1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:08,696 Okay . Do you have a few things that 3 00:00:08,696 --> 00:00:11,690 the top that I want to get through ? So 4 00:00:11,690 --> 00:00:14,560 please bear with me . I 5 00:00:14,570 --> 00:00:18,350 think you saw we advised the deputy 6 00:00:18,350 --> 00:00:20,572 secretaries travel . She's traveling to 7 00:00:20,572 --> 00:00:22,650 Austin texas uh where she will meet 8 00:00:22,700 --> 00:00:25,720 with the Army Futures Command and meet 9 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,609 with the commanding general there 10 00:00:27,609 --> 00:00:29,830 General Murray as well as personnel 11 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:31,673 from Army Futures Command for an 12 00:00:31,673 --> 00:00:33,896 overview of their mission . Um She will 13 00:00:33,896 --> 00:00:36,030 also move on to Killeen texas where 14 00:00:36,030 --> 00:00:37,863 she'll get a chance to meet with 15 00:00:37,863 --> 00:00:39,863 soldiers and leaders at Fort Hood , 16 00:00:39,863 --> 00:00:42,030 which as you all know , is home of the 17 00:00:42,030 --> 00:00:44,660 U . S . Army's third armored poor uh on 18 00:00:44,660 --> 00:00:47,440 defender europe 21 the exercise uh the 19 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:50,950 um exercise uh continue to showcase our 20 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,127 close ties to allies and partners with 21 00:00:53,127 --> 00:00:55,580 an airborne exercise during which a 22 00:00:55,580 --> 00:00:57,691 large contingent of paratroopers from 23 00:00:57,691 --> 00:00:59,913 the 82nd Airborne Division flew nonstop 24 00:00:59,913 --> 00:01:02,247 from Fort Bragg to conduct a night jump , 25 00:01:02,247 --> 00:01:05,600 night jump into Estonia today , US 26 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,460 polish and Romanian paratroopers 27 00:01:07,460 --> 00:01:09,760 conducted daytime airborne operations 28 00:01:09,770 --> 00:01:11,780 in Romania . And the event was live 29 00:01:11,780 --> 00:01:13,724 streamed as well on their facebook 30 00:01:13,724 --> 00:01:16,730 facebook page . Uh Also in keeping with 31 00:01:16,740 --> 00:01:19,230 the larger defender 21 defender europe 32 00:01:19,230 --> 00:01:21,770 21 exercise . Special Operations 33 00:01:21,770 --> 00:01:23,910 command europe is conducting exercise 34 00:01:23,910 --> 00:01:27,350 trojan footprint 21 Which is focused on 35 00:01:27,350 --> 00:01:29,420 enhancing interoperability . The 36 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:31,531 exercise is taking place at locations 37 00:01:31,531 --> 00:01:33,420 in Romania , Bulgaria , Georgia , 38 00:01:33,420 --> 00:01:35,880 Montenegro and North Macedonia , where 39 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:37,880 US . personnel are integrating with 40 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,520 troops from eight European allied 41 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,950 countries and partners out to the indo 42 00:01:43,950 --> 00:01:45,900 pacific region . The U . S . Army 43 00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:47,956 pacific is participating in exercise 44 00:01:47,956 --> 00:01:50,710 Tiger balm bilateral exercise with the 45 00:01:50,710 --> 00:01:53,180 Singapore Army that started on the 46 00:01:53,180 --> 00:01:55,760 sixth of May and run through the 21st . 47 00:01:56,140 --> 00:01:58,196 This is the 40th anniversary of this 48 00:01:58,196 --> 00:02:00,418 particular exercise which is focused on 49 00:02:00,418 --> 00:02:02,196 strengthening our partnership , 50 00:02:02,196 --> 00:02:04,029 solidifying interoperability and 51 00:02:04,029 --> 00:02:06,029 building trust , which helps us all 52 00:02:06,029 --> 00:02:08,029 enable a free and open indo pacific 53 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:10,551 exercise . Target Bomb is the longest 54 00:02:10,551 --> 00:02:12,773 running bilateral exercise to Singapore 55 00:02:12,773 --> 00:02:15,310 Army has with any defense partner . And 56 00:02:15,310 --> 00:02:17,532 this exercise is of great importance to 57 00:02:17,532 --> 00:02:19,532 both . Our armies are . Partnership 58 00:02:19,532 --> 00:02:21,810 continues to be one of professionalism , 59 00:02:21,810 --> 00:02:23,921 mutual respect and trust . I think he 60 00:02:23,921 --> 00:02:26,310 saw over the weekend , uh Central 61 00:02:26,310 --> 00:02:28,532 Command , the Navy component of Central 62 00:02:28,532 --> 00:02:30,366 Command released information and 63 00:02:30,366 --> 00:02:32,254 imagery from a seizure of illicit 64 00:02:32,254 --> 00:02:34,310 weapons from a stateless dow or boat 65 00:02:34,310 --> 00:02:36,477 traversing international waters of the 66 00:02:36,477 --> 00:02:38,532 North Arabian Sea over the weekend , 67 00:02:38,532 --> 00:02:41,640 during a routine flag verification 68 00:02:41,650 --> 00:02:43,761 boarding the guided missile cruiser , 69 00:02:43,761 --> 00:02:45,960 USS Monterey and it's embarked U . S . 70 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,127 Coast Guard advanced interdiction team 71 00:02:48,127 --> 00:02:50,820 discovered thousands of assault rifles , 72 00:02:50,830 --> 00:02:53,370 machine guns , sniper rifles and rocket 73 00:02:53,370 --> 00:02:55,537 propelled grenade launchers as well as 74 00:02:55,537 --> 00:02:57,592 several dozen Russian made anti tank 75 00:02:57,592 --> 00:02:59,920 missiles . The original source and 76 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:02,160 intended destination of this material 77 00:03:02,450 --> 00:03:04,394 is currently under investigation . 78 00:03:04,740 --> 00:03:06,800 Material is in US custody awaiting 79 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,940 final disposition . An assessment of 80 00:03:08,940 --> 00:03:10,940 the findings will be an interagency 81 00:03:10,940 --> 00:03:13,500 effort as you think you all know , the 82 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:15,556 Navy conducts routine patrols in the 83 00:03:15,556 --> 00:03:17,444 region to ensure the free flow of 84 00:03:17,444 --> 00:03:19,444 commerce for legitimate traffic and 85 00:03:19,444 --> 00:03:21,780 disrupt the transport of illicit cargo 86 00:03:21,780 --> 00:03:24,010 that often funds terrorism and unlawful 87 00:03:24,010 --> 00:03:26,177 activity . And of course the safeguard 88 00:03:26,177 --> 00:03:28,288 the rules based international order . 89 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,662 Well , I'm on the Navy , as I think you 90 00:03:30,662 --> 00:03:32,884 may have seen , it did commission their 91 00:03:32,884 --> 00:03:34,884 newest ship , the USns Miguel keith 92 00:03:34,884 --> 00:03:36,996 saturday at Naval Air Station . North 93 00:03:36,996 --> 00:03:38,551 Island . Miguel keith is an 94 00:03:38,551 --> 00:03:40,640 expeditionary sea Bass . This 95 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,584 commissioning brings the number of 96 00:03:42,584 --> 00:03:44,696 deployable ships in the United States 97 00:03:44,696 --> 00:03:47,210 Navy up to 296 or to other 98 00:03:47,220 --> 00:03:49,387 expeditionary sea Bass ships operating 99 00:03:49,387 --> 00:03:51,664 in the fleet , along with Miguel keith . 100 00:03:51,940 --> 00:03:54,260 The Miguel keith will be now part of 101 00:03:54,450 --> 00:03:56,283 the forward deployed naval force 102 00:03:56,283 --> 00:03:58,510 operating from SaiPan . And that will 103 00:03:58,510 --> 00:04:00,910 go to questions and I think first to 104 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:02,250 bob mhm 105 00:04:11,740 --> 00:04:13,796 bobby there . Yeah , I'm sorry about 106 00:04:13,796 --> 00:04:15,962 that . I have a little trouble amusing 107 00:04:15,962 --> 00:04:18,130 myself , john I have two quick 108 00:04:18,130 --> 00:04:21,560 questions , john um First uh 109 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:24,073 has the shutdown of the colonial 110 00:04:24,073 --> 00:04:26,930 pipeline operations affected uh Defense 111 00:04:26,930 --> 00:04:29,930 Department fuel supplies . And the 112 00:04:29,930 --> 00:04:32,450 second question is regarding the Wall 113 00:04:32,450 --> 00:04:35,350 Street Journal report about the Defense 114 00:04:35,350 --> 00:04:39,330 Department considering um how 115 00:04:39,330 --> 00:04:41,950 to say it pulling out of or ending the 116 00:04:41,950 --> 00:04:44,670 Jedi contract in light of the legal 117 00:04:44,670 --> 00:04:46,760 delays . Is this is this accurate ? 118 00:04:48,340 --> 00:04:52,150 Thank you . First question bob . 119 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:55,730 Um The Defense Logistics Agency is 120 00:04:55,730 --> 00:04:58,470 monitoring inventory levels and we're 121 00:04:58,470 --> 00:05:00,803 awaiting updates from colonial pipeline . 122 00:05:00,803 --> 00:05:02,870 There are sufficient , there's 123 00:05:02,870 --> 00:05:05,250 sufficient inventory on hand for 124 00:05:05,250 --> 00:05:07,820 downstream customers , so there is no 125 00:05:07,820 --> 00:05:09,987 immediate mission impact . Obviously , 126 00:05:09,987 --> 00:05:12,209 we're coordinating with our interagency 127 00:05:12,209 --> 00:05:15,400 partners on uh on the 128 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,980 jetty contract . Hold on a second , I 129 00:05:18,980 --> 00:05:20,758 do have lines on that . I think 130 00:05:20,758 --> 00:05:24,740 somewhere here , Yeah , here 131 00:05:24,740 --> 00:05:28,720 we go . As I think you saw Dr Hicks 132 00:05:28,730 --> 00:05:31,760 say recently . In fact just last week , 133 00:05:31,770 --> 00:05:33,940 uh we're going to have to assess where 134 00:05:33,940 --> 00:05:35,773 we are in regards to the ongoing 135 00:05:35,773 --> 00:05:38,030 litigation and determine what the best 136 00:05:38,030 --> 00:05:40,760 path forward is for the department . Uh 137 00:05:40,770 --> 00:05:43,048 We continue to have I think , you know , 138 00:05:43,048 --> 00:05:44,826 an urgent unmet requirement for 139 00:05:44,826 --> 00:05:46,659 enterprise wide commercial cloud 140 00:05:46,659 --> 00:05:48,714 services at all three classification 141 00:05:48,714 --> 00:05:51,210 levels , but we remain fully committed 142 00:05:51,210 --> 00:05:53,321 to meeting these requirements . Uh We 143 00:05:53,321 --> 00:05:54,877 hope through Jedi but these 144 00:05:54,877 --> 00:05:56,543 requirements transcend anyone 145 00:05:56,543 --> 00:05:58,654 procurement uh and they're gonna have 146 00:05:58,654 --> 00:06:02,060 to be met one way or the other . Sure , 147 00:06:02,740 --> 00:06:05,900 thanks for doing us . Um Last week's 148 00:06:05,900 --> 00:06:08,490 cacti hearing , the chairwoman 149 00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:10,980 suggested that none of the funds that 150 00:06:10,980 --> 00:06:13,202 were taken from D . O . D . To fund the 151 00:06:13,202 --> 00:06:16,280 border wall that will be coming back to 152 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:18,391 D . O . D . That was followed by some 153 00:06:18,391 --> 00:06:20,391 press reporting on friday . Can you 154 00:06:20,391 --> 00:06:23,010 clarify for us what if any of the funds 155 00:06:23,010 --> 00:06:25,620 that were taken to fund the Border Wall 156 00:06:25,620 --> 00:06:27,509 will now be coming back to either 157 00:06:27,509 --> 00:06:29,398 military construction projects or 158 00:06:29,398 --> 00:06:31,731 counter drug operations etcetera ? Yeah . 