The Raid on Yakla was a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
/
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
military operation carried out on January 29, 2017 in
al-Ghayil, a village in the
Yakla area of the
Al Bayda Governorate
Al Bayda Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْبَيْضَاء '), also spelt ''Al-Baidhah'' or ''Beida'', is one of the governorates (''muhafazat'') of Yemen. It is located near the centre of the country, around the town of Al Bayda. I ...
of central
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
,
during the
Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Yemeni Civil War
, partof = the Yemeni Crisis, Arab Winter, War on terror, and the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
, image = Yemeni Civil War.svg
, width ...
. Authorized by US President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
,
its ostensible goal was to gather intelligence on
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz ...
but also to target the group's leader,
Qasim al-Raymi.
[ The operation was the first high-level raid of the ]Trump administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
. United States Central Command
The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...
(CENTCOM) was involved with the Special Operations Command, which oversees US special forces
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army.
The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...
operations, and the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
.[
Between 10] and 30 civilians (including Nawar al-Awlaki, the eight-year-old American daughter of the deceased alleged al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar Nasser al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi, al-Awlaqi; ar, أنور العولقي, Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21 or 22, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American imam who was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a U.S. government drone strik ...
) were killed in the raid along with up to 14 al-Qaeda fighters, as well as American Navy SEAL
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...
William Owens. A Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey was destroyed during the operation.
The raid in Yemen was described as "risky from the start and costly in the end"; the "botched" operation raised questions about the choice to go forward with the raid "without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations".
Background
The United States has supported an ongoing Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in their campaign against Houthi
The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...
militants with weapons, intelligence, advice on operations, maritime operations, and refueling of aircraft. The United States also has an ongoing campaign against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz ...
(AQAP). The last US-led ground operation against AQAP in Yemen was in 2014. In 2016, the US and Emirati armed forces sent Special Operations forces to Yemen to monitor AQAP.[ The US conducted eight drone strikes against suspected AQAP operatives in Al Bayda during 2016, and a further strike on January 21, 2017.
The International Crisis Group reported in February 2017 that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula "is stronger than it has ever been" and is "thriving in an environment of state collapse, growing sectarianism, shifting alliances, security vacuums and a burgeoning war economy" brought on by Yemen's Civil War. In 2011, AQAP created ]Ansar Al-Sharia Ansar al-Sharia or Ansar al-Shariah is a name used by a collection of radical or militant Islamist groups or militias, in at least eight countries. While they share names and ideology, they lack a unified command structure.
*Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen ...
(AAS), a Yemen-based affiliate focused on waging an insurgency rather than international attacks on the West. In the view of the International Crisis Group, AQAP is "an internally diverse organisation with varying layers of support among the local population" and many AAS members and allies are not committed to AQAP's international agenda. As of early 2017, AQAP and AAS were currently in a struggle for territorial control with the Houthi/Saleh forces in the governorates of al-Bayda, Shebwa, Marib, Jawf and Taiz.
The principal targets of the raid were members of the al-Dhahab family and their houses, led by Abdelrauf al-Dhahab. Their clan is influential and Abdelrauf reportedly could call on a tribal force of 800 men. A number of the eighteen sons of patriarch Sheikh Ahmed Nasser al-Dhahab
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
have joined AQAP or its armed affiliate organizations, including Tariq, Qaid, and Nabil. Qaid was killed by an August 2013 drone strike. Nabil was killed by a November 2014 drone strike. Tariq died while leading an AAS takeover of Rada'a, which also claimed the life of his half-brother Hizam, fighting on the other side.
Whether or not Abdelrauf was affiliated with Al Qaeda is disputed. As of 2014, ''Slate'' reported, Abdelrauf "skirt dthe line between an AQAP sympathizer and outright supporter." Abdelrauf al-Dhahab "repeatedly denied belonging to al-Qaida," and publicly pledged to drive them out of Al Bayda province in 2013. Prior to the raid, Abdelrauf al-Dhahab held a five-day meeting with military officials in the US-backed government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi ( ar, عبدربه منصور هادي, translit=ʿAbd Rabbih Manṣūr Hādī Yemeni pronunciation: ; born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the pres ...
