1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,310 afternoon everybody uh I know we gave 2 00:00:04,310 --> 00:00:06,620 you an update this morning . Um So I 3 00:00:06,620 --> 00:00:09,040 brought a couple of uh additional 4 00:00:09,050 --> 00:00:11,680 briefers with me this afternoon to uh 5 00:00:11,690 --> 00:00:14,360 to flesh out some more detail from the 6 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,416 kinds of things that we talked about 7 00:00:16,416 --> 00:00:19,010 earlier today . So with me is Major 8 00:00:19,010 --> 00:00:21,288 General hank taylor of the joint staff . 9 00:00:21,288 --> 00:00:23,510 He's the Director of current Operations 10 00:00:23,510 --> 00:00:25,788 and Gary Reid who I think you all know . 11 00:00:25,788 --> 00:00:27,899 He is the director of our Afghanistan 12 00:00:27,899 --> 00:00:29,899 Crisis action Group . I'm gonna ask 13 00:00:29,899 --> 00:00:32,066 each gentleman to come up and say just 14 00:00:32,066 --> 00:00:31,960 a few words to give you some updates 15 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,110 from their perspectives operations in 16 00:00:34,110 --> 00:00:36,443 the general's case and on the S . I . V . 17 00:00:36,443 --> 00:00:38,610 Process and what D . O . D . Is trying 18 00:00:38,610 --> 00:00:40,721 to help along with that from mr reach 19 00:00:40,721 --> 00:00:42,721 perspective . And then we'll get to 20 00:00:42,721 --> 00:00:44,832 some Q . And A . For a little bit . I 21 00:00:44,832 --> 00:00:44,700 will moderate that Q . And A . So I'll 22 00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:46,867 still be up here calling on you uh and 23 00:00:46,867 --> 00:00:49,089 we'll try to get through as many of you 24 00:00:49,089 --> 00:00:51,256 as you can in a limited amount of time 25 00:00:51,256 --> 00:00:53,422 that we have . So that with time being 26 00:00:53,422 --> 00:00:55,644 a constraint I'm gonna stop talking and 27 00:00:55,644 --> 00:00:58,280 bring up the general general . Good 28 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,220 afternoon . Thank you . Mr Kirby . I 29 00:01:01,220 --> 00:01:03,920 want to reinforce what has already been 30 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,850 said today a little bit earlier . The U . 31 00:01:06,850 --> 00:01:09,660 S . Military remains focused on the 32 00:01:09,660 --> 00:01:12,480 present mission to facilitate the safe 33 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,130 evacuation of U . S . Citizens S . I . 34 00:01:15,130 --> 00:01:17,590 V . S . And afghans at risk to get 35 00:01:17,590 --> 00:01:19,790 these personnel out of Afghanistan as 36 00:01:19,790 --> 00:01:23,270 quickly and as safely as possible when 37 00:01:23,270 --> 00:01:25,048 this plan was put in place . We 38 00:01:25,048 --> 00:01:27,214 prepared for a number of contingencies 39 00:01:27,214 --> 00:01:30,440 and recognize that events unfolding at 40 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,730 HK area has drawn concern and attention 41 00:01:33,740 --> 00:01:36,120 throughout the world . We're actively 42 00:01:36,130 --> 00:01:38,450 monitoring the situation what's 43 00:01:38,450 --> 00:01:40,450 happening on the ground and we will 44 00:01:40,450 --> 00:01:42,561 continue to support the commander and 45 00:01:42,561 --> 00:01:45,130 adjust forces as necessary to allow the 46 00:01:45,130 --> 00:01:48,740 mission to be successful . Our troops 47 00:01:48,750 --> 00:01:51,200 are trained professionals , they 48 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,970 understand the complexity , the urgency 49 00:01:54,300 --> 00:01:56,411 and the importance of their mission . 50 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,760 They remain agile . Our mission was and 51 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,130 still is today to secure the airport so 52 00:02:03,130 --> 00:02:05,463 that we can evacuate . Said earlier , U . 53 00:02:05,463 --> 00:02:08,650 S . Citizens S . I . V . S . Afghans 54 00:02:08,650 --> 00:02:11,590 are risk out of the country . We have 55 00:02:11,590 --> 00:02:14,910 approximately 2500 troops that have 56 00:02:14,910 --> 00:02:17,290 moved into Kabul within the last 72 57 00:02:17,290 --> 00:02:20,460 hours and more will arrive soon . By 58 00:02:20,460 --> 00:02:23,080 the end of the day . We expect nearly 59 00:02:23,090 --> 00:02:26,560 3,030 500 troops on the ground . 60 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,590 First for a real time update . Uh as of 61 00:02:30,590 --> 00:02:34,450 1535 local eastern data time here . 62 00:02:34,510 --> 00:02:37,290 The airfield at HK I was open for 63 00:02:37,290 --> 00:02:40,510 operations shortly thereafter . The 64 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,020 first C 17 landed with US marines on 65 00:02:44,020 --> 00:02:47,900 board And the next C17 is preparing to 66 00:02:47,900 --> 00:02:51,720 land as we speak With members of the 67 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,790 82nd Airborne Division . I'd also like 68 00:02:54,790 --> 00:02:56,568 to offer a couple of additional 69 00:02:56,568 --> 00:02:59,870 operational details . More than 70 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:02,360 700 s ivy applicants have departed 71 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,790 Afghanistan in the past 48 hours by a 72 00:03:05,790 --> 00:03:08,330 combination of contract and commercial 73 00:03:08,330 --> 00:03:11,120 air Bring the total to date to nearly 74 00:03:11,130 --> 00:03:13,810 2000 Mr . Reid here , I will have more 75 00:03:13,810 --> 00:03:16,650 details on that . The U . S . Military 76 00:03:16,650 --> 00:03:18,890 continues to support or supported the 77 00:03:18,890 --> 00:03:21,190 State Department with the closing of 78 00:03:21,190 --> 00:03:23,790 the U . S . Embassy in Kabul . Moving 79 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,200 hunt several 100 personnel by 80 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,920 helicopter to HK to those personnel 81 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:31,090 remains safe and are preparing to 82 00:03:31,090 --> 00:03:34,370 depart . Forces continue to conduct 83 00:03:34,370 --> 00:03:36,690 operations , security operations at HK 84 00:03:36,690 --> 00:03:39,000 area . And as I said earlier we are in 85 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,640 charge of air traffic control and that 86 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,180 includes with commercial contracted 87 00:03:44,180 --> 00:03:47,520 military air . We expect to maximize 88 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,100 our throughput of all means of 89 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:52,100 transportation over the next coming 90 00:03:52,100 --> 00:03:55,950 days . Again , our focus right now 91 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,700 is to maintain security at HK area to 92 00:03:59,700 --> 00:04:02,080 continue to expedite flight operations 93 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,500 while safeguarding americans and afghan 94 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:06,500 civilians . We're proud of the 95 00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:08,830 professionalism and the skill of the 96 00:04:08,830 --> 00:04:11,170 soldiers , sailors , airmen and marines 97 00:04:11,170 --> 00:04:12,948 are showing under extraordinary 98 00:04:12,948 --> 00:04:15,510 circumstances . H . Kaaya and they are 99 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,480 absolutely prepared to to respond and 100 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,940 self defend if necessary . Many of us 101 00:04:21,940 --> 00:04:24,162 have spent time in Afghanistan over the 102 00:04:24,162 --> 00:04:25,884 years and feel a deep sense of 103 00:04:25,884 --> 00:04:28,030 connection to the current events . We 104 00:04:28,030 --> 00:04:30,470 are focused on the safest evacuation of 105 00:04:30,470 --> 00:04:32,660 americans and afghans . Thank you 106 00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:34,540 that's true . 107 00:04:39,740 --> 00:04:41,684 Thank you general . Thank you john 108 00:04:41,684 --> 00:04:43,740 ladies and gentlemen , thank you for 109 00:04:43,740 --> 00:04:45,962 taking time today . I'm Gary Reed . I'm 110 00:04:45,962 --> 00:04:45,830 the lead for the D . O . D . Crisis 111 00:04:45,830 --> 00:04:47,750 action group for Afghanistan for 112 00:04:47,750 --> 00:04:49,972 matters pertaining to the relocation of 113 00:04:49,972 --> 00:04:51,917 refugees and transportation of our 114 00:04:51,917 --> 00:04:54,000 embassy staff americans allies and 115 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,944 other partners from Kabul to their 116 00:04:55,944 --> 00:04:58,140 onward destinations . Secretary 117 00:04:58,140 --> 00:05:00,307 established the Crisis action group in 118 00:05:00,307 --> 00:05:02,770 early july and we've been working very 119 00:05:02,770 --> 00:05:04,992 closely with the Department of State as 120 00:05:04,992 --> 00:05:07,050 elite agency since that time uh 121 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:09,273 partnered with the Department of 122 00:05:09,273 --> 00:05:11,470 Homeland Security . Our initial focus 123 00:05:11,470 --> 00:05:14,660 was to relocate the S . I . V . S . Uh 124 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,400 finalize their visas and resettle them 125 00:05:17,410 --> 00:05:19,632 into the United States with the help of 126 00:05:19,632 --> 00:05:21,577 our non governmental organizations 127 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,862 Today . Nearly 2000 afghans have passed 128 00:05:23,862 --> 00:05:26,029 through this process joining more than 129 00:05:26,029 --> 00:05:28,460 70,000 that have participated in the S . 