1 00:00:01,340 --> 00:00:03,562 I'm sorry . We're having a conversation 2 00:00:03,562 --> 00:00:05,150 and we were done good . 3 00:00:08,740 --> 00:00:11,550 Alright . I have quite a few things to 4 00:00:11,550 --> 00:00:13,960 get through at the top . So please bear 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,060 with me . Um 6 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,670 So today , following completion of 7 00:00:21,670 --> 00:00:25,590 the U . S . Army's Army Forces command 8 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,720 independent review Into civilian 9 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:29,776 casualties that occurred on 18 March 10 00:00:29,776 --> 00:00:32,950 2019 in the vicinity of baku Syria . 11 00:00:32,950 --> 00:00:35,006 The secretary issued a memorandum to 12 00:00:35,006 --> 00:00:37,228 the services and the combatant commands 13 00:00:37,228 --> 00:00:39,283 reaffirming the importance of timely 14 00:00:39,283 --> 00:00:41,506 reporting an intimate command oversight 15 00:00:41,506 --> 00:00:43,561 of civilian casualty allegations and 16 00:00:43,561 --> 00:00:45,561 incidents . And while the secretary 17 00:00:45,561 --> 00:00:47,672 remains confident that leaders across 18 00:00:47,672 --> 00:00:47,510 the department continue to share his 19 00:00:47,510 --> 00:00:49,399 commitment to protecting innocent 20 00:00:49,399 --> 00:00:51,177 civilians in the conduct of our 21 00:00:51,177 --> 00:00:53,454 operations , he was as he communicated , 22 00:00:53,454 --> 00:00:55,510 the department disappointed to learn 23 00:00:55,510 --> 00:00:57,732 that several aspects of this particular 24 00:00:57,732 --> 00:00:59,566 review , miss deadlines accepted 25 00:00:59,566 --> 00:01:01,343 informational deficiencies that 26 00:01:01,343 --> 00:01:03,454 prevented making complete assessments 27 00:01:03,500 --> 00:01:05,556 and were left open for many months . 28 00:01:05,556 --> 00:01:08,460 His memo today laid out five clear 29 00:01:08,460 --> 00:01:10,571 steps that he expects leaders to take 30 00:01:10,571 --> 00:01:12,793 to avoid such delays in the future . By 31 00:01:12,793 --> 00:01:15,016 now you should have all received copies 32 00:01:15,016 --> 00:01:17,182 of both . The secretary's memo as well 33 00:01:17,182 --> 00:01:19,182 as General Garrett's summary of the 34 00:01:19,182 --> 00:01:21,470 baggers review in your inbox . Both are 35 00:01:21,470 --> 00:01:23,414 also going to be available if they 36 00:01:23,414 --> 00:01:25,303 aren't already on defense dot gov 37 00:01:25,303 --> 00:01:27,359 website . So preserving our valuable 38 00:01:27,359 --> 00:01:29,470 time here together , I'm I'm going to 39 00:01:29,470 --> 00:01:31,526 refrain from reading them all out to 40 00:01:31,526 --> 00:01:33,748 you in detail but I do encourage you to 41 00:01:33,748 --> 00:01:36,120 encourage you to go review both General 42 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,960 Garrett's executive summary as well as 43 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:41,590 the Secretary's memo which again lays 44 00:01:41,590 --> 00:01:43,740 out the reviews , methodologies , the 45 00:01:43,740 --> 00:01:45,184 key findings accompanying 46 00:01:45,184 --> 00:01:47,340 recommendations and of course the 47 00:01:47,350 --> 00:01:49,461 specific direction that the secretary 48 00:01:49,461 --> 00:01:51,850 is given now to the department . Both 49 00:01:51,850 --> 00:01:54,450 of those documents and outcomes will be 50 00:01:54,450 --> 00:01:56,110 fully incorporated into the 51 00:01:56,110 --> 00:01:58,054 department's broader civilian harm 52 00:01:58,054 --> 00:02:00,166 mitigation and response action plan , 53 00:02:00,166 --> 00:02:02,166 which was directed by the secretary 54 00:02:02,166 --> 00:02:05,470 back in january . Um And uh chris Mayer , 55 00:02:05,470 --> 00:02:09,020 the the uh the Assistant Secretary for 56 00:02:09,020 --> 00:02:11,076 Special operations and low intensity 57 00:02:11,076 --> 00:02:13,490 conflict is hard at work on getting the 58 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:15,550 work of that uh civilian harm 59 00:02:15,550 --> 00:02:17,550 mitigation and response action plan 60 00:02:17,550 --> 00:02:19,606 done and getting his team in place . 61 00:02:19,606 --> 00:02:23,350 That work is ongoing . Uh Switching 62 00:02:23,350 --> 00:02:26,150 topics to suicide obviously remains a 63 00:02:26,150 --> 00:02:28,270 challenging issue here uh in the 64 00:02:28,270 --> 00:02:30,381 department . And of course across the 65 00:02:30,381 --> 00:02:32,270 country back in March , you might 66 00:02:32,270 --> 00:02:34,492 remember that the secretary established 67 00:02:34,492 --> 00:02:36,492 the suicide prevention and Response 68 00:02:36,492 --> 00:02:38,714 Independent Review committee to conduct 69 00:02:38,714 --> 00:02:40,381 a comprehensive review of the 70 00:02:40,381 --> 00:02:42,381 department's efforts to address and 71 00:02:42,381 --> 00:02:44,603 prevent suicide in the military . Today 72 00:02:44,603 --> 00:02:46,603 we're announcing that the committee 73 00:02:46,603 --> 00:02:48,930 will be led by Dr Gail Iwamasa , a 74 00:02:48,930 --> 00:02:51,050 leading expert in mental health from 75 00:02:51,050 --> 00:02:53,106 the Department of Veterans Affairs . 76 00:02:53,106 --> 00:02:55,328 She will be joined by committee members 77 00:02:55,328 --> 00:02:57,550 who are experts in their own respective 78 00:02:57,550 --> 00:02:59,772 fields and who collectively represent a 79 00:02:59,772 --> 00:03:01,772 public health approach to suicide . 80 00:03:01,772 --> 00:03:03,883 They will be supported by consultants 81 00:03:03,883 --> 00:03:05,994 who will add critical perspectives in 82 00:03:05,994 --> 00:03:07,883 the areas of officer and enlisted 83 00:03:07,883 --> 00:03:10,106 leadership , the needs and perspectives 84 00:03:10,106 --> 00:03:12,217 of our military families and the role 85 00:03:12,217 --> 00:03:13,883 of chaplains uh in uh suicide 86 00:03:13,883 --> 00:03:15,939 prevention . With that the committee 87 00:03:15,939 --> 00:03:18,106 members are in Washington this week to 88 00:03:18,106 --> 00:03:20,272 begin their work . Uh And in july they 89 00:03:20,272 --> 00:03:22,439 will start visits to the installations 90 00:03:22,439 --> 00:03:24,161 that were named in the on site 91 00:03:24,161 --> 00:03:26,328 installation evaluation report back in 92 00:03:26,328 --> 00:03:28,383 March which we've talked about . The 93 00:03:28,383 --> 00:03:30,494 review of these initial installations 94 00:03:30,494 --> 00:03:32,439 will yield recommendations for the 95 00:03:32,439 --> 00:03:34,550 department that can be applied across 96 00:03:34,550 --> 00:03:36,550 our force . The committee's initial 97 00:03:36,550 --> 00:03:38,439 report is due to the secretary in 98 00:03:38,439 --> 00:03:40,328 december . Their final report and 99 00:03:40,328 --> 00:03:42,494 recommendations are due to Congress in 100 00:03:42,494 --> 00:03:44,494 february of next year . The list of 101 00:03:44,494 --> 00:03:46,606 members and special consultants , the 102 00:03:46,606 --> 00:03:46,490 committee's charter and the projected 103 00:03:46,490 --> 00:03:48,700 data , I'm sorry , dates . First site 104 00:03:48,700 --> 00:03:51,470 visits will be posted on defense dot 105 00:03:51,470 --> 00:03:54,140 gov . Moving over to 106 00:03:54,140 --> 00:03:57,430 uh NATO naval striking and support 107 00:03:57,430 --> 00:03:59,850 forces NATO and U . S . Navy six fleet 108 00:03:59,850 --> 00:04:02,110 in europe were kicked off the NATO led 109 00:04:02,110 --> 00:04:04,166 activity Neptune shield today . This 110 00:04:04,166 --> 00:04:05,943 activity increases the pace and 111 00:04:05,943 --> 00:04:08,277 flexibility of command and control of U . 112 00:04:08,277 --> 00:04:10,166 S . Naval and amphibious forces . 113 00:04:10,166 --> 00:04:12,054 Between six fleet . The Harry S . 114 00:04:12,054 --> 00:04:14,166 Truman Carrier strike group operating 115 00:04:14,166 --> 00:04:16,332 in the Mediterranean sea USs kearsarge 116 00:04:16,332 --> 00:04:18,554 amphibious ready group that's operating 117 00:04:18,554 --> 00:04:20,388 in the Baltic sea along with the 118 00:04:20,388 --> 00:04:22,721 embarked 22nd Marine expeditionary unit . 119 00:04:22,721 --> 00:04:24,777 All be placed under NATO operational 120 00:04:24,777 --> 00:04:26,999 control through the end of May . Uh And 121 00:04:26,999 --> 00:04:28,666 this activity will serve as a 122 00:04:28,666 --> 00:04:30,980 centerpiece for fostering NATO allies 123 00:04:30,980 --> 00:04:32,924 ability to cooperate and integrate 124 00:04:32,924 --> 00:04:35,250 effectively . The Neptune shield 22 125 00:04:35,250 --> 00:04:37,700 follows Previous activities , Neptune 126 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:40,970 challenge in October 2021 and Neptune 127 00:04:40,970 --> 00:04:43,081 strike in January to February of this 128 00:04:43,081 --> 00:04:46,050 earlier this year . Uh Finally uh 129 00:04:46,060 --> 00:04:49,240 scheduling wise . The secretary uh will 130 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,530 be returning this evening uh from his 131 00:04:51,530 --> 00:04:54,610 trip to the U . A . Um he will meet 132 00:04:54,620 --> 00:04:57,120 various counterparts the remainder of 133 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,400 this week . Tomorrow . He will meet 134 00:04:59,410 --> 00:05:02,600 with the Swedish Defense Minister on 135 00:05:02,610 --> 00:05:04,790 thursday . He will meet with the 136 00:05:04,790 --> 00:05:07,320 spanish defense Minister as well as the 137 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:09,880 Israeli Defense Minister . Um and then 138 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:11,880 on friday he'll he'll meet with his 139 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:13,991 Colombian counterpart . Um we'll have 140 00:05:13,991 --> 00:05:16,760 obviously uh photo sprays and and 141 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:18,593 access at the beginning of these 142 00:05:18,593 --> 00:05:20,760 meetings as well as readouts after the 143 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,230 fact . And with that take questions 144 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,567 Leader , thank you for being with me . 