1 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,530 Mhm Okay , good afternoon everybody . 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,262 And it will start in just a few minutes 3 00:00:09,262 --> 00:00:11,596 late . Uh we are time constrained today . 4 00:00:11,596 --> 00:00:13,651 So um I'll pass it right over to the 5 00:00:13,651 --> 00:00:15,873 Secretary for opening comments . I will 6 00:00:15,873 --> 00:00:17,929 be moderating please uh limit follow 7 00:00:17,929 --> 00:00:20,096 ups if you can . Mr Secretary , thanks 8 00:00:20,096 --> 00:00:22,540 john , I'm going to speak briefly and 9 00:00:22,540 --> 00:00:24,651 then turn it over to the Chairman for 10 00:00:24,651 --> 00:00:27,660 an operational update . Let me start by 11 00:00:27,660 --> 00:00:30,280 saying that we remain laser focused 12 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,770 right now on Hamid Karzai International 13 00:00:33,770 --> 00:00:36,940 Airport in Kabul and I'm doing 14 00:00:36,940 --> 00:00:39,160 everything that we can to continue 15 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,860 evacuating americans allies , 16 00:00:42,870 --> 00:00:46,020 afghans who have worked 17 00:00:46,030 --> 00:00:48,790 alongside us and and also other 18 00:00:48,790 --> 00:00:51,460 courageous afghans at special risk . 19 00:00:52,540 --> 00:00:54,484 And to that end , I'm prioritizing 20 00:00:54,484 --> 00:00:58,220 three key concerns . First , the safety 21 00:00:58,220 --> 00:01:00,700 and security of our people and the 22 00:01:00,700 --> 00:01:02,811 people that were trying to evacuate . 23 00:01:04,340 --> 00:01:06,760 As the chairman will brief you , the 24 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:08,871 final elements of additional military 25 00:01:08,871 --> 00:01:11,900 forces continue to flow into Kabul With 26 00:01:11,900 --> 00:01:15,260 about 4500 in place as we speak . 27 00:01:15,940 --> 00:01:18,162 They are trained and equipped to defend 28 00:01:18,162 --> 00:01:21,070 themselves and their operations . There 29 00:01:21,070 --> 00:01:23,237 have been no hostile interactions with 30 00:01:23,237 --> 00:01:25,790 the taliban and our lines of 31 00:01:25,790 --> 00:01:28,010 communication with taliban commanders 32 00:01:28,010 --> 00:01:30,860 remain open as they should be . 33 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,700 My second focuses maintaining security 34 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:39,310 at the airport itself in concert with 35 00:01:39,310 --> 00:01:41,550 forces from our allies . Our troops 36 00:01:41,550 --> 00:01:43,717 have set up defensive positions around 37 00:01:43,717 --> 00:01:46,610 the airport and the airport is able to 38 00:01:46,610 --> 00:01:50,050 function safely . Now . We don't take 39 00:01:50,050 --> 00:01:52,161 this for granted and I continue to be 40 00:01:52,161 --> 00:01:54,383 in daily contact with General Mackenzie 41 00:01:55,140 --> 00:01:57,196 and commanders on the ground to make 42 00:01:57,196 --> 00:01:59,307 sure that they have what they need to 43 00:01:59,307 --> 00:02:03,270 keep it safe . My third area of 44 00:02:03,270 --> 00:02:05,560 focus , of course is the pace 45 00:02:06,630 --> 00:02:09,180 increasing the flow of aircraft and 46 00:02:09,180 --> 00:02:12,430 people out of Kabul And we've flown out 47 00:02:12,430 --> 00:02:14,830 several 1000 since 15 August and our 48 00:02:14,830 --> 00:02:17,440 goal is to be able to increase our 49 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,320 capacity every day going forward . And 50 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,130 as we build out this capacity , we're 51 00:02:24,130 --> 00:02:26,186 working hand in glove with the State 52 00:02:26,186 --> 00:02:28,540 Department which is leading the whole 53 00:02:28,540 --> 00:02:30,770 of government effort to notify and 54 00:02:30,770 --> 00:02:32,900 process american citizens who are 55 00:02:32,900 --> 00:02:36,100 leaving and to urgently identify and 56 00:02:36,100 --> 00:02:39,260 process afghan applicants as well . 57 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:43,462 We have dispatched small military teams 58 00:02:43,462 --> 00:02:45,684 to two of the airport's gates to assist 59 00:02:45,684 --> 00:02:47,740 state the State Department counselor 60 00:02:47,740 --> 00:02:51,100 efforts as they evaluate and process 61 00:02:51,110 --> 00:02:55,000 individuals seeking entry and we 62 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,120 expect to be able to augment that 63 00:02:57,130 --> 00:02:59,660 capability in the coming days . 64 00:03:00,940 --> 00:03:03,110 This is truly a team effort across the 65 00:03:03,110 --> 00:03:05,780 inter agency and throughout all of this 66 00:03:06,340 --> 00:03:08,507 are U . S . Service members are making 67 00:03:08,507 --> 00:03:10,930 exceptional efforts under challenging 68 00:03:10,930 --> 00:03:13,440 circumstances and showing their 69 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,080 humanity and their compassion . So I 70 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,650 want to thank them for their skill and 71 00:03:19,660 --> 00:03:22,740 their professionalism . It's not lost 72 00:03:22,740 --> 00:03:25,620 on me that even as we conduct this very 73 00:03:25,620 --> 00:03:27,842 important mission , we also continue to 74 00:03:27,842 --> 00:03:30,560 help our fellow americans deal with a 75 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,380 new surge in the pandemic and the 76 00:03:33,380 --> 00:03:35,750 citizens of Haiti deal with an 77 00:03:35,750 --> 00:03:37,417 aftermath the aftermath of an 78 00:03:37,417 --> 00:03:40,950 earthquake . Let me also thank General 79 00:03:40,950 --> 00:03:43,061 Mackenzie and Rear Admiral vase Lee , 80 00:03:43,061 --> 00:03:44,950 who is the commander of US forces 81 00:03:44,950 --> 00:03:47,690 forward And major general Donahue of 82 00:03:47,690 --> 00:03:49,940 the 82nd Airborne Division and 83 00:03:49,940 --> 00:03:51,996 Brigadier General Sullivan for their 84 00:03:51,996 --> 00:03:55,000 leadership at this critical time . It 85 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,160 is making an enormous difference . They 86 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,216 know as I do , that there's a lot of 87 00:04:00,216 --> 00:04:04,120 work to be done yet . Now all 88 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,460 of this is very personal for me this is 89 00:04:07,460 --> 00:04:11,110 a war that I fought in and lead . I 90 00:04:11,110 --> 00:04:13,166 know the country , I know the people 91 00:04:13,166 --> 00:04:15,277 and I know those who fought alongside 92 00:04:15,277 --> 00:04:18,810 me . As I said , we had we have a moral 93 00:04:18,810 --> 00:04:21,088 obligation to help those who helped us . 94 00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:24,450 And I feel the urgency deeply . 95 00:04:25,940 --> 00:04:28,490 So I want to end with the word for the 96 00:04:28,490 --> 00:04:30,950 force in our military . 97 00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:36,130 I know that these are difficult days 98 00:04:36,130 --> 00:04:37,963 for those who lost loved ones in 99 00:04:37,963 --> 00:04:40,780 Afghanistan and for those who carry the 100 00:04:40,780 --> 00:04:44,770 wounds of war , especially now 101 00:04:44,780 --> 00:04:46,836 we mourn those who made the ultimate 102 00:04:46,836 --> 00:04:50,320 sacrifice in Afghanistan . Let me say 103 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:52,487 to their families and loved ones , our 104 00:04:52,487 --> 00:04:56,050 hearts are with you And the US military 105 00:04:56,050 --> 00:04:59,900 stands as one to honor those 106 00:04:59,910 --> 00:05:02,650 we've lost . Now 107 00:05:03,540 --> 00:05:05,318 Afghan war veterans aren't some 108 00:05:05,318 --> 00:05:08,100 monolithic . I'm hearing strong views 109 00:05:08,100 --> 00:05:11,030 from all sides on on this issue and 110 00:05:11,030 --> 00:05:13,197 that's probably the way that it should 111 00:05:13,197 --> 00:05:16,010 be . What's important is that each of 112 00:05:16,010 --> 00:05:18,066 us will work our way through this in 113 00:05:18,066 --> 00:05:21,020 our own way and we need to respect that 114 00:05:21,030 --> 00:05:23,030 and we need to give one another the 115 00:05:23,030 --> 00:05:25,150 time and space to help do it . 