130 00:05:28,460 --> 00:05:30,682 I . V . Program . Since 2000 and five . 131 00:05:31,540 --> 00:05:33,596 Our military has done an outstanding 132 00:05:33,596 --> 00:05:36,050 job supporting this effort . Us North 133 00:05:36,050 --> 00:05:38,410 Calm and US army North operating 134 00:05:38,420 --> 00:05:40,476 predominantly from Fort lee Virginia 135 00:05:40,476 --> 00:05:43,760 have provided housing , food , medical 136 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,090 treatment , medical screening and other 137 00:05:46,090 --> 00:05:48,700 services to these afghans . Our 138 00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:50,700 military embrace the opportunity to 139 00:05:50,700 --> 00:05:52,533 recognize their contributions to 140 00:05:52,533 --> 00:05:54,644 combined operations in Afghanistan by 141 00:05:54,644 --> 00:05:57,100 welcome welcoming them in the U . S . 142 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:01,660 As we prepare for even more arrivals . 143 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,207 Us North Calm and the U . S . Army are 144 00:06:04,207 --> 00:06:06,318 working to create additional capacity 145 00:06:06,450 --> 00:06:08,730 to support refugee relocation in the U . 146 00:06:08,730 --> 00:06:11,990 S . Including temporary sites under 147 00:06:11,990 --> 00:06:14,740 assessment at Fort Bliss texas and Camp 148 00:06:14,740 --> 00:06:17,340 McCoy . Wisconsin . There may be other 149 00:06:17,340 --> 00:06:21,090 sites identified if services are needed . 150 00:06:21,100 --> 00:06:23,820 Additional capacity is needed At this 151 00:06:23,820 --> 00:06:25,740 point we're looking to establish 152 00:06:25,750 --> 00:06:29,750 2,022,000 spaces . We can expand if we 153 00:06:29,750 --> 00:06:32,800 need to as with the operation we've 154 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,600 been supporting at Fort lee persons 155 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,767 that come to these locations will have 156 00:06:37,767 --> 00:06:39,933 been pre screened by the Department of 157 00:06:39,933 --> 00:06:42,156 Homeland Security to enter on condition 158 00:06:42,156 --> 00:06:44,156 of full immigration processing once 159 00:06:44,156 --> 00:06:47,760 they arrived with this operation 160 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:49,982 underway . But given the urgency of the 161 00:06:49,982 --> 00:06:51,927 situation in Kabul , our focus has 162 00:06:51,927 --> 00:06:54,038 shifted to supporting movement of our 163 00:06:54,038 --> 00:06:56,220 embassy staff , american citizens 164 00:06:56,230 --> 00:06:58,508 allies and other partners out of Kabul . 165 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,090 Starting on the August on August 14 we 166 00:07:02,090 --> 00:07:04,034 began movement of these persons on 167 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:05,762 Department of Defense aircraft 168 00:07:05,762 --> 00:07:08,130 providing them transportation that had 169 00:07:08,140 --> 00:07:11,290 flown into Kabul delivering our troops 170 00:07:11,610 --> 00:07:13,332 and hauling cargo . This is an 171 00:07:13,332 --> 00:07:16,550 important point . Um the numbers today 172 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:18,782 are in the hundreds . We certainly have 173 00:07:18,782 --> 00:07:21,020 a much greater requirement . We are 174 00:07:21,020 --> 00:07:23,060 still in the process of bringing in 175 00:07:23,070 --> 00:07:25,790 forces . These aircraft as space is 176 00:07:25,790 --> 00:07:27,970 available on the outbound have been 177 00:07:27,970 --> 00:07:30,026 taking passengers and of course this 178 00:07:30,026 --> 00:07:32,248 has been somewhat disrupted in the last 179 00:07:32,248 --> 00:07:34,192 24 hours . But nonetheless we have 180 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,330 transported several 102 countries in 181 00:07:36,330 --> 00:07:38,900 the region and align them again with 182 00:07:38,900 --> 00:07:41,122 our State Department DHS colleagues for 183 00:07:41,122 --> 00:07:44,320 their onward transportation . Yeah , we 184 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,020 anticipate picking up the pace provided 185 00:07:47,020 --> 00:07:49,187 we can stabilize conditions at Kabul . 186 00:07:49,187 --> 00:07:51,780 As described by the general . Our 187 00:07:51,780 --> 00:07:53,970 military team in Kabul is working side 188 00:07:53,970 --> 00:07:55,970 by side with the ambassador and his 189 00:07:55,970 --> 00:07:57,914 staff to coordinate future airlift 190 00:07:57,914 --> 00:08:00,850 operations in the coming days . The 191 00:08:00,850 --> 00:08:02,961 Department of State and Department of 192 00:08:02,961 --> 00:08:04,850 Homeland Security will facilitate 193 00:08:04,850 --> 00:08:07,017 initial processing at overseas transit 194 00:08:07,017 --> 00:08:09,183 points and prepare for onward movement 195 00:08:09,183 --> 00:08:11,183 for all of those transported by the 196 00:08:11,183 --> 00:08:13,517 Department of Defense . Thank you . Mhm . 197 00:08:13,540 --> 00:08:16,480 Okay we'll get the questions bob . 198 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,370 Thanks question for General Taylor . 199 00:08:19,380 --> 00:08:23,170 Okay . Uh General 200 00:08:23,180 --> 00:08:25,110 has the US military conducted any 201 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,810 airstrikes today or in the last 24 202 00:08:27,810 --> 00:08:29,940 hours or so ? And also there's been 203 00:08:29,940 --> 00:08:33,180 some reports of afghan pilots flying 204 00:08:33,180 --> 00:08:35,400 their aircraft into other countries . 205 00:08:35,940 --> 00:08:38,640 Um Is that happening ? And is the us 206 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:40,529 taking any other sort of steps to 207 00:08:40,529 --> 00:08:43,080 prevent aircraft or other military 208 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,191 equipment from falling into the hands 209 00:08:45,191 --> 00:08:47,302 of the taliban ? Yeah . First I'll be 210 00:08:47,302 --> 00:08:50,150 the first question on the strikes . Um 211 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,216 No no strikes have been conducted in 212 00:08:52,216 --> 00:08:55,990 the last 24 hours but uh the commander 213 00:08:55,990 --> 00:08:58,420 on the ground continues to maintain 214 00:08:58,420 --> 00:09:01,460 that capability if required to do so . 215 00:09:01,940 --> 00:09:04,051 The commander has the assets that are 216 00:09:04,051 --> 00:09:07,120 available there at HQ and in support 217 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,300 from other areas of the region . Um I 218 00:09:10,310 --> 00:09:12,740 don't have information on the second 219 00:09:12,740 --> 00:09:15,290 part of the question . Uh but we'll get 220 00:09:15,290 --> 00:09:17,680 back to them . So there's no no U . S . 221 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:19,513 Action is being taken to prevent 222 00:09:19,513 --> 00:09:21,624 equipment from falling into the hands 223 00:09:21,624 --> 00:09:23,402 the Taliban by destroying it or 224 00:09:23,402 --> 00:09:25,180 anything else ? I don't have uh 225 00:09:25,180 --> 00:09:27,402 answered that question . You don't have 226 00:09:27,402 --> 00:09:31,170 any help jim General Taylor Was this a 227 00:09:31,180 --> 00:09:33,300 failure of intelligence or planning 228 00:09:33,310 --> 00:09:35,366 that led to the scenes we saw at the 229 00:09:35,366 --> 00:09:39,290 airport today when the scenes 230 00:09:39,290 --> 00:09:41,700 at the airport of the everybody coming 231 00:09:41,700 --> 00:09:45,340 out to be shut down . Yeah . What what 232 00:09:45,340 --> 00:09:47,460 we know what happened at the airport 233 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:49,896 was that there were a lot of afghans 234 00:09:49,896 --> 00:09:52,940 that we're trying to report it get out 235 00:09:52,940 --> 00:09:55,107 of the country ? So I don't think that 236 00:09:55,107 --> 00:09:57,300 was a lack of planning as we look at 237 00:09:57,300 --> 00:09:59,980 the coordination with those that were 238 00:09:59,980 --> 00:10:03,930 responsible uh for securing that . Well 239 00:10:03,930 --> 00:10:06,097 look at our mission though as I talked 240 00:10:06,097 --> 00:10:08,263 earlier is now that the airfields open 241 00:10:08,330 --> 00:10:10,910 is to make sure that it remains open . 