The grieving father of Navy SEAL officer William “Ryan” Owens, who was killed during President Trump’s first counter-terrorism operation in Yemen back in January, is calling for a probe to find out if the mission was properly executed. Disgusted also by Trump’s antics and actions in office, Bill Owens admitted to the Miami Herald that he refused to meet with the president following his son’s death. Ryan Owens’ body arrived at Dover Air Force Base in flag-draped coffin transported by a C-17 military plane. The family requested a private transfer and learned only a short time prior to the ceremony that Donald Trump and daughter Ivanka were coming.
A father’s love strong enough to stand up for truth
Bill Owens is also a military veteran and said he was disturbed by Donald Trump’s attacks on the Gold Star Khan family. Sickened by the idea of shaking the hand of the man who approved his son’s fatal mission, Owens told the chaplain he didn’t want to make a scene but he did not want to see or speak with the president. Bill and his wife Marie sat in another room while Trump paid respects to other family members.
The rush to put boots on the ground
Questions have been raised as to whether or not the mission was even necessary. Bill Owens questions “why did there have to be this stupid mission when Trump was barely a week into his presidency?” He wondered why there had to be this “grand display.” Initially, the White House claimed the Yemen raid uncovered information essential to preventing planned terror plots.
However, a video obtained in the operation and released by the military turned out to be something that was a decade old. Then there are reports that Trump approved an operation without sufficient intelligence and instead of watching the mission in the Situation Room, he was off somewhere tweeting. Members of Congress, including war hero Senator John McCain have criticized the mission, but the White House continues to insist the mission was a success. In fact, press secretary Sean Spicer says questioning the success of the botched raid is offensive to the dead soldier, who would have turned 37 next week.