116 00:05:27,540 --> 00:05:30,480 Our greatest asset as a nation is the 117 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:32,258 extraordinary men and women who 118 00:05:32,258 --> 00:05:34,480 volunteer to keep us all safe and their 119 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,230 families , we honor your service . We 120 00:05:38,230 --> 00:05:40,440 understand your sacrifice and we will 121 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,360 never forget it . And so with that I'm 122 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:45,416 gonna turn it over to General Milley 123 00:05:45,416 --> 00:05:47,304 who can talk about where we stand 124 00:05:47,304 --> 00:05:49,527 operationally . Good afternoon everyone 125 00:05:49,527 --> 00:05:51,638 and thank you Mr Secretary . What I'd 126 00:05:51,638 --> 00:05:53,527 like to do is give you an overall 127 00:05:53,527 --> 00:05:55,749 situation update as of today . And what 128 00:05:55,749 --> 00:05:57,693 our next steps are currently , the 129 00:05:57,693 --> 00:05:59,800 United States military is focused on 130 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,030 the specific mission of conducting a 131 00:06:02,030 --> 00:06:04,800 noncombatant evacuation operation from 132 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,770 Afghanistan . This is likely to be 133 00:06:08,010 --> 00:06:10,190 probably the second largest neo 134 00:06:10,290 --> 00:06:13,370 conducted by the United States . Our 135 00:06:13,370 --> 00:06:16,630 key tasks or to establish and maintain 136 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,050 security at the Kabul International 137 00:06:19,050 --> 00:06:22,100 airport , defend the airport from 138 00:06:22,100 --> 00:06:25,640 attack , evacuate all american 139 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,510 citizens from Afghanistan who desire to 140 00:06:28,510 --> 00:06:31,910 leave this country , evacuate any third 141 00:06:31,910 --> 00:06:34,010 country , national or allies and 142 00:06:34,010 --> 00:06:36,540 partners as designated by the Secretary 143 00:06:36,550 --> 00:06:39,520 of State , evacuate personnel with 144 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:41,780 State Department designated special 145 00:06:41,790 --> 00:06:44,930 immigrant visas and evacuate any other 146 00:06:44,930 --> 00:06:47,170 evacuees that the State Department 147 00:06:47,180 --> 00:06:49,990 designates the president . United 148 00:06:49,990 --> 00:06:53,210 States made a decision to withdraw US 149 00:06:53,210 --> 00:06:56,260 forces from Afghanistan on april 14th . 150 00:06:56,940 --> 00:06:59,280 Since that date , we conducted a 151 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:01,447 deliberate and responsible drawdown of 152 00:07:01,447 --> 00:07:04,290 U . S . Forces to less than 1000 with a 153 00:07:04,290 --> 00:07:06,960 specific task of securing the U . S . 154 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,340 Embassy in our diplomatic presence in 155 00:07:09,340 --> 00:07:12,200 Afghanistan . Since then , the security 156 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,730 situation rapidly degraded today . The 157 00:07:15,730 --> 00:07:17,730 situation is still very dangerous , 158 00:07:17,730 --> 00:07:21,330 very dynamic and very fluid and all of 159 00:07:21,330 --> 00:07:23,460 us can be proud of the soldiers , 160 00:07:23,460 --> 00:07:25,182 sailors , airmen , marines are 161 00:07:25,182 --> 00:07:27,071 executing this mission . They are 162 00:07:27,071 --> 00:07:29,790 currently in harm's way . That needs to 163 00:07:29,790 --> 00:07:31,846 be our focus . There'll be plenty of 164 00:07:31,846 --> 00:07:35,260 time to do A . R . S . But right now 165 00:07:35,740 --> 00:07:38,018 our mission is to secure that airfield , 166 00:07:38,018 --> 00:07:40,340 defend that airfield and evacuate all 167 00:07:40,340 --> 00:07:42,396 those who have been faithful to us . 168 00:07:42,740 --> 00:07:44,796 There'll be many postmortems on this 169 00:07:44,796 --> 00:07:47,360 topic . But right now is not that time . 170 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,790 Right now there are troops at risk and 171 00:07:50,790 --> 00:07:52,957 we have the United States military and 172 00:07:52,957 --> 00:07:54,760 we fully intend to successfully 173 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,450 evacuate all american citizens who want 174 00:07:57,450 --> 00:07:59,510 to get out of Afghanistan . All 175 00:07:59,510 --> 00:08:01,621 american citizens who want to get out 176 00:08:01,621 --> 00:08:04,030 of Afghanistan , They are priority 177 00:08:04,030 --> 00:08:07,090 number one . In addition , we intend to 178 00:08:07,090 --> 00:08:09,312 evacuate . Those who've been supporting 179 00:08:09,312 --> 00:08:11,312 us for years and we're not going to 180 00:08:11,312 --> 00:08:13,423 leave them behind and we will get out 181 00:08:13,423 --> 00:08:15,423 as many as possible . Our troops in 182 00:08:15,423 --> 00:08:17,090 Kabul are taking high risk to 183 00:08:17,090 --> 00:08:19,257 accomplish that mission . Every minute 184 00:08:19,257 --> 00:08:21,368 these troops are on the ground making 185 00:08:21,368 --> 00:08:23,368 difficult decisions with incredible 186 00:08:23,368 --> 00:08:25,610 skill , incredible bravery and 187 00:08:25,610 --> 00:08:27,940 incredible valor . Currently , the 188 00:08:27,940 --> 00:08:29,996 security situation at the airport is 189 00:08:29,996 --> 00:08:32,162 stable . However , there are threats , 190 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:34,370 were closely monitoring those at any 191 00:08:34,370 --> 00:08:37,190 moment . They could happen . We can 192 00:08:37,190 --> 00:08:40,290 identify them if we identify them , we 193 00:08:40,290 --> 00:08:42,290 will take immediate military action 194 00:08:42,460 --> 00:08:44,820 without hesitation and according to the 195 00:08:44,820 --> 00:08:47,840 rules of engagement and the taliban and 196 00:08:47,850 --> 00:08:49,961 every other organization that country 197 00:08:49,961 --> 00:08:53,440 knows it . The taliban are in and 198 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,810 around Kabul right now but they are not 199 00:08:55,810 --> 00:08:58,150 interfering with our operations through 200 00:08:58,150 --> 00:09:01,060 the State Department . The taliban are 201 00:09:01,060 --> 00:09:03,116 facilitating the safe passage to the 202 00:09:03,116 --> 00:09:05,940 airport for american citizens that is U . 