242 00:10:11,010 --> 00:10:14,120 So like as I said we can continue 243 00:10:14,190 --> 00:10:17,270 expediting flights in and out bound but 244 00:10:17,270 --> 00:10:19,370 the quick fall of Kabul was that a 245 00:10:19,370 --> 00:10:21,560 failure of intelligence ? I can't 246 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:24,270 answer that . And mr Reid um you're in 247 00:10:24,270 --> 00:10:26,492 charge of the S . I . V . S . There are 248 00:10:26,492 --> 00:10:29,300 women who fought for the special forces . 249 00:10:29,310 --> 00:10:31,640 Um there are reports that the taliban 250 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,696 are now knocking on doors going into 251 00:10:33,696 --> 00:10:35,751 the homes of those who served in the 252 00:10:35,751 --> 00:10:37,584 military . What are you doing to 253 00:10:37,584 --> 00:10:39,751 protect them to get them out ? Are you 254 00:10:39,751 --> 00:10:39,540 in touch with the taliban ? And do you 255 00:10:39,540 --> 00:10:41,707 have assurances that they'll be safe ? 256 00:10:42,940 --> 00:10:45,218 We recognize that beyond the S . I . V . 257 00:10:45,218 --> 00:10:47,384 S . There's additional afghans at risk 258 00:10:47,384 --> 00:10:49,551 and they are included within the group 259 00:10:49,551 --> 00:10:51,607 of people that uh and time as we get 260 00:10:51,607 --> 00:10:53,607 through the americans and initially 261 00:10:53,607 --> 00:10:55,718 immediate priority that we have plans 262 00:10:55,718 --> 00:10:58,380 in place to support lifting them 263 00:10:58,390 --> 00:11:00,612 removed uh transporting them out of the 264 00:11:00,612 --> 00:11:02,834 country . On the defense side . Again , 265 00:11:02,834 --> 00:11:04,834 it would be a Department of State , 266 00:11:04,834 --> 00:11:06,723 homeland Security questions about 267 00:11:06,723 --> 00:11:08,834 immigration processing . We recognize 268 00:11:08,834 --> 00:11:10,779 the risks that they face and we're 269 00:11:10,779 --> 00:11:12,779 doing everything we can to get this 270 00:11:12,779 --> 00:11:14,890 operation underway at scale so we can 271 00:11:14,890 --> 00:11:17,580 get through as many as possible under 272 00:11:17,590 --> 00:11:19,812 under these very difficult conditions , 273 00:11:19,812 --> 00:11:21,979 you communicating with the taliban you 274 00:11:21,979 --> 00:11:23,923 have a line of communication . I'm 275 00:11:23,923 --> 00:11:26,034 personally not communicating with the 276 00:11:26,034 --> 00:11:28,146 taliban but I would imagine there are 277 00:11:28,146 --> 00:11:30,201 communications within the diplomatic 278 00:11:30,201 --> 00:11:32,201 channels . As we said earlier , gen 279 00:11:32,201 --> 00:11:34,368 gentle Mackenzie did meet in Doha with 280 00:11:34,368 --> 00:11:36,257 taliban leaders were not going to 281 00:11:36,257 --> 00:11:38,201 detail that conversation as I said 282 00:11:38,201 --> 00:11:40,146 earlier , but the message was very 283 00:11:40,146 --> 00:11:42,350 clearly put to the taliban uh that 284 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:44,416 these operations and our people were 285 00:11:44,416 --> 00:11:46,582 not to be attacked or there would be a 286 00:11:46,582 --> 00:11:48,804 response . And as you and I speak there 287 00:11:48,804 --> 00:11:51,180 has been no attack on our operation or 288 00:11:51,180 --> 00:11:53,347 on our people at the airport . To your 289 00:11:53,347 --> 00:11:55,480 other question uh would again like to 290 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,424 just fill out the mission that the 291 00:11:57,424 --> 00:12:00,240 military has right now is to secure the 292 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,780 airport to keep operations going uh and 293 00:12:02,780 --> 00:12:05,002 to help make sure that we can safeguard 294 00:12:05,002 --> 00:12:07,970 the movement of personnel people uh 295 00:12:07,980 --> 00:12:11,290 from Kabul to onward destinations . 296 00:12:11,300 --> 00:12:13,560 That's the focus right now the State 297 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,330 Department has methods of their own to 298 00:12:16,330 --> 00:12:18,552 reach out to people to communicate with 299 00:12:18,552 --> 00:12:21,110 them about uh about the process of 300 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:23,176 getting into the queue . And I would 301 00:12:23,176 --> 00:12:25,453 let the State Department speak to that . 302 00:12:25,453 --> 00:12:27,231 But it's as I said before , the 303 00:12:27,231 --> 00:12:29,120 military mission is very narrowly 304 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:31,120 focused around the airport , making 305 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,453 sure we can secure operations there are , 306 00:12:33,453 --> 00:12:35,564 I'd like to follow up with you or the 307 00:12:35,564 --> 00:12:35,410 general but let me start with you 308 00:12:35,410 --> 00:12:37,750 please at the micro fine May to follow 309 00:12:37,750 --> 00:12:40,220 up on the previous question the U . S . 310 00:12:40,220 --> 00:12:42,276 Military , the Department of Defense 311 00:12:42,276 --> 00:12:45,920 always for decades says we plan for 312 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,730 everything Clearly whatever you planned 313 00:12:48,730 --> 00:12:51,190 for did not get planned for at the 314 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,800 airport . We've now seen a C17 with 315 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:56,900 more than 600 people sitting on the 316 00:12:56,900 --> 00:12:59,650 floor with a pilot making the decision 317 00:12:59,950 --> 00:13:01,950 that he would fly them out anyhow . 318 00:13:01,950 --> 00:13:03,980 Even though that's an extraordinary 319 00:13:03,980 --> 00:13:06,091 number of people we've seen the world 320 00:13:06,100 --> 00:13:08,850 has seen all the scenes at the airport . 321 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,100 So my two questions are what failed 322 00:13:13,110 --> 00:13:15,110 in your planning because you didn't 323 00:13:15,110 --> 00:13:17,054 plan for this . You would not have 324 00:13:17,054 --> 00:13:19,780 planned to fly in such dangerous 325 00:13:19,790 --> 00:13:23,560 circumstances . And how do you 326 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,090 determine where the responsibility lies 327 00:13:26,090 --> 00:13:28,430 for this failure ? Well first of all 328 00:13:28,430 --> 00:13:32,370 Barbara I would take issue with your 329 00:13:32,380 --> 00:13:34,810 designation of this operation at the 330 00:13:34,810 --> 00:13:37,050 airport as a failure . But let's get 331 00:13:37,050 --> 00:13:39,630 back to that in a second . Uh let's get 332 00:13:39,630 --> 00:13:41,810 back to that in a second . Yes we do 333 00:13:41,810 --> 00:13:43,977 plan for all manner of contingencies . 334 00:13:43,977 --> 00:13:46,032 This is a planning organization . Um 335 00:13:46,032 --> 00:13:48,620 and we do that specifically to try to 336 00:13:48,620 --> 00:13:51,760 mitigate risk uh and to try to be ready 337 00:13:52,140 --> 00:13:55,400 for unforeseen circumstances . But it's 338 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,130 not a perfect process . Plans are not 339 00:13:58,140 --> 00:14:01,420 always perfectly predictive and you uh 340 00:14:01,430 --> 00:14:04,000 and as is well known military maxim 341 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,270 that plans don't often survive first 342 00:14:06,270 --> 00:14:08,680 contact . Uh and you have to adjust in 343 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,670 real time and I think uh when you look 344 00:14:11,670 --> 00:14:14,310 at the images out of Kabul . Uh that 345 00:14:14,310 --> 00:14:16,421 would have been difficult for anybody 346 00:14:16,421 --> 00:14:19,370 to predict . Yes , we did plan on uh , 347 00:14:19,380 --> 00:14:21,491 noncombatant evacuation operations as 348 00:14:21,491 --> 00:14:24,010 far back as May . There were drills 349 00:14:24,010 --> 00:14:26,390 being done here at the pentagon to walk 350 00:14:26,390 --> 00:14:29,280 through what different non combatant 351 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,502 evacuation operations might look like . 352 00:14:31,502 --> 00:14:33,502 There was another one recently done 353 00:14:33,502 --> 00:14:35,280 just two weeks ago , a tabletop 354 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,430 exercise to again examine what a 355 00:14:37,430 --> 00:14:39,652 noncombatant evacuation would look like 356 00:14:39,652 --> 00:14:42,900 out of uh Hamid Karzai International 357 00:14:42,900 --> 00:14:44,956 Airport . I mean specifically at the 358 00:14:44,956 --> 00:14:47,070 airport . Uh and we think that those 359 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,880 exercises did prepare us in terms of 360 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,047 having the resources forward Secretary 361 00:14:52,047 --> 00:14:54,160 forward deployed troops , including 362 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,104 marines off of their ship and into 363 00:14:56,104 --> 00:14:58,327 kuwait so that they can be more readily 364 00:14:58,327 --> 00:15:00,382 available as well as other forces in 365 00:15:00,382 --> 00:15:02,438 the region . So a lot of what you're 366 00:15:02,438 --> 00:15:04,660 seeing transpire , the reason we can be 367 00:15:04,660 --> 00:15:07,350 so quick With upwards of 6000 troops is 368 00:15:07,350 --> 00:15:09,370 because we anticipated the possible 369 00:15:09,370 --> 00:15:11,481 need to do this . Now , could we have 370 00:15:11,481 --> 00:15:14,620 predicted every single scenario and uh , 371 00:15:14,630 --> 00:15:16,574 and every single breach around the 372 00:15:16,574 --> 00:15:18,630 perimeter of the airport with only a 373 00:15:18,630 --> 00:15:21,150 couple of 1000 troops on the ground . 