159 00:06:31,731 --> 00:06:33,898 Fair question . And I'm afraid I can't 160 00:06:33,898 --> 00:06:36,160 quantify that right now . We're still 161 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,260 working our way through that . So uh 162 00:06:38,270 --> 00:06:40,600 the bottom line is that uh we're 163 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,420 looking hard at uh what reallocation is 164 00:06:44,420 --> 00:06:46,840 possible uh and what amounts and to 165 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:48,951 what other programs and we just don't 166 00:06:48,951 --> 00:06:51,007 have solidity on that right now . We 167 00:06:51,007 --> 00:06:53,340 just don't have a good answer right now . 168 00:06:53,340 --> 00:06:55,562 And just for an update , can we get the 169 00:06:55,562 --> 00:06:57,784 numbers of how many service members are 170 00:06:57,784 --> 00:06:59,951 currently at the border ? Uh I have to 171 00:06:59,951 --> 00:07:01,951 take that one . I don't know that I 172 00:07:01,951 --> 00:07:04,150 have that exact uh answer . Um So let 173 00:07:04,150 --> 00:07:06,930 me let me take that uh and we'll see . 174 00:07:06,940 --> 00:07:09,090 Um It's important to remember I think 175 00:07:09,090 --> 00:07:11,650 you know terra that um 176 00:07:12,540 --> 00:07:15,270 the work we're doing there is really 177 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:19,000 supporting the work of border 178 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,167 patrol . We're not actually conducting 179 00:07:21,167 --> 00:07:23,000 border patrol or law enforcement 180 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,056 activity . It's it's sort of support 181 00:07:25,056 --> 00:07:27,460 roles so that they can focus on their 182 00:07:27,460 --> 00:07:30,360 job . But I don't think I have the 183 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,151 latest numbers on that . So I'm gonna 184 00:07:33,151 --> 00:07:35,318 have to have to take that question and 185 00:07:35,318 --> 00:07:37,429 get back to you . Yeah , we're coming 186 00:07:37,429 --> 00:07:41,370 up on the 5th fleet work with the boat 187 00:07:41,370 --> 00:07:43,850 loaded with weapons . First question , 188 00:07:43,850 --> 00:07:46,670 if you don't mind , do you at this time 189 00:07:46,670 --> 00:07:49,360 think that more work needs to be done 190 00:07:49,940 --> 00:07:52,070 to make sure that there is no weapons 191 00:07:52,070 --> 00:07:54,370 are coming through this channel , 192 00:07:54,380 --> 00:07:56,710 especially that they are intended to be 193 00:07:56,710 --> 00:07:58,766 healthy and they're using it against 194 00:07:58,766 --> 00:08:00,766 Saudi Arabia . Do I think more work 195 00:08:00,766 --> 00:08:02,821 needs to be done ? I think this is a 196 00:08:02,821 --> 00:08:05,560 constant focus of 197 00:08:06,140 --> 00:08:09,930 of well , one constant focus of 198 00:08:09,930 --> 00:08:12,420 our naval assets in the central command 199 00:08:12,430 --> 00:08:15,500 area responsibility is to is to stop 200 00:08:15,500 --> 00:08:18,220 this illicit flow of arms and material 201 00:08:18,220 --> 00:08:20,450 that can support terrorist groups in 202 00:08:20,450 --> 00:08:22,400 the region . It's something we're 203 00:08:22,410 --> 00:08:24,540 constantly monitoring and constantly 204 00:08:24,540 --> 00:08:27,120 focusing on . Um so I don't know that . 205 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,450 I tell you that uh , you know , that's 206 00:08:29,450 --> 00:08:31,760 an issue of more . It's something we're 207 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,930 we're doing every day . One more follow 208 00:08:35,930 --> 00:08:38,490 up . You mentioned that the anti tanks 209 00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:40,760 are Russian made the statement of the 210 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,880 Fifth Fleet . Mentioned also , another 211 00:08:43,890 --> 00:08:46,500 part of the law that is the chinese . 212 00:08:46,510 --> 00:08:48,470 Do you hold Russia and china 213 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:50,424 responsible ? Because they are not 214 00:08:50,424 --> 00:08:53,580 really keeping up with the and user of 215 00:08:53,590 --> 00:08:56,440 uh what they are . I don't want to get 216 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,607 ahead of the investigative work that's 217 00:08:58,607 --> 00:09:01,460 being done now to figure out the origin 218 00:09:01,460 --> 00:09:03,571 of this material where it really came 219 00:09:03,571 --> 00:09:06,860 from , um including you know , how many 220 00:09:06,860 --> 00:09:08,971 hands it might have passed through or 221 00:09:08,971 --> 00:09:11,082 where it was going . So let's not get 222 00:09:11,082 --> 00:09:13,138 ahead of the process right now . The 223 00:09:13,138 --> 00:09:15,138 most important thing to remember is 224 00:09:15,138 --> 00:09:18,470 that uh this is illicit traffic 225 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:20,470 of the kind of material that can 226 00:09:20,470 --> 00:09:22,637 support terrorists in the region . And 227 00:09:22,637 --> 00:09:24,692 we're committed to doing what we can 228 00:09:24,692 --> 00:09:26,692 with the international community to 229 00:09:26,692 --> 00:09:28,914 stop in that traffic in that flow . Let 230 00:09:28,914 --> 00:09:31,060 me uh go to the phones here . Uh 231 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,930 Jeff seldom the away john thanks for 232 00:09:35,930 --> 00:09:37,900 doing this . Two questions . One 233 00:09:37,910 --> 00:09:40,580 wondering how the pentagon would assess 234 00:09:40,580 --> 00:09:42,670 so far the performance of the Afghan 235 00:09:42,670 --> 00:09:45,050 security forces . Um as they've been 236 00:09:45,050 --> 00:09:47,217 trying to fend off some of the Taliban 237 00:09:47,217 --> 00:09:49,328 attacks in the last couple of weeks . 238 00:09:49,328 --> 00:09:51,550 Obviously there's a ceasefire coming up 239 00:09:51,550 --> 00:09:53,606 but have they performed to the level 240 00:09:53,606 --> 00:09:55,828 that the U . S . Expected given all the 241 00:09:55,828 --> 00:09:57,939 training and all the work that's been 242 00:09:57,939 --> 00:10:00,161 done over the past few years And uh you 243 00:10:00,161 --> 00:10:02,161 know , given the concerns that have 244 00:10:02,161 --> 00:10:01,990 been mentioned that there's a need to 245 00:10:01,990 --> 00:10:04,370 wean them off us airstrikes since 246 00:10:04,380 --> 00:10:06,880 that's going to be inevitable . Also 247 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:08,824 wondering if there's any update on 248 00:10:08,824 --> 00:10:10,920 progress on basing agreements for US 249 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,142 counterterrorism forces in the region ? 250 00:10:13,740 --> 00:10:16,490 Uh no updates on basic requirements in 251 00:10:16,490 --> 00:10:18,657 the region . That is something that uh 252 00:10:18,657 --> 00:10:20,657 I think we're still working our way 253 00:10:20,657 --> 00:10:23,490 through on your first question . It's 254 00:10:23,490 --> 00:10:26,110 really more a question , you know , are 255 00:10:26,110 --> 00:10:28,620 they meeting that the expectations of 256 00:10:28,620 --> 00:10:32,260 the Afghan people um and the government 257 00:10:32,260 --> 00:10:35,040 in Kabul , not our expectations . 258 00:10:36,110 --> 00:10:38,530 And I'm as you know , I'm loath to 259 00:10:38,530 --> 00:10:40,586 speak about specific operations that 260 00:10:40,586 --> 00:10:42,474 were conducting and I'm even less 261 00:10:42,650 --> 00:10:44,817 inclined to want to speak to specifics 262 00:10:44,817 --> 00:10:47,060 of the operations that Afghan forces 263 00:10:47,060 --> 00:10:49,171 are conducting . I would say only two 264 00:10:49,171 --> 00:10:51,060 things . One is it's important to 265 00:10:51,060 --> 00:10:53,171 remember that for a while now , for a 266 00:10:53,171 --> 00:10:55,282 long while they have been in the lead 267 00:10:55,282 --> 00:10:57,504 in operations in their country and they 268 00:10:57,504 --> 00:11:01,460 are fighters . Uh I don't again want to 269 00:11:01,470 --> 00:11:05,060 qualify imp , You know , in particular 270 00:11:05,060 --> 00:11:07,680 operations one way or another . Uh but 271 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:10,960 they they do have more capabilities now 272 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,210 than they've had uh in just a recent 273 00:11:13,210 --> 00:11:14,988 past , as the secretary and the 274 00:11:14,988 --> 00:11:17,099 chairman noted last week when they're 275 00:11:17,099 --> 00:11:17,080 up here , you know , you're talking 276 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,150 about a force of roughly 300,000 277 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,540 across the both the army and the 278 00:11:23,550 --> 00:11:26,550 police forces . Um and and they're 279 00:11:26,550 --> 00:11:29,120 fighting uh and they're defending . Uh 280 00:11:29,130 --> 00:11:31,297 And again , I would leave it to uh the 281 00:11:31,297 --> 00:11:33,440 Ministry of Defense in Kabul to speak 282 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,620 to specifically uh their assessment of 283 00:11:36,620 --> 00:11:38,840 how their troops are doing . Um The 284 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,062 last thing I'll say on this and again , 285 00:11:41,062 --> 00:11:43,284 the secretary made this very clear that 286 00:11:43,284 --> 00:11:45,451 our bilateral relationship with Afghan 287 00:11:45,451 --> 00:11:47,673 forces is gonna change . As we complete 288 00:11:47,673 --> 00:11:49,784 this retrograde . We're not we're not 289 00:11:49,784 --> 00:11:51,896 leaving this relationship , it's just 290 00:11:51,896 --> 00:11:54,062 going to take on a different character 291 00:11:54,062 --> 00:11:56,173 and it's going to be largely done one 292 00:11:56,173 --> 00:11:57,951 remotely and through uh largely 293 00:11:57,951 --> 00:11:59,729 financial support . Barbara two 294 00:11:59,729 --> 00:12:02,110 Questions . 