145 00:05:26,190 --> 00:05:28,960 So just one on a goose . 146 00:05:31,140 --> 00:05:33,820 It appears that he found that no one , 147 00:05:33,830 --> 00:05:35,941 there were no violations of law award 148 00:05:35,941 --> 00:05:39,830 etcetera . But were there no findings 149 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:43,160 that anyone either or got a 150 00:05:43,540 --> 00:05:45,920 letter of reprimand or anything in in 151 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:47,976 these multiple failures for filing , 152 00:05:47,976 --> 00:05:50,260 Not on time etcetera etcetera . No , 153 00:05:50,260 --> 00:05:53,860 the the the general Garrett did not see 154 00:05:53,870 --> 00:05:57,270 uh the need , because of the process , 155 00:05:57,280 --> 00:05:59,336 the compliance deficiencies . He did 156 00:05:59,336 --> 00:06:01,520 not find a need to have personal 157 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:03,690 accountability for those . And then 158 00:06:03,700 --> 00:06:06,560 just on Ukraine , Mariupol appears 159 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,610 either fallen or on the brink of 160 00:06:08,610 --> 00:06:10,277 falling . What is the U . S . 161 00:06:10,277 --> 00:06:12,850 Assessment of the impact of that at 162 00:06:12,850 --> 00:06:16,250 this point ? And do you 163 00:06:16,250 --> 00:06:20,080 believe that the city is 164 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,080 actually now under complete Russian 165 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,080 control ? I would point you back to 166 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,080 what the Ukrainian Ministry Defense 167 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,080 said themselves , which is that the 168 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,358 combat mission in Mario opal has ended , 169 00:06:30,358 --> 00:06:32,302 I think . Um we we certainly would 170 00:06:32,302 --> 00:06:34,469 defer to them the Ukrainians to define 171 00:06:34,740 --> 00:06:38,300 what's going on there . Um , uh , 172 00:06:38,310 --> 00:06:41,650 look , uh , no question that the , 173 00:06:42,140 --> 00:06:44,130 that the civilians that were stuck 174 00:06:44,140 --> 00:06:46,680 there at the plant who have finally 175 00:06:46,690 --> 00:06:48,890 been able to get out and the soldiers 176 00:06:48,890 --> 00:06:51,790 that that continued to resist their did 177 00:06:51,790 --> 00:06:54,280 so bravely and skilfully . Um , and 178 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:57,690 it's uh , it's quite admirable to think 179 00:06:57,700 --> 00:07:01,250 how long they were able to to hold out . 180 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,420 Um , and President Zelensky referred to 181 00:07:04,420 --> 00:07:06,531 them as heroes . I think we would all 182 00:07:06,531 --> 00:07:08,810 agree with that . Um , what this means 183 00:07:08,820 --> 00:07:11,042 is difficult to know at this particular 184 00:07:11,042 --> 00:07:13,264 time . And again , I want to be careful 185 00:07:13,264 --> 00:07:16,040 not to speak to , you know , 186 00:07:16,050 --> 00:07:19,880 Russian intent here or or they're 187 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,890 planning process , but we have long 188 00:07:22,890 --> 00:07:25,057 talked about the significance of Mario 189 00:07:25,057 --> 00:07:27,168 pole as a major economic ports on the 190 00:07:27,168 --> 00:07:30,260 sea of Azov . Um , and uh , 191 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,440 also geographically relevant to the 192 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,551 fighting in the east , sort of at the 193 00:07:36,551 --> 00:07:39,310 southern end of the year of where the 194 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,860 Donbas region cuts across the 195 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:46,160 the extreme east of Ukraine . Um , and 196 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,382 we have long talked about the fact that 197 00:07:48,382 --> 00:07:50,438 we believe the Russians , uh , we're 198 00:07:50,438 --> 00:07:52,650 going to try to encircle Ukrainian 199 00:07:52,650 --> 00:07:54,706 troops that are in the Donbas region 200 00:07:54,706 --> 00:07:56,817 and in the east , uh , and to be able 201 00:07:56,817 --> 00:07:58,928 to free up forces to do that from the 202 00:07:58,928 --> 00:08:01,150 south meant Mario people . Uh , what 203 00:08:01,150 --> 00:08:03,510 was important to them . So , again , 204 00:08:03,510 --> 00:08:06,280 I'll let the Ukrainians speak to , to 205 00:08:06,290 --> 00:08:09,770 to the mission itself , but , but it's 206 00:08:09,780 --> 00:08:12,002 it's clear that the Russians still have 207 00:08:12,002 --> 00:08:14,450 an intent here to , uh , to encircle 208 00:08:14,450 --> 00:08:17,000 and to occupy the Donbas and the east 209 00:08:17,010 --> 00:08:19,121 eastern part of the country . I would 210 00:08:19,121 --> 00:08:21,343 add , lita that they have not succeeded 211 00:08:21,343 --> 00:08:24,720 in that mary opal aside , the fighting 212 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,887 still goes on in the Donbass . There's 213 00:08:26,887 --> 00:08:29,109 a lot of back and forth . It's a very , 214 00:08:29,109 --> 00:08:31,053 as we say at the pentagon , it's a 215 00:08:31,053 --> 00:08:33,220 kinetic fight . There's a lot going on 216 00:08:33,220 --> 00:08:35,164 still there and the Ukrainians are 217 00:08:35,164 --> 00:08:34,970 still putting up a very stiff 218 00:08:34,970 --> 00:08:37,130 resistance and towns and villages 219 00:08:37,140 --> 00:08:41,050 throughout the Donbas gen , john , 220 00:08:41,050 --> 00:08:43,217 in terms of these reports , going back 221 00:08:43,217 --> 00:08:45,106 to the bag news report , how come 222 00:08:45,106 --> 00:08:47,050 nobody is ever punished when these 223 00:08:47,050 --> 00:08:49,106 reports come out ? There's never any 224 00:08:49,106 --> 00:08:51,217 accountability , jen , I think , uh , 225 00:08:51,217 --> 00:08:53,439 and you've been covering the pentagon a 226 00:08:53,439 --> 00:08:55,439 long time . You know , that we , we 227 00:08:55,439 --> 00:08:57,661 take leadership and accountability very 228 00:08:57,661 --> 00:08:59,606 seriously here . Um , uh , I'm not 229 00:08:59,606 --> 00:08:59,530 gonna lie , I couldn't begin and 230 00:08:59,530 --> 00:09:02,560 wouldn't try to chronicle every single 231 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,320 incident of civilian casualties over 232 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,542 the past years . And the example what I 233 00:09:07,542 --> 00:09:09,764 can talk about here today is bad news . 234 00:09:09,764 --> 00:09:13,600 And the reason why the secretary 235 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,080 wanted a four star who wasn't connected 236 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,080 to the operation in , in any way to 237 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,247 review it was to make sure that we got 238 00:09:20,247 --> 00:09:23,100 it right in terms of how this , the 239 00:09:23,110 --> 00:09:25,620 operation was conducted and how it was 240 00:09:25,620 --> 00:09:27,740 investigated and uh , and dealt with 241 00:09:27,740 --> 00:09:30,350 after the fact . Um , and he has 242 00:09:30,350 --> 00:09:32,560 complete trust and confidence and the 243 00:09:32,570 --> 00:09:34,520 work that General Garrett did and 244 00:09:34,530 --> 00:09:36,252 general Garrett looked at this 245 00:09:36,252 --> 00:09:38,308 exhaustively over the course of many 246 00:09:38,308 --> 00:09:40,530 months uh to make sure that that he 247 00:09:40,530 --> 00:09:42,870 could properly understand what happened 248 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,080 and he did not find and and it's he's 249 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,302 laid it out in that exact some that you 250 00:09:49,302 --> 00:09:51,469 can see for yourself . He did not find 251 00:09:51,469 --> 00:09:53,580 that anybody acted outside the law of 252 00:09:53,580 --> 00:09:55,469 war , that there was no malicious 253 00:09:55,469 --> 00:09:57,747 intent that the ground force commander , 254 00:09:57,747 --> 00:09:59,747 given the information he had at the 255 00:09:59,747 --> 00:10:01,969 time , made the best decisions he could 256 00:10:01,969 --> 00:10:04,191 in the moment against a very aggressive 257 00:10:04,191 --> 00:10:07,750 ISIS force . Um uh And he also found 258 00:10:07,750 --> 00:10:10,210 that after the fact there were 259 00:10:10,210 --> 00:10:12,630 deficiencies in the way this this was 260 00:10:12,630 --> 00:10:15,360 investigated and processed . So um 261 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:20,330 I think we uh while we don't always get 262 00:10:20,330 --> 00:10:23,290 everything right , we do try to improve . 