374 00:15:21,740 --> 00:15:23,740 Absolutely . You know , there are , 375 00:15:23,740 --> 00:15:25,800 there are changes that happen . So 376 00:15:25,810 --> 00:15:27,990 plans are terrific and we take them 377 00:15:27,990 --> 00:15:30,157 seriously , but they are not and never 378 00:15:30,157 --> 00:15:32,450 have been perfectly predictive when you 379 00:15:32,450 --> 00:15:35,150 practice this was one of the scenarios , 380 00:15:35,540 --> 00:15:38,960 a complete taliban takeover uh , of the 381 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,410 capital there . There was certainly as 382 00:15:42,410 --> 00:15:44,521 you do exercises , I don't want to go 383 00:15:44,521 --> 00:15:46,577 into too much detail here on these , 384 00:15:46,577 --> 00:15:49,250 but uh , but uh it would certainly be 385 00:15:49,250 --> 00:15:51,139 wrong to conclude that the United 386 00:15:51,139 --> 00:15:53,880 States military did not view as a 387 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,470 distinct possibility uh that the the 388 00:15:57,470 --> 00:16:00,370 taliban uh could overrun the country 389 00:16:00,380 --> 00:16:03,570 and uh and including Kabul now as we've 390 00:16:03,570 --> 00:16:06,040 talked about here many times , it 391 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,680 happened very fast . Um and one of the 392 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:10,847 things that we couldn't anticipate and 393 00:16:10,847 --> 00:16:12,847 didn't anticipate was the degree to 394 00:16:12,847 --> 00:16:14,624 which Afghan forces capitulated 395 00:16:14,624 --> 00:16:16,402 sometimes without a fight . The 396 00:16:16,402 --> 00:16:18,624 President said that he did not see that 397 00:16:18,624 --> 00:16:20,791 happening . Did you tell the president 398 00:16:20,791 --> 00:16:22,902 that you thought it was a possibility 399 00:16:22,902 --> 00:16:24,958 the country would be over ? We won't 400 00:16:24,958 --> 00:16:27,013 speak to advice and counsel that our 401 00:16:27,013 --> 00:16:29,069 leaders here in the pentagon give to 402 00:16:29,069 --> 00:16:31,236 the president . What I can tell you is 403 00:16:31,236 --> 00:16:33,236 that in in the in the planning that 404 00:16:33,236 --> 00:16:35,236 we've done and in the exercises and 405 00:16:35,236 --> 00:16:37,236 drills we ran we certainly ran them 406 00:16:37,236 --> 00:16:39,440 against the possibility that the 407 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:41,496 taliban would make significant gains 408 00:16:41,496 --> 00:16:43,218 throughout the country . Yes . 409 00:16:43,218 --> 00:16:45,460 Absolutely . Carla speaking of the 410 00:16:45,460 --> 00:16:47,793 images we've been seeing at the airport , 411 00:16:47,793 --> 00:16:49,793 a U . S . Official has told me away 412 00:16:49,793 --> 00:16:52,016 that there's an investigation currently 413 00:16:52,016 --> 00:16:54,238 underway about multiple civilian deaths 414 00:16:54,238 --> 00:16:56,890 when a C 17 took off from the airport . 415 00:16:56,900 --> 00:16:58,956 What more can you tell us about that 416 00:16:58,956 --> 00:17:00,956 investigation ? And can you confirm 417 00:17:00,956 --> 00:17:03,080 that ? I can't confirm that reporting 418 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,470 Carlos . So you're getting information 419 00:17:05,470 --> 00:17:07,470 that I don't have . But it wouldn't 420 00:17:07,470 --> 00:17:09,137 surprise me in the least that 421 00:17:09,137 --> 00:17:11,940 Commanders would be taking a look at 422 00:17:11,950 --> 00:17:14,280 what happened this morning with respect 423 00:17:14,290 --> 00:17:16,720 to the c . 17 . And I won't get ahead 424 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:18,942 of that process ? There will be you can 425 00:17:18,942 --> 00:17:21,164 expect that we will take a look at this 426 00:17:21,164 --> 00:17:23,360 to see what happened . Uh and what we 427 00:17:23,360 --> 00:17:25,527 can learn from it in the future . That 428 00:17:25,527 --> 00:17:27,416 is absolutely consistent . And it 429 00:17:27,416 --> 00:17:29,471 wouldn't surprise me at all if there 430 00:17:29,471 --> 00:17:31,638 was in fact the formal investigation . 431 00:17:31,638 --> 00:17:31,170 But I just can't confirm that right now . 432 00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:33,740 Looking at the images was the U . S . 433 00:17:33,740 --> 00:17:35,684 Too late to bring in the number of 434 00:17:35,684 --> 00:17:37,684 troops that it brought in . Was the 435 00:17:37,684 --> 00:17:39,740 decision , did the decision come too 436 00:17:39,740 --> 00:17:41,962 late ? We float these forces in as fast 437 00:17:41,962 --> 00:17:44,184 as we possibly could . And it was aided 438 00:17:44,184 --> 00:17:46,570 in fact by the by the prepositioning 439 00:17:46,570 --> 00:17:49,690 that was done in previous weeks . Uh I 440 00:17:49,700 --> 00:17:51,867 mean you all reported yourselves about 441 00:17:51,867 --> 00:17:55,190 the Iwo Jima , the the navy ship from 442 00:17:55,190 --> 00:17:57,246 which these marines were based , you 443 00:17:57,246 --> 00:17:59,357 know , being extended for a couple of 444 00:17:59,357 --> 00:18:01,523 weeks by Secretary Austin . That was a 445 00:18:01,523 --> 00:18:03,468 decision he made several weeks ago 446 00:18:03,468 --> 00:18:05,190 because it was all part of the 447 00:18:05,190 --> 00:18:07,246 contingency planning for the need to 448 00:18:07,246 --> 00:18:09,470 maybe do some evacuations to make that 449 00:18:09,470 --> 00:18:11,526 even faster . We moved those marines 450 00:18:11,526 --> 00:18:13,960 ashore and we saw the benefit now those , 451 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,690 those marines were the first ones on 452 00:18:16,690 --> 00:18:19,950 scene . So it was something that we 453 00:18:19,950 --> 00:18:22,117 absolutely had thought about . And one 454 00:18:22,117 --> 00:18:24,228 last question and this can be for you 455 00:18:24,228 --> 00:18:26,228 or the general , you spoke from the 456 00:18:26,228 --> 00:18:28,394 podium over the last several days many 457 00:18:28,394 --> 00:18:30,561 times saying that the Afghan air force 458 00:18:30,561 --> 00:18:32,783 was conducting more air strikes against 459 00:18:32,783 --> 00:18:34,894 the taliban than the U . S . Was . My 460 00:18:34,894 --> 00:18:37,117 question is why was that why didn't the 461 00:18:37,117 --> 00:18:39,172 U . S . Conduct more strikes against 462 00:18:39,172 --> 00:18:41,339 the taliban in these final days ? Yeah 463 00:18:41,339 --> 00:18:43,561 Carl I think monday morning quarterback 464 00:18:43,561 --> 00:18:45,506 in here now . I mean isn't I don't 465 00:18:45,506 --> 00:18:48,950 think helpful exercise but the 466 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,520 as we said from a while ago that as 467 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:55,960 our resources and capabilities in the 468 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,293 region dwindled because of the drawdown , 469 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:00,662 we were ordered to draw down by the end 470 00:19:00,662 --> 00:19:02,551 of august and we were nothing but 471 00:19:02,551 --> 00:19:04,607 honest about the speed with which we 472 00:19:04,607 --> 00:19:06,884 had to do that because speed is safety . 473 00:19:06,884 --> 00:19:06,720 We wanted to make sure we did this 474 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:08,887 quickly . Uh and the drawdown means to 475 00:19:08,887 --> 00:19:11,109 draw down and it's not just about boots 476 00:19:11,109 --> 00:19:13,220 on the ground . The drawdown is about 477 00:19:13,220 --> 00:19:13,080 capabilities and resources in the 478 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,500 region as we wrapped up our advise and 479 00:19:15,500 --> 00:19:17,111 assist in combat missions in 480 00:19:17,111 --> 00:19:19,167 Afghanistan which meant we had fewer 481 00:19:19,167 --> 00:19:21,510 airplanes , fewer strike capabilities 482 00:19:21,510 --> 00:19:23,566 in the region as we continue to draw 483 00:19:23,566 --> 00:19:25,232 down . And again we were very 484 00:19:25,232 --> 00:19:27,177 transparent about the fact that we 485 00:19:27,177 --> 00:19:29,343 would conduct airstrikes in support of 486 00:19:29,343 --> 00:19:31,343 the afghans where and when feasible 487 00:19:31,343 --> 00:19:33,343 fully cognizant of the fact that it 488 00:19:33,343 --> 00:19:35,454 wasn't always going to be feasible in 489 00:19:35,454 --> 00:19:37,677 every on every day and in every place . 