I trust Mad Dog far more than NBC.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/m...disputing-value-of-yemen-raid/article/2616233
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is hopping mad about media reports disputing his assessment that the U.S. special operations raid in Yemen last month yielded "vital intelligence."
Aides say Mattis is particularly upset about an NBC News reportsuggesting that so far none of the intelligence gathered in the raid, which cost the life of Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens, has proven to be either "actionable or vital."
"That is inaccurate," said a senior Pentagon official, who said while much of the intelligence is still being exploited, the cache of seized computers, cell phones, and hard drive has already produced leads as to where other al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists were located in Yemen, and their contacts.
The official said the raid was considered worth the risk of sending U.S. ground forces because AQAP has a history of plotting, inspiring, and exporting terror to America and the West, and because the U.S. has no military presence on the ground.
Subscribe today to get intelligence and analysis on defense and national security issues in your Inbox each weekday morning from veteran journalists Jamie McIntyre and Jacqueline Klimas.
The U.S. said AQAP was behind the "underwear bomber," Boston Marathon bombing, and the 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris.
As if to underscore that the Jan. 29 raid gave the U.S. a better idea of where to strike in Yemen, U.S. warplanes and drones struck a suspected al Qaeda hideout in a mountainous region of Yemen on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The Pentagon has consistently said that the raid was a success, and that it was a worthwhile mission given that AQAP is the "most capable element of al Qaeda in exporting terror to the west.
""Valuable and actionable intelligence was taken in this operation," said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, in a Pentagon briefing earlier this month.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/m...disputing-value-of-yemen-raid/article/2616233
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is hopping mad about media reports disputing his assessment that the U.S. special operations raid in Yemen last month yielded "vital intelligence."
Aides say Mattis is particularly upset about an NBC News reportsuggesting that so far none of the intelligence gathered in the raid, which cost the life of Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens, has proven to be either "actionable or vital."
"That is inaccurate," said a senior Pentagon official, who said while much of the intelligence is still being exploited, the cache of seized computers, cell phones, and hard drive has already produced leads as to where other al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists were located in Yemen, and their contacts.
The official said the raid was considered worth the risk of sending U.S. ground forces because AQAP has a history of plotting, inspiring, and exporting terror to America and the West, and because the U.S. has no military presence on the ground.
Subscribe today to get intelligence and analysis on defense and national security issues in your Inbox each weekday morning from veteran journalists Jamie McIntyre and Jacqueline Klimas.
The U.S. said AQAP was behind the "underwear bomber," Boston Marathon bombing, and the 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris.
As if to underscore that the Jan. 29 raid gave the U.S. a better idea of where to strike in Yemen, U.S. warplanes and drones struck a suspected al Qaeda hideout in a mountainous region of Yemen on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The Pentagon has consistently said that the raid was a success, and that it was a worthwhile mission given that AQAP is the "most capable element of al Qaeda in exporting terror to the west.
""Valuable and actionable intelligence was taken in this operation," said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, in a Pentagon briefing earlier this month.