203 00:09:05,940 --> 00:09:09,800 S . Passport holders . We also have a 204 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,200 risk . As you saw the other day of 205 00:09:12,210 --> 00:09:15,400 unarmed innocent civilians massing on 206 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,567 the airfield became a safety hazard to 207 00:09:17,567 --> 00:09:19,880 our airplanes or air crews and also to 208 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,120 themselves . And we currently have that 209 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,200 situation under control inside the 210 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:27,180 airfield . As many other risks out 211 00:09:27,180 --> 00:09:29,720 there and the troops are dealing with 212 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,290 those every single day in this volatile 213 00:09:32,300 --> 00:09:34,730 environment which can and likely will 214 00:09:34,730 --> 00:09:37,190 change rapidly . Let me make one 215 00:09:37,190 --> 00:09:39,620 comment on the intelligence because I'm 216 00:09:39,620 --> 00:09:41,842 seeing all over the news that there are 217 00:09:41,842 --> 00:09:44,920 warnings of a rapid collapse . I have 218 00:09:44,930 --> 00:09:47,950 previously said from this podium and in 219 00:09:47,950 --> 00:09:50,680 sworn testimony before Congress that 220 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:52,624 the intelligence clearly indicated 221 00:09:52,624 --> 00:09:55,390 multiple scenarios were possible . One 222 00:09:55,390 --> 00:09:57,620 of those was an outright Taliban 223 00:09:57,620 --> 00:10:00,350 takeover following a rapid collapse of 224 00:10:00,350 --> 00:10:02,330 the Afghan security forces and the 225 00:10:02,330 --> 00:10:05,440 government . Another was a civil war 226 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:08,450 and a third was a negotiated settlement . 227 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,550 However , the time frame of a rapid 228 00:10:12,550 --> 00:10:16,130 collapse that was widely estimated and 229 00:10:16,130 --> 00:10:19,200 ranged from weeks to months and even 230 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,350 years following our departure , 231 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,200 there was nothing that I or anyone else 232 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,760 saw That indicated a collapse of this 233 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,750 army and this government in 11 days , 234 00:10:34,140 --> 00:10:36,520 Central Command submitted a variety of 235 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,840 plans that were briefed and approved by 236 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:41,640 the Joint Chiefs of Staff , the 237 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,751 Secretary Defense and the President . 238 00:10:43,751 --> 00:10:45,307 These plans are coordinated 239 00:10:45,620 --> 00:10:48,660 synchronized and rehearsed to deal with 240 00:10:48,660 --> 00:10:51,170 these various scenarios . One of those 241 00:10:51,170 --> 00:10:53,500 contingencies is what we are executing 242 00:10:53,500 --> 00:10:56,510 right now . As I said before , there's 243 00:10:56,510 --> 00:10:58,399 plenty of time to do a RS and key 244 00:10:58,399 --> 00:11:00,621 lessons learned and to delve into these 245 00:11:00,621 --> 00:11:02,843 questions with great detail . But right 246 00:11:02,843 --> 00:11:05,120 now is not that time . Right now we 247 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,231 have to focus on this mission because 248 00:11:07,231 --> 00:11:10,100 we have soldiers at risk And we also 249 00:11:10,110 --> 00:11:12,277 have American citizens and Afghans who 250 00:11:12,277 --> 00:11:14,860 supported us for 20 years also at risk . 251 00:11:15,340 --> 00:11:17,451 This is personal . We're going to get 252 00:11:17,451 --> 00:11:20,380 them out and we in uniform have a deep 253 00:11:20,380 --> 00:11:22,920 commitment to this mission . Now let me 254 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,260 give you an operational update the 255 00:11:25,260 --> 00:11:27,149 security situation as I said , is 256 00:11:27,149 --> 00:11:29,440 currently secure at this time and since 257 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:31,520 12 august we've deployed 12 or 258 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:33,687 correction to the United States marine 259 00:11:33,687 --> 00:11:35,760 battalions , one Battalion from the 260 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,350 Minnesota National Guard . All three of 261 00:11:38,350 --> 00:11:41,070 those were pre positioned in theater 262 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:42,980 centcom A . R . As part of the 263 00:11:42,980 --> 00:11:45,540 contingency planning . In addition to 264 00:11:45,540 --> 00:11:48,490 that , we alerted Marshall and deployed 265 00:11:48,620 --> 00:11:50,842 the 82nd Airborne Division headquarters 266 00:11:50,842 --> 00:11:52,787 and a brigade of the 82nd Airborne 267 00:11:52,787 --> 00:11:55,390 Division Consisting of three Airborne 268 00:11:55,390 --> 00:11:57,334 Infantry Battalions and Associated 269 00:11:57,334 --> 00:11:59,960 Enablers . And finally there was an 270 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:01,793 infantry battalion from the 10th 271 00:12:01,793 --> 00:12:03,960 mountain Division securing the U . S . 272 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,520 Embassy in Kabul . In addition we are 273 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,687 operating on the ground with a variety 274 00:12:08,687 --> 00:12:11,910 of special operations forces that in 275 00:12:11,910 --> 00:12:14,450 combination with the ground forces . We 276 00:12:14,450 --> 00:12:16,394 have some of the best soldiers and 277 00:12:16,394 --> 00:12:18,680 marines the world has ever seen In 278 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:20,980 total . There are 20 us maneuver 279 00:12:20,980 --> 00:12:24,190 companies currently on the ground With 280 00:12:24,190 --> 00:12:26,580 about 4500 troops and the flow 281 00:12:26,580 --> 00:12:28,800 continues . The president has 282 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:30,856 authorized , as you all know , up to 283 00:12:30,856 --> 00:12:33,690 6000 on top of them is the United 284 00:12:33,690 --> 00:12:35,890 States , Navy and Air Force . We have 285 00:12:35,890 --> 00:12:39,140 multiple squadrons of F eighteens , A V 286 00:12:39,140 --> 00:12:42,810 eight's , F 16 A C one thirties , 287 00:12:42,820 --> 00:12:46,320 B 52 S and M two nines . We have a 288 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,209 significant amount of rotary wing 289 00:12:48,209 --> 00:12:50,760 aviation on the ground including attack 290 00:12:51,140 --> 00:12:54,310 and lift helicopters . In addition , we 291 00:12:54,310 --> 00:12:56,088 are working with our allies and 292 00:12:56,088 --> 00:12:58,199 partners . There are british infantry 293 00:12:58,199 --> 00:13:00,143 rifle companies along with british 294 00:13:00,143 --> 00:13:02,199 special forces on the ground working 295 00:13:02,199 --> 00:13:04,421 with us . There's also Turkish security 296 00:13:04,421 --> 00:13:06,643 force and there are other international 297 00:13:06,643 --> 00:13:08,810 Special operations forces . This force 298 00:13:08,810 --> 00:13:10,977 is capable of extracting a significant 299 00:13:10,977 --> 00:13:13,088 amount of people on U . S . Air Force 300 00:13:13,088 --> 00:13:15,180 aircraft . Right now we're averaging 301 00:13:15,180 --> 00:13:19,150 about 20 sorties of C17s Every 24 hours . 