Why did the February 2017 special ops raid that Trump ordered in Yemen go so badly? Was this Flynn’s fault? Was Mattis supportive of the …

My answer to Why did the February 2017 special ops raid that Trump ordered in Yemen go so badly? Was this Flynn’s f…

Answer by Abbey Laurel-Smith:

Apart from intel, the op. went badly because:

planning and preparation for the op. was skewed away from it’s original track.

wrong team was tagged and used for the job.

wrong equipments (transport) were deployed for the ops.

once again, wrong fighting tactics was deployed.

knowledge of signal-to-noise ratio (at dawn) in the desert environment was disregarded for technology.

the fact that the enemy could see what we see on their computer(s) was disregarded.

the fact that the enemy could track, monitor, record and play back comms. on their computers was regarded.

commanders didn't stand up to Trump.

and NavySEAL team leaders failed to stand up to their commanders.

So rather than blame Trump, I’ll blame to top commanders for trying to please Trump by rushing to execute this type of op.

And on top of all these, I’ll blame retired Admiral McRaven for allowing an environment that ended up subjecting NavySEALs to the same rules as Marine sailors. The number of dead NavySEALs for the past ten years calls for a review of conduct and a move away from the retired Admiral’s way of doing things. NavySEALs don't fight like the Marines. They jump into a fight like the Marines. They are not Hollywood and are not disposable tools.

The old rule used to be:

regardless of rank and age, a NavySEAL Team leader – upon assuming that role, have the same access as an OF-8 with a special budget for it’s operations.

NavySEAL Team 6 leader is only accountable to and made answerable to one Navy Top Dog in Pentagon. Everyone else is dead.

should not be subjected to the whims of a base commander, a ship EO, any CO and the SecDef. because he doesn't need a warrant from that office.

that NavySEAL Team 6 (DEVGRU) are a Tier-1 unit whilst the rest are Tier-2.

that like SAG and SOG, NavySEAL Team 6 are tasked to operate under Article 50. They should be allowed to continue to do so and not to be treated like Article 10 operators.

Seal recruitment is not based on grooming. Having a University degree, being battle tested in the areas of comms., infantry and electronics are a must.

Former NavySEALs need to stand up for these rules need to be re-instated. Otherwise, a perfect fighting bodies of men might be torn apart and used the wrong way.

These IMHO are all the contributing factors that led to the failed op. in Yemen.