2 different topics . one to 295 00:12:02,110 --> 00:12:05,030 the Coast Guard in the Persian gulf for 296 00:12:05,030 --> 00:12:07,550 the North Arabian sea have some kind of 297 00:12:07,940 --> 00:12:11,670 a new encounter with the Irgc . So what 298 00:12:11,670 --> 00:12:13,892 I can tell you , Barb , is that earlier 299 00:12:13,892 --> 00:12:16,950 today , a a large group of 300 00:12:17,340 --> 00:12:20,510 Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard 301 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,660 Corps Navy , also known as the IrgC . N . 302 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,150 Fast boats conducted 303 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:29,862 unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers and 304 00:12:29,862 --> 00:12:31,973 failed to exercise due regard for the 305 00:12:31,973 --> 00:12:34,029 safety of U . S . Forces as required 306 00:12:34,029 --> 00:12:36,251 under international law while operating 307 00:12:36,251 --> 00:12:38,084 in close proximity to US . Naval 308 00:12:38,084 --> 00:12:40,307 vessels that were transiting the strait 309 00:12:40,307 --> 00:12:43,240 of Hormuz while exercising the right of 310 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,240 transit Passions in accordance with 311 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,351 customary international law , in that 312 00:12:47,351 --> 00:12:49,240 straight six U . S . Navy vessels 313 00:12:49,820 --> 00:12:51,987 escorting the guided missile submarine 314 00:12:51,987 --> 00:12:54,720 USs Georgia and the escorts included 315 00:12:54,900 --> 00:12:57,120 the guided missile cruiser Monterey , 316 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,287 who we just talked about Encountered a 317 00:12:59,287 --> 00:13:01,890 group of 13 of these fast attack boats . 318 00:13:03,340 --> 00:13:06,460 This group of fast attack boats boats 319 00:13:06,470 --> 00:13:08,630 approached the U . S . Formation at 320 00:13:08,630 --> 00:13:12,320 high speed , Closing in as close 321 00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:15,450 as 150 yards after following all the 322 00:13:15,450 --> 00:13:17,617 appropriate and established procedures 323 00:13:17,617 --> 00:13:19,672 involved chips , horn blast , bridge 324 00:13:19,672 --> 00:13:21,894 debates , radio transmissions and other 325 00:13:21,894 --> 00:13:24,117 ways of communicating . The Coast Guard 326 00:13:24,117 --> 00:13:26,006 cutter Maui , U . S . Coast Guard 327 00:13:26,006 --> 00:13:28,290 cutter Maui fired approximately 30 328 00:13:28,300 --> 00:13:31,110 warning shots from a 50 caliber machine 329 00:13:31,110 --> 00:13:34,640 gun . After the second round of warning 330 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:38,320 shots . The 13 fast attack craft 331 00:13:38,330 --> 00:13:41,860 from the Irgc N . Wrote contact If you 332 00:13:41,860 --> 00:13:43,971 could explain a couple things , so 30 333 00:13:43,971 --> 00:13:47,290 warning shots total right to 334 00:13:47,290 --> 00:13:50,430 different Volleys . There was a volley 335 00:13:50,430 --> 00:13:53,750 at roughly the 300 yard mark and then 336 00:13:53,750 --> 00:13:55,972 another volley of warning shots as they 337 00:13:55,972 --> 00:13:59,040 got into 150 yards from the same coast 338 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,860 guard cutters , correct ? And it was 339 00:14:01,870 --> 00:14:04,620 used very specific language in the 340 00:14:04,620 --> 00:14:07,660 straight in the street , so not just 341 00:14:07,660 --> 00:14:09,993 outside , not just inside in the street . 342 00:14:09,993 --> 00:14:12,104 And is that not even though they come 343 00:14:12,104 --> 00:14:14,271 out and look , you know , the Iranians 344 00:14:14,271 --> 00:14:16,490 observe you all the time . Do you have 345 00:14:16,490 --> 00:14:19,290 any sense of whether it is unusual for 346 00:14:19,290 --> 00:14:21,234 them to do that in that particular 347 00:14:21,234 --> 00:14:24,150 piece of water ? And particularly if 348 00:14:24,150 --> 00:14:26,540 they saw a U . S . Navy submarine , 349 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,340 Have you seen that ? I don't have the 350 00:14:29,340 --> 00:14:31,810 history here . So Barb , I I'm afraid I 351 00:14:31,810 --> 00:14:33,699 can't answer . How frequently are 352 00:14:33,699 --> 00:14:37,350 common are these sort of uh , uh , 353 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,040 incidents inside the street itself ? So 354 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:42,790 I I'd refer you to Navy that they or or 355 00:14:42,790 --> 00:14:44,846 centcom might have a better sense of 356 00:14:44,846 --> 00:14:46,780 the history here , but um having 357 00:14:46,790 --> 00:14:48,734 transited that straight many times 358 00:14:48,734 --> 00:14:50,640 myself , I mean it's uh it's an 359 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:52,529 international waterway and and of 360 00:14:52,529 --> 00:14:54,696 course when you're in the straight you 361 00:14:54,696 --> 00:14:56,560 there are certain limits to your 362 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,090 ability to maneuver . I mean it is a 363 00:14:59,090 --> 00:15:01,630 choke point in the region . Um so it's 364 00:15:01,630 --> 00:15:03,980 not insignificant that this kind of 365 00:15:03,980 --> 00:15:06,091 dangerous , unsafe and unprofessional 366 00:15:06,091 --> 00:15:09,920 uh incident behavior occurred there . 367 00:15:09,930 --> 00:15:12,360 How long did it last ? I don't have the 368 00:15:12,370 --> 00:15:14,650 duration and helicopters overhead . Is 369 00:15:14,650 --> 00:15:16,317 each other ? I don't have any 370 00:15:16,317 --> 00:15:18,540 additional operational details to add . 371 00:15:18,540 --> 00:15:20,707 Today . Could ask a quick question , a 372 00:15:20,707 --> 00:15:22,818 completely different subject which is 373 00:15:22,818 --> 00:15:26,390 Jordan um King Abdullah of Jordan 374 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,690 tweeted earlier today that he had 375 00:15:28,690 --> 00:15:30,634 received a phone call from General 376 00:15:30,634 --> 00:15:34,130 Milley and the two of them and this was 377 00:15:34,130 --> 00:15:37,140 on the king's twitter account . Um The 378 00:15:37,140 --> 00:15:39,600 two of them had discussed the situation 379 00:15:39,610 --> 00:15:43,260 in Israel , um the violence in the 380 00:15:43,260 --> 00:15:46,160 overall political security situation 381 00:15:46,860 --> 00:15:48,693 since King Abdullah tweeted that 382 00:15:48,693 --> 00:15:50,916 earlier today , that tweet has actually 383 00:15:50,916 --> 00:15:53,770 disappeared from his well known public 384 00:15:53,780 --> 00:15:55,947 twitter account , which seems a little 385 00:15:55,947 --> 00:15:58,520 peculiar uh that he would dis about the 386 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,860 conversation with Millie somehow that 387 00:16:01,860 --> 00:16:04,610 said , I want to ask a pentagon 388 00:16:04,610 --> 00:16:07,310 question , not a joint staff question , 389 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,450 but now you where I was going 390 00:16:11,260 --> 00:16:15,140 now that the king of Jordan has put 391 00:16:15,140 --> 00:16:17,800 this in the pentagon arena , that there 392 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:20,550 was a conversation with a the most 393 00:16:20,550 --> 00:16:22,800 senior U . S . Military advisor to the 394 00:16:22,810 --> 00:16:25,120 President of the United States . What 395 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,370 is this building's position on 396 00:16:28,380 --> 00:16:32,140 Israeli policy and actions right 397 00:16:32,140 --> 00:16:33,918 now amidst the current security 398 00:16:33,918 --> 00:16:36,140 situation , you know ? But I'm going to 399 00:16:36,140 --> 00:16:38,220 have to take the question here . I'm 400 00:16:38,220 --> 00:16:41,800 not I was not aware of uh the 401 00:16:41,810 --> 00:16:44,030 tweet was not aware of the 402 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,710 conversations and therefore I'm ill 403 00:16:46,710 --> 00:16:48,821 equipped to speak to the specifics of 404 00:16:48,821 --> 00:16:50,970 whatever conversation occurred . So , 405 00:16:50,980 --> 00:16:54,870 um let me get the answer , I'm 406 00:16:54,870 --> 00:16:56,980 sure let me do the best I can 407 00:16:56,990 --> 00:16:59,670 understanding that if this conversation 408 00:16:59,670 --> 00:17:02,880 occurred , it occurred between the the 409 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:05,470 chairman uh and the king , not the 410 00:17:05,470 --> 00:17:07,359 secretary . So we also want to be 411 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:09,359 mindful that we don't want to speak 412 00:17:11,140 --> 00:17:13,400 uh or any Israeli leaders and you're 413 00:17:13,410 --> 00:17:15,632 able to tell us that would be used . We 414 00:17:15,632 --> 00:17:17,521 routinely provide readouts of his 415 00:17:17,521 --> 00:17:19,577 conversations with world leaders . I 416 00:17:19,577 --> 00:17:21,743 have no such conversations to speak to 417 00:17:21,743 --> 00:17:23,930 today . Let me go back here to the 418 00:17:23,940 --> 00:17:27,360 phones . David martin 419 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,720 john uh the Navy usually takes a 420 00:17:32,730 --> 00:17:36,100 video of these uh instances in the 421 00:17:36,100 --> 00:17:38,322 Persian gulf for the strait of Hormuz . 