302 00:13:19,540 --> 00:13:21,762 We have the capability to significantly 303 00:13:21,762 --> 00:13:23,540 increase that throughput as the 304 00:13:23,540 --> 00:13:25,484 Department of State makes evacuees 305 00:13:25,620 --> 00:13:28,360 available . As the secretary said , 306 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:30,951 We've already evacuated approximately 307 00:13:30,951 --> 00:13:33,160 5000 people and we intend to increase 308 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,440 it . In addition to the military 309 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,162 airflow , there's a variety of 310 00:13:37,162 --> 00:13:39,580 commercial and charter flights taking 311 00:13:39,580 --> 00:13:41,802 out evacuees on behalf of various other 312 00:13:41,802 --> 00:13:45,280 countries in NGos . The military side 313 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,220 of the airfield is open and the 314 00:13:47,220 --> 00:13:49,331 civilian side of the airfield is also 315 00:13:49,331 --> 00:13:51,470 open and we intend to keep them both 316 00:13:51,470 --> 00:13:53,510 open for military commercial and 317 00:13:53,510 --> 00:13:56,510 charter flights . one Caveat on the 318 00:13:56,510 --> 00:13:58,690 civilian side , however , is that the 319 00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:00,756 air frames have to come in by visual 320 00:14:00,756 --> 00:14:02,990 flight rules only and a note um , is 321 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,210 going out to all the air crews . The 322 00:14:06,210 --> 00:14:08,377 State Department is working to rapidly 323 00:14:08,377 --> 00:14:10,154 increase the flow of passengers 324 00:14:10,154 --> 00:14:12,210 available to get out on the aircraft 325 00:14:12,210 --> 00:14:14,321 and we are fully supporting them with 326 00:14:14,321 --> 00:14:16,488 our military personnel at the entrance 327 00:14:16,488 --> 00:14:18,154 gates and this highly dynamic 328 00:14:18,154 --> 00:14:20,043 environment , There's a number of 329 00:14:20,043 --> 00:14:21,988 unexpected challenges that can and 330 00:14:21,988 --> 00:14:24,154 likely will continue to occur . And we 331 00:14:24,154 --> 00:14:26,210 rely heavily on a talent , skill and 332 00:14:26,210 --> 00:14:28,154 training of our troops . We've got 333 00:14:28,154 --> 00:14:30,266 great people across all the ranks and 334 00:14:30,266 --> 00:14:32,321 services out there right now on this 335 00:14:32,321 --> 00:14:34,488 mission . In addition to Afghanistan , 336 00:14:34,488 --> 00:14:36,432 which is clearly our main effort , 337 00:14:36,432 --> 00:14:38,377 we're also conducting humanitarian 338 00:14:38,377 --> 00:14:40,488 assistance operations in Haiti In the 339 00:14:40,488 --> 00:14:42,321 aftermath of a 7.2 mag magnitude 340 00:14:42,321 --> 00:14:44,432 earthquake with a significant loss of 341 00:14:44,432 --> 00:14:46,488 life on the West Coast were fighting 342 00:14:46,488 --> 00:14:48,543 wildfires and we continue to conduct 343 00:14:48,543 --> 00:14:50,488 covid support and other operations 344 00:14:50,488 --> 00:14:52,690 around the world . As we reflect on 345 00:14:52,690 --> 00:14:54,912 these difficult and challenging times . 346 00:14:55,340 --> 00:14:58,040 Every soldier , sailor , airman , 347 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,380 marine coast Guardsman was fought Or 348 00:15:00,380 --> 00:15:02,436 conducted operation in Afghanistan . 349 00:15:02,436 --> 00:15:05,010 Almost 800,000 should hold their head 350 00:15:05,010 --> 00:15:08,710 high For more than 20 years . We have 351 00:15:08,710 --> 00:15:10,988 prevented an attack on the US homeland . 352 00:15:11,740 --> 00:15:15,360 2448 lost our lives . 353 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,450 20722 were wounded in action 354 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,190 and many others suffered the unseen 355 00:15:23,190 --> 00:15:26,160 wounds of war to each of them . 356 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,720 I want you to know personally that your 357 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,960 service mattered as the secretary said 358 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,060 for both . He and I this is personal 359 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,551 and I know it's personal for each and 360 00:15:38,551 --> 00:15:42,140 every one of you , thank you . Okay , 361 00:15:42,140 --> 00:15:44,251 we'll go to questions bob . Thank you 362 00:15:44,251 --> 00:15:46,490 john I have a question for you two 363 00:15:46,490 --> 00:15:49,480 gentlemen . If I may Mr Secretary , you 364 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:51,702 mentioned the urgency of ramping up the 365 00:15:51,702 --> 00:15:54,510 face of the evacuation . Uh so you have 366 00:15:54,510 --> 00:15:56,399 a safe passage agreement with the 367 00:15:56,399 --> 00:15:59,320 Taliban . But in fact in some cases , 368 00:15:59,330 --> 00:16:02,200 american citizens afghans who are at 369 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,440 risk or who are being advised to go to 370 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:06,384 the airport unable to get into the 371 00:16:06,384 --> 00:16:08,551 airport because of taliban checkpoints 372 00:16:08,551 --> 00:16:11,300 and so forth . Uh So are you 373 00:16:11,300 --> 00:16:13,522 considering other ways that you can get 374 00:16:13,522 --> 00:16:15,578 around that problem by for example , 375 00:16:15,578 --> 00:16:17,689 sending forces out beyond the airport 376 00:16:17,689 --> 00:16:20,430 to collect people and bring them them 377 00:16:20,430 --> 00:16:24,050 into the airport . If I may ask 378 00:16:24,060 --> 00:16:27,220 General Milley with the rapid collapse 379 00:16:27,220 --> 00:16:30,180 of the afghan forces , there's large 380 00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:32,640 amounts of weaponry that are kind of 381 00:16:32,650 --> 00:16:35,080 out there now that were either 382 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,530 surrendered or abandoned by the afghan 383 00:16:37,530 --> 00:16:39,530 forces or otherwise captured by the 384 00:16:39,530 --> 00:16:42,500 taliban . Are there ways you can , are 385 00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:44,710 you considering ways that you might 386 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,120 destroy some of that equipment uh to 387 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,120 avoid it falling into the taliban's 388 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,580 hands ? Thanks bob . In terms of 389 00:16:53,580 --> 00:16:56,000 whether or not we intend to send forces 390 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,840 outside of of the airfield to 391 00:16:59,850 --> 00:17:03,290 collect up american citizens or 392 00:17:03,300 --> 00:17:07,130 afghans who are special immigrant visa 393 00:17:07,140 --> 00:17:10,830 applicants . Uh the forces that we have 394 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:13,200 are are focused on security of the 395 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,311 airfield and you know , how important 396 00:17:15,311 --> 00:17:17,422 that is . And you know , what happens 397 00:17:17,422 --> 00:17:20,340 uh If we if we lose uh the ability to 398 00:17:20,340 --> 00:17:24,310 provide that security . Uh and 399 00:17:24,310 --> 00:17:26,477 so I don't want to detract from that . 