263 00:10:23,300 --> 00:10:25,356 We do try to be as transparent as we 264 00:10:25,356 --> 00:10:27,960 can about what we learn . Um And and 265 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:30,182 we're standing up here taking questions 266 00:10:30,182 --> 00:10:34,160 about it and not that not that the I 267 00:10:34,170 --> 00:10:36,337 don't want to , well , I'll just leave 268 00:10:36,337 --> 00:10:38,503 it at that . And just as a follow up , 269 00:10:38,503 --> 00:10:40,392 there's a new D . O . D . I . G . 270 00:10:40,392 --> 00:10:42,392 Report on Afghanistan , there are a 271 00:10:42,392 --> 00:10:44,392 series of reports about to come out 272 00:10:44,392 --> 00:10:46,614 about the withdrawal from Afghanistan . 273 00:10:46,614 --> 00:10:48,950 And one of the conclusions is that ISIS 274 00:10:48,950 --> 00:10:51,850 K . Is on the rise there in recruiting 275 00:10:51,860 --> 00:10:54,460 and that the there's an assessment than 276 00:10:54,460 --> 00:10:57,120 in the next 12 to 24 months . This is a 277 00:10:57,130 --> 00:10:59,630 sitcom assessment that the Al Qaeda 278 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:01,473 will be given greater freedom of 279 00:11:01,473 --> 00:11:03,751 movement by the Taliban in Afghanistan . 280 00:11:03,751 --> 00:11:05,418 Doesn't this suggest that the 281 00:11:05,418 --> 00:11:08,450 withdrawal was a mistake was a failure . 282 00:11:08,460 --> 00:11:10,571 And what are you going to do about it 283 00:11:10,571 --> 00:11:12,793 with the rise of Al Qaeda and Isis Cape 284 00:11:12,793 --> 00:11:14,904 being documented in your own report ? 285 00:11:14,904 --> 00:11:18,560 We had , we had long said that uh that 286 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:21,230 it was possible that that groups like 287 00:11:21,230 --> 00:11:23,900 Isis K . Um and even Al Qaeda could try 288 00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:25,567 to find a renewed foothold in 289 00:11:25,567 --> 00:11:28,530 Afghanistan with , with our departure 290 00:11:28,540 --> 00:11:30,760 from Afghanistan . But I don't believe 291 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:32,593 that we would all agree that our 292 00:11:32,593 --> 00:11:34,427 departure from Afghanistan was a 293 00:11:34,427 --> 00:11:36,440 mistake with our troops had fought 294 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,662 there for 20 years had accomplished the 295 00:11:38,662 --> 00:11:40,607 mission for which they were sent , 296 00:11:40,607 --> 00:11:42,718 there has been no 9 11 like attack on 297 00:11:42,718 --> 00:11:45,370 the United States uh since the attack 298 00:11:45,370 --> 00:11:47,592 that emanated from Afghanistan . And in 299 00:11:47,592 --> 00:11:49,537 the process , we've certainly made 300 00:11:49,537 --> 00:11:52,660 improvements in Afghanistan . We've 301 00:11:52,670 --> 00:11:55,360 talked about this so , so much since 302 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,990 the summertime gen but the president 303 00:11:57,990 --> 00:12:00,101 made the absolute right decision that 304 00:12:00,101 --> 00:12:02,530 it was time for that war to end time to 305 00:12:02,530 --> 00:12:04,820 bring the rest of those troops home and 306 00:12:04,820 --> 00:12:08,150 that staying and therefore 307 00:12:08,540 --> 00:12:11,080 violating the Doha agreement was only 308 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,136 going to require putting more troops 309 00:12:13,136 --> 00:12:15,570 back in in contact with the Taliban and 310 00:12:15,570 --> 00:12:17,681 and lead to an extension of the war . 311 00:12:17,681 --> 00:12:19,848 But this says on page 14 , the D . I . 312 00:12:19,848 --> 00:12:22,130 A Defense Intelligence Agency assesses 313 00:12:22,130 --> 00:12:24,460 that ISIS K . Could direct attacks 314 00:12:24,940 --> 00:12:27,162 against the U . S . Homeland within the 315 00:12:27,162 --> 00:12:29,920 next year . That seems to me like a 316 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,280 problem . We we've noted that that 317 00:12:33,290 --> 00:12:35,068 groups like ISIS K could try to 318 00:12:35,068 --> 00:12:37,123 reconstitute themselves . And that's 319 00:12:37,123 --> 00:12:39,346 why we're working continually on making 320 00:12:39,346 --> 00:12:41,179 sure we've got a strong over the 321 00:12:41,179 --> 00:12:40,980 horizon counterterrorism capabilities . 322 00:12:40,980 --> 00:12:43,147 Why we're working with partner nations 323 00:12:43,147 --> 00:12:45,202 to be able to do that . And and it's 324 00:12:45,202 --> 00:12:47,202 not like we don't it's not like , I 325 00:12:47,202 --> 00:12:49,258 mean , you just read something right 326 00:12:49,258 --> 00:12:51,424 from the from D . I A from the Defense 327 00:12:51,424 --> 00:12:53,480 Intelligence Agency , which ought to 328 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,702 tell you exactly my point , which is we 329 00:12:55,702 --> 00:12:55,300 are watching this . We are monitoring 330 00:12:55,300 --> 00:12:57,522 this . We're not we're not just sitting 331 00:12:57,522 --> 00:12:59,744 idly by waiting for another group to be 332 00:12:59,744 --> 00:13:01,744 able to develop a capability and we 333 00:13:01,744 --> 00:13:03,856 have over the horizon capabilities to 334 00:13:03,856 --> 00:13:06,022 deal with that . You don't have anyone 335 00:13:06,022 --> 00:13:05,390 on the ground . And so you're going to 336 00:13:05,390 --> 00:13:07,501 have more Civ cast , which is related 337 00:13:07,501 --> 00:13:09,810 to the news report . Why would we have 338 00:13:09,810 --> 00:13:11,699 more safe cast have anyone on the 339 00:13:11,699 --> 00:13:13,810 ground to actually spot ? How are you 340 00:13:13,810 --> 00:13:15,977 going to go after it again , jen we've 341 00:13:15,977 --> 00:13:17,977 talked about the fact that over the 342 00:13:17,977 --> 00:13:17,930 horizon , counterterrorism is gonna be 343 00:13:17,930 --> 00:13:20,097 more difficult . It's not impossible , 344 00:13:20,097 --> 00:13:22,263 but it is going to be more difficult . 345 00:13:22,263 --> 00:13:24,208 And I actually take issue with the 346 00:13:24,208 --> 00:13:24,190 presumption that just because we don't 347 00:13:24,190 --> 00:13:26,134 have people on the ground , that's 348 00:13:26,134 --> 00:13:28,412 gonna lead to more civilian casualties . 349 00:13:28,412 --> 00:13:30,634 We haven't done a strike in Afghanistan 350 00:13:30,634 --> 00:13:32,801 since we left that we haven't felt the 351 00:13:32,801 --> 00:13:34,857 need to do that . And it's not about 352 00:13:34,857 --> 00:13:36,746 hitting every single terrorist in 353 00:13:36,746 --> 00:13:38,746 Afghanistan anytime you want . It's 354 00:13:38,746 --> 00:13:40,523 about metering over the horizon 355 00:13:40,523 --> 00:13:42,730 capabilities , uh , for direct threats 356 00:13:42,740 --> 00:13:44,962 and attacks to our interests and to and 357 00:13:44,962 --> 00:13:47,018 to our country . And we just haven't 358 00:13:47,018 --> 00:13:49,129 seen that materialized . But the fact 359 00:13:49,129 --> 00:13:51,351 that you read it from D . I . A . Tells 360 00:13:51,351 --> 00:13:53,573 you should tell you that we are keeping 361 00:13:53,573 --> 00:13:53,180 an eye on this , We are watching this 362 00:13:53,180 --> 00:13:55,347 and that's not all that different than 363 00:13:55,347 --> 00:13:57,569 what General Milley or Secretary Austin 364 00:13:57,569 --> 00:13:59,402 said months ago in congressional 365 00:13:59,402 --> 00:14:02,070 testimony . Yeah , john , this report 366 00:14:02,070 --> 00:14:04,181 focuses on the on the bamboo strike . 367 00:14:04,181 --> 00:14:06,292 But if you look back in Afghanistan , 368 00:14:06,292 --> 00:14:08,237 even with the Secretary's focus on 369 00:14:08,237 --> 00:14:10,403 civilian casualties , there appears to 370 00:14:10,403 --> 00:14:12,459 be a pattern emerging here of no one 371 00:14:12,459 --> 00:14:14,626 being held accountable . And what does 372 00:14:14,626 --> 00:14:16,459 it take for accountability to be 373 00:14:16,459 --> 00:14:16,010 imposed or for someone to be held 374 00:14:16,010 --> 00:14:18,121 accountable for civilian casualties ? 375 00:14:18,121 --> 00:14:20,177 Because you seem to be saying that , 376 00:14:20,177 --> 00:14:22,343 look , as long as there's no malicious 377 00:14:22,343 --> 00:14:24,399 intent , the number is irrelevant of 378 00:14:24,399 --> 00:14:26,343 civilian casualties . Well , we've 379 00:14:26,343 --> 00:14:25,780 never said that or in and again , I 380 00:14:25,780 --> 00:14:28,002 think we would take issue with that . I 381 00:14:28,002 --> 00:14:30,113 mean , we're standing up here talking 382 00:14:30,113 --> 00:14:32,224 about civilian casualties . You don't 383 00:14:32,224 --> 00:14:34,280 see that coming out of Ukraine , you 384 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:33,700 don't see that coming out of the 385 00:14:33,700 --> 00:14:35,730 Russian Ministry of Defense were 386 00:14:35,730 --> 00:14:37,841 actually answering for it . And we're 387 00:14:37,841 --> 00:14:40,008 releasing an unclassified summary of a 388 00:14:40,008 --> 00:14:41,674 classified report on civilian 389 00:14:41,674 --> 00:14:43,563 casualties . Of course we take it 390 00:14:43,563 --> 00:14:45,786 seriously . We wouldn't wait a second . 