Trump Approves Botched Yemen Raid Killing Navy SEAL Owens and 23+ Civilians Including 8-Year-Old American Girl

President Trump authorized his first military operation—a raid on the Yemeni village of Yakla targeting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula—resulting in the death of Navy SEAL Chief William “Ryan” Owens, at least 23 civilians including nine children and six women, and an 8-year-old American girl, Nawar al-Awlaki (daughter of deceased al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki). Three additional U.S. service members were injured and a $75 million MV-22 Osprey aircraft crash-landed and had to be destroyed.

The operation, planned under Obama but not executed due to concerns, was approved by Trump just nine days into his presidency reportedly over dinner without sufficient situational awareness. The raid targeted Sheikh Abdelraouf al-Dhahab, who local sources said was working with the U.S.-backed Yemeni government rather than al-Qaeda. The White House claimed “14 of those killed were AQAP terrorists,” but witnesses disputed this characterization and reported the operation killed primarily civilians.

William Owens’ father refused to meet President Trump at Dover Air Force Base and later demanded a full investigation into the raid’s planning and approval, stating: “Why at this time did there have to be this ridiculous mission when it wasn’t even barely a week into his administration?” He criticized Trump for approving the operation without proper preparation: “I think these people who are dead would probably be alive today if the Obama administration had approved it, or if they had not authorized it.”

Trump later invoked Ryan Owens’ widow, Carryn Owens, during his first address to Congress in February 2017, using her grief for a standing ovation while deflecting blame for the raid’s failure. U.S. Central Command opened an investigation into the civilian casualties, but Trump prematurely declared the raid “very successful” despite it failing to capture any high-value targets and resulting in significant American and civilian casualties.

The botched operation revealed Trump’s reckless approach to military decision-making: approving complex operations without proper review, deflecting responsibility for failures, and exploiting military sacrifice for political theater.