400 00:17:26,477 --> 00:17:28,532 And we have to make sure that we can 401 00:17:28,532 --> 00:17:30,643 not only secure the airfield , but as 402 00:17:30,643 --> 00:17:32,754 the chairman said , defend it as well 403 00:17:32,754 --> 00:17:34,866 because there are a number of threats 404 00:17:34,866 --> 00:17:38,270 uh still in the in the environment . Uh 405 00:17:38,740 --> 00:17:40,880 I certainly don't want to do anything 406 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,320 to make the air feel less safe and and 407 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,320 we won't do that . But we will continue 408 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,450 to coordinate deconflict 409 00:17:49,460 --> 00:17:52,380 with with the taliban and make sure 410 00:17:52,380 --> 00:17:54,880 that uh those folks , those those 411 00:17:54,890 --> 00:17:57,660 people that need to get to the airfield 412 00:17:58,140 --> 00:18:01,980 have the right credentials uh to to 413 00:18:01,980 --> 00:18:05,030 ensure passage . And and the taliban 414 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:07,320 has been checking those credentials and 415 00:18:07,330 --> 00:18:09,441 if they have them , they have allowed 416 00:18:09,441 --> 00:18:12,390 them to pass so on the equipment . But 417 00:18:12,390 --> 00:18:14,446 we obviously have capabilities . But 418 00:18:14,446 --> 00:18:16,430 I'd prefer not to discuss any 419 00:18:16,430 --> 00:18:18,597 operations other than what we're doing 420 00:18:18,597 --> 00:18:20,374 right now in order to get their 421 00:18:20,374 --> 00:18:22,541 evacuation out and get that complete . 422 00:18:22,541 --> 00:18:24,708 And then there'll be another time when 423 00:18:24,708 --> 00:18:26,986 we can discuss future operations , huh ? 424 00:18:26,986 --> 00:18:29,152 Barb I would like to press both of you 425 00:18:29,152 --> 00:18:31,263 in the same points . General Milley , 426 00:18:31,263 --> 00:18:33,374 you say in your statement that one of 427 00:18:33,374 --> 00:18:35,541 your tasks is to evacuate all american 428 00:18:35,541 --> 00:18:37,763 citizens from Afghanistan who desire to 429 00:18:37,763 --> 00:18:40,880 leave . There are americans clearly all 430 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,991 over Kabul . There maybe americans in 431 00:18:42,991 --> 00:18:46,230 other parts of the country . How can 432 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,610 the U . S . The pentagon live up to 433 00:18:49,620 --> 00:18:52,880 that task of evacuating all 434 00:18:52,890 --> 00:18:55,360 americans because we continue to see 435 00:18:55,370 --> 00:18:57,680 the violence just outside the airport . 436 00:18:57,690 --> 00:19:00,480 And how would you get them around the 437 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,580 country unless you go get them ? Well , 438 00:19:03,590 --> 00:19:06,110 two things , Barbara one is State 439 00:19:06,110 --> 00:19:08,277 Department , as you know , as I said , 440 00:19:08,277 --> 00:19:10,150 is working with the taliban to 441 00:19:10,150 --> 00:19:12,180 facilitate safe passage of american 442 00:19:12,180 --> 00:19:14,347 citizens , U . S . Passport holders to 443 00:19:14,347 --> 00:19:17,350 the airport . Um and um that's the 444 00:19:17,350 --> 00:19:19,461 primary means . And under the current 445 00:19:19,461 --> 00:19:21,406 conditions , uh that's the primary 446 00:19:21,406 --> 00:19:23,628 effort . We have capability to do other 447 00:19:23,628 --> 00:19:25,683 things if necessary . Well can I ask 448 00:19:25,683 --> 00:19:27,850 you what that means ? Because you also 449 00:19:27,850 --> 00:19:29,961 said there were international special 450 00:19:29,961 --> 00:19:32,072 forces there that have the capability 451 00:19:32,072 --> 00:19:34,350 to extract . And those words suggest 452 00:19:34,350 --> 00:19:36,930 very clearly in the military realm , 453 00:19:37,090 --> 00:19:39,220 you would go get people . Well that 454 00:19:39,220 --> 00:19:41,220 would be a policy decision . And if 455 00:19:41,220 --> 00:19:43,387 directed we have capabilities that can 456 00:19:43,387 --> 00:19:45,442 execute whatever were directed her . 457 00:19:45,442 --> 00:19:47,770 Thank you . And I would draw a 458 00:19:47,780 --> 00:19:50,760 distinction bar between extracting 459 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,600 uh someone in an in extremist 460 00:19:54,610 --> 00:19:58,250 condition or circumstance versus going 461 00:19:58,250 --> 00:20:00,560 out and collecting up large numbers of 462 00:20:00,770 --> 00:20:02,603 american citizens . You have the 463 00:20:02,603 --> 00:20:04,437 capability to go out and collect 464 00:20:04,437 --> 00:20:06,330 americans . We don't have the 465 00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:08,330 capability to go out and collect up 466 00:20:08,330 --> 00:20:10,660 large numbers of people . Bar 467 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,850 we go ahead for both of you . If I 468 00:20:14,850 --> 00:20:17,710 could You have 5000 469 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:20,929 U . S . Military personnel on the 470 00:20:20,929 --> 00:20:22,970 ground securing the area ? You have 471 00:20:22,970 --> 00:20:24,820 small groups potentially taliban 472 00:20:24,830 --> 00:20:27,560 fighters outside there for holding up 473 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,910 potentially the second largest neo that 474 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:32,940 could be undertaken . You have the 475 00:20:32,940 --> 00:20:35,150 capability to get there . But how do 476 00:20:35,150 --> 00:20:37,970 you get those people inside so that 477 00:20:37,980 --> 00:20:40,202 they can actually get on those planes ? 478 00:20:40,340 --> 00:20:42,680 And both of you have served in major 479 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:45,560 command roles inside Afghanistan ? Did 480 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:48,150 you not see the possibility that the 481 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,360 Afghan security forces were not up to 482 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,950 this fight ? Um 483 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,580 We continue to work with with the State 484 00:20:56,580 --> 00:21:00,170 Department uh officials on the ground 485 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,430 uh to improve uh the procedures 486 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,110 uh you know at the entry points to make 487 00:21:07,110 --> 00:21:09,760 sure that we can speed up the process 488 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:11,980 of getting people in and move them 489 00:21:11,980 --> 00:21:15,400 onward and and so a state is deploying 490 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:19,010 more uh consular officers to be able to 491 00:21:19,020 --> 00:21:22,200 help with that as we stated her as I 492 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,370 stated earlier , we're going to push 493 00:21:24,370 --> 00:21:27,160 more military assistance down to the 494 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:30,760 entry points to facilitate uh these 495 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,460 efforts , but We're really working hard 496 00:21:33,470 --> 00:21:36,570 uh to get as many people through as 497 00:21:36,570 --> 00:21:38,900 possible . And quite frankly we're not , 498 00:21:38,910 --> 00:21:41,130 it's obvious we're not close to where 499 00:21:41,130 --> 00:21:43,520 we want to be in terms of getting the 500 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,631 numbers through . So we're gonna work 501 00:21:45,631 --> 00:21:47,853 that 24 hours a day , seven days a week 502 00:21:47,853 --> 00:21:50,760 and we're gonna get everyone that we 503 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,520 can possibly evacuate evacuated and 504 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,250 I'll do that as long as we possibly can 505 00:21:57,260 --> 00:21:59,427 until the clock runs out or we run out 506 00:21:59,427 --> 00:22:03,240 of capability . Uh and also about 507 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,730 the Afghan security forces ? Did you 508 00:22:05,740 --> 00:22:07,740 feel that they were ever up to this 509 00:22:07,740 --> 00:22:10,018 fight ? Or did you not see this coming , 510 00:22:10,018 --> 00:22:12,240 that they were not up to the what stood 511 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,296 behind this podium and said that the 512 00:22:14,296 --> 00:22:16,518 Afghan security forces had the capacity 513 00:22:16,518 --> 00:22:18,518 and by that , I mean , they had the 514 00:22:18,518 --> 00:22:20,740 training , the size , the capability to 515 00:22:20,740 --> 00:22:22,907 defend their country . This comes down 516 00:22:22,907 --> 00:22:25,129 to an issue of will and leadership . Um 517 00:22:25,129 --> 00:22:27,129 and no , I did not . Nor did anyone 518 00:22:27,129 --> 00:22:29,129 else see a collapse of an army that 519 00:22:29,129 --> 00:22:31,560 size in 11 days address . Thank you . 