Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters
Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), on Thursday took resonsibility for the counter-terror raid in Yemen which cost the life of a Navy SEAL, Ryan Owens, in January. “I am responsible for this mission,” Votel said in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I am the CENTCOM commander, and I am responsible for what’s done in my region and what’s not done in my region. So I accept responsibility for this.” The Trump administration has said that despite Owens’ death, the raid was a success because of the valuable intelligence gleaned from the mission. However, reports from NBC News and other outlets have contradicted that claim. “We lost a valued operator. We had people wounded. We caused civilian casualties, lost an expensive aircraft. We did gain some valuable information that will be helpful for us. Our intention here was to improve our knowledge against this threat, a threat that poses a direct threat to us here in the homeland,” Votel added.