Raid in Yemen Raising Questions
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.</s>ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Isa Soares in London. Let me up to date on the main news headlines this hour -</s>VAUSE: The joint U.S./United Arab Emirates raid in Yemen is raising questions about President Trump's approach to fighting terrorism. The assault killed 14 al Qaeda fighters, 10 civilians and a U.S. Navy SEAL. Chief U.S. security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, reports on what went wrong.</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, new information that President Trump was actively involved in the decision making on the Yemen raid up until the final hours. On January 25th, four days before the mission, the president was briefed by national security advisor, Michael Flynn, and then again during a 10-person White House later dinner that evening. The dinner, at Mr. Trump's request, included his three closest aids, chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and senior advisors, Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon.</s>SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He, then, on that evening, had a dinner meeting where the operation was laid out in great extent.</s>SCIUTTO: Like many high-risk military missions, the planning was months in the making. The initial proposed plans were first sent to the Pentagon on November 7th during the Obama administration and one day before the election. Department of Defense lawyers and legal experts then reviewed the details before approving the plan and sending it to the National Security Council on December 19th. Next, it was reviewed by defense, state and the National Security Council. But one final delay, waiting for a moonless night to help conceal U.S. Special Operators. That would not come until late in January after the swearing in of Donald Trump. The new president gave final approval on January 26t h, one day after the White House dinner, three days to mission launch.</s>SPICER: This was a very, very well thought out and executed effort.</s>SCIUTTO: The raid targeted a suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula compound in Yemen. U.S. Navy SEALs and UAES Special Operators encountered AQAP fighters as they approached the compound. According to the Pentagon, the fighters, including some females, positioned themselves along rooftops on adjacent buildings, pinning down U.S.-led forces. Aircraft conducted an airstrike, leading 23 civilian deaths, according to an NGO. The al Qaeda fighters used heavy arms, killing Navy SEAL William Ryan Owens. An Osprey was damaged as it tried to land to rescue the wounded. Special Operators took intelligence materials from the compound, including computer hard drives.</s>SPICER: When you look at what was gained to prevent the future loss of life here in America, and against our people and our institutions and throughout the world, in terms of what these individuals could have done, I think it is a successful operation by all standards.</s>SCIUTTO (on camera): Tonight, Obama administration officials are disputing the Trump administration claim this was a raid in Yemen approved by President Obama first. They say, one, that's not true. Two, that's not the way things are done, that a raid like this, with this sensitivity on the ground, would not be approved, in their words, weeks or months in advance. Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.</s>SOARES: Allegations of Russian fake news campaigns are popping up throughout Europe. We'll take you to Prague where the fight is going full tilt.