520 00:22:32,220 --> 00:22:34,880 31st . Is the ended at what point does 521 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,880 the military need to start thinking 522 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:38,602 about and carrying out its own 523 00:22:38,602 --> 00:22:40,769 retrograde to meet that deadline ? And 524 00:22:40,769 --> 00:22:42,880 secondly , do you believe , or do you 525 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:44,991 regret not starting the evacuation of 526 00:22:44,991 --> 00:22:47,213 bitter or even by a day or two , to get 527 00:22:47,213 --> 00:22:49,420 ahead of the curve ? So that's a great 528 00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:51,476 question . At what point do we start 529 00:22:51,476 --> 00:22:54,180 thinking about having to retrograde our 530 00:22:54,180 --> 00:22:57,280 own capabilities ? Uh That's uh that's 531 00:22:57,290 --> 00:22:59,401 actually the point before we put them 532 00:22:59,401 --> 00:23:01,800 in there . Uh We know that we got to 533 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,920 have the right mix of capabilities on 534 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,142 the on the ground . Uh We don't want to 535 00:23:07,142 --> 00:23:11,050 put uh excessive uh materials 536 00:23:11,050 --> 00:23:13,272 on the ground that they're not relevant 537 00:23:13,272 --> 00:23:15,990 to what we're doing . Uh And uh and we 538 00:23:15,990 --> 00:23:19,610 have to develop a detailed plan uh 539 00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:22,480 to to uh retrograde our equipment and 540 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,050 our people and synchronize that plan 541 00:23:25,050 --> 00:23:27,550 with our efforts to get as many people 542 00:23:27,550 --> 00:23:31,060 out as fast as we can uh you know with 543 00:23:31,060 --> 00:23:33,282 the time that we have available so that 544 00:23:33,282 --> 00:23:35,449 that that work is uh uh it's something 545 00:23:35,449 --> 00:23:37,449 that we started thinking about very 546 00:23:37,449 --> 00:23:39,671 early on and that's something that will 547 00:23:39,671 --> 00:23:39,530 continue to think about and develop 548 00:23:39,540 --> 00:23:41,790 detailed plans for and regretting not 549 00:23:41,790 --> 00:23:44,012 starting the evacuation even a few days 550 00:23:44,012 --> 00:23:47,330 earlier . Who's that for injuries ? 551 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,060 Either one What , 552 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,660 you know , we make plans for a number 553 00:23:53,660 --> 00:23:55,771 of things and and clearly as chairman 554 00:23:55,771 --> 00:23:59,270 pointed out , uh we uh as we did 555 00:23:59,270 --> 00:24:01,190 detailed planning throughout , we 556 00:24:01,190 --> 00:24:04,350 recognize that there might be a point 557 00:24:04,350 --> 00:24:06,628 in time when we have to conduct a Neil . 558 00:24:06,628 --> 00:24:08,980 So we positioned all the all the right 559 00:24:08,990 --> 00:24:11,323 forces in theatre to be able to do that . 560 00:24:11,340 --> 00:24:13,860 We put forces on standby in the United 561 00:24:13,860 --> 00:24:16,800 States to support that . And of course 562 00:24:16,810 --> 00:24:20,280 uh you know , we we also did uh were in 563 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,740 support of the of the 564 00:24:23,750 --> 00:24:27,570 state led S . I . V . Process I . 565 00:24:27,570 --> 00:24:30,830 Ve applicant process throughout . So in 566 00:24:30,830 --> 00:24:33,460 terms of you know , doing everything 567 00:24:33,460 --> 00:24:35,560 that we could as at the at the right 568 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:37,560 time , I think I think we have been 569 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,400 been pretty prudent in terms of 570 00:24:39,410 --> 00:24:41,600 thinking ahead and planning for 571 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:45,490 contingencies and we're executing uh a 572 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:48,770 one of those plans right now . Holy 573 00:24:49,740 --> 00:24:52,080 this question is for both of you and I 574 00:24:52,090 --> 00:24:54,540 like for both of you to answer . Um It 575 00:24:54,540 --> 00:24:56,596 seems like I know we keep harping on 576 00:24:56,596 --> 00:24:58,762 the same thing , but it feels like the 577 00:24:58,762 --> 00:25:00,873 video is not matching the audio right 578 00:25:00,873 --> 00:25:03,760 now . If boring , it seems to me like 579 00:25:03,770 --> 00:25:05,992 barring a lobotomy by the taliban , you 580 00:25:05,992 --> 00:25:09,680 have three pathways ahead of you . Uh 581 00:25:09,690 --> 00:25:11,857 One , you can expand the perimeter and 582 00:25:11,857 --> 00:25:14,830 establish a quarter into kabul to get 583 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,750 our afghan allies out . Two , you can 584 00:25:17,750 --> 00:25:20,960 extend the August 31 deadline up 585 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,060 withdrawing or three . You can just 586 00:25:23,060 --> 00:25:25,240 leave the tens of thousands of Afghans 587 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,500 who helped us over the past 20 years 588 00:25:27,510 --> 00:25:30,400 behind . Which one is it going to be ? 589 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,710 First of all ? As I said , Helene , 590 00:25:35,710 --> 00:25:37,930 we're gonna evacuate everybody that we 591 00:25:37,930 --> 00:25:41,520 can physically possibly evacuate . And 592 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,430 we'll conduct these uh 593 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,870 this process for as long as we possibly 594 00:25:47,870 --> 00:25:51,370 can , we will continue to deconflict 595 00:25:51,380 --> 00:25:54,370 issues with with the taliban . And we 596 00:25:54,370 --> 00:25:57,500 will stay focused on securing uh the 597 00:25:57,510 --> 00:25:59,890 the airfield . We cannot afford to 598 00:25:59,890 --> 00:26:03,490 either not defend that airfield or or 599 00:26:03,500 --> 00:26:06,200 not have an airfield that secure where 600 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,130 we have hundreds or thousands of 601 00:26:08,130 --> 00:26:11,480 civilians that can access uh the 602 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,647 airfield at will and put our forces at 603 00:26:13,647 --> 00:26:15,591 risk . But that doesn't answer the 604 00:26:15,591 --> 00:26:17,813 question . I mean , you're still saying 605 00:26:17,813 --> 00:26:19,980 you're focused on the airfield . These 606 00:26:19,980 --> 00:26:22,036 people can't get into the airfield . 607 00:26:22,036 --> 00:26:24,258 Well , we're gonna do everything we can 608 00:26:24,258 --> 00:26:26,770 to continue to try to deconflict and 609 00:26:27,140 --> 00:26:30,590 and create uh passage ways for them to 610 00:26:30,590 --> 00:26:32,757 get to the airfield . I don't have the 611 00:26:32,757 --> 00:26:34,990 capability to go out and and extend 612 00:26:34,990 --> 00:26:38,250 operations currently into uh into 613 00:26:38,260 --> 00:26:41,860 uh Kabul . And where do you take that ? 