391 00:14:45,786 --> 00:14:47,841 We wouldn't have stood up a civilian 392 00:14:47,841 --> 00:14:47,760 harm and mitigation response action 393 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:49,927 plan . If we didn't want to get better 394 00:14:49,927 --> 00:14:52,300 at this , but in the accountability 395 00:14:52,300 --> 00:14:54,522 business , and again , I'm not going to 396 00:14:54,522 --> 00:14:56,522 relitigate every single incident of 397 00:14:56,522 --> 00:15:00,160 civilian casualties . Um , but it's war , 398 00:15:00,170 --> 00:15:03,150 it's combat and but 399 00:15:04,140 --> 00:15:06,251 ground force commanders or commanders 400 00:15:06,251 --> 00:15:08,418 in general aren't always going to have 401 00:15:08,418 --> 00:15:10,251 perfect visibility , the kind of 402 00:15:10,251 --> 00:15:12,362 visibility that General Garrett had , 403 00:15:12,362 --> 00:15:12,250 you know , a couple of years now after 404 00:15:12,260 --> 00:15:15,460 uh this strike . Um , and we have to 405 00:15:15,460 --> 00:15:19,170 have a high bar for accountability on 406 00:15:19,170 --> 00:15:21,392 something like this , given that it was 407 00:15:21,392 --> 00:15:23,448 in the midst of combat in the fog of 408 00:15:23,448 --> 00:15:26,270 war . Um , and if you can prove that an 409 00:15:26,270 --> 00:15:28,560 individual deliberately caused civilian 410 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:30,893 casualties and violated the laws of war , 411 00:15:30,893 --> 00:15:33,060 which we actually take seriously . And 412 00:15:33,060 --> 00:15:35,060 the Russians don't , then of course 413 00:15:35,060 --> 00:15:37,227 that would be , that would there would 414 00:15:37,227 --> 00:15:39,116 be cause for , for holding people 415 00:15:39,116 --> 00:15:41,171 accountable ? Absolutely . But if in 416 00:15:41,171 --> 00:15:43,282 the review , as General Garrett did a 417 00:15:43,282 --> 00:15:45,338 review of a previous investigation , 418 00:15:45,338 --> 00:15:47,338 and neither of which found that the 419 00:15:47,338 --> 00:15:49,227 Ground force commander or anybody 420 00:15:49,227 --> 00:15:51,282 involved in that strike violated the 421 00:15:51,282 --> 00:15:53,830 laws of war or acted inappropriately or 422 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:55,396 acted with malicious intent 423 00:15:55,396 --> 00:15:58,360 deliberately wanted to and sort out to 424 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:01,000 kill civilians , then you tell me , 425 00:16:01,010 --> 00:16:03,177 should they be held accountable ? If , 426 00:16:03,177 --> 00:16:05,232 if they were simply doing what their 427 00:16:05,232 --> 00:16:06,954 mission required them to do in 428 00:16:06,954 --> 00:16:08,843 accordance with the laws of war . 429 00:16:08,843 --> 00:16:10,788 That's a , I think that's a pretty 430 00:16:10,788 --> 00:16:13,580 clear standard . Hi , I have two 431 00:16:13,580 --> 00:16:15,636 distinct questions , I'd like to ask 432 00:16:15,636 --> 00:16:17,802 them separately . If I may to give you 433 00:16:17,802 --> 00:16:20,024 the full opportunity to address them in 434 00:16:20,024 --> 00:16:22,191 a robust manner . My first question is 435 00:16:22,191 --> 00:16:24,990 a follow up to jen and you're talking 436 00:16:24,990 --> 00:16:28,580 about you ? No , no , no . A review of 437 00:16:28,580 --> 00:16:31,300 what happened and no violations of the 438 00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:33,300 law of war war . I want to focus on 439 00:16:33,300 --> 00:16:35,356 what you said about Secretary Austin 440 00:16:35,356 --> 00:16:37,189 being upset and I'm paraphrasing 441 00:16:37,189 --> 00:16:38,856 slightly upset at the lack of 442 00:16:38,856 --> 00:16:41,078 timeliness and some of the reporting it 443 00:16:41,078 --> 00:16:43,244 went on by the individuals involved in 444 00:16:43,244 --> 00:16:45,133 a serious strike . He said he was 445 00:16:45,133 --> 00:16:47,189 disappointed , disappointed . Okay , 446 00:16:47,189 --> 00:16:49,300 thank you . Uh those individuals , in 447 00:16:49,300 --> 00:16:51,467 other words , those individuals at the 448 00:16:51,467 --> 00:16:51,310 time , not those involved in making the 449 00:16:51,310 --> 00:16:53,421 decisions on the field , which you've 450 00:16:53,421 --> 00:16:55,532 addressed , but those individuals who 451 00:16:55,532 --> 00:16:57,810 failed to be timely in their reporting , 452 00:16:57,810 --> 00:17:00,032 sloppy in their reporting , etcetera in 453 00:17:00,032 --> 00:17:02,050 the reporting , could they be held 454 00:17:02,050 --> 00:17:04,560 accountable for that type of action ? 455 00:17:04,940 --> 00:17:08,090 Hypothetical question tom I mean , yes , 456 00:17:08,090 --> 00:17:11,240 it is tom tom 457 00:17:11,250 --> 00:17:14,350 tom your question says , could they be 458 00:17:14,360 --> 00:17:15,916 held accountable ? That's a 459 00:17:15,916 --> 00:17:18,249 hypothetical , when you ask it that way , 460 00:17:18,249 --> 00:17:20,360 could they , they , the the secretary 461 00:17:20,360 --> 00:17:22,249 is comfortable with the work that 462 00:17:22,249 --> 00:17:24,471 General Garrett did . Um and that there 463 00:17:24,471 --> 00:17:27,460 were deficiencies that were not only 464 00:17:27,540 --> 00:17:30,370 uh individual individualistic , but 465 00:17:30,380 --> 00:17:32,324 process deficiencies as well . And 466 00:17:32,324 --> 00:17:34,158 that's why and he is holding the 467 00:17:34,158 --> 00:17:36,380 department accountable . If you look at 468 00:17:36,380 --> 00:17:38,602 his memo , he's ordering the department 469 00:17:38,602 --> 00:17:40,436 to talk on five key ways to make 470 00:17:40,436 --> 00:17:42,547 ourselves all more accountable to the 471 00:17:42,547 --> 00:17:44,658 actual process deficiencies that were 472 00:17:44,658 --> 00:17:46,658 conducted in this case , but at the 473 00:17:46,658 --> 00:17:48,880 time that I had a second one on another 474 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,047 topic , you mentioned that the Israeli 475 00:17:51,047 --> 00:17:53,158 defense minister will be here later . 476 00:17:53,158 --> 00:17:52,660 Is planning to be here later this week . 477 00:17:53,580 --> 00:17:55,691 Today the Israeli military launched a 478 00:17:55,691 --> 00:17:57,858 three week exercise called chariots of 479 00:17:57,858 --> 00:18:00,250 fire . To be clear , I'm not going to 480 00:18:00,250 --> 00:18:02,417 ask you to share intelligence from the 481 00:18:02,417 --> 00:18:04,680 podium or anything like that , but I am 482 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:06,847 curious since this drill is underway . 483 00:18:06,847 --> 00:18:08,847 What relationship does the pentagon 484 00:18:08,847 --> 00:18:10,958 have like when Israel conducts drills 485 00:18:10,958 --> 00:18:13,180 like the one going on at the moment and 486 00:18:13,180 --> 00:18:15,236 sharing information , observing that 487 00:18:15,236 --> 00:18:17,740 type of thing . I'm not tracking any 488 00:18:17,750 --> 00:18:20,670 role for us in this speaking . I said 489 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:22,791 do we send observers when the Israeli 490 00:18:22,791 --> 00:18:25,013 military conducts drills ? I don't know 491 00:18:25,013 --> 00:18:27,150 tom I mean every nation's military is 492 00:18:27,150 --> 00:18:29,261 entitled to exercise and to train and 493 00:18:29,261 --> 00:18:31,690 to improve their capabilities . Um We 494 00:18:31,690 --> 00:18:33,912 have exercised and trained with Israeli 495 00:18:33,912 --> 00:18:35,801 defense forces , we have a strong 496 00:18:35,801 --> 00:18:37,634 partnership with them , a strong 497 00:18:37,634 --> 00:18:39,746 military to military relationship . I 498 00:18:39,746 --> 00:18:41,912 do not know what role , if any we have 499 00:18:41,912 --> 00:18:44,079 as observers are involved and involved 500 00:18:44,079 --> 00:18:46,190 at all in this exercise . The U . S . 501 00:18:46,190 --> 00:18:48,190 Air Force would be I didn't I don't 502 00:18:48,190 --> 00:18:50,023 have that . Okay that you've got 503 00:18:50,023 --> 00:18:52,246 something I don't have . I don't know . 504 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,111 I don't know , I'll take the question 505 00:18:55,111 --> 00:18:57,333 and get back to you . I just You got me 506 00:18:57,333 --> 00:18:59,333 on that one . I wasn't prepared for 507 00:18:59,333 --> 00:19:01,520 that on burgers . Straight john you 508 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:03,576 made several several times . When we 509 00:19:03,576 --> 00:19:06,060 talk about this strike , you compared 510 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,860 us treatment to the civilian casualty 511 00:19:08,870 --> 00:19:11,290 claims to the Russian treatment to 512 00:19:11,290 --> 00:19:13,930 these types of operations in Mariupol . 513 00:19:13,930 --> 00:19:15,763 We have seen Russians striking a 514 00:19:15,763 --> 00:19:18,450 building where kids in civilians were . 515 00:19:18,460 --> 00:19:20,682 And we have been reporting about this , 516 00:19:20,682 --> 00:19:23,280 that could be uh , you know , a war 517 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,520 crime . But in in this case we have 518 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:28,464 seen that the women , Children are 519 00:19:28,464 --> 00:19:30,631 being killed . Yes , you are coming up 520 00:19:30,631 --> 00:19:32,298 speaking to these issues in a 521 00:19:32,298 --> 00:19:34,242 transparent way , but that doesn't 522 00:19:34,242 --> 00:19:36,409 change the fact that the United States 523 00:19:36,409 --> 00:19:39,300 military have killed dozens of kids and 524 00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:42,430 women . Why are you making a comparison 525 00:19:42,430 --> 00:19:46,080 with the Russians and just trying to 526 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,590 justify , not trying to justify 527 00:19:49,590 --> 00:19:51,460 anything . Not at all . 