© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
According to an NBC News report, 10 U.S. officials briefed on January’s U.S. military raid in Yemen contend the operation yieled no intelligence that was actionable or vital. The Pentagon said Navy SEALs acquired laptops, hard drives, and cellphones in the raid, which resulted in the death of Navy SEAL Senior Chief William “Ryan” Owens. In an emotional moment during President Trump’s address to Congress on Wednesday night, he said: “I just spoke to General [James] Mattis,” referring to his defense secretary, “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.’” The raid was first proposed by the Obama administration, but was deemed risky and left to the Trump administration to decide upon engaging in it.