422 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,170 Are you aware of whether there is any 423 00:17:41,180 --> 00:17:44,640 video of this latest encounter and if 424 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,600 so , uh we is osd going to 425 00:17:48,610 --> 00:17:51,310 approve its release . Dave , I don't 426 00:17:51,310 --> 00:17:55,060 know if there's a video of it . Um I'm 427 00:17:55,060 --> 00:17:58,170 happy to look into that . Um and as you 428 00:17:58,170 --> 00:18:01,910 know , uh we typically do release video 429 00:18:01,910 --> 00:18:04,590 once it's gone through a proper review 430 00:18:04,590 --> 00:18:07,140 for classification . Um So if there's 431 00:18:07,140 --> 00:18:09,620 video and if it's something that we 432 00:18:09,620 --> 00:18:12,510 deem that we can in fact release , we 433 00:18:12,510 --> 00:18:14,566 would as past practice , we would be 434 00:18:14,566 --> 00:18:17,080 supportive of that follow up on a 435 00:18:17,090 --> 00:18:20,960 different subject . The reports that 436 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,020 the european allies have asked the U . 437 00:18:25,020 --> 00:18:28,780 S . To slow its withdrawal from 438 00:18:28,790 --> 00:18:31,800 Afghanistan to better accommodate their 439 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,310 needs . I I wouldn't speak for our 440 00:18:35,310 --> 00:18:37,366 european allies and partners and our 441 00:18:37,366 --> 00:18:41,330 coalition partners uh for um their 442 00:18:41,330 --> 00:18:44,770 own pacing of the withdrawal . What I 443 00:18:44,770 --> 00:18:48,640 can say is that we have our marching 444 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:50,862 orders from President biden and that is 445 00:18:50,862 --> 00:18:54,250 to complete the retrograde by early 446 00:18:54,250 --> 00:18:57,500 september um uh we'll have 447 00:18:57,510 --> 00:19:00,260 tomorrow , Central Command will put out 448 00:19:00,270 --> 00:19:02,530 an updated progress report for all of 449 00:19:02,530 --> 00:19:04,697 you . Like they did like they did last 450 00:19:04,697 --> 00:19:06,863 Tuesday . Uh I don't want to get ahead 451 00:19:06,863 --> 00:19:10,500 of that , but I can say broadly our 452 00:19:10,510 --> 00:19:13,170 retrograde activities continue apace . 453 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,980 Um and again , our our mandate is to be 454 00:19:16,980 --> 00:19:19,880 out by early september and that's what 455 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,860 we're focused on . Yeah , it's going um 456 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:26,770 sticking with Afghanistan , can you say ? 457 00:19:26,780 --> 00:19:29,030 Um Is the violence over the weekend 458 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:31,040 complicating the drawdown at all or 459 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:33,310 hastening the effort ? Um and then I 460 00:19:33,310 --> 00:19:35,910 have a separate question on Israel thus 461 00:19:35,910 --> 00:19:39,060 far , laura . We haven't um 462 00:19:40,140 --> 00:19:42,140 I'll put it this way , there hasn't 463 00:19:42,140 --> 00:19:45,910 been activity um uh that 464 00:19:45,910 --> 00:19:49,070 has degraded our ability to continue 465 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,180 the retrograde at pace , obviously . 466 00:19:52,180 --> 00:19:54,180 And the Secretary talked about this 467 00:19:54,540 --> 00:19:56,651 last week . The violence is still too 468 00:19:56,651 --> 00:19:59,830 high and we saw an attack over the 469 00:19:59,830 --> 00:20:03,410 weekend . Again , that that 470 00:20:03,410 --> 00:20:05,950 killed a lot of young school girls . So 471 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,016 we all want to see the violence come 472 00:20:08,016 --> 00:20:11,350 down , but thus far , 473 00:20:11,940 --> 00:20:15,360 um , with the exception of harassing 474 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:18,670 attack here or there that had no impact 475 00:20:18,670 --> 00:20:20,837 on our forces . We haven't encountered 476 00:20:20,837 --> 00:20:23,020 anything that that has affected our 477 00:20:23,020 --> 00:20:25,960 ability to continue the retrograde on 478 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,550 pace , violence against afghans , The 479 00:20:29,550 --> 00:20:31,717 uptick in that violence . Is there any 480 00:20:31,717 --> 00:20:34,310 talk of potentially slowing down , as I 481 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,770 said to David , uh , we're focused on 482 00:20:37,770 --> 00:20:39,937 meeting the president's intentions and 483 00:20:39,937 --> 00:20:41,881 his orders , which is to be out by 484 00:20:41,881 --> 00:20:44,048 early september . Uh , we haven't seen 485 00:20:44,048 --> 00:20:47,730 anything thus far that has affected our 486 00:20:47,730 --> 00:20:50,900 ability to to meet that objective . Uh , 487 00:20:50,910 --> 00:20:53,920 I do want to just , I'll just go back a 488 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,031 little bit too David Davis question . 489 00:20:56,031 --> 00:20:58,031 Obviously , we're in touch with our 490 00:20:58,031 --> 00:20:59,920 allies and partners , um , and we 491 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,120 remain supportive of helping them as 492 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:05,750 they conduct retrograde of their forces . 493 00:21:05,750 --> 00:21:07,972 I won't speak to the specifics of those 494 00:21:07,972 --> 00:21:11,860 conversations or or what their 495 00:21:11,860 --> 00:21:13,638 paces because it's really their 496 00:21:13,638 --> 00:21:15,693 sovereign nations , it's for them to 497 00:21:15,693 --> 00:21:17,860 speak to . But obviously , uh we're in 498 00:21:17,860 --> 00:21:19,916 touch with them and as secretary has 499 00:21:19,916 --> 00:21:22,027 said , we went in together , we we we 500 00:21:22,027 --> 00:21:24,240 served together and we're all gonna 501 00:21:24,250 --> 00:21:26,361 come out together . That's that's the 502 00:21:26,361 --> 00:21:28,320 the overarching goal with our NATO 503 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,800 allies . You comment on the violence 504 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,133 that's happening in Jerusalem right now , 505 00:21:34,133 --> 00:21:37,070 um Netanyahu accused the Hamas militant 506 00:21:37,070 --> 00:21:39,181 group of crossing a red line with the 507 00:21:39,181 --> 00:21:41,210 rocket attack , um , and promised a 508 00:21:41,210 --> 00:21:43,321 response . So I'm wondering if you're 509 00:21:43,321 --> 00:21:45,488 concerned about a drastic escalation , 510 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,320 uh , I would say this , today's rocket 511 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:51,310 attack from Gaza into Israel is 512 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,540 unacceptable uh in the United States 513 00:21:53,540 --> 00:21:57,030 supports Israel's right to self defense . 514 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,207 And here at the department we're going 515 00:21:59,207 --> 00:22:01,390 to continue our cooperation to ensure 516 00:22:01,390 --> 00:22:04,400 that Israel has what it needs to defend 517 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,180 and protect itself . Put on this , 518 00:22:07,860 --> 00:22:11,840 Okay , um , are you concerned ? And 519 00:22:11,850 --> 00:22:15,530 anyway , about Israel using excessive 520 00:22:15,540 --> 00:22:18,660 force against unarmed Palestinians 521 00:22:19,530 --> 00:22:23,500 in Jerusalem ? I think that's a 522 00:22:23,510 --> 00:22:26,630 question better put to uh Israeli 523 00:22:26,630 --> 00:22:28,574 authorities . Obviously , we we we 524 00:22:28,574 --> 00:22:30,741 don't want to see , obviously we don't 525 00:22:30,741 --> 00:22:34,270 want to see innocent lives taken . Uh 526 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,529 nobody wants to see this level of 527 00:22:36,529 --> 00:22:38,910 violence . But as I said in my answer 528 00:22:38,910 --> 00:22:41,390 to Laura , these rocket attacks from 529 00:22:41,390 --> 00:22:43,790 Gaza are unacceptable and Israel has a 530 00:22:43,790 --> 00:22:45,846 right to defend itself . And here at 531 00:22:45,846 --> 00:22:47,623 the department , we're going to 532 00:22:47,623 --> 00:22:49,846 continue to support uh two degree , the 533 00:22:49,846 --> 00:22:51,846 best degree we can their ability to 534 00:22:51,846 --> 00:22:53,957 protect themselves and their citizens 535 00:22:53,957 --> 00:22:56,012 from , from these kinds of attacks . 536 00:22:56,012 --> 00:22:58,123 Let me let me go to the phones here . 537 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,060 Um , Sam Lagrone us and I , 538 00:23:03,340 --> 00:23:05,720 hey john , uh , two quick questions and 539 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:07,942 follow ups from the Fifth Fleet stuff . 540 00:23:07,942 --> 00:23:09,498 Uh Number one , what is the 541 00:23:09,498 --> 00:23:11,442 investigation or the investigative 542 00:23:11,442 --> 00:23:13,164 agency that's looking into the 543 00:23:13,164 --> 00:23:15,400 monterrey uh seizure from the dow ? And 544 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,344 then number two , um you said that 545 00:23:17,344 --> 00:23:20,440 Georgia was transiting the strait of 546 00:23:20,450 --> 00:23:23,400 her moves during the recent irgc , 547 00:23:23,410 --> 00:23:26,290 unsafe unprofessional encounter ? Were 548 00:23:26,290 --> 00:23:28,950 they going into the gulf for coming out ? 549 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,410 Thanks . My understanding is going in 550 00:23:31,410 --> 00:23:35,230 SAM and on your first question , my 551 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,073 understanding is this will be an 552 00:23:37,073 --> 00:23:39,129 interagency investigation because it 553 00:23:39,129 --> 00:23:41,462 crosses a lot of different agency lines . 