614 00:26:41,870 --> 00:26:44,300 I mean , how far can you extend into 615 00:26:44,300 --> 00:26:47,530 Kabul and uh and how long does it take 616 00:26:47,530 --> 00:26:49,641 to flow those forces in to be able to 617 00:26:49,641 --> 00:26:51,586 do that . So it sounds like you're 618 00:26:51,586 --> 00:26:53,697 saying this depends on diplomacy with 619 00:26:53,697 --> 00:26:55,752 the taliban . That's it . That's our 620 00:26:55,752 --> 00:26:57,974 only option is getting them to agree to 621 00:26:57,974 --> 00:27:01,020 do this . Well let me add something 622 00:27:01,020 --> 00:27:04,140 here . Helene , we got a couple of uh 623 00:27:04,150 --> 00:27:07,370 entry control points set up . Um North 624 00:27:07,370 --> 00:27:10,190 one east one and a third one at Abbey 625 00:27:10,190 --> 00:27:12,580 Gate . Uh They're currently man with 626 00:27:12,580 --> 00:27:14,747 consular officers Marines has put this 627 00:27:14,747 --> 00:27:16,969 all part of the perimeter messages have 628 00:27:16,969 --> 00:27:18,740 gone out by various means of 629 00:27:18,740 --> 00:27:20,962 communication from the State Department 630 00:27:20,962 --> 00:27:22,962 to american citizens and others and 631 00:27:22,962 --> 00:27:25,184 they're being told to go to those gates 632 00:27:25,184 --> 00:27:27,770 right now we're processing it about I 633 00:27:27,770 --> 00:27:29,881 think the last report is about 100 20 634 00:27:29,881 --> 00:27:31,937 130 an hour , something like that at 635 00:27:31,937 --> 00:27:33,937 the north , about 343 150 an hour , 636 00:27:33,937 --> 00:27:36,159 something like that at the South gate . 637 00:27:36,159 --> 00:27:38,270 So right now there's a steady flow of 638 00:27:38,270 --> 00:27:41,130 people um Now as that goes on I think 639 00:27:41,130 --> 00:27:43,352 those numbers will continue to grow and 640 00:27:43,352 --> 00:27:46,490 as those messages go out um and I would 641 00:27:46,490 --> 00:27:48,712 tell you that for the american citizens 642 00:27:48,712 --> 00:27:52,630 passport holders uh the taliban and the 643 00:27:52,630 --> 00:27:54,408 State Department working out of 644 00:27:54,408 --> 00:27:56,630 facility . I got it but they're working 645 00:27:56,630 --> 00:27:58,686 out a facilitation measures so those 646 00:27:58,686 --> 00:28:00,630 numbers are likely to grow for the 647 00:28:00,630 --> 00:28:02,741 others . Uh State Department is still 648 00:28:02,741 --> 00:28:04,741 working through exactly getting the 649 00:28:04,741 --> 00:28:06,870 procedures for uh for the evacuees to 650 00:28:06,870 --> 00:28:09,270 get to the airfield . Well get john 651 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,700 Defense Secretary Austin . How many US 652 00:28:12,700 --> 00:28:15,750 taxpayer funded military aircraft have 653 00:28:15,750 --> 00:28:17,750 been flown out of the country . And 654 00:28:17,750 --> 00:28:19,917 what are you doing to get those back ? 655 00:28:19,917 --> 00:28:21,917 We've heard of Afghan pilots taking 656 00:28:21,917 --> 00:28:24,028 those planes to third countries . And 657 00:28:24,028 --> 00:28:26,028 General Milley , you talk about the 658 00:28:26,028 --> 00:28:28,250 intelligence reports and you said there 659 00:28:28,250 --> 00:28:30,472 wasn't anything suggesting 11 days that 660 00:28:30,472 --> 00:28:32,380 the Kabul would fall . But you do 661 00:28:32,380 --> 00:28:34,158 mention there were some reports 662 00:28:34,158 --> 00:28:36,510 suggesting it could fall apart in weeks 663 00:28:36,570 --> 00:28:39,590 if so . Why did you abandon the bagram 664 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:41,600 airfield ? Why did U . S . Military 665 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,960 pullout given the uncertainty ? 666 00:28:45,740 --> 00:28:49,740 Yeah . Good . Uh jen in terms 667 00:28:49,740 --> 00:28:50,450 of uh 668 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:58,690 the aircraft that have been flown out 669 00:28:58,700 --> 00:29:00,922 that you that you mentioned earlier , I 670 00:29:00,922 --> 00:29:02,978 have received reports of a number of 671 00:29:02,978 --> 00:29:04,644 aircraft that were flown into 672 00:29:04,644 --> 00:29:07,380 Uzbekistan and Tajikistan . Exactly how 673 00:29:07,380 --> 00:29:10,900 many ? I don't have firm rumbles on in 674 00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:12,956 terms of what we're doing about them 675 00:29:12,956 --> 00:29:15,500 currently . Uh Right now jen we're 676 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:18,100 focused on the airfield and getting 677 00:29:18,100 --> 00:29:20,470 people out safely . And so we're going 678 00:29:20,470 --> 00:29:22,760 to take that issue up at a later date 679 00:29:22,770 --> 00:29:24,881 and we're going to continue to try to 680 00:29:24,881 --> 00:29:26,992 gain greater fidelity on the issue as 681 00:29:26,992 --> 00:29:29,048 well . And I'm your question Barbara 682 00:29:29,048 --> 00:29:31,048 securing Barbara , you know Big Bar 683 00:29:31,048 --> 00:29:33,326 Grammys , you've been there many times . 684 00:29:33,326 --> 00:29:33,040 Security bargain is a is a significant 685 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,290 level of military effort and forces uh 686 00:29:35,290 --> 00:29:37,310 And it would also require external 687 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:39,542 support from the afghan security forces 688 00:29:39,542 --> 00:29:41,970 are task given to us that the our task 689 00:29:41,970 --> 00:29:44,610 was to protect the embassy uh in order 690 00:29:44,620 --> 00:29:46,610 for the embassy personnel uh to 691 00:29:46,610 --> 00:29:48,721 continue to function with the council 692 00:29:48,721 --> 00:29:50,943 service and all that . Uh if we were to 693 00:29:50,943 --> 00:29:53,166 keep both problem and the embassy going 694 00:29:53,166 --> 00:29:55,277 uh that would be a significant number 695 00:29:55,277 --> 00:29:55,230 of military forces That would have 696 00:29:55,230 --> 00:29:57,740 exceeded what we had or stayed the same 697 00:29:57,750 --> 00:29:59,861 or exceeded what we had . So I had to 698 00:29:59,861 --> 00:30:01,917 collapse one of the other . Uh and a 699 00:30:01,917 --> 00:30:03,972 decision was made . The proposal was 700 00:30:03,972 --> 00:30:05,750 made from centcom commander the 701 00:30:05,750 --> 00:30:05,640 commander on the ground scotty miller 702 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:07,696 to go ahead and collapse by Graham . 703 00:30:07,696 --> 00:30:09,807 That was all brief and approved . And 704 00:30:09,807 --> 00:30:12,029 we estimated that the risk of going out 705 00:30:12,029 --> 00:30:14,140 of Kailua where the risk of going out 706 00:30:14,140 --> 00:30:16,307 of bagram about the same . So going to 707 00:30:16,307 --> 00:30:18,529 college is uh , was estimated to be the 708 00:30:18,529 --> 00:30:20,696 better tactical solution in accordance 709 00:30:20,696 --> 00:30:22,751 with the mission set that were given 710 00:30:22,751 --> 00:30:24,696 and in accordance With getting the 711 00:30:24,696 --> 00:30:26,880 troops down to about a 600 600 700 712 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:28,920 Number . Okay , we got time for two 713 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,142 more and I haven't got to the phones at 714 00:30:31,142 --> 00:30:32,976 all . So go to dan them off from 715 00:30:32,976 --> 00:30:35,740 Washington post . Yes . Thank thank you 716 00:30:35,750 --> 00:30:37,694 general . Just to follow up on the 717 00:30:37,694 --> 00:30:41,650 bottom versus hk a question . Each 718 00:30:41,650 --> 00:30:44,340 car has a single runway with the 719 00:30:44,340 --> 00:30:46,507 commercial airport making it much more 720 00:30:46,507 --> 00:30:48,729 difficult to defend that runway . We've 721 00:30:48,729 --> 00:30:50,784 already seen that this week , bagram 722 00:30:50,784 --> 00:30:52,951 has two runways . It would have been a 723 00:30:52,951 --> 00:30:54,840 lot easier to protect people Once 724 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:56,673 inside . Is there any thought of 725 00:30:56,673 --> 00:30:58,729 retaking bagram in order to expedite 726 00:30:58,729 --> 00:31:01,060 this evacuation ? And if not why not ? 