SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sean Spicer: Anyone--and He Means "Anyone"--Who Criticizes Yemen Raid Owes Apology to Dead U.S. Soldier
"That's my message to anybody who says that, anybody," Spicer said. "I don't know how much clearer I can be"
Feb 08, 2017
White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday said anyone questioning the success of a U.S. military raid in Yemen last month, which resulted in dozens of deaths, is doing "a disservice" to the American soldier who was killed in the operation.
Spicer's comments came just after Yemen reportedly withdrew permission for the U.S. to conduct ground operations in the country in response to the botched raid.
Criticism of the operation has been widespread. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs the Armed Services Committee, told NBC News, "When you lose a $75 million airplane and, more importantly, an American life is lost...I don't believe you can call it a success."
During Spicer's daily briefing on Wednesday--where he has been known to make Orwellian comments on recent events--NBC News' White House correspondent Kristen Welker asked, "Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run special operations and ground missions against suspected terrorists in the wake of the recent raid there that claimed so many civilian lives. Do you stand by your assessment that it is a success?"
"It's absolutely a success, and I think anyone that would suggest it's not a success does a disservice to the life of Chief Ryan Owens," Spicer said.
"But even Senator John McCain--" Welker began.
"I understand that. I think my statement's very clear on that, Kristen," Spicer said. "I think anybody who undermines the success of that raid owes an apology and... [it's] a disservice to the life of Chief Owens."
Watch the exchange below:
Owens, 36, was killed in a firefight on January 28 during an operation authorized "without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations" by President Donald Trump, as Reuters explained at the time. The raid also killed an eight-year-old girl and an unknown number of Yemeni civilians.
The Intercept journalists Glenn Greenwald and Dan Froomkin described the comments as "despicable" and "the single most repulsive and dangerous thing this moron has ever said," respectively.
"So you're saying that Senator John McCain owes him an apology?" Welker continued.
"I'm answering the question, please let me finish. The raid, the action that was taken in Yemen was a huge success," Spicer said. "American lives will be saved because of it. Future attacks will be prevented. The life of Chief Ryan Owens was done in service to this country and we owe him and his family a great debt for the information that we received during that raid. I think any suggestion otherwise is a disservice to his courageous life and the actions he took, full stop."
"Is that your message to Senator John McCain?" Welker said. "He's called it a failure."
"That's my message to anybody who says that, anybody," Spicer said. "I don't know how much clearer I can be."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday said anyone questioning the success of a U.S. military raid in Yemen last month, which resulted in dozens of deaths, is doing "a disservice" to the American soldier who was killed in the operation.
Spicer's comments came just after Yemen reportedly withdrew permission for the U.S. to conduct ground operations in the country in response to the botched raid.
Criticism of the operation has been widespread. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs the Armed Services Committee, told NBC News, "When you lose a $75 million airplane and, more importantly, an American life is lost...I don't believe you can call it a success."
During Spicer's daily briefing on Wednesday--where he has been known to make Orwellian comments on recent events--NBC News' White House correspondent Kristen Welker asked, "Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run special operations and ground missions against suspected terrorists in the wake of the recent raid there that claimed so many civilian lives. Do you stand by your assessment that it is a success?"
"It's absolutely a success, and I think anyone that would suggest it's not a success does a disservice to the life of Chief Ryan Owens," Spicer said.
"But even Senator John McCain--" Welker began.
"I understand that. I think my statement's very clear on that, Kristen," Spicer said. "I think anybody who undermines the success of that raid owes an apology and... [it's] a disservice to the life of Chief Owens."
Watch the exchange below:
Owens, 36, was killed in a firefight on January 28 during an operation authorized "without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations" by President Donald Trump, as Reuters explained at the time. The raid also killed an eight-year-old girl and an unknown number of Yemeni civilians.
The Intercept journalists Glenn Greenwald and Dan Froomkin described the comments as "despicable" and "the single most repulsive and dangerous thing this moron has ever said," respectively.
"So you're saying that Senator John McCain owes him an apology?" Welker continued.
"I'm answering the question, please let me finish. The raid, the action that was taken in Yemen was a huge success," Spicer said. "American lives will be saved because of it. Future attacks will be prevented. The life of Chief Ryan Owens was done in service to this country and we owe him and his family a great debt for the information that we received during that raid. I think any suggestion otherwise is a disservice to his courageous life and the actions he took, full stop."
"Is that your message to Senator John McCain?" Welker said. "He's called it a failure."
"That's my message to anybody who says that, anybody," Spicer said. "I don't know how much clearer I can be."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday said anyone questioning the success of a U.S. military raid in Yemen last month, which resulted in dozens of deaths, is doing "a disservice" to the American soldier who was killed in the operation.
Spicer's comments came just after Yemen reportedly withdrew permission for the U.S. to conduct ground operations in the country in response to the botched raid.
Criticism of the operation has been widespread. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs the Armed Services Committee, told NBC News, "When you lose a $75 million airplane and, more importantly, an American life is lost...I don't believe you can call it a success."
During Spicer's daily briefing on Wednesday--where he has been known to make Orwellian comments on recent events--NBC News' White House correspondent Kristen Welker asked, "Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run special operations and ground missions against suspected terrorists in the wake of the recent raid there that claimed so many civilian lives. Do you stand by your assessment that it is a success?"
"It's absolutely a success, and I think anyone that would suggest it's not a success does a disservice to the life of Chief Ryan Owens," Spicer said.
"But even Senator John McCain--" Welker began.
"I understand that. I think my statement's very clear on that, Kristen," Spicer said. "I think anybody who undermines the success of that raid owes an apology and... [it's] a disservice to the life of Chief Owens."
Watch the exchange below:
Owens, 36, was killed in a firefight on January 28 during an operation authorized "without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations" by President Donald Trump, as Reuters explained at the time. The raid also killed an eight-year-old girl and an unknown number of Yemeni civilians.
The Intercept journalists Glenn Greenwald and Dan Froomkin described the comments as "despicable" and "the single most repulsive and dangerous thing this moron has ever said," respectively.
"So you're saying that Senator John McCain owes him an apology?" Welker continued.
"I'm answering the question, please let me finish. The raid, the action that was taken in Yemen was a huge success," Spicer said. "American lives will be saved because of it. Future attacks will be prevented. The life of Chief Ryan Owens was done in service to this country and we owe him and his family a great debt for the information that we received during that raid. I think any suggestion otherwise is a disservice to his courageous life and the actions he took, full stop."
"Is that your message to Senator John McCain?" Welker said. "He's called it a failure."
"That's my message to anybody who says that, anybody," Spicer said. "I don't know how much clearer I can be."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.