. The military reportedly gave him some 15 million riyals (US$60,000) to fight against the Houthi rebels. Hadi government military spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohsen Khasrouf has stated that al-Dhahab was working with the government to retake the city of Rada'a from the Houthis.
The US military reported that the raid had been planned "for months" and is "one in a series of aggressive actions against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen." The Obama administration refused to approve the raid; the ''Guardian'' reported that it had been reviewed several times, citing an anonymous government source. Colin Kahl, who served as Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President until January 2017, has publicly stated that "This particular raid was NOT discussed," but that it fell under an expanded plan to authorize military actions prepared by the Department of Defense. Further, Kahl stated, "Obama made no decisions on this before leaving office, believing it represented escalation of U.S. involvement in Yemen
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
." In a report for the ''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'', multiple defense sources stated they expected the Trump Administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
to more readily approve similar operations.
Approval of the raid
The approval of the Yakla raid did not follow the rigorous procedure used during the administrations of George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, which involved a Situation Room meeting that detailed the operational plan, operational goals, a risk assessment (to both U.S. personnel and civilians
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...
), and a legal assessment of the operation. Instead, the raid was approved over dinner conversations between Trump, his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner
Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...
, his special adviser Steve Bannon
Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during t ...
, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persia ...
. Mattis, along with General Joseph Dunford
Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. (born December 23, 1955) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015, until September 30, 2019. He was the 36th command ...
, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
, presented the plan; then- National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was also at the dinner.[Julian Borger, Ben Jacobs (8 February 2017)]
"Yemen wants US to reassess counter-terrorism strategy after botched raid"
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. No representatives from the State Department were present, departing from the norms of previous administrations. Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner both reportedly opposed the mission. Flynn reportedly strongly advocated for the mission to President Trump.
The decision did not go through the normal National Security Council (NSC) channels, through which heads or deputy heads of all agencies with a stake in the operation would be consulted. U.S. military officials stated that the assault went forth "without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations."[Rascoe, Ayesha (February 1, 2017)]
U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid
Reuters.
The raid
On January 26, a team of DEVGRU
The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...
operators were staged from Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
to the USS ''Makin Island'' amphibious readiness group. At dawn on January 29, several dozen[ commandos from the ]Naval Special Warfare Development Group
The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...
(DEVGRU), as well as operators from the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
, were landed by a pair of MV-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a convention ...
tiltrotor aircraft near the home of al-Qaeda leader Abdul Rauf al-Dhahab in the mountainous Yakla region of Al-Bayda. While approaching, the operators were informed via a communications intercept that al-Qaeda forces had become aware of their position. The DEVGRU 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."
Surviving villager Sheikh Abdelilah Ahmed al-Dhahab reported that his eleven-year-old son, Ahmed Abdelilah Ahmed al Dahab, was the first to address the soldiers, asking "Who are you?" He was fatally shot.
At the village, the US-UAE team engaged in a heavy firefight with the al-Qaeda forces. US helicopter gunships and fighter aircraft also fired on the town. One of the U.S. operators, Chief Petty Officer William Owens, was struck by gunfire above his armor plating and fatally wounded. During the extraction of the DEVGRU operators, a United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(USMC) MV-22B Osprey was damaged in a hard landing (crash landed) after losing power, injuring three additional American operators aboard. The Osprey was subsequently destroyed by a friendly airstrike carried out by a Harrier jet to avoid any of the crashed aircraft's sensitive electronics from being captured by the enemy. The DEVGRU operatives successfully extracted and departed the area after completing their raid.
The operation severely damaged a local clinic
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...
, the mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, and the school
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
in the impoverished Yemeni village.
Covert objective
Military and intelligence officials have reportedly said that the raid had a secret objective – to capture or kill Qasim al-Raymi, a U.S.-designated terrorist and the emir (leader) of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), who shortly after the raid, on 5 February 2017, released an audio message being shared online taunting
A taunt is a battle cry, sarcastic remark, gesture, or insult intended to demoralize the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviors without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the tar ...