554 00:23:43,340 --> 00:23:46,080 Okay , what I mean ? I asked the police 555 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,247 to go , I just want to see if anything 556 00:23:48,247 --> 00:23:50,358 has moved . But the extremism working 557 00:23:50,358 --> 00:23:52,580 group , the first few action items that 558 00:23:52,580 --> 00:23:54,691 they have , our deadline has been set 559 00:23:54,691 --> 00:23:56,802 for them to get back to the secretary 560 00:23:56,802 --> 00:23:59,880 with their suggestions or findings or 561 00:23:59,890 --> 00:24:01,723 anything like that . And if they 562 00:24:01,723 --> 00:24:04,290 haven't , why not set deadlines ? I 563 00:24:04,290 --> 00:24:06,510 don't believe there's been a specific 564 00:24:06,510 --> 00:24:09,430 deadline set . Um but I know that 565 00:24:09,430 --> 00:24:11,374 they're hard at work . The working 566 00:24:11,374 --> 00:24:13,541 group is hard at work at uh fulfilling 567 00:24:13,541 --> 00:24:16,110 the mandate from the secretary . Uh I 568 00:24:16,110 --> 00:24:18,630 think he's again as we've talked about 569 00:24:18,630 --> 00:24:20,574 this where he's more interested in 570 00:24:20,574 --> 00:24:22,630 making sure we get this right rather 571 00:24:22,630 --> 00:24:24,580 than get it fast . Sure these are 572 00:24:24,580 --> 00:24:26,802 immediate action items . One of them is 573 00:24:26,802 --> 00:24:29,024 to come up with the definition that the 574 00:24:29,024 --> 00:24:30,747 department can use to evaluate 575 00:24:30,747 --> 00:24:32,913 individual cases . How could there not 576 00:24:32,913 --> 00:24:35,136 be a deadline for something like that ? 577 00:24:35,136 --> 00:24:37,136 They're working on that right now , 578 00:24:37,136 --> 00:24:39,358 Megan . And uh , that they don't that I 579 00:24:39,358 --> 00:24:41,580 don't have a specific deadline to speak 580 00:24:41,580 --> 00:24:43,636 to , doesn't mean that there isn't a 581 00:24:43,636 --> 00:24:43,250 sense of urgency here or an 582 00:24:43,250 --> 00:24:44,917 understanding of the sense of 583 00:24:44,917 --> 00:24:46,972 importance . And I would remind that 584 00:24:46,972 --> 00:24:49,028 what we're really focused here on is 585 00:24:49,028 --> 00:24:51,194 the kind of activity and behavior that 586 00:24:51,194 --> 00:24:53,417 is inspired by extremist ideology , not 587 00:24:53,417 --> 00:24:55,306 necessarily a broad definition of 588 00:24:55,306 --> 00:24:58,900 extremism itself . Okay , uh 589 00:24:58,910 --> 00:25:02,650 Jack Dutch foreign policy . Does the 590 00:25:02,650 --> 00:25:04,872 secretary plan to meet with his chinese 591 00:25:04,872 --> 00:25:07,094 counterparts at the shangri la dialogue 592 00:25:07,094 --> 00:25:09,261 or on the sidelines ? I don't have any 593 00:25:09,261 --> 00:25:12,750 specific bilateral meetings uh to 594 00:25:12,750 --> 00:25:14,930 announce here today , we are in the 595 00:25:14,930 --> 00:25:18,110 planning stages of the trip to the 596 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:21,030 shangri La uh shangri La dialogue , 597 00:25:21,030 --> 00:25:24,480 sorry . Um and as we get more detail 598 00:25:24,490 --> 00:25:27,760 on what , because you all know there 599 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:29,500 are bilateral and sometimes 600 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:31,722 multilateral meetings that occur on the 601 00:25:31,722 --> 00:25:33,944 sidelines as we get more detail on that 602 00:25:33,944 --> 00:25:36,000 we will be happy to share with you . 603 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:35,310 But I just don't have anything 604 00:25:35,310 --> 00:25:37,532 additional today . Got it . Do you know 605 00:25:37,532 --> 00:25:39,699 if they've spoken yet ? I'm not spoken 606 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,580 in the back there and this 607 00:25:44,580 --> 00:25:47,440 weekend . Yahoo News published an 608 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,270 article with which claims based on 609 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,790 interviews with 15 current and former U . 610 00:25:53,790 --> 00:25:56,780 S . Officials that and on the killing 611 00:25:56,780 --> 00:25:59,660 of General Qasem Soleimani kurdish 612 00:25:59,660 --> 00:26:01,850 counterterrorism played a major role 613 00:26:02,410 --> 00:26:04,180 and Israelis also passed some 614 00:26:04,180 --> 00:26:06,291 information . Can you can you comment 615 00:26:06,291 --> 00:26:08,610 on that ? I'm not going to comment on 616 00:26:08,610 --> 00:26:11,480 the specifics of that story . Um and as 617 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,750 you know , we don't talk about the 618 00:26:13,750 --> 00:26:16,630 details of military operations . The 619 00:26:16,630 --> 00:26:19,420 only thing that I would add is that our 620 00:26:19,420 --> 00:26:21,770 embassies or diplomatic facilities 621 00:26:22,140 --> 00:26:24,330 focused on the work of diplomacy and 622 00:26:24,330 --> 00:26:27,070 not uh involved in conducting or 623 00:26:27,070 --> 00:26:29,292 overseeing military operations ? That's 624 00:26:29,292 --> 00:26:31,292 about as far as I'm going to go . I 625 00:26:31,292 --> 00:26:33,630 already got you terror abraham quick 626 00:26:33,630 --> 00:26:35,980 clarification . So the border wall 627 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,890 construction , that funding , if it's 628 00:26:38,890 --> 00:26:41,112 already spent , it was shifted from one 629 00:26:41,112 --> 00:26:43,279 location to the other . Uh where would 630 00:26:43,279 --> 00:26:45,540 it then come back from ? And also is 631 00:26:45,540 --> 00:26:47,600 there a total yet for how much was 632 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:49,489 shifted ? And so that's the first 633 00:26:49,489 --> 00:26:51,600 question . Second question for Deputy 634 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,767 Secretary Hicks's visit to Fort Hood , 635 00:26:53,767 --> 00:26:55,989 is is there anything related to the IRC 636 00:26:55,989 --> 00:26:58,156 that she's gonna be doing down there ? 637 00:26:58,156 --> 00:26:57,660 Can you give us an update on that ? I 638 00:26:57,660 --> 00:26:59,716 think they'll give you a better read 639 00:26:59,716 --> 00:27:02,220 out obviously of her of our discussions 640 00:27:02,220 --> 00:27:04,442 there . So I don't want to get ahead of 641 00:27:04,442 --> 00:27:06,860 that . I would certainly expect that 642 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:10,230 issues surrounding 643 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,980 um sexual assault and sexual harassment 644 00:27:12,980 --> 00:27:15,960 given the Fort Hood report that was so 645 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:17,849 recently released . I would fully 646 00:27:17,849 --> 00:27:19,904 expect that that will be part of the 647 00:27:19,904 --> 00:27:22,016 discussion there . But I'll , I don't 648 00:27:22,016 --> 00:27:24,127 want to get ahead of her or her staff 649 00:27:24,127 --> 00:27:26,071 and I'm sure they'll provide uh an 650 00:27:26,071 --> 00:27:28,071 appropriate read out of it . On the 651 00:27:28,071 --> 00:27:30,127 border wall question . You lost me . 652 00:27:30,127 --> 00:27:32,349 What are you looking for ? How much was 653 00:27:32,349 --> 00:27:34,404 spent down there ? Yeah , that was a 654 00:27:34,404 --> 00:27:36,404 question that came up with the last 655 00:27:36,404 --> 00:27:35,950 week or the week before that we're 656 00:27:35,950 --> 00:27:37,950 going to look into . And they don't 657 00:27:37,950 --> 00:27:40,117 have a I don't have a dollar figure to 658 00:27:40,117 --> 00:27:42,172 give you right now , in terms of how 659 00:27:42,172 --> 00:27:45,920 much was actually uh spent . Um , 660 00:27:45,930 --> 00:27:48,280 it's difficult to estimate the precise 661 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,780 costs for suspension , um , accurately 662 00:27:51,780 --> 00:27:53,836 until the contractors have submitted 663 00:27:53,836 --> 00:27:55,947 claims for their actual costs . So we 664 00:27:55,947 --> 00:27:58,113 just don't have an exact dollar figure 665 00:27:58,113 --> 00:28:00,224 right now . And like I said , I think 666 00:28:00,224 --> 00:28:02,447 who is a terrorist or somebody asked in 667 00:28:02,447 --> 00:28:04,502 terms of what's going to be recouped 668 00:28:04,502 --> 00:28:06,447 and where that's gonna go ? We are 669 00:28:06,447 --> 00:28:08,724 working our way through that right now . 670 00:28:08,724 --> 00:28:11,770 Okay , thank you . Uh , let's see , 671 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:17,220 Jeff showgirl . Thank you . This is the 672 00:28:17,220 --> 00:28:19,053 second incident in which U . S . 673 00:28:19,053 --> 00:28:21,276 Vessels have fired warning shots at the 674 00:28:21,276 --> 00:28:23,387 I . R . G . C . N . In recent weeks . 675 00:28:23,387 --> 00:28:25,840 Do you get the sense that the Iranians 676 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:27,840 for trying to pick a fight with the 677 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,130 Navy and Coast Guard ? I think I'd let 678 00:28:31,130 --> 00:28:34,460 them speak to their intentions , Jeff , 679 00:28:34,470 --> 00:28:38,310 uh , sadly , harassment by the Irgc 680 00:28:38,310 --> 00:28:41,460 Navy is not , uh , a new phenomenon . 681 00:28:41,940 --> 00:28:44,330 Um , it is something that all our 682 00:28:44,340 --> 00:28:46,430 commanding officers and crews of our 683 00:28:46,430 --> 00:28:48,980 vessels are trained . Uh , it's a 684 00:28:48,980 --> 00:28:51,770 threat they're trained for , uh , when , 685 00:28:51,780 --> 00:28:53,620 uh , when serving in the central 686 00:28:53,620 --> 00:28:55,287 command area responsibility , 687 00:28:55,287 --> 00:28:57,800 particularly in , uh , and around the 688 00:28:57,810 --> 00:29:00,890 gulf . Um , so they have the right of 689 00:29:00,900 --> 00:29:03,380 self defense . Um , they have the means 690 00:29:03,380 --> 00:29:05,900 at their disposal , uh , to defend 691 00:29:05,910 --> 00:29:08,188 their ships and their crews . And , uh , 692 00:29:08,188 --> 00:29:10,299 they also , as I think we've seen now 693 00:29:10,299 --> 00:29:13,620 in this second incident , um , are very 694 00:29:13,620 --> 00:29:15,676 stringent about following the proper 695 00:29:15,676 --> 00:29:18,660 procedures , uh , for providing 696 00:29:19,140 --> 00:29:22,640 warnings verbally first , and then if 697 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,584 need be through the use of warning 698 00:29:24,584 --> 00:29:26,930 shots , uh , to try to , to , to change 699 00:29:26,930 --> 00:29:29,270 and mitigate the Iranian behavior . 700 00:29:29,330 --> 00:29:31,600 This is , as we said at the top , it's 701 00:29:31,610 --> 00:29:34,120 unsafe , It's unprofessional . Um , and 702 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,176 this kind of activity is the kind of 703 00:29:36,176 --> 00:29:38,231 activity that could lead to somebody 704 00:29:38,231 --> 00:29:40,342 getting hurt and could lead to a real 705 00:29:40,342 --> 00:29:42,398 miscalculation there in the region . 