490 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,710 But the the afghan air force is 491 00:19:40,710 --> 00:19:42,877 indigenous and they are in the country 492 00:19:42,890 --> 00:19:45,057 and they did maintain their presence . 493 00:19:45,057 --> 00:19:47,057 And there were days where they flew 494 00:19:47,057 --> 00:19:49,610 easily twice as many strikes as as we 495 00:19:49,610 --> 00:19:52,130 did . And they were able to often get 496 00:19:52,140 --> 00:19:54,530 on scene quicker because they were 497 00:19:54,530 --> 00:19:56,474 already there and because they had 498 00:19:56,474 --> 00:19:58,830 tangible connections to their troops in 499 00:19:58,830 --> 00:20:01,300 the field . It also is a healthy 500 00:20:01,300 --> 00:20:03,244 reminder something that I think we 501 00:20:03,244 --> 00:20:05,467 forget that in the last year and a half 502 00:20:05,467 --> 00:20:08,980 afghans were in the lead of almost all 503 00:20:08,990 --> 00:20:11,550 literally all but just about almost all 504 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,380 of their operations uh on the ground . 505 00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:16,491 I mean they advise and assist mission 506 00:20:16,491 --> 00:20:18,713 was still there but they were very much 507 00:20:18,713 --> 00:20:20,936 in the lead of their own operations and 508 00:20:20,936 --> 00:20:23,158 coordinating with their Air Force Zoe . 509 00:20:23,158 --> 00:20:26,300 Um I have a question for Mr Reid . Um 510 00:20:26,310 --> 00:20:30,000 You said earlier that your crisis 511 00:20:30,010 --> 00:20:32,930 action group for Afghanistan was was 512 00:20:32,930 --> 00:20:36,830 set up in a early july the 513 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,740 decision of president biden to end the 514 00:20:40,740 --> 00:20:44,560 war was taken in mid april . 515 00:20:44,940 --> 00:20:47,190 Why did it take so long to create a 516 00:20:47,190 --> 00:20:49,220 group to take care of your afghan 517 00:20:49,230 --> 00:20:52,060 allies ? The 518 00:20:53,340 --> 00:20:56,350 Department of Defense enters into this 519 00:20:56,450 --> 00:20:58,617 in support of the State Department and 520 00:20:58,617 --> 00:21:00,839 the State Department has for many years 521 00:21:01,340 --> 00:21:03,530 as you know , executed the S . I . V . 522 00:21:03,540 --> 00:21:07,530 Program . The addition of the U . S . 523 00:21:07,540 --> 00:21:09,660 Military support to that program was 524 00:21:09,660 --> 00:21:13,000 new and it was generated by 525 00:21:13,010 --> 00:21:15,720 guidance to try to accelerate and help 526 00:21:15,730 --> 00:21:18,560 the process due to the time delays 527 00:21:18,570 --> 00:21:21,450 inherent within getting them through . 528 00:21:21,460 --> 00:21:24,650 So we were asked by the State 529 00:21:24,650 --> 00:21:26,817 Department to provide support to their 530 00:21:26,817 --> 00:21:28,817 operation . That's not a suggestion 531 00:21:28,817 --> 00:21:30,706 that that is when S . I . V . S . 532 00:21:30,706 --> 00:21:32,761 Became a priority for the government 533 00:21:32,761 --> 00:21:34,872 that has been for many years . It was 534 00:21:34,872 --> 00:21:37,094 just the contributions that the Defense 535 00:21:37,094 --> 00:21:38,872 Department could make using our 536 00:21:38,872 --> 00:21:38,830 installations in the United States as 537 00:21:38,830 --> 00:21:40,997 an example where we could do this in a 538 00:21:40,997 --> 00:21:43,470 very orderly setting , free of 539 00:21:43,470 --> 00:21:46,360 distractions without them coming 540 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,570 individually or scattering to multiple 541 00:21:48,570 --> 00:21:50,780 locations . We could centralize the 542 00:21:50,780 --> 00:21:53,560 resources and contribute our resources . 543 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:55,893 Our logistics are our medical personnel . 544 00:21:55,893 --> 00:21:57,838 Fort lee Virginia is the center of 545 00:21:57,838 --> 00:21:59,949 excellence for army logistics . So it 546 00:21:59,949 --> 00:22:02,116 was a good example of how we could use 547 00:22:02,116 --> 00:22:04,700 our resources to support a program that 548 00:22:04,700 --> 00:22:07,820 we all wanted to see continue and 549 00:22:07,820 --> 00:22:10,540 accelerate and help as many folks out 550 00:22:10,550 --> 00:22:12,990 as we could because we value what they 551 00:22:12,990 --> 00:22:15,280 did for us and we want to be reciprocal 552 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,169 in that regard . So do we have to 553 00:22:17,169 --> 00:22:19,336 understand that this group was created 554 00:22:19,336 --> 00:22:22,130 because of the slowness of the process 555 00:22:22,430 --> 00:22:24,880 at the State Department ? No that's not 556 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,610 what I said . It is a long process and 557 00:22:27,610 --> 00:22:29,777 to the extent that the addition of D . 558 00:22:29,777 --> 00:22:31,777 O . D . Resources and support could 559 00:22:31,777 --> 00:22:33,888 make it again about bringing them all 560 00:22:33,888 --> 00:22:36,054 together . If you're familiar with the 561 00:22:36,054 --> 00:22:38,054 process there's multiple stages and 562 00:22:38,054 --> 00:22:40,166 multiple agencies involved within our 563 00:22:40,166 --> 00:22:42,221 system . This gave us because of our 564 00:22:42,221 --> 00:22:44,277 resources the ability to have a base 565 00:22:44,277 --> 00:22:46,388 with a location . We could bring that 566 00:22:46,388 --> 00:22:48,443 together and speed up something that 567 00:22:48,443 --> 00:22:50,554 may have otherwise taken weeks into a 568 00:22:50,554 --> 00:22:52,277 matter of days and became more 569 00:22:52,277 --> 00:22:54,499 economical . We increase the throughput 570 00:22:54,499 --> 00:22:56,666 of that process and create capacity to 571 00:22:56,666 --> 00:22:58,388 do more . So that's really the 572 00:22:58,388 --> 00:23:00,721 contributions of the Defense Department . 573 00:23:00,721 --> 00:23:02,888 I think we need to get into the phones 574 00:23:02,888 --> 00:23:04,999 to a little bit . I haven't done that 575 00:23:04,999 --> 00:23:08,840 yet dan Lamont . The Washington 576 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,830 post . Thank you John uh to drill 577 00:23:12,830 --> 00:23:14,886 down a bit on the on the flights out 578 00:23:14,886 --> 00:23:17,180 that we've we've seen on video my 579 00:23:17,180 --> 00:23:19,402 colleagues defense one of reported that 580 00:23:19,402 --> 00:23:21,960 were in excess of 600 perhaps 640 581 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,790 people On AC . 17 flying out . And 582 00:23:25,790 --> 00:23:27,901 you also took a question this morning 583 00:23:27,901 --> 00:23:29,957 and your first briefing and said you 584 00:23:29,957 --> 00:23:31,957 try to get back to us on it . There 585 00:23:31,957 --> 00:23:33,957 appeared to be two people that fell 586 00:23:33,957 --> 00:23:35,901 from that aircraft likely to their 587 00:23:35,901 --> 00:23:38,068 death . Can you confirm those things ? 588 00:23:38,068 --> 00:23:40,650 Thank you . On the on the video footage 589 00:23:40,660 --> 00:23:44,200 we've all seen of uh something falling 590 00:23:44,210 --> 00:23:46,950 off the wing . I don't have an update 591 00:23:46,950 --> 00:23:49,300 for you in terms of uh specific 592 00:23:49,300 --> 00:23:52,210 validity of that were obviously uh just 593 00:23:52,210 --> 00:23:54,321 as interested in you and and learning 594 00:23:54,321 --> 00:23:56,599 more about uh what what happened there . 595 00:23:56,599 --> 00:23:59,110 Um And on the on the first question 596 00:23:59,110 --> 00:24:02,690 about the the the C 17 with fully 597 00:24:02,690 --> 00:24:04,468 loaded again , I don't have any 598 00:24:04,468 --> 00:24:06,357 additional information about that 599 00:24:06,357 --> 00:24:08,523 particular aircraft in that particular 600 00:24:08,523 --> 00:24:10,412 flight . Uh but uh you know we'll 601 00:24:10,412 --> 00:24:12,634 continue to try to dig down and and see 602 00:24:12,634 --> 00:24:14,857 if there's more information that can be 603 00:24:14,857 --> 00:24:16,801 had about that . It's obviously uh 604 00:24:16,801 --> 00:24:19,890 difficult from 8000 miles away to to uh 605 00:24:19,900 --> 00:24:21,678 to have perfect knowledge about 606 00:24:21,678 --> 00:24:23,567 everything that's going on on the 607 00:24:23,567 --> 00:24:25,678 ground over there . But again , we're 608 00:24:25,678 --> 00:24:27,622 working hard to secure to keep the 609 00:24:27,622 --> 00:24:29,780 airport Secure and keep these 610 00:24:29,780 --> 00:24:33,100 operations now uh sustained now that 611 00:24:33,100 --> 00:24:36,380 they're they're back on track zero so 612 00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:38,102 much on as you know , I'm from 613 00:24:38,102 --> 00:24:40,560 Afghanistan and I'm very upset today 614 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,310 because Afghan women didn't expect that 615 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,250 overnight . All the taliban came , they 616 00:24:47,250 --> 00:24:50,950 took off my flag , this is my flag and 617 00:24:50,950 --> 00:24:54,140 they put their flak . Everybody is 618 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:58,370 absolute , especially women . I forgot 619 00:24:58,370 --> 00:25:00,600 my question to me . What do you ask ? 