U.S. President Donald Trump. The audio recording purportedly features al-Raymi's voice referring to Trump, who authorized the raid, as the "fool of the White House" who "got slapped" early on in his role as Commander in Chief. The audio clip was found to be authentic by sources in the military.[ The ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
reported that the audio has not been independently verified, but it was "similar to that of previous recordings by al-Raymi".
The White House and Department of Defense have never confirmed that the aim of the mission was to kill or capture al-Raymi and have instead described the mission, which included the extremely rare use of ground troops on Yemeni soil, as a "site exploitation Site exploitation (SE), also called tactical site exploitation or sensitive site exploitation (SSE), is a military term used by the United States to describe "collecting information, material, and
persons from a designated location and analyzing t ...
mission", a euphemism for an intelligence gathering operation. NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
reported, it isn't yet clear whether al-Raymi was tipped off to the raid, whether he simply wasn't there, or whether he escaped when the special operations forces arrived.
According to military officials it was the prospect of killing or capturing al-Raymi that convinced the U.S. chain of command that the mission was worth the risk.[
]
Casualties
Al-Qaeda
The raid killed three "prominent members of Al-Qaeda": Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims.[ The US military reported that fourteen ]al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( ar-at, تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit=Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula or , ''Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jaz ...
(AQAP) fighters were killed.[ Arwa Baghdadi, a 35-year-old Saudi woman who had traveled to Yemen to join Al Qaeda, was killed in the raid; before leaving Saudi Arabia, she had been on trial facing terrorism charges. Later, on February 3, CENTCOM released clips from videos retrieved in the raid and claimed that two of the Al Qaeda leaders who were killed, Sultan al-Dhahab and Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, were longstanding AQAP operational planners and weapons experts. CENTCOM also claimed after releasing the clips that several of the 14 militants who were killed were also terrorist network leaders and facilitators.
Following the raid there were articles disputing the affiliation of the raid's targets, and consequences of the raid, with Farea Al-Muslimi, visiting fellow at the ]Carnegie Middle East Center
The Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, previously known as The Carnegie Middle East Center (CMEC) is a think tank and research center dealing with public policy in the Middle East. It was established in Beirut, Lebanon in November 2006 ...
and co-founder of the youth-oriented Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, stating that Abdulraoof al-Dhahab's death will stir anti-US sentiment—not because he belonged to AQAP, but because he didn't.
Civilian deaths
The U.S. military initially denied there were any civilian casualties, but later declared it was investigating if they occurred.[ ]The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
later confirmed that civilians, including women and children, were likely killed in the attack. A Yemeni government official in Al Bayda Governorate
Al Bayda Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْبَيْضَاء '), also spelt ''Al-Baidhah'' or ''Beida'', is one of the governorates (''muhafazat'') of Yemen. It is located near the centre of the country, around the town of Al Bayda. I ...
said on January 31 that at least eight women and seven children (ranging in age from 3 to 13) were killed. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
reported on February 24 that at least 14 civilians, including nine children, were killed in the operation.[Yemen: US Should Investigate Civilian Deaths in Raid: Al-Bayda Attack on Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula Killed at Least 9 Children](_blank)
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
(February 24, 2017). The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (typically abbreviated to TBIJ or "the Bureau") is a nonprofit news organisation based in London. It was founded in 2010 to pursue "public interest" investigations. [NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...]
, found that the operation went "dreadfully wrong" and that, according to local villagers, 25 civilians, who were not members of AQAP, were killed; this included nine children under the age of 13, with the youngest being a three-month-old baby. The BIJ listed the names and ages of the dead children. Beside the nine children killed, the BIJ reports that one pregnant woman was also killed.[Namir Shabibi, Nasser al Sane (February 8, 2017)]
"Nine young children killed: The full details of botched US raid in Yemen"
. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
.
The civilian deaths appear to have been a result of the aerial gunfire from U.S. support aircraft, according to a CENTCOM statement.
