1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,810 of you . This is kind of a 2 00:00:01,810 --> 00:00:03,921 revolutionary event for us . It's our 3 00:00:03,921 --> 00:00:06,440 first in person meeting in over two 4 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,607 years of the aspen security forum . So 5 00:00:08,607 --> 00:00:09,607 welcome everybody 6 00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:17,700 very pleased to have everybody here . I 7 00:00:17,700 --> 00:00:19,533 want to welcome , especially the 8 00:00:19,533 --> 00:00:21,700 ambassador of Ireland , ambassador dan 9 00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:23,922 Mulhall who is here today . Pleasure to 10 00:00:23,922 --> 00:00:25,970 see him follow him on twitter and 11 00:00:25,980 --> 00:00:28,091 twitter and learn a lot about Ireland 12 00:00:28,091 --> 00:00:31,160 and irish poetry as well . Um just a 13 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,216 few words for me before we begin and 14 00:00:33,216 --> 00:00:35,590 before we welcome General Mark Milley , 15 00:00:35,590 --> 00:00:37,590 the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 16 00:00:37,590 --> 00:00:39,534 Staff with Lester Holt . I want to 17 00:00:39,534 --> 00:00:41,701 thank everybody for being here because 18 00:00:41,701 --> 00:00:43,923 we're meeting at a really consequential 19 00:00:43,923 --> 00:00:46,034 time for the United States and if you 20 00:00:46,034 --> 00:00:48,034 just look at the trip the president 21 00:00:48,034 --> 00:00:49,923 biden took and he came back after 22 00:00:49,923 --> 00:00:52,146 midnight last night and saw what he had 23 00:00:52,146 --> 00:00:54,368 to do with other world leaders at the G 24 00:00:54,368 --> 00:00:56,257 20 summit in Rome , at the cop 26 25 00:00:56,257 --> 00:00:59,370 climate summit in Glasgow in Scotland . 26 00:00:59,380 --> 00:01:01,269 We're dealing with the specter of 27 00:01:01,269 --> 00:01:03,269 climate change and the need for the 28 00:01:03,269 --> 00:01:05,380 entire world , seven billion people , 29 00:01:05,380 --> 00:01:07,436 195 nation states to come together , 30 00:01:07,436 --> 00:01:10,170 not just this year , But every year for 31 00:01:10,170 --> 00:01:12,420 the next 10 to 15 years to arrest the 32 00:01:12,420 --> 00:01:14,970 movement of climate change . We're 33 00:01:14,970 --> 00:01:17,570 obviously having difficulty globally 34 00:01:17,570 --> 00:01:19,792 and returning to global economic growth 35 00:01:20,140 --> 00:01:21,807 because of the ravages of the 36 00:01:21,807 --> 00:01:23,820 coronavirus on the global economy , 37 00:01:23,820 --> 00:01:25,987 particularly in the developing world . 38 00:01:25,987 --> 00:01:28,098 We've seen that and the president had 39 00:01:28,098 --> 00:01:30,610 to deal with that . The fact that five 40 00:01:30,610 --> 00:01:33,280 million people have now died from Covid 41 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,090 19 over the last year and a half , that 42 00:01:37,090 --> 00:01:39,034 number is probably higher . If you 43 00:01:39,034 --> 00:01:41,201 really think about the impact of Covid 44 00:01:41,290 --> 00:01:43,750 in the world today , the fact that many 45 00:01:43,750 --> 00:01:46,410 of us have been fully vaccinated , but 46 00:01:46,410 --> 00:01:49,070 billions of people living in lower 47 00:01:49,070 --> 00:01:51,292 income countries have not had access to 48 00:01:51,292 --> 00:01:54,220 vaccines . And so that issue obviously 49 00:01:54,220 --> 00:01:56,510 animated the discussions in Rome and at 50 00:01:56,510 --> 00:01:59,040 Glasgow , the full range of cyber 51 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,450 threats to our economy , to our 52 00:02:01,450 --> 00:02:04,040 national security establishment , cyber 53 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,070 criminals and cyber terrorists will 54 00:02:06,070 --> 00:02:08,610 hear more about that . And obviously , 55 00:02:08,610 --> 00:02:11,640 from an american perspective , the rise 56 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:14,310 in power and self confidence of china , 57 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,670 the people's Republic of china of the 58 00:02:16,670 --> 00:02:19,270 Russian Federation of other anti 59 00:02:19,270 --> 00:02:21,326 democratic forces around the world . 60 00:02:21,326 --> 00:02:23,492 And President biden obviously has made 61 00:02:23,492 --> 00:02:26,660 it a signature uh issue for his 62 00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:28,827 administration to unite the democratic 63 00:02:28,827 --> 00:02:31,320 world and unite our allies and partners 64 00:02:31,330 --> 00:02:34,070 in common cause for those of us in 65 00:02:34,070 --> 00:02:37,490 national security . The irony is that 66 00:02:37,490 --> 00:02:39,490 for the United States to face these 67 00:02:39,490 --> 00:02:41,601 problems , we have to begin at home , 68 00:02:42,340 --> 00:02:44,284 we have to begin by rebuilding our 69 00:02:44,284 --> 00:02:47,610 economy , our infrastructure built , 70 00:02:47,610 --> 00:02:50,850 rebuilding a sense of purpose and unity 71 00:02:50,990 --> 00:02:53,360 with both political parties in 72 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,920 Washington . And it really does begin 73 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:58,400 here at home . And we hope that's the 74 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,567 purpose