528 00:19:53,910 --> 00:19:56,820 The difference is we're admitting . But 529 00:19:56,820 --> 00:19:59,153 yes , we killed some innocent civilians , 530 00:19:59,153 --> 00:20:01,940 women and Children in 2019 and bag of 531 00:20:01,940 --> 00:20:04,250 Syria . It's all out there for you to 532 00:20:04,250 --> 00:20:06,830 see we're admitting that that we made 533 00:20:06,830 --> 00:20:09,180 those mistakes that we killed , that 534 00:20:09,180 --> 00:20:11,347 our operations ended up in the killing 535 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,750 of innocent people . And we do it . And 536 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,210 when we when we in other instances have 537 00:20:17,210 --> 00:20:19,432 been able to prove that we've been able 538 00:20:19,432 --> 00:20:22,290 to say that . Um , but I do think it's 539 00:20:22,290 --> 00:20:25,560 important uh , to note the difference 540 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,616 here and I , and I make no apologies 541 00:20:27,616 --> 00:20:29,727 for this here . I am up here standing 542 00:20:29,727 --> 00:20:33,120 here reading out and a the results of a 543 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:34,953 review of an investigation of an 544 00:20:34,953 --> 00:20:37,120 incident that happened three years ago 545 00:20:37,830 --> 00:20:41,800 in in Syria with as much detail 546 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:43,856 as we can and with much openness and 547 00:20:43,856 --> 00:20:46,300 transparency as we can . And you talked 548 00:20:46,300 --> 00:20:48,356 about Mario opal and you can look at 549 00:20:48,356 --> 00:20:50,522 places like boca and keith and Karen a 550 00:20:50,522 --> 00:20:52,633 heave and Hark Eve , we can go on and 551 00:20:52,633 --> 00:20:55,970 on and on about how many thousands of 552 00:20:55,980 --> 00:20:58,200 Ukrainian innocent people have been 553 00:20:58,210 --> 00:21:00,099 killed and wounded and flung into 554 00:21:00,099 --> 00:21:02,910 refuge by a reckless and unprovoked 555 00:21:02,910 --> 00:21:05,780 invasion from another nation in this 556 00:21:05,780 --> 00:21:09,690 case , Russia with zero discussion 557 00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:13,190 or zero uh admission of their own 558 00:21:13,190 --> 00:21:15,740 guilt in that zero recognition that 559 00:21:15,740 --> 00:21:17,907 they and their soldiers have committed 560 00:21:17,907 --> 00:21:19,962 war crimes . Now again , I'm not I'm 561 00:21:19,962 --> 00:21:22,073 not trying to deflect this , we're up 562 00:21:22,073 --> 00:21:24,296 here talking about it and I'll stand up 563 00:21:24,296 --> 00:21:26,351 here all day and we can talk about . 564 00:21:26,351 --> 00:21:28,129 But as long as you want and the 565 00:21:28,129 --> 00:21:30,462 documents are going to be in your inbox , 566 00:21:30,462 --> 00:21:30,380 if they aren't already , you can look 567 00:21:30,380 --> 00:21:32,530 at it yourself . Well , stand up and 568 00:21:32,530 --> 00:21:34,752 talk about because all you want and I'm 569 00:21:34,752 --> 00:21:36,752 I'm happy to admit that we have got 570 00:21:36,752 --> 00:21:38,974 work to do and that's why the secretary 571 00:21:38,980 --> 00:21:41,520 again publicly stood up a whole team 572 00:21:41,530 --> 00:21:43,530 just to get better at civilian harm 573 00:21:43,530 --> 00:21:45,586 mitigation . But I don't but I don't 574 00:21:45,586 --> 00:21:47,808 think it's inappropriate for us in this 575 00:21:47,808 --> 00:21:49,974 day and moment at this particular time 576 00:21:49,974 --> 00:21:51,919 to not consider what's going on in 577 00:21:51,919 --> 00:21:55,320 Ukraine by the Russians at their hand . 578 00:21:55,330 --> 00:21:57,620 I do think that that's a fair thing to 579 00:21:57,620 --> 00:21:59,842 put into some context here , That's the 580 00:21:59,842 --> 00:22:02,064 difference between a responsible modern 581 00:22:02,064 --> 00:22:04,120 military and an irresponsible modern 582 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:05,898 military as long as there is no 583 00:22:05,898 --> 00:22:08,340 accountability . What is the meaning of 584 00:22:08,340 --> 00:22:11,070 speaking all day or publishing all 585 00:22:11,070 --> 00:22:13,590 these pages by pages of reports . We 586 00:22:13,590 --> 00:22:15,590 are holding ourselves accountable . 587 00:22:15,590 --> 00:22:17,757 We're letting you see everything now . 588 00:22:17,757 --> 00:22:19,812 Did anybody get fired because of bad 589 00:22:19,812 --> 00:22:22,034 booze ? No , but it's not because we're 590 00:22:22,034 --> 00:22:24,034 trying to protect careers . General 591 00:22:24,034 --> 00:22:26,090 Garrett had a completely independent 592 00:22:26,090 --> 00:22:28,110 look at this strike Qasem . I can't 593 00:22:28,110 --> 00:22:30,054 change the facts . I didn't do the 594 00:22:30,054 --> 00:22:32,470 review . He did . And the secretary 595 00:22:32,470 --> 00:22:35,480 chose a four star who was completely 596 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:37,591 separate from this to go look at this 597 00:22:37,591 --> 00:22:39,647 and he came back and said that there 598 00:22:39,647 --> 00:22:41,758 were no violation of the law of war . 599 00:22:41,758 --> 00:22:43,702 There was no need to hold somebody 600 00:22:43,702 --> 00:22:43,160 personally accountable for what 601 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,327 happened that day . I mean , again , I 602 00:22:45,327 --> 00:22:47,382 think it's important to remember the 603 00:22:47,382 --> 00:22:49,327 Ground force commander had certain 604 00:22:49,327 --> 00:22:50,938 information available to him 605 00:22:50,938 --> 00:22:53,049 information . Uh and and that Garrett 606 00:22:53,049 --> 00:22:55,240 had information in hindsight that he 607 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,462 didn't have . But given the information 608 00:22:57,462 --> 00:22:59,573 that he had at the time , he made the 609 00:22:59,573 --> 00:23:01,684 best decisions he could in the fog of 610 00:23:01,684 --> 00:23:03,740 war in the midst of combat against a 611 00:23:03,740 --> 00:23:05,351 very determined enemy , in a 612 00:23:05,351 --> 00:23:07,580 concentrated uh part of territory in 613 00:23:07,580 --> 00:23:10,170 Syria , who was who were who were 614 00:23:10,180 --> 00:23:12,069 fighting very , very aggressively 615 00:23:12,069 --> 00:23:14,400 against our sdf counterparts . You make 616 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,567 the best decisions you can in war . Do 617 00:23:16,567 --> 00:23:18,733 you get it right every time ? No . And 618 00:23:18,940 --> 00:23:22,110 and that's and that's regrettable for 619 00:23:22,110 --> 00:23:24,900 all of us . We actually do feel bad 620 00:23:24,900 --> 00:23:27,570 about this . But I don't think it's at 621 00:23:27,570 --> 00:23:29,940 all a statement that we're not holding 622 00:23:29,940 --> 00:23:32,040 ourselves accountable ? We are . And 623 00:23:32,050 --> 00:23:34,272 the secretary wouldn't have sent a memo 624 00:23:34,272 --> 00:23:36,328 today ordering changes to the way we 625 00:23:36,328 --> 00:23:38,494 handle these processes . If we weren't 626 00:23:38,494 --> 00:23:40,606 willing to hold ourselves accountable 627 00:23:40,606 --> 00:23:42,772 general here answering the questions . 628 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,620 I think that we've been as transparent 629 00:23:45,620 --> 00:23:47,620 as we can be here , jen I mean , it 630 00:23:47,620 --> 00:23:49,787 seems like he and the ground commander 631 00:23:49,787 --> 00:23:51,731 that those would be the people who 632 00:23:51,731 --> 00:23:53,953 should answer the questions . And let's 633 00:23:53,953 --> 00:23:53,610 not forget that it was the new york 634 00:23:53,610 --> 00:23:57,040 Times that caused this review to take 635 00:23:57,050 --> 00:23:59,220 place . It would , it would not have 636 00:23:59,230 --> 00:24:01,600 taken place without reporters looking 637 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:03,767 into it . I'm not denying that the new 638 00:24:03,767 --> 00:24:06,220 york Times report spurred this review . 639 00:24:06,490 --> 00:24:08,601 I mean , that's one of the , the most 640 00:24:08,601 --> 00:24:10,712 valuable things about a free press is 641 00:24:10,712 --> 00:24:12,601 you find things out that maybe we 642 00:24:12,601 --> 00:24:14,768 weren't aware of and you make us think 643 00:24:14,768 --> 00:24:14,350 a little bit harder about it . You make 644 00:24:14,350 --> 00:24:16,406 us to dive a little deeper in that . 645 00:24:16,406 --> 00:24:18,517 And that's , you know , that's to the 646 00:24:18,517 --> 00:24:21,050 presses credit . But again , we've been 647 00:24:21,060 --> 00:24:23,820 very open about this particular review . 648 00:24:23,830 --> 00:24:26,108 You can see the documents for yourself . 