;Nawar "Nora" al-Awlaki
Among those killed in the Raid on Yakla was an 8-year-old American citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
Nawar al-Awlaki, also known as Nora. Nora's grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki, said she was hit by a bullet to the neck and suffered for two hours before dying. Nawar was the daughter of the American-Yemeni propagandist, and operative for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar Nasser al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi, al-Awlaqi; ar, أنور العولقي, Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21 or 22, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American imam who was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a U.S. government drone strik ...
, who was killed by a US drone strike in September 2011, after the US government made terrorism allegations against him. Nora's older brother, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki who also held American citizenship, was killed when he was 16 by a US drone strike in October 2011 while eating dinner.
Destruction of buildings and killing of livestock
When U.S. warplanes struck the village, they hit more than a dozen buildings and killed more than 120 goats, sheep, and donkeys.
U.S. military
During the raid, one American commando from DEVGRU (commonly known as ''SEAL Team Six''), named Chief Petty Officer William Owens, was killed. Three additional DEVGRU operators were wounded.
Responses
Al-Qaeda
AQAP later issued a statement acknowledging the raid, mourned for their killed fighters, and referred to the raid as a massacre.
Evaluations
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer
Sean Michael Spicer (born September 23, 1971) is a former American political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications dire ...
said during a briefing that the raid was "highly successful" and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling
Mark Phillip Hertling (born September 29, 1953) is a former United States Army officer. From March 2011 to November 2012, he served as the Commanding General of United States Army Europe and the Seventh Army. Hertling served in Armor, Cavalry, p ...
, "The mission was a success by all accounts." A national security adviser in the administration of former President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, Juan Zarate
Juan Carlos Zarate is an American attorney and security advisor who served as the deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism during the George W. Bush administration. He is the chairman and co-founder of the Financial Integrity Netw ...
, said that even though the raid had not killed al-Rimi, it could still yield smaller victories: "Certainly, if the goal is to capture the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, that didn't happen. It wasn't successful in that regard. On the other hand, a number of al Qaeda leaders were killed and al Qaeda was disrupted, at least in terms of that cell. They understand that the US is willing to lean forward, and perhaps they're being deterred or disrupted in their activities."[ ''New York Times'' journalist David Sanger, who covered the raid, said on February 2, "It’s hard to call this much of a success yet, because we don’t know what the value was of the information they were trying to exploit, which came mostly from computers and cell phones. And from everything we have heard, they haven’t had a chance to assess that yet."]
Spicer asserted that the raid "gathered an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on American soil."[Cynthia McFadden, William M. Arkin & Ken Dilanian]
Yemen SEAL Raid Has Yielded No Significant Intelligence: Officials
NBC News (February 27, 2017). However, the only example that Pentagon officials were able to point to was an outdated instructional video on bomb making that was of no current value. Multiple senior officials told NBC News that the raid had yielded no significant intelligence and that they had seen no evidence that the intelligence would save lives or prevent future attacks.
The International Crisis Group's senior analyst on the Arabian Peninsula, April Longley Alley, described the raid as "a good example of what not to do" and wrote that the raid "ignore the local political context, to the detriment of an effective counter-terrorism strategy." Richard Atwood, also of the International Crisis Group, said that an operation like the Yakla raid is more likely to radicalize Yemeni tribesmen, strengthen the hand of al-Qaida, and "feed anti-Americanism", particularly when civilians are killed.
Karen J. Greenberg, the director of Fordham University's Center on National Security, said that Nawar al-Awlaki's death will be used by al Qaeda propagandists: "The perception will be that it's not enough to kill al-Awlaki—that the U.S. had to kill the entire family."
On ''Fox & Friends
''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos- ...
'', February 28, 2017, President Trump blamed the failure of the mission on the military.
On February 28, during Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, he claimed that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis stated the raid was "a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies."
In early March 2017, several US officials revealed that US Special Operation Forces captured about 1 Terabyte's worth of information on AQAP in the raid, and that the US was actively trying to locate and monitor hundreds of al-Qaeda contacts obtained from the raid.
Subsequent investigations and calls for inquiry on planning
As of February 27, 2017, The Yakla raid was the subject of three pending Defense Department investigations.[Vera Bergengruen]
3 probes of Yemen raid underway but perhaps not the one Navy SEAL's father wants
McClatchy Washington Bureau (February 27, 2017). The first, a "15-6 investigation", is a routine review conducted by U.S. Central Command
The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...
