Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: Josh Marshall: Trump's Shame: "Donald Trump, 2/28/17: 'We are blessed to be joined tonight by Carryn Owens...
...the widow of a U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief William "Ryan" Owens. Ryan died as he lived: a warrior, and a hero—battling against terrorism and securing our Nation. I just spoke to General Mattis, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, 'Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies.' Ryan's legacy is etched into eternity.
NBCNews, 3/1/17: "The Pentagon says Navy SEALs scooped up laptops, hard drives and cell phones in last month's Yemen raid, but multiple U.S. officials told NBC News that none of the intelligence gleaned from the operation so far has proven actionable or vital — contrary to what President Trump said in his speech to Congress Tuesday."
Neither Owens' heroism nor the sacrifice of his death are diminished by the success of the raid in which he died. But as I wrote earlier today, this spectacle from President Trump last night was transparently constructed in order to repurpose Owens' widow's palpable grief into a heat shield to ward any effort to question the wisdom of the raid or Investigate what happened and why.
Mattis will have to answer for himself if his public statement matches the real after action assessment. But it is noteworthy that Trump laundered his apparent deception through Mattis.
