John McCain Says Botched Yemen Raid Was A “Failure”
Senator John McCain, who is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, on Tuesday called the recent U.S. raid in Yemen a “failure.” McCain was speaking with reporters after a classified briefing on the operation took place on Tuesday morning.
McCain’s characterization of the raid as a “failure” is in sharp contrast with the way the Trump administration is characterizing it. “The raid that was conducted in Yemen was an intelligence gathering raid,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday. “It was highly successful. It achieved the purpose it was going to get, save the loss of life that we suffered and the injuries that occurred.”
McCain told reporters, “We needed to know what happened. We needed to know lessons learned. We need insurances that they will do everything they can to prevent such an occurrence again.”
McCain also said that while all his questions were answered on Tuesday, not all of the answers “made [him] happy.”