of the aspen security forum to 75 00:03:00,567 --> 00:03:02,550 bring you all here to hear from a 76 00:03:02,550 --> 00:03:04,661 variety of speakers from our national 77 00:03:04,661 --> 00:03:07,110 security establishment and beyond about 78 00:03:07,110 --> 00:03:09,890 these problems . And we certainly need 79 00:03:09,890 --> 00:03:12,640 bipartisanship . The Hallmark of Our 80 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:15,590 Group , the Aspen Strategy Group for 37 81 00:03:15,590 --> 00:03:18,520 years now has been we're not bipartisan 82 00:03:18,950 --> 00:03:21,360 or nonpartisan . And when we enter 83 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,290 these doors as republicans or democrats 84 00:03:24,290 --> 00:03:26,346 or independents , we think about our 85 00:03:26,346 --> 00:03:28,320 country first and the need for our 86 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,598 country to come together . And frankly , 87 00:03:30,598 --> 00:03:32,709 I'm a little bit optimistic here . We 88 00:03:32,709 --> 00:03:34,876 all know and you watch television last 89 00:03:34,876 --> 00:03:37,098 night and saw the results from Virginia 90 00:03:37,098 --> 00:03:39,153 and New Jersey and elsewhere we know 91 00:03:39,153 --> 00:03:41,153 were badly divided here at home and 92 00:03:41,153 --> 00:03:43,320 we've got to fix that . But I do think 93 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,376 and I know our co chairs Condoleezza 94 00:03:45,376 --> 00:03:47,264 Rice and Joan Ir director on your 95 00:03:47,264 --> 00:03:50,230 manual . And I all agree that there is 96 00:03:50,230 --> 00:03:52,290 common cause on national security 97 00:03:52,290 --> 00:03:54,457 issues between our two parties . And I 98 00:03:54,457 --> 00:03:56,401 think you'll hear about that . But 99 00:03:56,401 --> 00:03:58,623 that's the mission of this group . It's 100 00:03:58,623 --> 00:04:00,770 kind of a radical idea that you bring 101 00:04:00,770 --> 00:04:02,826 republicans and democrats together . 102 00:04:02,826 --> 00:04:04,881 But that's what we've been doing for 103 00:04:04,881 --> 00:04:06,992 three decades and will continue to do 104 00:04:06,992 --> 00:04:08,881 that as well . Today's program is 105 00:04:08,881 --> 00:04:10,937 charged . We're gonna begin with the 106 00:04:10,937 --> 00:04:13,214 leader of our armed forces uh in the U . 107 00:04:13,214 --> 00:04:15,159 S . Military General Mark Milley , 108 00:04:15,159 --> 00:04:17,326 Chairman Milley of the Joint Chiefs of 109 00:04:17,326 --> 00:04:19,214 Staff . I just want to say he's a 110 00:04:19,214 --> 00:04:21,214 boston guy . He and I are both from 111 00:04:21,214 --> 00:04:23,490 boston . So that means red sox Bruins 112 00:04:23,500 --> 00:04:26,170 Celtics , patriots , a nation . So 113 00:04:26,170 --> 00:04:28,590 thank you . Chairman Milley . We'll 114 00:04:28,590 --> 00:04:30,701 hear from General paul Nakasone , who 115 00:04:30,701 --> 00:04:33,070 directs our cyber command and of course 116 00:04:33,070 --> 00:04:35,126 is director of the National Security 117 00:04:35,126 --> 00:04:36,903 Agency . We're gonna have a big 118 00:04:36,903 --> 00:04:39,014 discussion about global vaccines with 119 00:04:39,014 --> 00:04:41,237 Gayle smith from the State Department . 120 00:04:41,540 --> 00:04:43,980 We'll hear from our co chair and my 121 00:04:43,980 --> 00:04:46,280 longtime friend and my former boss , 122 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:48,502 former Secretary of State , Condoleezza 123 00:04:48,502 --> 00:04:51,540 Rice at noon today about the health of 124 00:04:51,540 --> 00:04:53,707 our democracy at home and what we need 125 00:04:53,707 --> 00:04:57,030 to do overseas . Representative Adam 126 00:04:57,030 --> 00:04:59,363 Schiff will be here . Senator Jack Reed . 127 00:04:59,363 --> 00:05:01,474 It's a full day . I want to thank you 128 00:05:01,474 --> 00:05:03,550 for being with us and I want to 129 00:05:03,550 --> 00:05:05,870 introduce my friend and director Anya 130 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,340 Emanuel . Thanks everyone . Yeah , 131 00:05:12,940 --> 00:05:16,310 yeah . Thank you all . Good morning . 132 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,542 Thank you for coming here . It's such a 133 00:05:18,542 --> 00:05:20,653 pleasure to see people in real life . 134 00:05:20,653 --> 00:05:22,860 So thank you for being with us today . 135 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,370 I just want to have a moment to think 136 00:05:25,370 --> 00:05:27,860 about a great man we lost recently . 137 00:05:27,860 --> 00:05:30,350 And that's General Powell . He was one 138 00:05:30,350 --> 00:05:32,840 of the giants in our profession . We've 139 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:35,130 lost a lot of that generation recently 140 00:05:35,130 --> 00:05:37,430 George Shultz in the spring . General 141 00:05:37,430 --> 00:05:39,541 scowcroft , who is our founder of the 142 00:05:39,541 --> 00:05:43,180 Aspen Strategy Group last year , 143 00:05:43,190 --> 00:05:45,700 last summer . You know , these folks 144 00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:48,910 were giants in their profession . But 145 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:50,850 what they always said , they put 146 00:05:51,540 --> 00:05:54,280 country above party . And they said , I 147 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:56,447 heard General scowcroft say it several 148 00:05:56,447 --> 00:05:58,558 times . You know , the responsibility 149 00:05:58,558 --> 00:06:00,502 is on all of us . This isn't a few 150 00:06:00,502 --> 00:06:02,724 giants who are out there in the field . 