706 00:29:42,398 --> 00:29:42,160 And that doesn't serve anybody's 707 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,670 interests . My follow up question at 708 00:29:44,670 --> 00:29:46,837 what point are U . S . Vessels allowed 709 00:29:46,837 --> 00:29:49,850 to sink these irgc in boats that gets 710 00:29:49,850 --> 00:29:52,260 to specific rules of engagement ? Uh 711 00:29:52,270 --> 00:29:54,437 Jeff And I think , you know , we don't 712 00:29:54,437 --> 00:29:56,603 talk about that . I'll just go back to 713 00:29:56,603 --> 00:29:58,770 what I said before and that's that our 714 00:29:58,770 --> 00:30:00,881 commanding officers , uh crews of our 715 00:30:00,881 --> 00:30:02,881 ships , they have the right of self 716 00:30:02,881 --> 00:30:05,103 defense and they know how to use that . 717 00:30:05,103 --> 00:30:07,960 Right ? Uh uh Yes , ma'am . Yes , ma'am . 718 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,770 Do you have any update about the 719 00:30:11,780 --> 00:30:14,640 recent terrorism attack in Kabul 720 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,350 Delgado Mozambique ? And also if you 721 00:30:18,350 --> 00:30:22,320 have an update about the 722 00:30:22,330 --> 00:30:24,580 training that U . S . Militaries are 723 00:30:24,590 --> 00:30:27,790 providing to the Mozambique 724 00:30:27,900 --> 00:30:31,190 soldiers , I don't think I have an 725 00:30:31,190 --> 00:30:33,357 update . Let me just look here to make 726 00:30:33,357 --> 00:30:35,357 sure that I don't have an update on 727 00:30:35,357 --> 00:30:39,270 that . I'm probably gonna 728 00:30:39,270 --> 00:30:42,670 have to take your question . Um 729 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,270 Yeah I don't have an update . Um 730 00:30:47,940 --> 00:30:51,820 and I certainly don't have any specific 731 00:30:51,820 --> 00:30:54,042 operational thing to speak to but we do 732 00:30:54,042 --> 00:30:57,530 conduct joint counterterrorism training 733 00:30:57,540 --> 00:31:01,410 uh down in in Mozambique . Uh It is 734 00:31:01,420 --> 00:31:03,340 not directly supporting combat 735 00:31:03,340 --> 00:31:05,340 operations though it's it's to help 736 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:07,140 their forces improve their 737 00:31:07,140 --> 00:31:09,251 counterterrorism capability . I'm not 738 00:31:09,251 --> 00:31:12,850 aware of any uh change in that posture 739 00:31:12,850 --> 00:31:15,070 or that capability . But again I think 740 00:31:15,070 --> 00:31:17,292 I'm gonna have to take your question in 741 00:31:17,292 --> 00:31:19,459 terms of an update on where things are 742 00:31:19,459 --> 00:31:21,570 there . It's also I would also I mean 743 00:31:21,570 --> 00:31:23,626 I'm happy to do it and we will but I 744 00:31:23,626 --> 00:31:23,360 also encourage you to reach out to our 745 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:25,360 State Department colleagues to they 746 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:27,570 might have uh uh more and more 747 00:31:27,570 --> 00:31:29,626 contextual information that we would 748 00:31:29,626 --> 00:31:31,737 have on that situation at the Defense 749 00:31:31,737 --> 00:31:34,100 Department , the attacks , the recent 750 00:31:34,110 --> 00:31:37,000 attacks . How the pentagon . So we are 751 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,000 not , as I said before , we are not 752 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,660 involved in military operations 753 00:31:41,670 --> 00:31:45,540 uh in Mozambique . What we do is 754 00:31:45,550 --> 00:31:47,980 do some joint counterterrorism training 755 00:31:47,990 --> 00:31:51,260 uh for their forces . So I'm confident 756 00:31:51,260 --> 00:31:53,204 in telling you that that we're not 757 00:31:53,204 --> 00:31:55,482 participating in a military role , A U . 758 00:31:55,482 --> 00:31:58,240 S . Military role in this recent 759 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:02,020 violence . Our missions down there are 760 00:32:02,020 --> 00:32:04,720 very precisely dedicated to helping 761 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:06,720 them improve their counterterrorism 762 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,810 capabilities . Okay . Yes , sir . Thank 763 00:32:09,810 --> 00:32:12,820 you . I want to ask you about china's 764 00:32:12,830 --> 00:32:16,270 behavior in space . Fortunately the 765 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:19,400 debris flung a large chinese locate 766 00:32:19,410 --> 00:32:22,740 around this in the indian ocean on 767 00:32:22,740 --> 00:32:26,510 sunday . But we're not sure where 768 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,980 precisely it would fall for several 769 00:32:29,990 --> 00:32:32,830 hours before it around it . And there 770 00:32:32,830 --> 00:32:35,800 was a risk for people drive and 771 00:32:35,810 --> 00:32:38,740 property . Do you think that china's 772 00:32:38,750 --> 00:32:42,120 handling of space debris was 773 00:32:42,130 --> 00:32:45,530 responsible ? I think you saw the Nasa 774 00:32:45,530 --> 00:32:47,752 administrator speak to this yesterday , 775 00:32:47,752 --> 00:32:50,030 um calling on china to be more 776 00:32:50,030 --> 00:32:53,420 responsible in the way they manage the 777 00:32:53,430 --> 00:32:56,050 realm of space uh in 778 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:00,560 and their entry 779 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:03,210 into orbit , 780 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,940 material and systems . And I think 781 00:33:08,940 --> 00:33:11,440 you also heard the secretary himself 782 00:33:11,450 --> 00:33:13,450 speak to this on thursday , I can't 783 00:33:13,450 --> 00:33:15,810 improve upon the way he put it , that 784 00:33:15,810 --> 00:33:18,750 we want to see everybody who are actors 785 00:33:18,750 --> 00:33:20,590 in space do so in a responsible 786 00:33:20,590 --> 00:33:24,110 deliberate way . Um That that's mindful 787 00:33:24,130 --> 00:33:27,820 of the safety of all our citizens here 788 00:33:27,820 --> 00:33:31,450 on earth . Uh The United 789 00:33:31,450 --> 00:33:33,900 States has worked to establish 790 00:33:33,910 --> 00:33:36,620 international rules and norms of 791 00:33:36,630 --> 00:33:40,170 responsible behavior in space . So do 792 00:33:40,170 --> 00:33:42,770 you think the recent events high rise ? 793 00:33:42,780 --> 00:33:45,560 The importance and urgency of 794 00:33:46,060 --> 00:33:49,230 international code of conduct in space ? 795 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,180 I don't want to get ahead of a specific 796 00:33:52,190 --> 00:33:54,670 code here . I think you've heard our 797 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:58,720 Space Force uh Chief of Staff speak to 798 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,260 this that obviously uh 799 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:04,384 we we all want everybody to behave 800 00:34:04,384 --> 00:34:07,060 responsibly here and according to some 801 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:11,470 internationally accepted norms , that's 802 00:34:11,470 --> 00:34:13,680 important for the safety of everybody 803 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:17,250 who uses the space domain to 804 00:34:17,250 --> 00:34:19,620 communicate um and to improve 805 00:34:19,620 --> 00:34:21,650 situational awareness . We want 806 00:34:21,650 --> 00:34:24,170 everybody to behave responsibly and to 807 00:34:24,540 --> 00:34:28,100 ascribed to at the very least , some 808 00:34:28,100 --> 00:34:29,989 internationally accepted norms of 809 00:34:29,989 --> 00:34:33,470 behavior . Yep Peter Lowy saw he 810 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:42,420 hi john thanks very much . Um yesterday 811 00:34:42,430 --> 00:34:44,740 China and Indonesia held joint naval 812 00:34:44,740 --> 00:34:46,907 exercises . Do you have any comment on 813 00:34:46,907 --> 00:34:49,240 this ? And will it impact any Indonesia ? 814 00:34:49,240 --> 00:34:51,296 Us joint exercises in the future ? I 815 00:34:51,296 --> 00:34:53,296 think Kuroda field is scheduled for 816 00:34:53,296 --> 00:34:55,540 august , I'm not aware of any impact . 817 00:34:55,540 --> 00:34:57,870 It would have to any joint exercises 818 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,430 with Indonesia . Uh Peter um 819 00:35:01,430 --> 00:35:04,580 and I wasn't tracking the bilateral 820 00:35:04,580 --> 00:35:07,020 exercise with china , referring to both 821 00:35:07,020 --> 00:35:09,242 those countries to speak to their goals 822 00:35:09,242 --> 00:35:11,020 and objectives there . It's not 823 00:35:11,020 --> 00:35:13,076 something I have visibility on . But 824 00:35:13,076 --> 00:35:15,500 you know , we still look forward to 825 00:35:15,510 --> 00:35:17,200 bilateral opportunities with 826 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,800 Indonesians in here . 827 00:35:21,100 --> 00:35:24,140 Uh Thank you for finally giving me a 828 00:35:24,140 --> 00:35:26,307 chance to ask some questions . My name 829 00:35:26,307 --> 00:35:28,362 is Jimmy and kim and I'm working for 830 00:35:28,362 --> 00:35:30,362 South korean daily newspaper , just 831 00:35:30,362 --> 00:35:32,362 unable so you can call me jean next 832 00:35:32,362 --> 00:35:36,360 time . Yeah . Uh because I was 833 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:40,260 like uh so I have two 834 00:35:40,270 --> 00:35:43,610 questions about realistic Carlos is in 835 00:35:43,620 --> 00:35:46,810 Northern Arabia . See uh first I've 836 00:35:46,820 --> 00:35:49,700 read the statement from the fifth fleet 837 00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:53,510 and uh is that that the crew on the 838 00:35:53,510 --> 00:35:56,390 doll was released after questioning . 839 00:35:56,390 --> 00:36:00,040 So I'm just curious about what how the 840 00:36:00,530 --> 00:36:03,340 inter agency investigation team will 841 00:36:03,340 --> 00:36:05,780 pursue whoever is responsible for it 842 00:36:05,790 --> 00:36:08,860 for selling the weapons . And is there 843 00:36:08,860 --> 00:36:10,804 any standard dot its investigation 844 00:36:10,804 --> 00:36:13,810 process ? And my second question is uh 845 00:36:13,820 --> 00:36:17,570 the weapons uh Russian made 846 00:36:17,580 --> 00:36:19,960 like Russian and chinese weapons . I'm 847 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,380 pretty sure that North Korea has a lot 848 00:36:22,380 --> 00:36:25,420 of those kind of weapons and , uh , 849 00:36:25,430 --> 00:36:27,860 they even have ability to produce the 850 00:36:27,860 --> 00:36:30,610 copies . I understand that you don't 851 00:36:30,610 --> 00:36:33,710 want to get ahead of the investigation . 