Retired Navy Captain, Vietnam War hero, and political traitor, John McPain on recent Navy Seal raid in Yemen, from Military.com [1]
“While many of the objectives of the recent raid in Yemen were met, I would not describe any operation that results in the loss of American life as a success,”
By McPain’s standards, we might as well abolish our military
From History.net [2]:
The battle [of Okinawa] had been among the most brutal of the Pacific War. The Navy suffered its greatest casualties for a single engagement. More than 12,000 Americans were killed and a further 50,000 were wounded. More than 150,000 Japanese — many of them civilians — were killed during the battle. Despite the casualties, preparations were quickly underway for the long-anticipated invasion of Japan. All hands turned to in order to begin preparations to invade Kyushu. Already, Army Air Forces bomber groups that had been in Europe on V-E Day joined Marine Tactical Air Force units operating from Okinawa’s airfields and thousands of American, British and Canadian carrier-based aircraft in the prelanding bombardment that was to lay waste to the southernmost Home Island before a contemplated October invasion was set in motion.
Not having access to a classified military briefing, I remain mute on the question if the Yemen raid was a success. However having passed high school history, I can state that no military victory worth winning comes without a price in blood. As, I am sure that any United Naval Academy graduate would have known.