151 00:06:02,724 --> 00:06:04,836 The responsibility is on all of us in 152 00:06:04,836 --> 00:06:06,947 this room , people who are members of 153 00:06:06,947 --> 00:06:09,058 the military who are out there on the 154 00:06:09,058 --> 00:06:11,224 frontlines keeping us safe every day , 155 00:06:11,224 --> 00:06:13,391 members of the administration , people 156 00:06:13,391 --> 00:06:15,502 in our legislature and all of us here 157 00:06:15,502 --> 00:06:17,447 in this room Who are journalists , 158 00:06:17,447 --> 00:06:20,120 scholars to keep this country safe and 159 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,287 peaceful . So that's one of the things 160 00:06:22,287 --> 00:06:24,342 that we are trying to do here at the 161 00:06:24,342 --> 00:06:26,640 Aspen security forum to teach in a 162 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,240 nonpartisan and bipartisan way , what's 163 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,360 going on in foreign policy to help all 164 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,000 of us understand better the big issues 165 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,620 that face our country and jointly help 166 00:06:37,630 --> 00:06:40,260 resolve them And none of this would be 167 00:06:40,260 --> 00:06:42,710 possible without all of the sponsors 168 00:06:42,710 --> 00:06:45,080 who have made this great event in 169 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,350 person event absolutely possible . And 170 00:06:47,350 --> 00:06:49,880 I'll just name them . Mastercard has 171 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,520 been very generous , Mckinsey Microsoft , 172 00:06:53,530 --> 00:06:56,410 the miter corporation , Raytheon , 173 00:06:56,430 --> 00:06:59,960 Rockefeller Foundation Rebellion Ai 174 00:07:00,340 --> 00:07:03,250 HD a intel pharma 175 00:07:03,740 --> 00:07:06,420 WhatsApp , american airlines and Cap 176 00:07:06,430 --> 00:07:08,597 Gemini . So let's give them a round of 177 00:07:08,597 --> 00:07:08,560 applause 178 00:07:14,140 --> 00:07:16,440 And now without further ado could I ask 179 00:07:16,450 --> 00:07:18,890 Chairman Mark Milley and Lester Holt to 180 00:07:18,890 --> 00:07:21,890 join me on the stage , they need very 181 00:07:21,890 --> 00:07:24,280 little introduction please . You can 182 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,090 take your seats . General Milley is the 183 00:07:27,090 --> 00:07:29,146 20th chairman of the joint chiefs of 184 00:07:29,146 --> 00:07:31,210 staff of course the nation's highest 185 00:07:31,220 --> 00:07:33,270 ranking military officer and the 186 00:07:33,270 --> 00:07:35,580 principal military advisor to the 187 00:07:35,580 --> 00:07:37,800 president . Previously he served as 188 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,140 Chief of Staff of the U . S . Army . He 189 00:07:40,140 --> 00:07:42,800 commanded many battalions brigades 190 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,340 including the 101st Airborne Division 191 00:07:45,340 --> 00:07:47,670 amongst others and he of course served 192 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:50,120 all over the world including with ISAF 193 00:07:50,130 --> 00:07:53,350 in Afghanistan Lester Holt is the 194 00:07:53,350 --> 00:07:55,740 anchor and Managing editor of NBC 195 00:07:55,750 --> 00:07:57,850 nightly news and an award winning 196 00:07:57,850 --> 00:08:00,070 journalist . We cannot imagine anyone 197 00:08:00,070 --> 00:08:02,130 better to interview General Milley . 198 00:08:02,140 --> 00:08:03,640 Thank you to both of you . 199 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,710 Thank you . Come on over here . Mhm . I 200 00:08:08,710 --> 00:08:10,766 think we got special dispensation to 201 00:08:10,766 --> 00:08:12,821 remove these for this conversation . 202 00:08:12,821 --> 00:08:14,821 Have a seat sir . And thank you for 203 00:08:14,821 --> 00:08:16,877 doing this . And on behalf of all my 204 00:08:16,877 --> 00:08:18,821 colleagues at NBC News , I want to 205 00:08:18,821 --> 00:08:21,099 thank the forum for uh the partnership , 206 00:08:21,099 --> 00:08:23,154 the relationship that we continue to 207 00:08:23,154 --> 00:08:25,266 enjoy for the opportunities like this 208 00:08:25,266 --> 00:08:27,321 in general . It's great to see you . 209 00:08:27,321 --> 00:08:29,432 Thanks . We got a lot to talk about . 210 00:08:29,432 --> 00:08:31,321 Absolutely . I know that china is 211 00:08:31,321 --> 00:08:33,321 probably at the top of your list of 212 00:08:33,321 --> 00:08:35,488 strategic concerns . But before we get 213 00:08:35,488 --> 00:08:35,290 there , uh there's been a lot of 214 00:08:35,290 --> 00:08:37,346 reporting some commercial satellites 215 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,560 photographs recently showing Russian 216 00:08:40,560 --> 00:08:43,520 troop movements near Ukraine . I want 217 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,742 to get your thoughts on that . What can 218 00:08:45,742 --> 00:08:47,964 you confirm and what do you see there ? 219 00:08:47,964 --> 00:08:50,080 Well , a couple of things , there's a 220 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,490 lot of media reporting out there from 221 00:08:52,490 --> 00:08:55,400 various states , you know , Ukraine . 