Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters told Melissa Francis of Fox News on Wednesday that it is a "stretch" for the media to blame President Donald Trump for the outcome of the raid in Yemen that killed one Navy SEAL.
Francis had brought up an argument that the raid was a failure because it disturbed local dynamics, which plays into the hands of the terrorists.
Peters didn't buy the theory.
"But, I think this is really a local Yemeni problem," he said. "Yemen is a failed state and it's going to continue to be a failed state. We have to go after the leadership of al Qaeda, of ISIS and other groups wherever we find them and, you know, sometimes it's a tricky dance to do it."
He added that it is a stretch to place full blame on Trump for the death of the Navy SEAL, saying "the bottom line here is it's unfair to expect perfection in war."
Peters made a comparison between the Yemeni raid and former President Barack Obama's raid in Pakistan that captured Osama bin Laden.
"Melissa, if I may add one more thing about this," he said. "The media are blaming President Trump for the failure of this raid. That is a stretch. He is no more responsible for the difficulties, not failures, but the difficulties of this raid than Obama was responsible for the SEAL's success against bin Laden. Presidents aren't on the ground fighting. You know, it's about the guys with the guns."