for some dickwad, then don't join the army. Simple as fuck imo.

Seeing as he gave the go ahead, it IS on him.

If a building inspector signs off on a building as being safe and able to open two months ahead of schedule and it then collapses due to starkly apparent construction flaws, you sure as hell go after the building inspector.

[Jtbrig7390]

I'm gonna go with this too. I doubt the president has anything to do with military operations, other than accepting/denying them.
And tbh, if you are a soldier, you risk your life. It's very simple. If you don't like to risk your life and act as a chesspiece for some dickwad, then don't join the army. Simple as fuck imo.

Seeing how the President is suppose to look over all the detail's and then say ya or naw....Yes its all on him.

You do realize hes commander in chief for a reason right?

- - - Updated - - -

Only 1000 more years of this...

God it feels like it will be a thousand years of this shit.

[namecraft]

"he gets people killed"

every president does

but they prefer bombing cities

[Cuppy]

Seeing as he gave the go ahead, it IS on him.
If a building inspector signs off on a building as being safe and able to open two months ahead of schedule and it then collapses due to starkly apparent construction flaws, you sure as hell go after the building inspector.

Well if that's really the case I feel so fucking sorry for every soldier in America. I suggest they all quit.
I mean seriously, you have to be mentally retarded to take on any kind of operation when the green light is the orange twitterist.
If you don't jump to a well if Trump says so, why the hell you'd do anything he says?

[Kaleredar]

Well if that's really the case I feel so fucking sorry for every soldier in America. I suggest they all quit.
I mean seriously, you have to be mentally retarded to take on any kind of operation when the green light is the orange twitterist.
If you don't jump to a well if Trump says so, why the hell you'd do anything he says?

Well he's the commander in chief of the armed forces, so they more or less have to, unfortunately. He can basically do anything short of declare war. And by that I mean "formally declare," he can still send people on ill-advised and poorly reviewed missions like this one.

[Elim Garak]

You do realize hes commander in chief for a reason right?

That means he's at the top of the command chain and thus DOES NOT do any micromanaging or get involved in the operation itself.
The President doesn't need to sit for hours looking at maps he due to being a civilian person with no military experience have no understanding of (not even must to have) - that's what his military advisers and joint chiefs of staff are for.
If they say they are confident in the operation the president then decides either to allow it or not based on OTHER non-tactical non-military factors.
And if the operation is a failure in the tactical part - it's on the GENERALS.

[Independent voter]

"Valuable intelligence” was gleaned from the raid in Yemen that targeted a compound used by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and left a Navy SEAL dead, according to a senior U.S. official.

The official’s comments were prompted by recent reports questioning whether any useful intelligence was gathered from the raid where Senior Chief William "Ryan" Owens was killed and and civilians were caught in the crossfire.

If you ask anonymous sources that hate Trump, they say no useful information was gained. If you ask pro-Trump anonymous sources they say useful intelligence was gained.

It's all highly partisan.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/yemen...ry?id=45813699

But don't cite Salon, politico or Huffington Post because it's obvious what they are going to say and they'd say it no matter what the truth was.

[Cthulhu 2020]

Trump being an utter moron and completely incapable of handling our military could be considered valuable intelligence gained from this raid. So perhaps the Trumpkins are right for once.

[Mad_Murdock]

Again, folks went on and on about how great General Mattis is. The early reports said Mattis approved of this mission before Trump even heard about it. Mattis and another General went to Trump's dinner to sell him on the raid, and Trump trusted Mattis advice on the matter.

A combat Veteran wrote for The Hill

The special operations plan was reviewed by the Pentagon and recommended for Trump’s approval. If the commander on the ground believed the intelligence and support were insufficient, he could have aborted the mission. Trump did not force an unwilling SEAL team into a dangerous raid. He was approving what the military said should be done

Trump is the Commander in Chief so ultimately the buck stops with him, but it seems some of you are wanting to act like Trump drew up the pans himself and against all advice, said Do it!

I missed everyone being equally outraged when Obama sent a Delta Force solider to his death

[Machismo]

The President has no purpose in micromanaging a tactical military operation, period. The failure is not his (nor would the glory had it succeeded).

The decision to push the mission was his. He should have reviewed it more carefully. He does deserve a little blame.

The mission planners deserve the bulk of the blame. This mission should have never happened. It was a failure on every front. I would hate to have been in the after action briefs, heads were rolling.

[Daymanmb]

This theory I linked below is still floating around. MSM hasn't touched the Awan brothers yet, neither has the FBI, odd...

Muslim Spy Ring Linked To Navy SEAL's Death
http://www.americanow.com/story/soci...vy-seals-death

Probably because it cant be verified.

[Venant]

Seeing as he gave the go ahead, it IS on him.

If a building inspector signs off on a building as being safe and able to open two months ahead of schedule and it then collapses due to starkly apparent construction flaws, you sure as hell go after the building inspector.

Its pretty absurd if you think any president would have the skill set to personally plan special operations missions.

[Machismo]

Its pretty absurd if you think any president would have the skill set to personally plan special operations missions.

Considering people blamed Hillary for Benghazi, anything is possible.