222 00:08:55,410 --> 00:08:58,920 Uh the media in Ukraine Poland other 223 00:08:58,930 --> 00:09:01,450 states that border Russia uh and then 224 00:09:01,450 --> 00:09:03,672 it's being picked up in Western media . 225 00:09:03,672 --> 00:09:05,930 So what we're seeing is what john Kirby 226 00:09:05,930 --> 00:09:07,541 mentioned yesterday , it's a 227 00:09:07,541 --> 00:09:09,263 significant amount of military 228 00:09:09,263 --> 00:09:11,319 movements on the Russian side of the 229 00:09:11,319 --> 00:09:13,263 Ukrainian border . Nothing overtly 230 00:09:13,263 --> 00:09:15,890 aggressive per se . We've seen this 231 00:09:15,890 --> 00:09:18,530 before every year . They do an annual 232 00:09:18,530 --> 00:09:21,380 excess called c pod Last April . The 233 00:09:21,380 --> 00:09:23,213 Russians ran a very , very large 234 00:09:23,213 --> 00:09:25,436 exercise somewhere in the tune of about 235 00:09:25,436 --> 00:09:27,658 50,000 troops or so . So what does this 236 00:09:27,658 --> 00:09:29,769 mean ? We don't know yet too early to 237 00:09:29,769 --> 00:09:31,936 tell , but we're continuing to monitor 238 00:09:31,936 --> 00:09:35,000 with all of our capabilities and uh , 239 00:09:35,010 --> 00:09:37,900 well stay abreast of it . All right . 240 00:09:37,900 --> 00:09:40,122 Let's turn to china right now . There's 241 00:09:40,340 --> 00:09:42,750 but long concerns about china's 242 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:44,620 military build up . And that was 243 00:09:44,620 --> 00:09:46,342 certainly emphasized with this 244 00:09:46,342 --> 00:09:48,320 hypersonic test , believed to be a 245 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,450 weapon that orbited the earth before 246 00:09:51,450 --> 00:09:53,960 carrying out a typical missile profile . 247 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,718 You have made some comments about that , 248 00:09:56,718 --> 00:09:58,940 but I think a lot of us were alarmed by 249 00:09:58,940 --> 00:10:01,107 your alarm over it . What can you tell 250 00:10:01,107 --> 00:10:04,160 us ? Yeah . So , um , china is a 251 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:08,150 interesting case for me , the military , 252 00:10:08,540 --> 00:10:11,150 the pentagon . Uh , we look at the 253 00:10:11,150 --> 00:10:13,740 world through the nation state threats , 254 00:10:13,750 --> 00:10:16,790 uh , non nation state threats , uh , in 255 00:10:16,790 --> 00:10:18,970 a variety of other challenges to the 256 00:10:18,970 --> 00:10:20,637 United States . You see a big 257 00:10:20,637 --> 00:10:22,637 conference happening overseas , the 258 00:10:22,637 --> 00:10:24,859 climate and so on . So there's a lot of 259 00:10:24,859 --> 00:10:26,859 challenges in the national security 260 00:10:26,859 --> 00:10:29,192 world to the United States . But for me , 261 00:10:29,192 --> 00:10:31,414 the number one challenge with Secretary 262 00:10:31,414 --> 00:10:33,581 Austin and secretaries before him have 263 00:10:33,581 --> 00:10:35,748 called the pacing threat is china . So 264 00:10:35,748 --> 00:10:37,581 what have we seen ? We've seen a 265 00:10:37,581 --> 00:10:39,750 country in what , four decades since 266 00:10:39,750 --> 00:10:42,270 the reforms of Deng xiaoping in in a 267 00:10:42,270 --> 00:10:44,437 very short amount of time , relatively 268 00:10:44,437 --> 00:10:46,750 speaking , Go from , uh , the number 269 00:10:46,750 --> 00:10:48,639 seven economy in the world to the 270 00:10:48,639 --> 00:10:50,528 number two economy in the world . 271 00:10:50,528 --> 00:10:52,694 They've , they've had roughly speaking 272 00:10:52,694 --> 00:10:54,917 of 10% rise over , run economically for 273 00:10:54,917 --> 00:10:57,028 almost four decades and slowed down a 274 00:10:57,028 --> 00:10:58,917 little bit to five or 6% . Uh And 275 00:10:58,917 --> 00:11:01,139 they've done what countries in the past 276 00:11:01,139 --> 00:11:03,139 have always done when they get that 277 00:11:03,139 --> 00:11:05,139 ranch as they've invested in a very 278 00:11:05,139 --> 00:11:07,417 significant military . So 40 years ago , 279 00:11:07,417 --> 00:11:09,583 it was a very large infantry , peasant 280 00:11:09,583 --> 00:11:12,280 based army , mostly army . Today , it 281 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,740 is capabilities in space and cyber land , 282 00:11:15,740 --> 00:11:18,720 sea , air undersea . And they are 283 00:11:18,730 --> 00:11:22,030 clearly challenging us regionally . And 284 00:11:22,030 --> 00:11:24,086 their aspiration is to challenge the 285 00:11:24,086 --> 00:11:26,197 United States globally . They've been 286 00:11:26,197 --> 00:11:28,180 very clear about that and open uhh 287 00:11:28,190 --> 00:11:31,050 articles and speeches and so on . Uh 288 00:11:31,060 --> 00:11:33,060 They have a china dream uh and they 289 00:11:33,060 --> 00:11:36,050 want to challenge the so called liberal 290 00:11:36,050 --> 00:11:38,400 rules based order that went into effect 291 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,130 in 1945 at the end of World War Two . 