852 00:36:33,710 --> 00:36:36,520 But can you just exclude North Korea 853 00:36:36,530 --> 00:36:39,040 from , from the line of investigation 854 00:36:40,030 --> 00:36:42,340 or or what , what will be done , 855 00:36:42,510 --> 00:36:45,630 exclude them as a potential destination ? 856 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:47,730 No . As I said , it would be at the 857 00:36:47,730 --> 00:36:50,840 beginning . The final destination of 858 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,062 this material is unknown and that's why 859 00:36:53,062 --> 00:36:55,229 we're investigating it . I can't speak 860 00:36:55,229 --> 00:36:57,870 to specific issues with the crew . 861 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:00,940 I'm certain that , 862 00:37:00,950 --> 00:37:04,410 uh , we had opportunity to speak to 863 00:37:04,410 --> 00:37:07,990 them , uh , about their cargo and I 864 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:09,556 just won't get ahead of the 865 00:37:09,556 --> 00:37:13,470 investigation . I'm sorry . Uh , 866 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:16,960 um , uh , Therese , 867 00:37:18,130 --> 00:37:20,297 Yes . Hi , john , thank you for taking 868 00:37:20,297 --> 00:37:22,519 my question . It's actually a follow up 869 00:37:22,519 --> 00:37:24,574 about the space debris . Um , I know 870 00:37:24,574 --> 00:37:27,340 that um Secretary Austin said that the 871 00:37:27,350 --> 00:37:29,517 military was not gonna get involved as 872 00:37:29,517 --> 00:37:31,683 far as possibly shooting it out of the 873 00:37:31,683 --> 00:37:33,906 sky . But do you feel there should have 874 00:37:33,906 --> 00:37:36,072 more ? Should have been done as far as 875 00:37:36,072 --> 00:37:38,660 the military to try to um , I guess 876 00:37:38,660 --> 00:37:41,570 direct the debris or alleviate the 877 00:37:41,570 --> 00:37:43,737 debris from Atlanta or the the islands 878 00:37:43,737 --> 00:37:47,340 of the Maldives . I if you're asking 879 00:37:47,830 --> 00:37:50,700 if I suggested that we felt we should 880 00:37:50,700 --> 00:37:54,340 have done more to director debris . Yes , 881 00:37:54,340 --> 00:37:56,284 the question is , do you feel more 882 00:37:56,284 --> 00:37:58,507 should have been done . There's a limit 883 00:37:58,507 --> 00:38:00,562 to what you can do to raise when you 884 00:38:00,562 --> 00:38:04,080 have an object of this size traveling 885 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:06,850 at the speed at which it was was going ? 886 00:38:06,860 --> 00:38:09,740 Um , I think you all had the 887 00:38:09,740 --> 00:38:12,410 opportunity if you wanted to uh , to 888 00:38:12,410 --> 00:38:15,630 get online and and see the how it was 889 00:38:15,630 --> 00:38:17,940 tracked . It wasn't really known until 890 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,920 Very very near its entry into the 891 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,440 atmosphere where it was going to enter 892 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:26,662 the atmosphere . And as we put out that 893 00:38:26,662 --> 00:38:29,190 night , Saturday night at around 10:15 894 00:38:29,190 --> 00:38:32,340 that we had a firm enough indication 895 00:38:32,340 --> 00:38:34,400 that it re entered uh somewhere over 896 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,640 the Arabian peninsula . Um and and 897 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:39,751 honestly we were tracking it as close 898 00:38:39,751 --> 00:38:41,760 as as we can . Um So there's a real 899 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,950 limit to what um not only with any 900 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:47,880 any military capability could do but 901 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,047 any tracking capability could do given 902 00:38:50,047 --> 00:38:52,158 again the size and the speed at which 903 00:38:52,158 --> 00:38:55,730 this was was traveling . Obviously you 904 00:38:55,730 --> 00:38:57,730 go back in here in the back terry . 905 00:38:57,730 --> 00:38:59,730 I'll come back to you in a second . 906 00:38:59,730 --> 00:39:02,770 Thank you . Uh So um we'll follow up on 907 00:39:02,770 --> 00:39:05,570 the china rocket debris . Or was there 908 00:39:05,570 --> 00:39:07,681 any communication between the U . S . 909 00:39:07,681 --> 00:39:09,792 Side and the chinese side during this 910 00:39:09,792 --> 00:39:12,280 course of the fall of the debris ? All 911 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,002 I can speak for is the Defense 912 00:39:14,002 --> 00:39:16,280 Department and the answer to that snow . 913 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:18,336 Uh just wondering if you could get a 914 00:39:18,336 --> 00:39:20,950 couple more details on the RGC boat 915 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,080 incident ? Do you know what time it 916 00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:25,090 happened ? I know Barbara asked how 917 00:39:25,090 --> 00:39:27,690 long it it happened . But I don't , I 918 00:39:27,690 --> 00:39:29,760 mean this is information that we're 919 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:32,250 really just getting honestly before we 920 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:34,687 came up here . So I'd referring to the 921 00:39:34,687 --> 00:39:36,742 navy or centcom that might have more 922 00:39:36,742 --> 00:39:38,687 detail about that Perspective . It 923 00:39:38,687 --> 00:39:40,890 seems like 13 fast attack boats is an 924 00:39:40,890 --> 00:39:42,890 escalation . We've seen these prior 925 00:39:42,890 --> 00:39:45,001 incidents , but it's been like groups 926 00:39:45,001 --> 00:39:47,168 of twos or fours . Certainly more than 927 00:39:47,168 --> 00:39:49,279 we've seen in recent past . Again , I 928 00:39:49,279 --> 00:39:51,490 don't have the full history . The Navy 929 00:39:51,490 --> 00:39:53,712 might be able to help you with that . I 930 00:39:53,712 --> 00:39:55,823 can't say definitively that we've not 931 00:39:55,823 --> 00:39:58,470 seen that many since whenever it's 932 00:39:58,470 --> 00:40:01,040 significant . And as I said to Barbara 933 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:03,820 that it occurred in the straight , an 934 00:40:03,820 --> 00:40:05,820 international chokepoint waterway . 935 00:40:05,820 --> 00:40:08,042 That too is significant . And they were 936 00:40:08,042 --> 00:40:11,330 acting very aggressively behavior . Was 937 00:40:11,330 --> 00:40:13,608 it swarming where they circling around ? 938 00:40:13,608 --> 00:40:15,719 All I have , is the context I have so 939 00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:17,386 far , Which is that they were 940 00:40:17,386 --> 00:40:19,219 approaching at a very fast speed 941 00:40:19,219 --> 00:40:22,420 towards the U . S . Formation ? Yeah , 942 00:40:22,430 --> 00:40:25,670 Barbara , um do you have any on that ? 943 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:29,380 Do you have any assessment of 944 00:40:29,390 --> 00:40:33,030 how much of this ? Is the Irgc n 945 00:40:33,510 --> 00:40:36,770 perhaps acting on their own , directed 946 00:40:36,770 --> 00:40:38,992 from the central government in Tehran ? 947 00:40:39,180 --> 00:40:41,570 Any signal from the central government 948 00:40:41,580 --> 00:40:44,040 in Tehran about whether they support 949 00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:46,860 this at the moment . Given 950 00:40:46,870 --> 00:40:49,600 uh multinational talks that are going 951 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,750 on on the nuclear agreement , Do you , 952 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:54,871 do you assess that the government and 953 00:40:54,871 --> 00:40:57,830 Iran is supportive of this Irgc effort ? 954 00:40:57,840 --> 00:40:59,840 I don't think at this point that we 955 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:01,951 have a great sense of the command and 956 00:41:01,951 --> 00:41:04,600 control element here uh for the Irgc 957 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:06,656 Navy , I think , you know , the IrgC 958 00:41:06,656 --> 00:41:08,711 Navy reports directly to the Supreme 959 00:41:08,711 --> 00:41:11,030 Leader . Uh but what level of command 960 00:41:11,030 --> 00:41:13,300 and control and visibility there was 961 00:41:13,310 --> 00:41:15,790 from Tehran ? Um I don't think we know 962 00:41:15,790 --> 00:41:17,512 that right now . Is there some 963 00:41:17,512 --> 00:41:19,623 suggestions perhaps that , you know , 964 00:41:19,623 --> 00:41:21,679 even though it's been several months 965 00:41:21,679 --> 00:41:24,290 now , the death of Soleimani has led to 966 00:41:24,300 --> 00:41:28,050 less lessening of commanding 967 00:41:28,050 --> 00:41:31,360 control over the Irgc . More just uh , 968 00:41:31,370 --> 00:41:32,981 you know , that gets into an 969 00:41:32,981 --> 00:41:35,148 intelligence assessment issue , that I 970 00:41:35,148 --> 00:41:37,259 just would not be at liberty to speak 971 00:41:37,259 --> 00:41:39,314 to again . The commanding control in 972 00:41:39,314 --> 00:41:41,426 this particular incident is not clear 973 00:41:41,426 --> 00:41:43,590 just to button up the chinese rocket 974 00:41:43,590 --> 00:41:47,240 incident , perhaps , maybe . Um 975 00:41:47,910 --> 00:41:51,250 can you say definitively now that it is 976 00:41:51,260 --> 00:41:54,790 over , The Defense Department had no 977 00:41:54,790 --> 00:41:57,610 plan in place to shoot it down . Can 978 00:41:57,610 --> 00:42:00,420 you say that ? Can you say definitively 979 00:42:00,660 --> 00:42:03,330 there were no military assets on any 980 00:42:03,330 --> 00:42:07,260 kind of specific alert status to either 981 00:42:07,260 --> 00:42:11,150 render assistance ? Had there 982 00:42:11,150 --> 00:42:15,030 been landing on us on the 983 00:42:15,030 --> 00:42:17,460 United States are on us territory . Was 984 00:42:17,460 --> 00:42:21,160 there any anything that you guys were 985 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:23,160 doing or ready for that ? We do not 986 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:27,020 know about I , yeah . Anything 987 00:42:27,020 --> 00:42:29,940 that you do not know about . I would 988 00:42:29,940 --> 00:42:31,718 just point you back to what the 989 00:42:31,718 --> 00:42:34,110 secretary said last week . There were 990 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,680 no plans to shoot it down . Nothing on 991 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:40,660 an alert . I think I'm going to leave . 