. The second is a "civilian casualty credibility assessment", which may lead to a more formal investigation. This investigation will review reports that as many as 30 civilians were killed, including women and young children. The third inquiry is an "aviation mishap investigation" to review how the MV-22 Osprey, a $70 million U.S. warplane, became so badly damaged in the raid that it had to be destroyed.
William Owens, the father of Chief Petty Officer William Owens, who was killed in the raid, refused to meet with President Donald Trump at Dover Air Force Base
Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. 436th AW is the host wing and runs the busiest and largest a ...
after his son's death. Owens also criticized the administration's handling of the raid, and demanded an investigation into its planning and approval. William Owens told the '' Miami Herald'', "I told them I didn’t want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldn't let me talk to him. Why at this time did there have to be this stupid mission when it wasn’t even barely a week into his administration? Why? For two years prior, there were no boots on the ground in Yemen—everything was missiles and drones—because there was not a target worth one American life. Now all of a sudden we had to make this grand display?"[ Julie K. Brown]
Slain SEAL's dad wants answers: 'Don't hide behind my son's death'
''Miami Herald'' (February 26, 2017).[Eric Schmitt]
''New York Times'' (February 26, 2017). Owens stated: "Don't hide behind my son's death to prevent an investigation. The government owes my son an investigation."
Congressional Democrats have called for a briefing from the Pentagon on the raid. In a letter to House Armed Services Committee
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...
Chairman Mac Thornberry
William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry (born July 15, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 13th congressional district from 1995 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Thornberry represented the mos ...
, Republican of Texas, U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego
Rubén Marinelarena Gallego (; born November 20, 1979) is an American politician and U.S. Marine combat veteran, having served and deployed as a USMCR Corporal during Operation Iraqi Freedom, who is the U.S. Representative for Arizona's 7th co ...
(Democrat of Arizona) wrote: "The chaotic events that unfolded in Yemen should prompt an urgent inquiring from our committee."[Rebvecca Kheel]
Dems demand briefing on deadly Yemen raid
''The Hill'' (February 2, 2017). In a separate statement, Representative Ted Lieu
Ted W. Lieu (; born March 29, 1969) is an American politician and Air Force Reserve Command colonel who has represented California's 33rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2015. The district includes much of wes ...
of California said that he was highly disturbed' by the reports that the mission was approved without full intelligence" and that "Given this context, the lingering questions surrounding the Yemen mission are deeply troubling and they demand answers. I have requested a briefing on this counterterrorism operation from the Department of Defense."
The human rights group Amnesty International, in a letter to Defense Secretary Mattis, called for "a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation" into the raid, "signaling that you take seriously the issues of civilian casualties and respect for international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war ('' jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by pro ...
." Human Rights Watch also called upon the U.S. to "credibly investigate" civilian deaths, writing: "The high number of civilian casualties raises concerns that US forces and the armed group failed to take all necessary measures to minimize loss of civilian life, as required by the laws of war
The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territor ...
."
Yemen
Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi, the Foreign Minister of Yemen, reacted by writing "The extrajudicial killings and killing civilians are condemned acts that support terrorism" on his official Twitter account. ''The New York Times'', citing U.S. officials, reported, "Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run Special Operations ground missions against suspected terrorist groups in the country."[ The AP, however, citing an official statement from foreign minister Al-Mekhlafi, didn't go as far. Mekhlafi called for a "reassessment" of the raid, but he said it was "not true" that there was a demand for a halt in US operations. "Yemen continues to cooperate with the United States and continues to abide by all the agreements", Mekhlafi said.
]
Aftermath
According to a senior U.S. military official, Navy SEALs attempted to conduct another raid inside Yemen in early March 2017, but aborted the mission at the last minute.
See also
* Raid on Al Hathla
References
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2017 in Yemen
21st-century military history of the United States
Yakla
Yakla
Yakla
Trump administration controversies
Yakla
Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
January 2017 events in Yemen
Al Bayda Governorate