Fresh off the heels of the SEAL Team Six raid in Yemen, media outlets are already drawing biased and irresponsible conclusions in what is most likely an attempt to politicize the operation.

Citing ‘unnamed military officials’, multiple news organizations have sought to link the death of a SEAL Operator, as well as multiple civilians, to ‘insufficient intelligence’ for the first covert mission approved by President Trump.

Casually omitted from headlines is the fact that the operation had been sought after and planned by CENTCOM well before Trump had assumed office, believing they had ‘a good chance for success’.

Anyone who has planned and executed an operation at any level, let alone one of such extreme high risk, understands that no plan, no matter how intricately prepped and rehearsed, will survive first contact. This fact is an inherent part of military operations, widely understood by all who have served.

Trump made headlines while President-elect after he decided to forgo the traditional President’s Daily Brief (PDB), a highly classified intelligence briefing, in favor of a weekly one. Many sought to portray this as arrogance or negligence by the future Commander-in-Chief.

Suffice it to say, only a select few individuals know what goes into the PDB, and fewer still are privy to the sort of advising the President receives on a daily basis, be it in an official brief or otherwise.

To casually report that the President is making decisions that cost American lives over perceptions of insufficient intelligence is a dangerous and likely politically motivated precedent.

Warfare is by nature unpredictable and chaotic. Tragedies will happen when we engage in high risk operations against a determined and capable enemy. This is no surprise to the readers of SOFREP, but it bears repeating as we are inundated with coverage that does its best to mention the death of a SEAL and President Trump in one breath.

The President will have plenty of opportunities over the next four years to prove the merit of his decision-making capability. For mainstream media to blame the loss of an American service member in combat to a new administration is reckless and completely ignores the reality of our era of perpetual conflict.

Image courtesy of US Air Force