620 00:25:00,610 --> 00:25:02,420 Where is my President ? Former 621 00:25:02,420 --> 00:25:05,550 President Ghani . People expected that 622 00:25:05,550 --> 00:25:07,750 he bye bye with the people and 623 00:25:07,750 --> 00:25:09,806 immediately run away . We don't know 624 00:25:09,806 --> 00:25:11,694 where is he ? And we don't have a 625 00:25:11,694 --> 00:25:13,806 President . President biden said that 626 00:25:13,806 --> 00:25:16,270 President Ghani , no , he has to fight 627 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,200 for those people . They have to do 628 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,350 everything and we were able to 629 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:23,840 financially help them . But we don't 630 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:25,784 have any president . We don't have 631 00:25:25,784 --> 00:25:27,784 anything Afghan people . They don't 632 00:25:27,784 --> 00:25:29,896 know what to do . A woman as a lot of 633 00:25:29,896 --> 00:25:31,951 achievement in Afghanistan . I had a 634 00:25:31,951 --> 00:25:34,173 lot of achievement . I I lived from the 635 00:25:34,173 --> 00:25:37,100 Taliban like 20 years ago now , we go 636 00:25:37,100 --> 00:25:39,720 back to the first step again . Do you 637 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,553 have any comments ? We deserve a 638 00:25:41,553 --> 00:25:43,553 president , can he should answer to 639 00:25:43,553 --> 00:25:45,980 Afghan people obviously can't speak for 640 00:25:45,990 --> 00:25:49,770 uh Ashraf Ghani or where he is or 641 00:25:50,540 --> 00:25:52,873 what his views are . I wouldn't do that . 642 00:25:52,873 --> 00:25:56,260 But let me say with all respect that I 643 00:25:56,260 --> 00:25:59,190 understand and we all understand the 644 00:25:59,310 --> 00:26:01,670 the anxiety and the fear and the pain 645 00:26:01,710 --> 00:26:04,550 that you're feeling . It's it's clear 646 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,600 and it's evident and nobody here at the 647 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,820 pentagon is happy about the images that 648 00:26:10,830 --> 00:26:13,360 we've seen coming out in the last few 649 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,960 days . Uh and we're all mindful of um 650 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,207 of the kind of governance , governance 651 00:26:20,207 --> 00:26:23,670 that the Taliban is capable of . Um so 652 00:26:24,140 --> 00:26:27,120 heartfelt respect to what you're going 653 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,780 through . And and we we understand that 654 00:26:29,790 --> 00:26:32,670 uh a lot of us have spent time in 655 00:26:32,670 --> 00:26:34,670 Afghanistan . The general mentioned 656 00:26:34,670 --> 00:26:37,620 that uh everything that you're seeing 657 00:26:38,700 --> 00:26:42,450 in the last 48 72 hours is personal for 658 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,410 everybody here at the pentagon . Uh we 659 00:26:45,420 --> 00:26:47,550 we to have invested greatly in 660 00:26:47,550 --> 00:26:49,740 Afghanistan and in the progress that 661 00:26:49,750 --> 00:26:53,000 women and girls have made politically 662 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,640 economically , socially . Uh and and we 663 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,430 certainly do understand and we do feel 664 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:02,030 the pain that you're feeling probably 665 00:27:02,030 --> 00:27:05,870 not to the same extent . Uh We uh 666 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,210 we're focused right now on making sure 667 00:27:08,220 --> 00:27:11,910 that that we do the best we can for 668 00:27:11,910 --> 00:27:14,590 those afghans who helped us . And to 669 00:27:14,590 --> 00:27:16,990 Sylvia's point uh when she was talking 670 00:27:16,990 --> 00:27:19,270 to Gary . Yes , the action group that 671 00:27:19,270 --> 00:27:21,492 stood up in july but you can go back to 672 00:27:21,492 --> 00:27:23,710 the spring and and here the secretary 673 00:27:23,710 --> 00:27:26,590 himself talk about uh interpreters and 674 00:27:26,590 --> 00:27:28,990 translators and the sacred obligation 675 00:27:28,990 --> 00:27:31,440 that we know that we have to them . And 676 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,080 so in this moment on this day now that 677 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,024 the airport is open again , we are 678 00:27:37,024 --> 00:27:39,080 going to be focused on doing what we 679 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:41,080 can to honor that obligation to all 680 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,024 those who who helped make all that 681 00:27:43,024 --> 00:27:45,191 progress possible . Because because by 682 00:27:45,191 --> 00:27:47,510 helping us , they helped us help you . 683 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:49,900 Uh and and we take that very very 684 00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:52,011 seriously . And again , I'm sorry for 685 00:27:52,011 --> 00:27:54,178 your pain . I truly , truly am . And I 686 00:27:54,178 --> 00:27:56,289 know that the general gary share that 687 00:27:56,289 --> 00:27:59,620 as well . Megan Mr Reid is that you 688 00:27:59,620 --> 00:28:01,720 guys want to make space for 22,000 689 00:28:01,730 --> 00:28:04,170 Afghans . Other helpers to be able to 690 00:28:04,170 --> 00:28:06,700 come to the US . There's about two 691 00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:08,867 weeks until all troops are supposed to 692 00:28:08,867 --> 00:28:11,370 be off of the ground in Afghanistan who 693 00:28:11,370 --> 00:28:13,790 is going to protect that mission into 694 00:28:13,790 --> 00:28:16,920 september Assuming that 22,000 people 695 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,976 are not going to get out in the next 696 00:28:18,976 --> 00:28:20,976 two weeks . And does that mean that 697 00:28:20,976 --> 00:28:20,610 there might be an extension of some of 698 00:28:20,610 --> 00:28:22,666 these security forces at the airport 699 00:28:22,666 --> 00:28:24,721 after that ? Well , I can't speak to 700 00:28:24,721 --> 00:28:26,888 the last part , but I can say that our 701 00:28:26,888 --> 00:28:29,054 commitment and the Secretary's task to 702 00:28:29,054 --> 00:28:31,166 me is to continue to do everything we 703 00:28:31,166 --> 00:28:33,332 can in this department to support this 704 00:28:33,332 --> 00:28:35,388 process and as conditions change and 705 00:28:35,388 --> 00:28:37,499 and opportunities change , we will do 706 00:28:37,499 --> 00:28:39,221 our very best to make whatever 707 00:28:39,221 --> 00:28:41,054 resources this department has to 708 00:28:41,054 --> 00:28:43,620 contribute to continued success in that 709 00:28:43,620 --> 00:28:45,676 regard . Understand it could be very 710 00:28:45,676 --> 00:28:47,953 difficult . We don't know what's ahead , 711 00:28:47,953 --> 00:28:50,176 but we're going to stay in this as long 712 00:28:50,176 --> 00:28:49,470 as it takes , as long as we can 713 00:28:49,470 --> 00:28:51,440 contribute . And I would just add 714 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,250 making , uh , it's up to 22 . That's 715 00:28:54,250 --> 00:28:56,361 the capacity that we're looking at at 716 00:28:56,361 --> 00:28:58,694 three at these three installations . Um , 717 00:28:58,694 --> 00:29:00,917 it doesn't mean that there are going to 718 00:29:00,917 --> 00:29:03,320 be 22,000 people that need that support . 719 00:29:03,330 --> 00:29:05,219 We're just trying to fill out the 720 00:29:05,219 --> 00:29:07,570 capacity as best we think we need right 721 00:29:07,570 --> 00:29:11,320 now . If , if we have underestimated 722 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,487 that capacity , the secretary is fully 723 00:29:13,487 --> 00:29:15,590 committed to finding additional 724 00:29:15,670 --> 00:29:17,837 locations and installations if we need 725 00:29:17,837 --> 00:29:21,790 it . And if we've overestimated then to 726 00:29:21,790 --> 00:29:23,679 Barbara's excellent point . We've 727 00:29:23,679 --> 00:29:26,280 planned , well , we've , uh , we've , 728 00:29:26,290 --> 00:29:28,401 we want to make sure we're ready . So 729 00:29:28,401 --> 00:29:30,512 it's , it's a capacity thing of up to 730 00:29:30,512 --> 00:29:32,679 22 were not being predictive that it's 731 00:29:32,679 --> 00:29:35,070 going to actually be 22,000 . So is 732 00:29:35,070 --> 00:29:37,181 that to say it as many people who can 733 00:29:37,181 --> 00:29:39,014 get out in the next two weeks or 734 00:29:39,014 --> 00:29:41,237 they're considering what I can tell you 735 00:29:41,237 --> 00:29:40,830 is that over the next two weeks we're 736 00:29:40,830 --> 00:29:43,930 going to be as aggressive as we can and 737 00:29:43,930 --> 00:29:46,041 moving as many people as we can . And 738 00:29:46,041 --> 00:29:48,140 as you've heard me say , once we get 739 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:52,040 the operation up and running well here , 740 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:54,700 we could get Conceivably up to 5000 741 00:29:54,700 --> 00:29:57,720 hours a day , but it's that's , that's 742 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,770 seats on airplanes . Not just military 743 00:30:00,770 --> 00:30:03,000 airplanes , but commercial and charter 744 00:30:03,010 --> 00:30:04,880 airplanes as well . That doesn't 745 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:06,880 necessarily mean that there will be 746 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:08,991 that demand signal on the other end . 