292 00:11:41,140 --> 00:11:43,362 They want to revise it . So we have a a 293 00:11:43,362 --> 00:11:46,450 case here of a country that is becoming 294 00:11:46,450 --> 00:11:49,640 extraordinarily powerful uh that wants 295 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:51,696 to revise the international order to 296 00:11:51,696 --> 00:11:54,030 their advantage . That's going to be a 297 00:11:54,030 --> 00:11:56,197 real challenge over the coming years , 298 00:11:56,197 --> 00:11:58,419 uh next 10 , 20 years . Uh That's gonna 299 00:11:58,419 --> 00:12:00,641 be really significant for the ST you've 300 00:12:00,641 --> 00:12:02,808 been watching that growth . But at the 301 00:12:02,808 --> 00:12:02,510 same time , the impression we're 302 00:12:02,510 --> 00:12:06,000 getting is that that weapons was a 303 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,960 surprise use the term could be , but 304 00:12:11,140 --> 00:12:13,029 it might be a sport . Miss Butler 305 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,460 remind us all was a moment 306 00:12:17,340 --> 00:12:19,690 because we didn't have the capability 307 00:12:19,690 --> 00:12:21,912 of the time . Do we have the capability 308 00:12:21,912 --> 00:12:24,079 to match what we just saw from china . 309 00:12:24,079 --> 00:12:25,857 Well , I won't go into anything 310 00:12:25,857 --> 00:12:27,801 classified as to what our specific 311 00:12:27,801 --> 00:12:30,023 capabilities are or what theirs are for 312 00:12:30,023 --> 00:12:32,134 that matter . Uh But I would just say 313 00:12:32,134 --> 00:12:34,490 that that test that occurred was a very 314 00:12:34,490 --> 00:12:37,600 significant test . Um Is hyper hyper 315 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:39,489 sonic knew . No they're not new . 316 00:12:39,489 --> 00:12:41,711 They've been around for a while . So in 317 00:12:41,711 --> 00:12:43,767 that limited narrow sense it's not a 318 00:12:43,767 --> 00:12:45,933 Sputnik moment because Sputnik was new 319 00:12:45,933 --> 00:12:48,580 at the time . Um But I would argue that 320 00:12:48,590 --> 00:12:50,860 the nature of that particular test 321 00:12:51,340 --> 00:12:53,740 taken as part of a whole , if you look 322 00:12:53,740 --> 00:12:55,740 at it again 40 years ago , they had 323 00:12:55,740 --> 00:12:57,907 zero satellites , look at what they've 324 00:12:57,907 --> 00:13:00,018 got today . They had no I C . B . M . 325 00:13:00,018 --> 00:13:02,129 Look at what they've got today . They 326 00:13:02,129 --> 00:13:01,690 had no nuclear weapons , look what they 327 00:13:01,690 --> 00:13:03,840 got today . They have no fourth or 328 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,007 fifth generation fighters or even more 329 00:13:06,007 --> 00:13:08,229 advanced fighters back then . Look what 330 00:13:08,229 --> 00:13:10,229 they got today . They had no navy , 331 00:13:10,229 --> 00:13:12,451 look what they have today . They had no 332 00:13:12,451 --> 00:13:11,460 sub force , look what they have today . 333 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,160 So if you look at the totality , this 334 00:13:14,540 --> 00:13:17,310 uh test that occurred a couple weeks 335 00:13:17,310 --> 00:13:20,960 ago is only one of a much much broader 336 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,400 picture of a military capability with 337 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,860 respect to the chinese that is very 338 00:13:26,870 --> 00:13:29,530 very significant . We're witnessing in 339 00:13:29,530 --> 00:13:31,641 my view , we're witnessing one of the 340 00:13:31,641 --> 00:13:34,900 largest shifts in global geo strategic 341 00:13:34,910 --> 00:13:37,077 power that the world has witnessed and 342 00:13:37,077 --> 00:13:39,077 it only happens once in a while and 343 00:13:39,077 --> 00:13:41,188 it's not stand alone . It's happening 344 00:13:41,188 --> 00:13:43,740 within what I would call a a operating 345 00:13:43,740 --> 00:13:45,962 environment , a change in the character 346 00:13:45,962 --> 00:13:48,184 of war . Uh , so that happens once in a 347 00:13:48,184 --> 00:13:50,630 while uh in terms of a fundamental 348 00:13:50,630 --> 00:13:52,797 change in the character for what we're 349 00:13:52,797 --> 00:13:55,140 seeing today is a fundamental change . 350 00:13:55,140 --> 00:13:57,196 And that only happens every the last 351 00:13:57,196 --> 00:13:59,418 big one was between 11 word or two with 352 00:13:59,418 --> 00:14:01,473 the introduction of the airplane and 353 00:14:01,473 --> 00:14:03,473 mechanization and the radio today . 354 00:14:03,473 --> 00:14:05,473 You're seeing robotics , artificial 355 00:14:05,473 --> 00:14:07,640 intelligence , precision munitions and 356 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:09,696 a wide variety of other technologies 357 00:14:09,696 --> 00:14:11,751 that in combination are leading to a 358 00:14:11,751 --> 00:14:14,084 fundamental change in the character war . 359 00:14:14,084 --> 00:14:13,360 And if we the United States military 360 00:14:13,740 --> 00:14:15,770 Don't do a fundamental change to 361 00:14:15,770 --> 00:14:18,160 ourselves in the coming 10-15 to 20 362 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:20,580 years , then we're going to be on the 363 00:14:20,590 --> 00:14:23,250 wrong side of a conflict . If this 364 00:14:23,250 --> 00:14:25,361 weapon has the capabilities that have 365 00:14:25,361 --> 00:14:27,361 been widely reported the ability to 366 00:14:27,361 --> 00:14:29,028 orbit and then strike , is it 367 00:14:29,028 --> 00:14:32,620 destabilizing ? I think that there's a 368 00:14:32,620 --> 00:14:34,787 potential for that . Sure . That there 369 00:14:34,787 --> 00:14:36,787 could be some strategic instability 370 00:14:36,787 --> 00:14:39,009 introduced into that , which is another 371 00:14:39,009 --> 00:14:41,064 whole factor As we go forward in the 372 00:14:41,064 --> 00:14:43,287 operational environment . You look back 373 00:14:43,287 --> 00:14:45,453 at the Cold War mentioned Colin Powell 374 00:14:45,453 --> 00:14:47,620 and uh Brent scowcroft and others . Uh 375 00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:49,898 those guys all grew up in the Cold War . 