649 00:24:26,108 --> 00:24:29,270 Yeah , joe Hey john thanks to questions 650 00:24:29,270 --> 00:24:31,530 here . You mentioned Neptune shield , 651 00:24:31,540 --> 00:24:33,860 has that exercise been modified in any 652 00:24:33,860 --> 00:24:36,240 way in light of the ongoing conflict in 653 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,580 Ukraine . And also there's a ball tops 654 00:24:39,580 --> 00:24:41,580 exercise that usually happens in in 655 00:24:41,590 --> 00:24:44,520 june . Will that take place as planned 656 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,631 or be modified as you have to talk to 657 00:24:46,860 --> 00:24:49,250 naval forces europe and NATO striking 658 00:24:49,250 --> 00:24:51,250 fleet . I don't know . I don't know 659 00:24:51,250 --> 00:24:53,250 what modifications were done on the 660 00:24:53,250 --> 00:24:55,306 exercise or what that means for ball 661 00:24:55,306 --> 00:24:57,417 tops . I don't know . And Greek media 662 00:24:57,417 --> 00:24:59,583 is reporting that Greece is seeking to 663 00:24:59,583 --> 00:25:01,694 be part of the F- 35 program and that 664 00:25:01,694 --> 00:25:03,806 Lockheed is also interested in Greece 665 00:25:03,806 --> 00:25:05,806 joining . Does the pentagon support 666 00:25:05,806 --> 00:25:07,917 Greece buying the F 35 will refer you 667 00:25:07,917 --> 00:25:07,770 to my State Department colleagues . 668 00:25:07,770 --> 00:25:10,048 They handle all foreign military sales . 669 00:25:10,540 --> 00:25:12,960 Why is that funny ? Because I knew it 670 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:15,810 was coming . I just , I just love it . 671 00:25:16,260 --> 00:25:18,316 I always like to time it between the 672 00:25:18,316 --> 00:25:20,538 end of the question and that response . 673 00:25:20,538 --> 00:25:22,816 It's just fun . Fair enough . I'm glad , 674 00:25:22,816 --> 00:25:26,130 glad that's good for you . Um , I would 675 00:25:26,130 --> 00:25:28,700 like to go back to the 6th fleet . The 676 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,180 research group is X is expected 677 00:25:32,190 --> 00:25:36,080 to arrive in Stockholm very shortly . 678 00:25:36,090 --> 00:25:38,034 First , can you confirm that ? And 679 00:25:38,034 --> 00:25:40,270 second is it linked to the fact that 680 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,430 Sweden has started the process to join 681 00:25:43,430 --> 00:25:45,370 NATO ? I don't think there's any 682 00:25:45,370 --> 00:25:47,426 connection between the support visit 683 00:25:47,426 --> 00:25:51,260 and Sweden's decision to to to seek 684 00:25:51,270 --> 00:25:53,326 NATO membership . I won't talk about 685 00:25:53,326 --> 00:25:55,270 ship schedules though . I mean , I 686 00:25:55,270 --> 00:25:57,437 don't think we have ever gotten in the 687 00:25:57,437 --> 00:25:59,620 business of uh , talking about exact 688 00:25:59,620 --> 00:26:02,720 schedules for ships import visits , but 689 00:26:02,730 --> 00:26:04,730 but there's no connection to a port 690 00:26:04,730 --> 00:26:07,280 visit in Stockholm to to Sweden's 691 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,560 desire to seek NATO membership . Yeah , 692 00:26:12,140 --> 00:26:15,030 two quick questions . Uh , in terms of 693 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:17,151 defense officials have mentioned that 694 00:26:17,151 --> 00:26:19,373 the likeliness of this war . You know , 695 00:26:19,373 --> 00:26:21,540 it could go on for a while . It is the 696 00:26:21,540 --> 00:26:23,707 duty tracking any possible equipment , 697 00:26:23,707 --> 00:26:25,707 personnel or technology bottlenecks 698 00:26:25,707 --> 00:26:27,484 that the Russians might have to 699 00:26:27,484 --> 00:26:29,651 overcome to continue to prosecute this 700 00:26:29,651 --> 00:26:31,596 war . I think we've already talked 701 00:26:31,596 --> 00:26:33,596 about the fact that that we know Mr 702 00:26:33,596 --> 00:26:36,150 Putin is having trouble , uh , being 703 00:26:36,150 --> 00:26:37,928 able to purchase some necessary 704 00:26:37,928 --> 00:26:40,094 electronic components to his precision 705 00:26:40,094 --> 00:26:42,206 guided munitions . And that's based a 706 00:26:42,206 --> 00:26:44,428 lot on the uh , we believe the pressure 707 00:26:44,428 --> 00:26:46,594 that is , uh , that the sanctions have 708 00:26:46,594 --> 00:26:48,817 put on on his defense industrial base . 709 00:26:48,817 --> 00:26:50,761 But I beyond that , I don't have a 710 00:26:50,761 --> 00:26:53,510 specific example . And then it seems 711 00:26:53,510 --> 00:26:55,510 that the Ukrainians are making some 712 00:26:55,510 --> 00:26:57,621 progress on a couple of fronts , most 713 00:26:57,621 --> 00:26:59,843 notably around Kharkiv . Uh , after the 714 00:26:59,843 --> 00:27:02,560 show , you show showing you call Austin 715 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,616 mentioned that there should be calls 716 00:27:04,616 --> 00:27:06,504 for a ceasefire . The UK has said 717 00:27:06,504 --> 00:27:08,449 that's a little too early . Do you 718 00:27:08,449 --> 00:27:10,616 think that a possible cease fire could 719 00:27:10,616 --> 00:27:12,616 actually harm the Ukrainian counter 720 00:27:12,616 --> 00:27:14,671 offensive in some of these areas ? I 721 00:27:14,671 --> 00:27:14,510 think we all want to see the fighting 722 00:27:14,510 --> 00:27:16,677 end . And that's what the Secretary is 723 00:27:16,677 --> 00:27:18,899 referring to , an end to the conflict . 724 00:27:18,899 --> 00:27:21,066 And what we're doing in the meantime , 725 00:27:21,066 --> 00:27:23,890 is trying to provide as many advantages 726 00:27:23,890 --> 00:27:26,112 to the Ukrainian armed forces as we can 727 00:27:26,112 --> 00:27:28,223 so that they are in a better position 728 00:27:28,223 --> 00:27:30,334 on the battlefield . And should there 729 00:27:30,334 --> 00:27:32,390 be a negotiation and then negotiated 730 00:27:32,390 --> 00:27:34,334 into it , that they're in a better 731 00:27:34,334 --> 00:27:36,390 position at the negotiating table as 732 00:27:36,390 --> 00:27:38,223 well . Can you tell us about the 733 00:27:38,223 --> 00:27:40,279 Secretary of the Navy's visit to the 734 00:27:40,279 --> 00:27:42,446 USs George Washington today ? What his 735 00:27:42,446 --> 00:27:44,557 message was ? Two sailors and what he 736 00:27:44,557 --> 00:27:44,210 wanted the sailors to know also , did 737 00:27:44,210 --> 00:27:46,377 you take questions ? What were some of 738 00:27:46,377 --> 00:27:48,210 the concerns that were raised by 739 00:27:48,210 --> 00:27:49,877 sailors during the visit ? My 740 00:27:49,877 --> 00:27:51,877 understanding is that the secretary 741 00:27:51,877 --> 00:27:53,599 wanted to , to get a chance to 742 00:27:53,599 --> 00:27:55,377 personally talk to sailors into 743 00:27:55,377 --> 00:27:57,654 leadership at the aboard the ship , uh , 744 00:27:57,654 --> 00:27:59,820 to get a handle on what they're doing 745 00:27:59,820 --> 00:28:01,820 to accommodate the needs of sailors 746 00:28:01,820 --> 00:28:03,820 that are , that are working in this 747 00:28:03,820 --> 00:28:06,042 environment . Um , I , I know that many 748 00:28:06,042 --> 00:28:08,042 sailors have moved off the ship . I 749 00:28:08,042 --> 00:28:10,264 think almost all by now have been moved 750 00:28:10,264 --> 00:28:11,987 off the ship . And I think the 751 00:28:11,987 --> 00:28:14,098 secretary del Toro wanted to see eyes 752 00:28:14,098 --> 00:28:15,820 on for himself ? Um , what the 753 00:28:15,820 --> 00:28:15,750 conditions are on the ship ? Get a 754 00:28:15,750 --> 00:28:17,694 chance to talk to sailors and hear 755 00:28:17,694 --> 00:28:19,806 their concerns . My understanding , I 756 00:28:19,806 --> 00:28:19,340 wasn't there most , but my 757 00:28:19,340 --> 00:28:21,451 understanding was he did get a chance 758 00:28:21,451 --> 00:28:25,130 to , uh , to talk directly with sailors 759 00:28:25,130 --> 00:28:28,040 and to hear their concerns . Um , and 760 00:28:28,050 --> 00:28:29,550 uh , look , they've got an 761 00:28:29,550 --> 00:28:31,828 investigation going on , uh , into the , 762 00:28:31,828 --> 00:28:34,300 uh , the loss of life there on the 763 00:28:34,300 --> 00:28:36,467 George Washington . And uh , obviously 764 00:28:36,467 --> 00:28:38,522 we don't want to get ahead of that , 765 00:28:38,522 --> 00:28:40,189 but it's it's clear that navy 766 00:28:40,189 --> 00:28:40,180 leadership is taking this issue very 767 00:28:40,180 --> 00:28:42,880 seriously . Is there any indication a 768 00:28:42,890 --> 00:28:45,680 change in mood or atmosphere of , on 769 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,847 the ship in recent weeks ? And can you 770 00:28:47,847 --> 00:28:49,958 talk a little bit more about what the 771 00:28:49,958 --> 00:28:52,180 navy is doing to make sure that sailors 772 00:28:52,180 --> 00:28:52,150 are more comfortable and that they're 773 00:28:52,150 --> 00:28:54,720 getting access to mental health . I 774 00:28:54,730 --> 00:28:56,841 can't speak to the mood on the ship . 775 00:28:56,841 --> 00:28:59,063 I'd refer you to navy officials to talk 776 00:28:59,063 --> 00:29:01,174 about what the crew's morale is right 777 00:29:01,174 --> 00:29:04,810 now . Look , I've served on uh , 778 00:29:04,820 --> 00:29:06,820 three ships . Each one of the three 779 00:29:06,820 --> 00:29:08,931 ships I served on had a yard period . 780 00:29:08,931 --> 00:29:10,709 Nothing like a refueling for an 781 00:29:10,709 --> 00:29:12,820 aircraft carrier . That takes years . 782 00:29:12,820 --> 00:29:14,931 That's a much different environment . 783 00:29:14,931 --> 00:29:17,153 But the shipyard period , that's that's 784 00:29:17,153 --> 00:29:16,780 that's hard for any sailor . And when 785 00:29:16,780 --> 00:29:19,002 you join the navy is joined to exercise 786 00:29:19,002 --> 00:29:21,169 your skills and you want to do that at 787 00:29:21,169 --> 00:29:23,420 sea . Uh , So it's it's it's it's tough 788 00:29:23,420 --> 00:29:25,660 duty . Um , And I'm I'm sure the 789 00:29:25,660 --> 00:29:27,549 secretary had a chance to see for 790 00:29:27,549 --> 00:29:29,890 himself the conditions on the G . W . 