727 00:31:01,540 --> 00:31:05,100 Thank you . Um I won't do that . Good 728 00:31:05,100 --> 00:31:07,322 question . Great question . But I'm not 729 00:31:07,322 --> 00:31:09,489 gonna discuss branches and Sequels off 730 00:31:09,489 --> 00:31:11,544 of our current operation . I'll just 731 00:31:11,544 --> 00:31:13,870 leave it at that . Okay . And I think 732 00:31:13,870 --> 00:31:15,981 the last one for today will go to you 733 00:31:15,981 --> 00:31:18,148 court General Milley . You keep saying 734 00:31:18,148 --> 00:31:20,314 that no one expected a collapse of the 735 00:31:20,314 --> 00:31:22,370 Afghan government and military in 11 736 00:31:22,370 --> 00:31:24,481 days . But the reality is the Taliban 737 00:31:24,481 --> 00:31:26,592 offensive began weeks ago . They were 738 00:31:26,592 --> 00:31:26,570 threatening Kandahar a month ago 739 00:31:26,570 --> 00:31:28,650 already . So the question is if you 740 00:31:28,650 --> 00:31:30,428 both think you had such a moral 741 00:31:30,428 --> 00:31:32,539 obligation to the afghans afghans who 742 00:31:32,539 --> 00:31:34,372 supported the military and State 743 00:31:34,372 --> 00:31:36,428 Department For 20 years . Should you 744 00:31:36,428 --> 00:31:38,428 have pushed harder when the Taliban 745 00:31:38,428 --> 00:31:40,650 offensive began to get these people out 746 00:31:40,650 --> 00:31:42,706 and they see us , they may not be in 747 00:31:42,706 --> 00:31:44,761 this situation that they're in right 748 00:31:44,761 --> 00:31:46,983 now . And then also if there is this US 749 00:31:46,983 --> 00:31:49,150 military Taliban deconfliction process 750 00:31:49,150 --> 00:31:51,780 that's going on right now , Have you 751 00:31:51,780 --> 00:31:54,270 been asking them to allow the afghans 752 00:31:54,740 --> 00:31:56,910 through ? And have they as the taliban 753 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,880 denied that that request ? Is is that 754 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:01,991 why there's not some effort the State 755 00:32:01,991 --> 00:32:04,158 Department put out a embassy put out a 756 00:32:04,158 --> 00:32:06,280 statement today saying that there was 757 00:32:06,290 --> 00:32:08,346 us couldn't provide any safe passage 758 00:32:08,346 --> 00:32:10,568 for these afghans . Is that because the 759 00:32:10,568 --> 00:32:12,346 taliban won't allow that in his 760 00:32:12,346 --> 00:32:14,346 deconfliction . There's a uh it's a 761 00:32:14,346 --> 00:32:15,957 pretty , it's a very dynamic 762 00:32:15,957 --> 00:32:18,270 environment as you would imagine . And 763 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:20,447 of course there there have been things 764 00:32:20,447 --> 00:32:22,558 that have occurred that uh , that you 765 00:32:22,558 --> 00:32:25,040 know , we do hear reports of people 766 00:32:25,050 --> 00:32:27,510 getting turned away from from by 767 00:32:27,510 --> 00:32:29,910 checkpoints . Uh we've gone back and 768 00:32:29,910 --> 00:32:31,920 tried to and and reinforced to the 769 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,890 taliban that if they have credentials , 770 00:32:34,890 --> 00:32:37,080 they need to be allow through . And so 771 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,410 that's working better than it was . And 772 00:32:39,420 --> 00:32:42,440 and quite frankly , we have uh , you 773 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,360 know , the major issue right now is 774 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,471 process processing the people who are 775 00:32:47,471 --> 00:32:50,600 there uh as as fast as we possibly can . 776 00:32:50,610 --> 00:32:53,090 Uh it's not a dearth of people , you 777 00:32:53,090 --> 00:32:56,280 know , getting there . It's just uh 778 00:32:56,290 --> 00:32:58,401 being able to move the folks that are 779 00:32:58,401 --> 00:33:00,623 there through . Uh , so that so that we 780 00:33:00,623 --> 00:33:02,679 can get them on aircraft , but there 781 00:33:02,679 --> 00:33:04,630 have been some , some unfortunate 782 00:33:04,630 --> 00:33:06,574 incidents that I've been uh , I've 783 00:33:06,574 --> 00:33:08,741 learned about and uh , and we continue 784 00:33:08,741 --> 00:33:10,852 to work to try to deconflict and make 785 00:33:10,852 --> 00:33:13,074 sure that there is safe passage for the 786 00:33:13,074 --> 00:33:15,130 people that are trying to get to the 787 00:33:15,130 --> 00:33:17,352 airport , Have you asked the taliban or 788 00:33:17,352 --> 00:33:19,463 has the military asked the taliban to 789 00:33:19,463 --> 00:33:18,650 allow these afghans through ? And 790 00:33:18,650 --> 00:33:21,180 they've declined . We continue to work 791 00:33:21,180 --> 00:33:24,930 that yes , we have , we have gone back 792 00:33:24,930 --> 00:33:28,320 and emphasize that that , that uh 793 00:33:28,330 --> 00:33:30,560 people who are trying to get to the 794 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,110 airport and have the have the uh , the 795 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:36,176 right credentials need to be allowed 796 00:33:36,176 --> 00:33:37,953 through right now , the airport 797 00:33:37,953 --> 00:33:39,953 represents safety to a lot of these 798 00:33:39,953 --> 00:33:42,120 people . As the taliban are in Kabul , 799 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,176 they're worried that the longer they 800 00:33:44,176 --> 00:33:46,287 wait to get there is a secure airport 801 00:33:46,287 --> 00:33:48,120 even if it means they wait there 802 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:48,020 several days to get on a flight . So 803 00:33:48,020 --> 00:33:50,670 that's why there's this you know this 804 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,736 for notices um to get them through . 805 00:33:52,736 --> 00:33:54,791 And then also if you could also just 806 00:33:54,791 --> 00:33:56,958 the question of should you have pushed 807 00:33:56,958 --> 00:33:56,660 harder when it was clear that this 808 00:33:56,660 --> 00:33:58,827 Taliban offensive was gaining momentum 809 00:33:58,827 --> 00:34:00,938 a month ago down towards Kandahar and 810 00:34:00,938 --> 00:34:04,250 other places . Well like I said up 811 00:34:04,250 --> 00:34:06,361 front there's gonna be plenty of time 812 00:34:06,361 --> 00:34:08,361 for a ours right now . Focus on the 813 00:34:08,361 --> 00:34:10,583 mission focused on these people getting 814 00:34:10,583 --> 00:34:12,806 out american citizens , the S . I . V . 815 00:34:12,806 --> 00:34:15,028 S , others afghans at risk . Uh there's 816 00:34:15,028 --> 00:34:14,830 gonna be plenty of time to talk about 817 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,062 regrets and pushed harder and all these 818 00:34:17,062 --> 00:34:19,284 other kinds intel assessment etcetera , 819 00:34:19,284 --> 00:34:21,396 plenty of time to us right now is not 820 00:34:21,396 --> 00:34:21,260 the time . Thanks guys , we're gonna 821 00:34:21,260 --> 00:34:23,482 have to go appreciate your time . Thank 822 00:34:23,482 --> 00:34:23,360 you so much