376 00:14:49,898 --> 00:14:52,009 Where was a bipolar world between the 377 00:14:52,009 --> 00:14:51,840 soviet Union , United States , we are 378 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:53,896 entering into a tri polar world with 379 00:14:53,896 --> 00:14:55,840 the United States Russia and china 380 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:58,040 being all great powers Just by 381 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,300 introducing three verses to you already 382 00:15:00,300 --> 00:15:02,880 get increased complexity . Now , if you 383 00:15:02,890 --> 00:15:05,020 add into that , all the other 384 00:15:05,030 --> 00:15:07,363 technologies that are coming at us very , 385 00:15:07,363 --> 00:15:09,390 very quickly you're gonna we're 386 00:15:09,390 --> 00:15:11,446 entering into a world , in my view , 387 00:15:11,446 --> 00:15:13,446 we're entering into a world that is 388 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,480 potentially much more strategically 389 00:15:16,490 --> 00:15:19,890 unstable than say the last 40 50 67 390 00:15:19,890 --> 00:15:22,120 years . So what does that mean ? That 391 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,342 means that we're going to have to put a 392 00:15:24,342 --> 00:15:26,564 premium in my view on maintaining great 393 00:15:26,564 --> 00:15:28,731 power peace . The world order , the so 394 00:15:28,731 --> 00:15:30,953 called Liberal World Order that was put 395 00:15:30,953 --> 00:15:32,731 in place in 1945 . That was not 396 00:15:32,731 --> 00:15:34,953 designed to prevent Korea or Vietnam or 397 00:15:34,953 --> 00:15:37,231 gulf war one or terrorism for that man . 398 00:15:37,340 --> 00:15:39,396 It was designed to prevent World War 399 00:15:39,396 --> 00:15:41,340 three . It was designed to prevent 400 00:15:41,340 --> 00:15:43,007 great power war and it's been 401 00:15:43,007 --> 00:15:45,118 successful for we're in the 76th year 402 00:15:45,118 --> 00:15:47,910 uh two times before . Historically , 403 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,031 you know , you look at the treaty was 404 00:15:50,031 --> 00:15:52,142 failure that lasted about 100 years . 405 00:15:52,142 --> 00:15:54,309 You look at the concert of europe that 406 00:15:54,309 --> 00:15:56,590 lasted about 100 years . So we're in 407 00:15:56,590 --> 00:15:59,760 the 76th year of this great power peace . 408 00:16:00,140 --> 00:16:02,850 And we are entering into a period in my 409 00:16:02,850 --> 00:16:05,990 personal opinion of increased 410 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,960 potential instability and risk . And 411 00:16:09,970 --> 00:16:13,630 we Russia china and everybody else , 412 00:16:13,630 --> 00:16:15,741 all the allies important are going to 413 00:16:15,741 --> 00:16:17,686 have to be very , very careful and 414 00:16:17,686 --> 00:16:20,290 conscious about how we deal with each 415 00:16:20,290 --> 00:16:22,512 other going forward in that same vein , 416 00:16:22,512 --> 00:16:24,870 we've also seen more chinese air 417 00:16:24,870 --> 00:16:26,810 activity in the defense zone 418 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,490 surrounding Taiwan . Is it your belief 419 00:16:30,500 --> 00:16:33,060 that china is preparing to make a move 420 00:16:33,060 --> 00:16:36,220 on Taiwan in the near future . It 421 00:16:36,220 --> 00:16:38,553 depends on what you mean by near future . 422 00:16:38,553 --> 00:16:41,520 So I've said in testimony uh that my 423 00:16:41,530 --> 00:16:44,140 personal estimate is in and I hesitate 424 00:16:44,140 --> 00:16:46,140 to speculate anything in the future 425 00:16:46,140 --> 00:16:48,251 because anything can happen in a wide 426 00:16:48,251 --> 00:16:50,529 variety of scenarios that could happen . 427 00:16:50,529 --> 00:16:53,000 But I would say that based on Uh my 428 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,167 analysis of China , I don't think that 429 00:16:55,167 --> 00:16:57,222 it is likely in the next near future 430 00:16:57,222 --> 00:16:59,278 being defined as you know , 6 , 12 , 431 00:16:59,278 --> 00:17:01,500 maybe 24 months . That kind of window . 432 00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:04,860 Having said that though the chinese are 433 00:17:04,870 --> 00:17:07,240 clearly and unambiguously building the 434 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,580 capability to provide those options to 435 00:17:09,580 --> 00:17:11,524 the national leadership if they so 436 00:17:11,524 --> 00:17:13,580 choose at some point in the future , 437 00:17:13,580 --> 00:17:15,710 but near future probably not . But 438 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,609 anything can happen . It recently 439 00:17:17,609 --> 00:17:19,109 became public that you had 440 00:17:19,109 --> 00:17:21,210 communications with your chinese 441 00:17:21,210 --> 00:17:24,190 counterpart over you know , signals 442 00:17:24,190 --> 00:17:26,357 that how they may be interpreted . Are 443 00:17:26,357 --> 00:17:28,301 you talking about this ? Have they 444 00:17:28,301 --> 00:17:30,340 talked to you about their current 445 00:17:30,340 --> 00:17:33,460 capabilities and tests ? Um well , 446 00:17:33,460 --> 00:17:37,220 unless uh you know , the , I would say 447 00:17:37,230 --> 00:17:39,341 that I don't typically talk about the 448 00:17:39,341 --> 00:17:41,800 substance of the conversations I have 449 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:43,689 with my Russian counterparts , my 450 00:17:43,689 --> 00:17:45,744 chinese counterparts except to other 451 00:17:45,744 --> 00:17:47,856 members of the government appropriate 452 00:17:47,856 --> 00:17:50,078 classifications etcetera typically . Uh 453 00:17:50,078 --> 00:17:52,022 and the calls that we were talking 454 00:17:52,022 --> 00:17:51,850 about , you're talking about . I 455 00:17:51,860 --> 00:17:54,270 testified to a week or so a couple 456 00:17:54,270 --> 00:17:56,950 weeks ago . But what that's indicative 457 00:17:56,950 --> 00:17:59,680 of in my mind is the need for increased , 458 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,170 not decreased , increased multiple 459 00:18:02,170 --> 00:18:04,392 communications government to government 460 00:18:04,392 --> 00:18:06,114 communications because part of 461 00:18:06,114 --> 00:18:09,030 deterrence is having the capability to 462 00:18:09,030 --> 00:18:11,480 impose costs on your opponent . Uh and 463 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:13,702 making sure that you have the political 464 00:18:13,702 --> 00:18:15,758 will to actually use it . But also a 465 00:18:15,758 --> 00:18:17,758 third piece of deterrence is really 466 00:18:17,758 --> 00:18:19,591 important is clear , unambiguous 467 00:18:19,591 --> 00:18:21,758 communications between both sides . Uh 468 00:18:21,758 --> 00:18:23,869 as long as they're coordinated and as 469 00:18:23,869 --> 00:18:25,869 long as uh the various parts of the 470 00:18:25,869 --> 00:18:28,036 government are involved in that , it's 471 00:18:28,036 --> 00:18:30,036 very important . So , I think those 472 00:18:30,036 --> 00:18:31,924 calls and I've made many calls to 473 00:18:31,924 --> 00:18:34,036 counterparts around the world as part 474 00:18:34,036 --> 00:18:36,091 of my job . Um , I think those calls 475 00:18:36,091 --> 00:18:38,258 are indicative of something that we're 476 00:18:38,258 --> 00:18:40,480 going to have to Reinforce , expand and 477 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:42,536 need more of as we go forward in the 478 00:18:42,536 --> 00:18:44,758 next 10 , 20 years . It's communication 479 00:18:44,758 --> 00:18:44,730 between great powers . I want to 480 00:18:44,730 --> 00:18:46,841 mention Afghanistan in the context of 481 00:18:46,841 --> 00:18:49,300 the signals that it may have sent . Do 482 00:18:49,300 --> 00:18:52,570 you think that china other adversaries 483 00:18:52,570 --> 00:18:54,737 have been emboldened by the perception 484 00:18:54,737 --> 00:18:56,792 that the US was not there for one of 485 00:18:56,792 --> 00:18:58,737 its allies , they were witnessed ? 486 00:18:58,737 --> 00:19:01,014 Certainly to the to the the withdrawal , 487 00:19:01,014 --> 00:19:03,237 the chaotic withdrawal . What signal of 488 00:19:03,237 --> 00:19:05,292 the deaths in Well , they may or may 489 00:19:05,292 --> 00:19:07,348 not have interpreted it like that if 490 00:19:07,348 --> 00:19:09,070 they did that there , that's a 491 00:19:09,070 --> 00:19:10,792 misinterpretation . We were in 492 00:19:10,792 --> 00:19:12,959 Afghanistan for 20 years . So 20 years 493 00:19:12,959 --> 00:19:15,160 is not exactly uh , you know , turning 494 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,216 your back on an ally , we invested a 495 00:19:17,216 --> 00:19:19,160 massive amount of money , a lot of 496 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,327 treasure . Uh , and most importantly , 497 00:19:21,327 --> 00:19:23,327 the lives of many of our soldiers , 498 00:19:23,327 --> 00:19:25,493 sailors , airmen and marines . We gave 499 00:19:25,493 --> 00:19:28,530 a lot to Afghanistan . Uh so I don't if 500 00:19:28,530 --> 00:19:30,960 Russia or China or any other adversary 501 00:19:31,340 --> 00:19:34,600 is interpreting the conclusion of our 502 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,010 involvement in Afghanistan uh in a way 503 00:19:37,010 --> 00:19:40,140 that uh determined weakness or walking 504 00:19:40,140 --> 00:19:42,307 away or turning it back . I think that 505 00:19:42,307 --> 00:19:44,418 would be a misinterpretation on their 506 00:19:44,418 --> 00:19:46,640 part . And as we go into the future , I 507 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:48,584 think that , you know , the United 508 00:19:48,584 --> 00:19:50,696 States oftentimes gets underestimated 509 00:19:50,696 --> 00:19:52,140 uh and we often times get 510 00:19:52,140 --> 00:19:54,362 misinterpreted . Uh that's historically 511 00:19:54,362 --> 00:19:56,362 true and uh and I would caution any 512 00:19:56,362 --> 00:19:58,362 country out there to think that the 513 00:19:58,362 --> 00:20:00,584 United States is in any manner shape or 514 00:20:00,584 --> 00:20:02,807 form kind of weak or any of that . That 515 00:20:02,807 --> 00:20:05,140 would be a bad call . What is the U . S . 