791 00:29:29,890 --> 00:29:32,400 Which again , a ship is not meant to be 792 00:29:32,410 --> 00:29:34,299 penned up in a yard . It's it's a 793 00:29:34,299 --> 00:29:38,170 difficult environment and i it's pretty , 794 00:29:38,180 --> 00:29:40,840 it's very clear that the navy has taken 795 00:29:41,030 --> 00:29:43,570 the the conditions seriously and the 796 00:29:43,570 --> 00:29:45,570 concerns of the sailors seriously . 797 00:29:45,570 --> 00:29:47,903 They're beginning to move . Like I said , 798 00:29:47,903 --> 00:29:50,014 most of them are off the ship . Now , 799 00:29:50,014 --> 00:29:52,014 some of them were living on there . 800 00:29:52,014 --> 00:29:51,380 They're moving them off and they're 801 00:29:51,390 --> 00:29:53,510 finding accommodations for them and 802 00:29:53,510 --> 00:29:56,890 they're making available to them mental 803 00:29:56,890 --> 00:29:59,690 health counseling and support , making 804 00:29:59,690 --> 00:30:02,900 it , making it clear to the crew that 805 00:30:02,910 --> 00:30:05,021 that it's a strength , not a weakness 806 00:30:05,021 --> 00:30:07,021 to ask for support . Um and they're 807 00:30:07,021 --> 00:30:09,243 making that support available to them . 808 00:30:09,243 --> 00:30:11,354 But again , for more detail on what's 809 00:30:11,354 --> 00:30:13,410 going on in the ship . I'd I'd point 810 00:30:13,410 --> 00:30:15,410 you to the , to the , to the navy . 811 00:30:15,410 --> 00:30:17,577 Yeah , I haven't gotten anybody on the 812 00:30:17,577 --> 00:30:20,260 phone here , Phil Stewart . Hey , John 813 00:30:20,290 --> 00:30:23,230 Real Quick on the August 29 strike in 814 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,800 Kabul . Have the families of the 815 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,870 victims received any condolence 816 00:30:27,870 --> 00:30:29,981 families yet ? Have any money brought 817 00:30:29,981 --> 00:30:31,981 to the United States ? If you could 818 00:30:31,981 --> 00:30:34,203 update us on that ? And sorry , if I if 819 00:30:34,203 --> 00:30:36,314 I missed something on that . And then 820 00:30:36,314 --> 00:30:35,780 and then secondly , there have been 821 00:30:35,780 --> 00:30:38,920 reports that Putin is taking personal 822 00:30:38,930 --> 00:30:41,780 control or command some aspects of this 823 00:30:41,780 --> 00:30:44,670 war , perhaps out of frustration with 824 00:30:44,670 --> 00:30:46,837 this progress . Could you comment on ? 825 00:30:46,837 --> 00:30:49,003 Thanks . Second question on your first 826 00:30:49,003 --> 00:30:51,226 question , the I don't have anything to 827 00:30:51,226 --> 00:30:53,190 report with respect to ex gratia 828 00:30:53,190 --> 00:30:56,460 payments or uh or 829 00:30:57,540 --> 00:31:01,120 uh transportation of the of the family 830 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,231 from Afghanistan at this point . What 831 00:31:03,231 --> 00:31:05,560 was your second question about Putin 832 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,560 and whether or not he is personally 833 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:09,616 kind of getting involved in managing 834 00:31:09,616 --> 00:31:13,370 the war again . Uh So we don't have 835 00:31:13,370 --> 00:31:15,510 perfect visibility into the upper 836 00:31:15,510 --> 00:31:18,120 levels of command of the Russian 837 00:31:18,130 --> 00:31:21,290 military . He is as president 838 00:31:21,300 --> 00:31:24,570 of the Russian Federation , he is 839 00:31:24,580 --> 00:31:27,380 ultimately in charge of , of his 840 00:31:27,380 --> 00:31:31,190 military . We know that that 841 00:31:31,190 --> 00:31:35,150 he was involved in the planning of this 842 00:31:35,150 --> 00:31:38,810 invasion uh from the very earliest days . 843 00:31:38,820 --> 00:31:42,800 Um and we know that uh that that 844 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,150 he has remained in contact with his 845 00:31:46,150 --> 00:31:48,206 senior civilian and military leaders 846 00:31:48,206 --> 00:31:50,206 throughout it now exactly what he's 847 00:31:50,206 --> 00:31:52,470 hearing from them how accurate that is 848 00:31:52,470 --> 00:31:54,692 and how that affects whatever decisions 849 00:31:54,692 --> 00:31:58,110 he's making . We couldn't say Jeff 850 00:31:58,110 --> 00:31:58,500 Seldon 851 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,407 john thanks very much for doing this . 852 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:06,673 Question regarding the Inspector 853 00:32:06,673 --> 00:32:08,784 General report on Afghanistan , which 854 00:32:08,784 --> 00:32:11,540 warned that the Taliban might start to 855 00:32:11,540 --> 00:32:13,990 loosen restrictions on Al Qaeda . How 856 00:32:13,990 --> 00:32:15,823 worried is the pentagon that the 857 00:32:15,823 --> 00:32:17,823 Taliban are preparing to go back on 858 00:32:17,823 --> 00:32:19,879 their word from the Doha agreement ? 859 00:32:19,879 --> 00:32:21,934 And the report also talked about the 860 00:32:21,934 --> 00:32:23,601 Taliban making what it called 861 00:32:23,601 --> 00:32:25,434 incremental gains with reporting 862 00:32:25,434 --> 00:32:27,434 repairing and deploying some of the 863 00:32:27,434 --> 00:32:29,490 aircraft that the Taliban captured . 864 00:32:29,490 --> 00:32:31,900 How big of a concern is that uh to 865 00:32:31,900 --> 00:32:34,990 regional stability moving forward on Al 866 00:32:34,990 --> 00:32:37,980 Qaeda . We've we've long said that 867 00:32:37,990 --> 00:32:40,212 we're going to judge the Taliban what , 868 00:32:40,212 --> 00:32:42,323 by what they do , not what they say . 869 00:32:42,323 --> 00:32:44,546 Uh and we have acknowledged that , as I 870 00:32:44,546 --> 00:32:46,840 said earlier , uh , that Al Qaeda could 871 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,550 try to achieve a stronger foothold in 872 00:32:49,550 --> 00:32:51,383 Afghanistan . It's not like they 873 00:32:51,383 --> 00:32:53,750 weren't there before they were . Um and 874 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:56,210 uh and one of the things that that we 875 00:32:56,210 --> 00:32:58,210 were watching for before the 876 00:32:58,220 --> 00:33:01,990 President's decision to uh to order 877 00:33:01,990 --> 00:33:04,157 the removal of troops from Afghanistan 878 00:33:04,157 --> 00:33:06,268 was in fact , the degree to which the 879 00:33:06,268 --> 00:33:08,530 Taliban were abiding by their uh their 880 00:33:08,530 --> 00:33:11,430 Doha commitments to not provide safe 881 00:33:11,430 --> 00:33:14,890 haven to Al Qaeda and uh and we weren't 882 00:33:14,890 --> 00:33:17,001 able to ascertain 100% that they were 883 00:33:17,001 --> 00:33:19,168 willing and able to do that . So we're 884 00:33:19,168 --> 00:33:21,501 watching this as closely as we can . Um , 885 00:33:21,501 --> 00:33:23,730 is it , um , is it of concern ? Of 886 00:33:23,730 --> 00:33:25,952 course , it's of concern . Nobody wants 887 00:33:25,952 --> 00:33:27,960 to see Al Qaeda regain any kind of 888 00:33:27,970 --> 00:33:30,600 tangible footprint in Afghanistan or 889 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,680 any ability to plan our attack outside 890 00:33:33,690 --> 00:33:35,746 uh , the region . Again , that's why 891 00:33:35,746 --> 00:33:37,912 we're we're monitoring it . That's why 892 00:33:37,912 --> 00:33:40,079 we're closely watching it . That's why 893 00:33:40,079 --> 00:33:42,301 we're continuing to work on an over the 894 00:33:42,301 --> 00:33:44,468 horizon counterterrorism capability on 895 00:33:44,468 --> 00:33:44,330 the aircraft thing . I haven't seen 896 00:33:44,330 --> 00:33:46,441 that , that part of the report . So , 897 00:33:46,441 --> 00:33:48,552 I'm just gonna take your question and 898 00:33:48,552 --> 00:33:48,230 we'll see if we can get you a better 899 00:33:48,230 --> 00:33:50,850 answer . Um , but I'll leave it at that 900 00:33:52,730 --> 00:33:54,119 mike breast Washington , 901 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:00,290 I thank you . Uh , centcom told the New 902 00:34:00,290 --> 00:34:02,457 York Times at the time . They came out 903 00:34:02,457 --> 00:34:04,734 with their pieces on the Syrian strike , 904 00:34:04,734 --> 00:34:06,957 that there were 16 confirmed fighters . 905 00:34:06,957 --> 00:34:09,320 Among the 80 . That's 80 that died . 906 00:34:09,350 --> 00:34:11,910 Only four were civilians . Can you 907 00:34:11,910 --> 00:34:14,180 speak to the other 60 people who 908 00:34:14,190 --> 00:34:16,820 centcom couldn't identify as either a 909 00:34:16,830 --> 00:34:20,470 friendly or a fighter and address if we 910 00:34:20,470 --> 00:34:22,526 know how many civilian casualties or 911 00:34:22,526 --> 00:34:25,650 even in the strike , I'm not going to 912 00:34:25,650 --> 00:34:28,380 relitigate the investigation . General 913 00:34:28,380 --> 00:34:29,936 Garrett did a review of the 914 00:34:29,936 --> 00:34:32,158 investigation . What I can tell you was 915 00:34:32,158 --> 00:34:34,324 that it was a total of 73 casualties . 916 00:34:34,324 --> 00:34:36,490 52 enemies were killed in action . Of 917 00:34:36,490 --> 00:34:38,920 those 50 to 51 where adult males , one 918 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,350 was a child , Two enemies were wounded 919 00:34:41,350 --> 00:34:43,500 in action . Both were males , four 920 00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:45,667 civilians were killed , one female and 921 00:34:45,667 --> 00:34:48,010 three Children . Uh , and 15 civilians 922 00:34:48,010 --> 00:34:50,480 were wounded 11 women and four Children . 