747 00:30:08,991 --> 00:30:10,880 Does that , does that answer your 748 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,102 question , Let me go back to the phones 749 00:30:13,102 --> 00:30:15,213 here . I haven't been good about this 750 00:30:15,213 --> 00:30:19,150 uhh tara cop . Um thank you for 751 00:30:19,150 --> 00:30:22,700 doing this . Um we just reported on the 752 00:30:22,700 --> 00:30:26,090 C 17 a separate C 17 that was able to 753 00:30:26,100 --> 00:30:29,670 airlift 640 afghans out 754 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,513 and learned that that was one of 755 00:30:31,513 --> 00:30:33,569 several C seventeen's that have that 756 00:30:33,569 --> 00:30:36,490 number or more aboard . So I was just 757 00:30:36,490 --> 00:30:39,600 wondering how is the pentagon or State 758 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,380 Department tracking just how many 759 00:30:42,390 --> 00:30:44,334 afghans and americans it's helping 760 00:30:44,334 --> 00:30:48,290 assist depart the country and uh how 761 00:30:48,300 --> 00:30:50,522 how going forward are you able to track 762 00:30:50,522 --> 00:30:52,744 those people to be able to help them as 763 00:30:52,744 --> 00:30:54,300 they repatriate elsewhere ? 764 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,890 So the number of 700 that I gave 765 00:31:00,890 --> 00:31:03,057 earlier was the number reported by the 766 00:31:03,057 --> 00:31:04,834 Department of State and the the 767 00:31:04,834 --> 00:31:06,750 commander on the ground . So the 768 00:31:06,750 --> 00:31:09,140 question uh as we continue to go 769 00:31:09,140 --> 00:31:11,480 forward , uh that is one of the more 770 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,200 important task that we will do is as 771 00:31:14,210 --> 00:31:16,390 Department of State continues to 772 00:31:16,390 --> 00:31:19,730 provide names of those that will depart , 773 00:31:19,740 --> 00:31:22,130 the military will continue to ensure we 774 00:31:22,130 --> 00:31:24,460 have uh the aircraft , whether it's 775 00:31:24,460 --> 00:31:27,160 military or civilian aircraft to get 776 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,160 them out and continue to report forward ? 777 00:31:30,540 --> 00:31:34,520 Yeah . Dude , Is a lot 778 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:36,353 like this question . What is the 779 00:31:36,353 --> 00:31:38,242 determining factor here , is that 780 00:31:38,242 --> 00:31:41,360 August 31 or is it the completion of 781 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:44,270 the mission to evacuate 782 00:31:45,340 --> 00:31:48,600 diplomats ? U . S . Citizens vulnerable 783 00:31:48,610 --> 00:31:52,310 afghanis . It's the mission is to 784 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,680 evacuate our embassy personnel 785 00:31:55,690 --> 00:31:59,450 uh american citizens uh as 786 00:31:59,450 --> 00:32:02,490 well as afghans who we can help . 787 00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:04,790 That's the mission set . The time frame 788 00:32:04,790 --> 00:32:07,780 that we're on right now is to is to is 789 00:32:07,780 --> 00:32:11,170 to do that complete that mission . Bye 790 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:15,240 August 31 . And If we're at 791 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:17,407 5000 and I've seen some estimates that 792 00:32:17,407 --> 00:32:19,629 go north of 5000 a day depending on how 793 00:32:19,629 --> 00:32:21,351 many stories you can fly . And 794 00:32:21,351 --> 00:32:23,518 obviously that's dependent on a lot of 795 00:32:23,518 --> 00:32:25,407 factors including weather . Uh we 796 00:32:25,407 --> 00:32:28,550 believe that there with that capacity , 797 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,480 should air operations be able to go 798 00:32:32,490 --> 00:32:35,060 uninterrupted that we can meet those . 799 00:32:35,070 --> 00:32:37,890 We can meet that goal by the end of the 800 00:32:37,890 --> 00:32:41,760 month beyond August 31 . It's just too 801 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:43,927 difficult to speculate and we wouldn't 802 00:32:43,927 --> 00:32:45,982 want to get ahead of uh of decisions 803 00:32:45,982 --> 00:32:48,149 that haven't been made yet . Where are 804 00:32:48,149 --> 00:32:50,920 head , head is right down right now on 805 00:32:50,930 --> 00:32:53,208 getting the air operations going again . 806 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:55,860 Getting getting airplanes in with 807 00:32:55,860 --> 00:32:58,310 troops and getting people on those same 808 00:32:58,310 --> 00:33:00,421 airplanes as they head out . And then 809 00:33:00,421 --> 00:33:03,020 once the troop flow is done uh to be 810 00:33:03,020 --> 00:33:05,180 continued to continue to flow in 811 00:33:05,190 --> 00:33:09,040 military aircraft uh empty to pick up 812 00:33:09,050 --> 00:33:11,272 people and go out . But again our focus 813 00:33:11,272 --> 00:33:13,494 is on getting as much done as we can as 814 00:33:13,494 --> 00:33:15,870 quickly as we can . Uh Yes the date 815 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,880 august 31st is is when the president 816 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:20,936 has told us to be done this drawdown 817 00:33:20,936 --> 00:33:23,047 and this movement , I won't speculate 818 00:33:23,047 --> 00:33:24,936 about what it's gonna look like . 819 00:33:24,936 --> 00:33:27,102 Beyond that . Plans for helping people 820 00:33:27,102 --> 00:33:29,269 get to the airport right now as I said 821 00:33:29,269 --> 00:33:31,380 before , our mission military mission 822 00:33:31,390 --> 00:33:33,850 is to secure the airport uh to 823 00:33:33,850 --> 00:33:37,350 safeguard air traffic and people and 824 00:33:37,350 --> 00:33:39,239 and the flow at the airport . And 825 00:33:39,239 --> 00:33:41,239 that's that's what we're focused on 826 00:33:41,239 --> 00:33:43,517 right now . Of course . General taylor , 827 00:33:43,517 --> 00:33:45,517 can you tell us a little bit more ? 828 00:33:45,517 --> 00:33:47,683 Herbie said that there hadn't been any 829 00:33:47,683 --> 00:33:49,906 taliban attacks but there were a couple 830 00:33:49,906 --> 00:33:49,390 of security incidents earlier in the 831 00:33:49,390 --> 00:33:52,650 day . Were those taliban , these armed 832 00:33:52,650 --> 00:33:55,080 fighters that the U . S . Hit ? No we 833 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,302 can't confirm that those were taliban . 834 00:33:57,380 --> 00:34:00,350 We do know that there was some random 835 00:34:00,350 --> 00:34:02,620 shooting that came in during that piece 836 00:34:02,620 --> 00:34:05,410 but not confirmed to be taliban . Have 837 00:34:05,410 --> 00:34:07,632 there been any other security incidents 838 00:34:07,632 --> 00:34:09,688 like that ? Never been any americans 839 00:34:09,688 --> 00:34:11,854 wounded . There haven't been any other 840 00:34:11,854 --> 00:34:14,077 major security instance other than what 841 00:34:14,077 --> 00:34:16,420 we saw last night . There was a report 842 00:34:16,420 --> 00:34:20,390 of one us wounded but superficial 843 00:34:20,390 --> 00:34:22,530 and already back to duty shot was 844 00:34:22,530 --> 00:34:24,697 individuals . I don't know that detail 845 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,142 and that was wounded . And then can you 846 00:34:27,142 --> 00:34:29,198 I'm not sure who this is for but I'm 847 00:34:29,198 --> 00:34:31,087 still unclear on the numbers . So 848 00:34:31,087 --> 00:34:33,142 there's been 700 since let's take it 849 00:34:33,142 --> 00:34:35,087 from august 14th until right now . 850 00:34:35,087 --> 00:34:37,253 There have been 700 S ivy candidates . 851 00:34:37,253 --> 00:34:39,309 How many americans have been moved ? 