992 00:42:40,670 --> 00:42:42,781 I will leave it at what the secretary 993 00:42:42,781 --> 00:42:44,948 said . There were no plans to shoot it 994 00:42:44,948 --> 00:42:46,310 down uh to gender . 995 00:42:48,700 --> 00:42:51,820 Oh , hi , first of all , thank you very 996 00:42:51,820 --> 00:42:55,320 much for solving the the 997 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:58,620 yes , the problem with the parking lot . 998 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,670 And I have two short questions . The 999 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:05,740 first one is about . Do you have any 1000 00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:08,450 comment on china's move to draw a line 1001 00:43:08,450 --> 00:43:11,320 of separation on every summit to 1002 00:43:11,330 --> 00:43:14,090 prevent the mingling of climbers from 1003 00:43:14,090 --> 00:43:16,320 covid hit Nepal , and those are sending 1004 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:18,810 from the tibetan side because this is 1005 00:43:18,810 --> 00:43:21,700 the way China always is trying to get 1006 00:43:21,710 --> 00:43:25,620 more and more across the border . You 1007 00:43:25,620 --> 00:43:27,731 know , you know , how what's going on 1008 00:43:27,731 --> 00:43:31,400 with India all the time . Yeah . Um , 1009 00:43:31,410 --> 00:43:33,870 to ginger that's a question better put 1010 00:43:33,870 --> 00:43:37,020 to the State Department . Um that's not 1011 00:43:37,030 --> 00:43:39,141 something that the Defense Department 1012 00:43:39,141 --> 00:43:42,220 could speak to and I missed the bit 1013 00:43:42,220 --> 00:43:46,120 about the parking lot . Um , 1014 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:48,800 all the journalists there , I don't 1015 00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:51,170 know if anybody has . Uh thank you , 1016 00:43:51,180 --> 00:43:53,140 but people are thankful that the 1017 00:43:53,140 --> 00:43:56,860 parking lot , the press lanes have 1018 00:43:56,860 --> 00:44:00,530 been designated again as press 1019 00:44:00,530 --> 00:44:03,380 lands . Well , I'm glad to hear that . 1020 00:44:03,390 --> 00:44:05,612 I'm glad I got fixed . You're welcome . 1021 00:44:06,290 --> 00:44:08,750 Welcome . That's the easiest , easiest 1022 00:44:08,750 --> 00:44:10,850 question I've had all day . You're 1023 00:44:10,850 --> 00:44:13,970 welcome Tara . You're good . 1024 00:44:13,980 --> 00:44:16,690 Yeah . All right . I think we've got a 1025 00:44:16,690 --> 00:44:18,746 couple more on the phone here . Uh , 1026 00:44:19,190 --> 00:44:23,160 tom tom from talk media . Thanks a lot 1027 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:25,327 for taking the call . Thanks for doing 1028 00:44:25,327 --> 00:44:27,438 this . I don't want you to give me an 1029 00:44:27,438 --> 00:44:29,660 intelligence assessment or get ahead of 1030 00:44:29,660 --> 00:44:31,716 anything , but I just wanted to know 1031 00:44:31,716 --> 00:44:33,604 when the pentagon generally first 1032 00:44:33,604 --> 00:44:35,549 become aware and get visibility of 1033 00:44:35,549 --> 00:44:38,410 China's plan to enhance and construct 1034 00:44:38,410 --> 00:44:41,560 an airstrip on Canton and kiribati . Is 1035 00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:43,727 this an island too far ? And is it one 1036 00:44:43,727 --> 00:44:45,560 of the kind of things that is an 1037 00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:47,560 element that falls under the global 1038 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:49,671 posture . Global force posture review 1039 00:44:49,671 --> 00:44:52,200 now underway ? It's not our global 1040 00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:54,089 force posture review is about our 1041 00:44:54,089 --> 00:44:57,530 global force posture . It's a an 1042 00:44:57,530 --> 00:44:59,752 ongoing effort that the secretary wants 1043 00:44:59,752 --> 00:45:01,910 to make sure that that gives him 1044 00:45:01,910 --> 00:45:04,460 visibility on where we have our 1045 00:45:04,460 --> 00:45:06,682 resources and whether our resources are 1046 00:45:06,690 --> 00:45:08,930 adequate to the strategy and that we're 1047 00:45:08,930 --> 00:45:11,460 trying to conduct on behalf of american 1048 00:45:11,460 --> 00:45:13,404 people , our ability to defend the 1049 00:45:13,404 --> 00:45:16,810 nation . So uh again that work 1050 00:45:16,810 --> 00:45:20,380 continues that I certainly won't get 1051 00:45:20,380 --> 00:45:23,890 ahead of it right . But the pentagon 1052 00:45:23,890 --> 00:45:25,946 when they first become aware of this 1053 00:45:25,946 --> 00:45:28,360 happening again , I think , you know , 1054 00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:32,080 you probably answered your own question 1055 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:34,136 there when you said , you know , I'm 1056 00:45:34,136 --> 00:45:36,191 not going to talk about intelligence 1057 00:45:36,191 --> 00:45:36,020 assessments and I and I don't think I'm 1058 00:45:36,020 --> 00:45:37,742 gonna start doing that today . 1059 00:45:39,490 --> 00:45:42,810 Um Ellie Watson cbs . 1060 00:45:43,790 --> 00:45:44,590 Uh huh . 1061 00:45:48,790 --> 00:45:51,410 Thank you . No question . Okay , 1062 00:45:52,590 --> 00:45:56,010 Simon lee . Yeah , 1063 00:45:56,590 --> 00:45:59,230 we have a new north korean policy but 1064 00:45:59,230 --> 00:46:02,030 we don't know a specific action plan in 1065 00:46:02,030 --> 00:46:04,490 related to that . Can you tell me about 1066 00:46:04,500 --> 00:46:06,390 the U . S . And South Korea joint 1067 00:46:06,390 --> 00:46:08,710 military exercise is going to be 1068 00:46:08,710 --> 00:46:10,932 conducting the same way , like in scale 1069 00:46:10,932 --> 00:46:13,910 down manner as we did in the part of 1070 00:46:13,910 --> 00:46:17,420 the new north korean policy . I 1071 00:46:17,420 --> 00:46:19,920 think I understand your question is how 1072 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:23,410 does how will our training events 1073 00:46:23,980 --> 00:46:27,760 with South Koreans be 1074 00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:30,730 affected by the policy review that's 1075 00:46:30,730 --> 00:46:32,841 now complete on North Korea . Is that 1076 00:46:32,841 --> 00:46:36,600 right ? That's right . So again , I I 1077 00:46:36,610 --> 00:46:38,777 would refer you to the NSC to speak to 1078 00:46:38,777 --> 00:46:41,090 more detail but the policy review but 1079 00:46:41,100 --> 00:46:44,700 in essence , um uh the approach 1080 00:46:44,700 --> 00:46:46,811 that the administration wants to take 1081 00:46:46,811 --> 00:46:49,790 is deliberate and a phased approach to 1082 00:46:49,790 --> 00:46:52,600 try to find diplomatic space 1083 00:46:52,890 --> 00:46:56,490 too . Get to the denuclearization of 1084 00:46:56,490 --> 00:46:58,657 North Korea . Um And of course here at 1085 00:46:58,657 --> 00:47:00,657 the Defense Department , we support 1086 00:47:00,657 --> 00:47:02,879 that effort wholeheartedly . We support 1087 00:47:02,879 --> 00:47:05,260 the work of our diplomats uh That said , 1088 00:47:05,270 --> 00:47:08,440 the secretary also takes very seriously 1089 00:47:08,450 --> 00:47:11,100 our security commitments to our treaty 1090 00:47:11,100 --> 00:47:14,040 allies , uh the Republic of Korea . Uh 1091 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:17,000 and we have an obligation working with 1092 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:19,920 them to make sure that forces on the 1093 00:47:19,930 --> 00:47:23,630 peninsula across all realms of service 1094 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:26,410 are trained and ready , as we say , 1095 00:47:26,420 --> 00:47:28,770 ready to fight tonight . And so the 1096 00:47:28,770 --> 00:47:31,360 training events that are conducted 1097 00:47:31,360 --> 00:47:33,930 there under general Abrams leadership 1098 00:47:33,940 --> 00:47:36,240 are designed for that purpose and that 1099 00:47:36,240 --> 00:47:40,210 will continue any more here in the room . 1100 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:43,410 Alright , I got last one here is uh 1101 00:47:43,780 --> 00:47:44,440 Kasten 1102 00:47:48,180 --> 00:47:51,280 john thank you very much for 1103 00:47:51,280 --> 00:47:54,800 the the the the question about 1104 00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:57,780 Jerusalem . The escalation in Jerusalem . 1105 00:47:57,780 --> 00:48:00,500 You said the question was if are you 1106 00:48:00,500 --> 00:48:02,930 are concerned if the pentagon as 1107 00:48:02,930 --> 00:48:05,240 pentagon as U . S . Official , you are 1108 00:48:05,240 --> 00:48:09,240 concerned about the escalation and the 1109 00:48:09,240 --> 00:48:12,010 excessive use of force in Jerusalem . 1110 00:48:12,010 --> 00:48:14,177 You said it's a better question to put 1111 00:48:14,177 --> 00:48:17,410 to Israel . Can you clarify this answer ? 1112 00:48:17,420 --> 00:48:21,000 What should we ask ? Israelis speak to ? 1113 00:48:21,470 --> 00:48:25,320 Uh uh how the 1114 00:48:25,330 --> 00:48:27,219 specifically how the Israelis are 1115 00:48:27,219 --> 00:48:29,163 defending themselves against these 1116 00:48:29,163 --> 00:48:31,330 attacks . Obviously , as I also said , 1117 00:48:31,330 --> 00:48:33,330 and I hope you caught that we don't 1118 00:48:33,330 --> 00:48:35,552 want to see any innocence killed here . 1119 00:48:35,552 --> 00:48:37,663 Uh but the rocket attacks coming from 1120 00:48:37,663 --> 00:48:39,719 Gaza are unacceptable . Israel has a 1121 00:48:39,719 --> 00:48:41,830 right to defend itself and its people 1122 00:48:41,830 --> 00:48:43,997 and its territory , and the Department 1123 00:48:43,997 --> 00:48:47,090 of Defense remains committed , uh 1124 00:48:47,570 --> 00:48:49,990 very committed to helping Israel do 1125 00:48:49,990 --> 00:48:53,720 that . That's what I said . Okay , 1126 00:48:53,730 --> 00:48:56,500 thanks everybody . Yeah . Mhm .