923 00:34:50,610 --> 00:34:53,290 That was the result of General 924 00:34:53,290 --> 00:34:55,290 Garrett's review of the centcom 925 00:34:55,290 --> 00:34:58,750 investigation , Karen from the 926 00:34:58,750 --> 00:35:02,590 Washington post . That was 927 00:35:02,590 --> 00:35:04,812 actually my exact question about the if 928 00:35:04,812 --> 00:35:06,479 we knew the actual numbers of 929 00:35:06,479 --> 00:35:08,970 fatalities and casualties . Uh , 930 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:12,260 a lot of numbers there . So we're good 931 00:35:13,940 --> 00:35:17,540 sugar . Thank you . 932 00:35:17,550 --> 00:35:19,780 During today's U . Ap . Hearing , a 933 00:35:19,780 --> 00:35:22,520 congressman asked whether the Defense 934 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:24,640 Department has the capability to 935 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:27,860 monitor for you a PS underwater . Uh , 936 00:35:27,870 --> 00:35:30,000 the congressman was told this was a 937 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,500 matter for a closed session . So I was 938 00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:35,430 hoping to reframe his question is dot 939 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,360 looking for tapes underwater . 940 00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:42,070 I'm not gonna even attempt that one 941 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:44,024 Jeff if it's a matter for a closed 942 00:35:44,024 --> 00:35:46,150 session uh , with Congress , I think 943 00:35:46,150 --> 00:35:48,261 you can understand why we wouldn't be 944 00:35:48,261 --> 00:35:50,317 talking about that from the podium . 945 00:35:50,317 --> 00:35:53,650 Okay . Gordon , accountability . I 946 00:35:53,660 --> 00:35:55,771 think what fuels a lot of questions . 947 00:35:55,771 --> 00:35:59,360 Uh , is this idea that even when the 948 00:35:59,370 --> 00:36:01,720 pentagon chooses an independent four 949 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:05,410 star separate from the um operation and 950 00:36:05,410 --> 00:36:08,360 all that , the person is still cut from 951 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:10,527 the same cloth culture and the rest of 952 00:36:10,527 --> 00:36:12,416 it . Is the secretary , given any 953 00:36:12,416 --> 00:36:14,638 thought to like further distancing some 954 00:36:14,638 --> 00:36:16,804 of these reviews which are critical to 955 00:36:16,804 --> 00:36:18,916 your own scrutiny of these operations 956 00:36:18,916 --> 00:36:22,860 away from as best or more so 957 00:36:22,870 --> 00:36:26,310 from the culture and the operations 958 00:36:26,310 --> 00:36:28,477 that , look , I think it's it's got to 959 00:36:28,477 --> 00:36:30,699 be a balance , but somebody else has to 960 00:36:30,699 --> 00:36:32,310 be informed and educated and 961 00:36:32,310 --> 00:36:34,421 experienced in military operations as 962 00:36:34,421 --> 00:36:36,750 well . So , uh look , he stood up a 963 00:36:36,750 --> 00:36:38,920 civilian harm mitigation and response 964 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,480 action plan . Uh uh 965 00:36:42,490 --> 00:36:44,546 Secretary Mayor is putting that team 966 00:36:44,546 --> 00:36:46,712 together . Um , I suspect that they're 967 00:36:46,712 --> 00:36:48,601 going to look at a whole range of 968 00:36:48,601 --> 00:36:50,657 things that we can do better to both 969 00:36:50,657 --> 00:36:52,990 prevent civilian harm and then to 970 00:36:52,990 --> 00:36:54,712 properly investigate ourselves 971 00:36:54,712 --> 00:36:56,712 afterwards . So I don't want to get 972 00:36:56,712 --> 00:36:58,768 ahead of that work . They might very 973 00:36:58,768 --> 00:37:00,768 well find that um that as we review 974 00:37:00,768 --> 00:37:02,823 investigations , maybe we maybe that 975 00:37:02,823 --> 00:37:04,823 could be done differently , I don't 976 00:37:04,823 --> 00:37:07,340 know . Um but the secretary had 977 00:37:07,630 --> 00:37:09,408 ultimate trust and confidence , 978 00:37:09,408 --> 00:37:11,241 complete trust and confidence in 979 00:37:11,241 --> 00:37:13,519 general . Garrett's ability to do this , 980 00:37:13,519 --> 00:37:15,686 given his own lengthy experience uh in 981 00:37:15,686 --> 00:37:18,019 the military and his distance from this , 982 00:37:18,019 --> 00:37:20,130 he was he wasn't involved in this and 983 00:37:20,130 --> 00:37:22,352 had was able to be objective about it . 984 00:37:22,352 --> 00:37:24,574 Look , I understand the questions about 985 00:37:24,574 --> 00:37:26,840 accountability . Um , I get it . We 986 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:29,980 take each one as it comes And each one , 987 00:37:29,990 --> 00:37:32,157 um if it's not properly investigated , 988 00:37:32,157 --> 00:37:34,379 you've seen us be willing to go back in 989 00:37:34,379 --> 00:37:36,490 and re investigated and that includes 990 00:37:36,490 --> 00:37:39,510 the 29 August airstrike uh in Kabul , 991 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:43,330 um in war , 992 00:37:43,340 --> 00:37:45,940 not every decision goes exactly as you 993 00:37:45,940 --> 00:37:48,200 predict . It will . Not every action 994 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:50,740 you take has all the the effects that 995 00:37:50,740 --> 00:37:54,460 you wanted to have . Um and as hard as 996 00:37:54,460 --> 00:37:56,560 we work . And I'll say it again , no 997 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:58,449 other military in the world works 998 00:37:58,449 --> 00:38:00,616 harder than the United States military 999 00:38:00,616 --> 00:38:02,950 to prevent . Uh and and to not cause 1000 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:06,870 civilian harm . It's impossible To 1001 00:38:06,870 --> 00:38:09,990 get to zero every case during every 1002 00:38:09,990 --> 00:38:12,980 conflict . It's just impossible . The 1003 00:38:12,980 --> 00:38:15,400 difference is that we do hold ourselves 1004 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:17,622 accountable . I know you don't think we 1005 00:38:17,622 --> 00:38:19,733 do because nobody got fired . But the 1006 00:38:19,733 --> 00:38:21,733 department holds itself accountable 1007 00:38:21,733 --> 00:38:23,789 because we're actually investigating 1008 00:38:23,789 --> 00:38:25,900 these things . And even when we don't 1009 00:38:25,900 --> 00:38:28,122 think the investigation , we need to be 1010 00:38:28,122 --> 00:38:27,870 looked at again , we look at it again 1011 00:38:28,190 --> 00:38:30,412 and then we make those results public . 1012 00:38:30,412 --> 00:38:32,134 We talked about it . We answer 1013 00:38:32,134 --> 00:38:34,023 questions about it that's holding 1014 00:38:34,023 --> 00:38:36,023 ourselves to account . I get it . I 1015 00:38:36,023 --> 00:38:38,079 understand it . You know , there's a 1016 00:38:38,079 --> 00:38:40,246 there's a there's a there are some who 1017 00:38:40,246 --> 00:38:42,246 would like to see , you know , jobs 1018 00:38:42,246 --> 00:38:44,390 lost positions fired . And we're not 1019 00:38:44,390 --> 00:38:46,880 afraid to do that in many cases 1020 00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:48,936 throughout the department . But it's 1021 00:38:48,936 --> 00:38:51,750 war and the decisions we make . We want 1022 00:38:51,750 --> 00:38:53,972 to look and see if those decisions were 1023 00:38:53,972 --> 00:38:56,083 the right ones in the moment with the 1024 00:38:56,083 --> 00:38:58,250 information that they had available to 1025 00:38:58,250 --> 00:39:00,361 them . With the , you know , with the 1026 00:39:00,361 --> 00:39:02,528 actual tangible lethal threat in their 1027 00:39:02,528 --> 00:39:04,639 face . And in this case . And I'm not 1028 00:39:04,639 --> 00:39:06,861 going to relitigate every case . But in 1029 00:39:06,861 --> 00:39:09,028 this case , General Garrett found that 1030 00:39:09,028 --> 00:39:11,028 the Ground force commander made the 1031 00:39:11,028 --> 00:39:13,194 best decisions that he could given the 1032 00:39:13,194 --> 00:39:15,361 information he had at the time , given 1033 00:39:15,361 --> 00:39:17,417 a very lethal , very aggressive ISIS 1034 00:39:17,417 --> 00:39:19,528 threat in a very confined space . And 1035 00:39:19,528 --> 00:39:21,583 it is deeply regrettable . We deeply 1036 00:39:21,583 --> 00:39:24,050 regret , we apologize for the , for the 1037 00:39:24,050 --> 00:39:26,272 loss of innocent life that was that was 1038 00:39:26,272 --> 00:39:28,680 taken in this particular strike . It 1039 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:30,840 matters to us , it matters so much to 1040 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,070 us that the Secretary of Defense wanted 1041 00:39:33,070 --> 00:39:35,181 a review of this investigation done , 1042 00:39:35,181 --> 00:39:37,403 and the Secretary of Defense personally 1043 00:39:37,403 --> 00:39:39,126 has now issued guidance to the 1044 00:39:39,126 --> 00:39:40,903 department to get better at the 1045 00:39:40,903 --> 00:39:43,237 deficiencies that General Garrett found . 1046 00:39:43,237 --> 00:39:45,403 And we're gonna keep , keep working at 1047 00:39:45,403 --> 00:39:47,403 this Gordon ? Uh , we're not always 1048 00:39:47,403 --> 00:39:49,292 going to get it right , but we're 1049 00:39:49,292 --> 00:39:51,459 always gonna try to get it right , and 1050 00:39:51,459 --> 00:39:53,403 we're gonna try to talk about what 1051 00:39:53,403 --> 00:39:55,403 we're doing to get it right , and I 1052 00:39:55,403 --> 00:39:57,570 think that's remarkable . Okay , thank 1053 00:39:57,570 --> 00:39:57,020 you . Yeah .