852 00:34:39,309 --> 00:34:41,253 How many aircraft have left taking 853 00:34:41,253 --> 00:34:43,476 people out ? How many total people have 854 00:34:43,476 --> 00:34:45,587 been moved as part of this evacuation 855 00:34:45,587 --> 00:34:47,809 operation so far . Yeah . So I can give 856 00:34:47,809 --> 00:34:49,920 you the answer for the S . I . B . So 857 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:53,520 in the last 48 We know that we had 700 858 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,900 out on flights That gives us that total 859 00:34:56,900 --> 00:35:00,380 of 2000 CVS since 860 00:35:00,490 --> 00:35:02,850 we began operations . But how many 861 00:35:02,850 --> 00:35:04,850 Americans have there been Americans 862 00:35:04,850 --> 00:35:07,017 moved out on the work at the embassy ? 863 00:35:07,017 --> 00:35:09,390 Right . And other Afghans who are not 864 00:35:09,390 --> 00:35:11,446 as many candidates as well have been 865 00:35:11,446 --> 00:35:13,612 trying to get a sense of understanding 866 00:35:13,612 --> 00:35:16,720 ongoing for 48 hours I hate to say but 867 00:35:16,730 --> 00:35:18,841 you only moved 700 total people in 48 868 00:35:18,841 --> 00:35:21,110 hours . Well first things is to remind 869 00:35:21,110 --> 00:35:23,221 everyone the lives that we're talking 870 00:35:23,221 --> 00:35:25,970 about were on the charter flights that 871 00:35:25,970 --> 00:35:28,026 the State Department had chartered . 872 00:35:28,026 --> 00:35:30,137 And we have been running though since 873 00:35:30,137 --> 00:35:33,350 29 July we I think 10 flight 10 arrived 874 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:36,960 overnight last night , 265 uh none of 875 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,016 them went to fort lee , they already 876 00:35:39,016 --> 00:35:41,182 had their electronic visas and they're 877 00:35:41,182 --> 00:35:43,930 being processed by state the outflow of 878 00:35:43,930 --> 00:35:46,240 americans and embassy staff as it's in 879 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:48,296 the hundreds . I don't have an exact 880 00:35:48,296 --> 00:35:50,351 number for you but just to reinforce 881 00:35:50,351 --> 00:35:52,430 this is sort of available space on 882 00:35:52,430 --> 00:35:54,597 aircraft that are coming in configured 883 00:35:54,597 --> 00:35:56,840 not ideal to just load up completely 884 00:35:56,890 --> 00:35:59,057 there's equipment back halls and other 885 00:35:59,057 --> 00:36:01,001 things that are occurring on these 886 00:36:01,001 --> 00:36:03,057 aircraft . So think of it as a space 887 00:36:03,057 --> 00:36:05,279 available With those aircraft going out 888 00:36:05,279 --> 00:36:07,446 and as Mr Kirby said as soon as we get 889 00:36:07,446 --> 00:36:09,223 all the forces in you will have 890 00:36:09,223 --> 00:36:11,334 aircraft coming in solely for ramping 891 00:36:11,334 --> 00:36:13,400 of these evacuations . Getting up to 892 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,330 the 20 or 30 a day getting you up to 893 00:36:16,330 --> 00:36:18,600 5000 per day ? But as of now , it's 894 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:20,767 still in the hundreds of people who as 895 00:36:20,767 --> 00:36:22,933 part of this evacuation mission in the 896 00:36:22,933 --> 00:36:24,878 hundreds right now . And we talked 897 00:36:24,878 --> 00:36:26,989 about that earlier . You got time for 898 00:36:26,989 --> 00:36:29,044 just a couple more guys . Like , can 899 00:36:29,044 --> 00:36:31,211 you tell how were the U . S . Is going 900 00:36:31,211 --> 00:36:33,100 to keep Afghanistan from becoming 901 00:36:33,100 --> 00:36:35,044 another terrorist safe haven since 902 00:36:35,044 --> 00:36:37,267 arguably we're in a worse position than 903 00:36:37,267 --> 00:36:39,480 we were pre 9 11 . We've talked about 904 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,980 this to mike , we have a robust over 905 00:36:41,980 --> 00:36:43,536 the rising counterterrorism 906 00:36:43,536 --> 00:36:45,920 capabilities already in the region . Uh 907 00:36:45,930 --> 00:36:49,200 we can fly from ships at sea , we can 908 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:52,070 fly from bases in the region . I mean , 909 00:36:52,070 --> 00:36:55,380 just in terms of the uh support , we 910 00:36:55,380 --> 00:36:57,940 were able to give uh two the afghans , 911 00:36:57,950 --> 00:37:01,210 uh And just the airstrikes that we did 912 00:37:01,210 --> 00:37:03,210 in support of them . I mean , there 913 00:37:03,210 --> 00:37:06,590 were multiple sorties per day , uh 914 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:08,880 sometimes several strikes , sometimes 915 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:12,160 as many as 10 to a dozen per day . Uh 916 00:37:12,170 --> 00:37:14,200 so we've got the capability and the 917 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:16,910 capacity and we continue to talk , we 918 00:37:16,910 --> 00:37:19,350 continue to talk to partners in the 919 00:37:19,350 --> 00:37:21,280 region to see if we can explore 920 00:37:21,290 --> 00:37:23,790 additional options that are closer to 921 00:37:23,790 --> 00:37:25,734 Afghanistan . But you've heard the 922 00:37:25,734 --> 00:37:27,957 Secretary say this many times . There's 923 00:37:27,957 --> 00:37:30,123 not a scrap of the earth that we can't 924 00:37:30,123 --> 00:37:32,580 hit if uh if we don't need to now , um 925 00:37:32,590 --> 00:37:35,240 is it more difficult to do 926 00:37:35,250 --> 00:37:37,139 counterterrorism strikes over the 927 00:37:37,139 --> 00:37:39,720 rising , you bet , um , uh , do you 928 00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:41,720 have to travel more distances yet ? 929 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:43,720 Could it take more time ? Yes , but 930 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:45,664 it's not like we haven't done this 931 00:37:45,664 --> 00:37:47,720 before . And if you look at , if you 932 00:37:47,720 --> 00:37:47,660 look at other places around the world , 933 00:37:47,730 --> 00:37:49,950 uh , we where we execute over the rise 934 00:37:49,950 --> 00:37:52,172 in counterterrorism , it is possible it 935 00:37:52,172 --> 00:37:54,410 is effective . Um , and we believe that 936 00:37:54,420 --> 00:37:58,420 uh , our intelligence apparatus , um , 937 00:37:58,430 --> 00:38:00,710 and the networks we have in the region 938 00:38:00,710 --> 00:38:02,877 now are far more mature than they were 939 00:38:02,877 --> 00:38:06,060 in 2001 . Uh , and we believe that we 940 00:38:06,060 --> 00:38:08,180 can execute effective over the rising 941 00:38:08,180 --> 00:38:10,180 counterterrorism capabilities going 942 00:38:10,180 --> 00:38:12,124 forward . Doesn't mean that we are 943 00:38:12,124 --> 00:38:14,013 going to try to improve that . We 944 00:38:14,013 --> 00:38:16,124 absolutely will . I got just time for 945 00:38:16,124 --> 00:38:18,291 one more . I'll go to Tony for General 946 00:38:18,291 --> 00:38:17,840 taylor . I want to go back to the 947 00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:20,210 question though . They , the afghan 948 00:38:20,210 --> 00:38:22,154 national security forces collapsed 949 00:38:22,154 --> 00:38:24,570 quicker than anticipated . What was 950 00:38:24,570 --> 00:38:26,459 anticipated ? I asked you because 951 00:38:26,459 --> 00:38:28,626 you've been there , you , you said you 952 00:38:28,626 --> 00:38:30,792 had a deep emotional connection to the 953 00:38:30,792 --> 00:38:32,626 events on the ground , Roughly ? 954 00:38:32,626 --> 00:38:34,737 billion dollars has been spent 66,000 955 00:38:34,737 --> 00:38:36,459 of these great people killed ? 956 00:38:36,459 --> 00:38:38,860 According to the cigar . Can you give a 957 00:38:38,860 --> 00:38:41,670 sense broadly , why do you think they 958 00:38:41,670 --> 00:38:43,670 seem to have collapsed quicker than 959 00:38:43,670 --> 00:38:47,320 expected ? I think as mr Kirby said 960 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:49,450 earlier and others that the 961 00:38:49,460 --> 00:38:53,380 anticipation of the lack possibly of 962 00:38:53,390 --> 00:38:56,040 action by uh , some of the afghan 963 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,230 leaders , I think is uh , one of the 964 00:38:58,230 --> 00:39:01,170 areas uh , that we look are continuing 965 00:39:01,180 --> 00:39:04,120 to look at the afghan military and 966 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:07,580 public leaders military , uh in some of 967 00:39:07,580 --> 00:39:09,691 the political . But really as we look 968 00:39:09,691 --> 00:39:11,691 at what were the actions or lack of 969 00:39:11,691 --> 00:39:13,580 actions at the The military level 970 00:39:13,580 --> 00:39:15,636 throughout the country is what we're 971 00:39:15,636 --> 00:39:17,580 looking at right now , because $83 972 00:39:17,580 --> 00:39:19,636 billion dollars people are gonna say 973 00:39:19,636 --> 00:39:21,747 that was wasted . What do you think ? 974 00:39:21,747 --> 00:39:21,260 What do you respond to someone who does 975 00:39:21,260 --> 00:39:24,650 not follow you closely ? I know that we 976 00:39:24,650 --> 00:39:26,970 will continue to look to to find out 977 00:39:26,970 --> 00:39:30,500 and dig deep into the why we're at 978 00:39:30,500 --> 00:39:32,722 where we are today . Thanks everybody . 979 00:39:32,722 --> 00:39:34,240 We gotta get going appreciate it .