President Trump: Generals Wanted Yemen Raid That Led To Navy SEAL Death

President Trump followed the advice of the generals in ordering the raid in Yemen that led to the death of Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens, he said in an interview broadcast Tuesday. The comments came when a "Fox and Friends" host asked about Owens' father, who refused to meet with Trump after the death.

"This was something that, just, they wanted to do," Trump said. "They came to see me, they explained what they wanted to do, the generals. Who are very respected, my generals are the most respected that we've had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan."

Trump also expressed understanding for the SEAL's father, also named William Owens, who didn't want to meet with the president.

"What's worse? There's nothing worse," Trump said, referring to the father's loss. "But again, this was something that they were looking at for a long time doing. And according to General Mattis, it was a very successful mission, they got tremendous amounts of information."

NBC News reported that official sources denied that any significant intelligence was gathered in the mission. However, earlier in the month, reports suggested the raid produced "actionable intelligence."

"This site was a central hub for information that was important to a group of terrorists who have launched attacks to kill Americans — and have publically [sic] committed to more attacks in the future," Christopher Sherwood, a Defense spokesman, told Patch. "The raid resulted in the seizure of materials and information that is yielding valuable intelligence to help partner nations deter and prevent future terror attacks in Yemen and across the world."

"I told them I didn't want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldn't let me talk to him," the Navy SEAL's father told The Miami Herald.

He continued: "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?"

Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters in early February that the mission was "highly successful."

“Anyone who would suggest otherwise doesn’t fully appreciate how successful that mission was,” he said. "Anyone who undermines the success of that raid owes an apology to the life and service of Chief Owens."

Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican, was among those who called the mission a failure. But he argued that calling a mission a failure does not diminish the efforts or character of those involved.

Owens' father responded critically to the White House's defense of the raid. "Don’t hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation," he said in the interview.

Spicer told the press Monday that the Pentagon is conducting a review of the mission, for three reasons: first, because of Owens' death; second, because civilians were killed, reportedly numbering in around 30, according to Reuters; and third, because of the loss of a multi-million dollar Osprey aircraft.

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