An American in the Special Forces has been killed in Yemen. Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, was the first known U.S. casualty there and the first indication that U.S. ground forces are active in the war in that country.
This week, President Trump went to Dover Air Force Base to pay tribute to Mr. Owens and to underscore that every American soldier is a hero and every life lost in war is a tragic loss. The death of Mr. Owens should make us look twice at this unwinnable, cynical, and absurd military engagement.
Before this, as far as the American public has been aware, the only U.S. involvement in that intra-Muslim conflict, which has been going on since 2014, has been providing extensive air and logistics support to aircraft of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states engaged in the Yemen war.
The war itself has basically on one side a Shiite Muslim group, the Houthis, who also have on their side Sunni Muslim forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Houthis control the Yemeni capital, Sana‘a, and the largest part of its territory. The Houthis, as Shiites, are backed by Iran, which has been somewhat stingy with its support.
On the other side are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and some other Sunni Muslim states of the region, backed by the United States. Their Yemeni clients are headed by the current Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was in exile in Saudi Arabia but is now believed to be based in Aden in southern Yemen. The bombing campaign this side has carried out in the war has been virtually devoid of any consciousness of human-rights considerations — targeting hospitals, schools, and other civilian targets without restraint.
The American team that went in Sunday was targeting al-Qaeda operatives and seeking intelligence documents. Women and children were reportedly killed in the process. The team also lost a $72 million Osprey helicopter, which crashed and had to be destroyed.
The death of an American soldier matters. The introduction of U.S. ground forces into the Yemen conflict must be debated. The American people have not been told why, in addition to Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, and Syria, we are in Yemen.
The loss of one American life in Yemen is too many.
First Published February 3, 2017, 5:00 a.m.