516 00:20:05,140 --> 00:20:07,251 Commitment to Taiwan ? Well , we have 517 00:20:07,251 --> 00:20:09,084 is you know , we have the Taiwan 518 00:20:09,084 --> 00:20:10,640 relations act and the three 519 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:12,807 communications that go with it uh That 520 00:20:12,807 --> 00:20:14,807 came into being in the uh in the uh 521 00:20:14,807 --> 00:20:16,751 during the Nixon administration uh 522 00:20:16,751 --> 00:20:16,300 those are still the U . S . 523 00:20:16,300 --> 00:20:18,189 Government's policy and it's it's 524 00:20:18,189 --> 00:20:20,411 really an issue of ambiguity . But what 525 00:20:20,411 --> 00:20:22,633 we want , what the U . S . Government's 526 00:20:22,633 --> 00:20:24,720 policy is is that whatever issues 527 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,920 Taiwan and the people's Republic of 528 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:28,587 china have their resolve them 529 00:20:28,587 --> 00:20:30,809 peacefully in accordance with the world 530 00:20:30,809 --> 00:20:32,920 of the people of the island of Taiwan 531 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,809 and the people of china were just 532 00:20:34,809 --> 00:20:36,864 interested in a peaceful outcome are 533 00:20:36,864 --> 00:20:38,680 reporting has been the tabletop 534 00:20:38,690 --> 00:20:41,660 exercises involving the US trying to 535 00:20:41,660 --> 00:20:44,080 defend Taiwan from from a chinese 536 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:46,358 encouragement of ended badly for the U . 537 00:20:46,358 --> 00:20:49,470 S . Um war games . You mean do we have 538 00:20:49,470 --> 00:20:52,910 the capability to defend Taiwan ? Uh We 539 00:20:52,910 --> 00:20:55,920 absolutely have the capability to uh do 540 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,142 all kinds of things around the world to 541 00:20:58,142 --> 00:21:00,198 include that if required . Those are 542 00:21:00,198 --> 00:21:02,198 the policy presidential decisions . 543 00:21:02,198 --> 00:21:04,531 Whether or not we do that and hence the , 544 00:21:04,531 --> 00:21:06,531 you know , the policy of the Taiwan 545 00:21:06,531 --> 00:21:08,698 relations act . But we absolutely have 546 00:21:08,698 --> 00:21:10,753 the capability . There's no question 547 00:21:10,753 --> 00:21:12,976 about that . Alright , on Afghanistan , 548 00:21:12,976 --> 00:21:15,142 you've said that ISIS can reconstitute 549 00:21:15,142 --> 00:21:17,476 itself within six months in Afghanistan . 550 00:21:17,476 --> 00:21:17,260 What does that mean ? Can they they 551 00:21:17,260 --> 00:21:19,593 have the capability to strike the U . S . 552 00:21:19,593 --> 00:21:22,670 Homeland ? Yeah , so um that's the key 553 00:21:22,670 --> 00:21:24,559 for us as we go forward here with 554 00:21:24,559 --> 00:21:27,590 respect to Afghanistan . Our mission 555 00:21:27,590 --> 00:21:30,280 our task uh not just the military but 556 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,169 the inter agency and the whole of 557 00:21:32,169 --> 00:21:34,502 government approach to the CIA etcetera , 558 00:21:34,502 --> 00:21:36,169 is to continue to monitor the 559 00:21:36,169 --> 00:21:37,780 indicators and warnings of a 560 00:21:37,780 --> 00:21:40,280 reconstituted ISIS or al Qaeda . Uh And 561 00:21:40,290 --> 00:21:42,380 if we see that then to present the 562 00:21:42,380 --> 00:21:44,491 president with a variety of options . 563 00:21:44,491 --> 00:21:46,491 Uh and if we need to will strike in 564 00:21:46,491 --> 00:21:48,436 order to delay , disrupt , destroy 565 00:21:48,436 --> 00:21:50,870 etcetera . So that's the same actual 566 00:21:50,870 --> 00:21:53,760 task that we had shortly after 911 is 567 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,070 two , prevent Afghanistan from becoming 568 00:21:56,070 --> 00:21:58,292 a platform for terrorists to strike the 569 00:21:58,292 --> 00:22:00,292 United States . Um And we are doing 570 00:22:00,292 --> 00:22:02,514 that and setting up the architecture to 571 00:22:02,514 --> 00:22:06,070 do that . Um ISIS , in my opinion , my 572 00:22:06,070 --> 00:22:09,670 view , my estimate is that the taliban 573 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,351 are going to be challenged . They are 574 00:22:12,351 --> 00:22:14,573 being challenged as to whether they can 575 00:22:14,573 --> 00:22:16,960 adequately govern the land mass called 576 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,780 Afghanistan , or is Afghanistan going 577 00:22:19,780 --> 00:22:23,290 to devolve uh into warring factions and 578 00:22:23,290 --> 00:22:25,550 warlordism and further civil war et 579 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:28,250 cetera , which provides the environment 580 00:22:28,260 --> 00:22:31,010 for the reconstituted Al Qaeda and or 581 00:22:31,020 --> 00:22:34,430 ISIS . Um and I think right now it's an 582 00:22:34,430 --> 00:22:36,652 open question as to whether they can do 583 00:22:36,652 --> 00:22:38,874 that . My own personal estimate is that 584 00:22:38,874 --> 00:22:41,570 the conditions are likely to be set Uh 585 00:22:41,580 --> 00:22:43,700 for reconstituted ISIS or al Qaeda . 586 00:22:43,710 --> 00:22:45,960 And I gave out windows of time six 587 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,050 months and I and I gave it out to 36 588 00:22:48,050 --> 00:22:50,272 months . But somewhere in that window , 589 00:22:50,272 --> 00:22:52,383 you are likely to see a reconstituted 590 00:22:52,383 --> 00:22:54,606 Al Qaeda . Does that mean they're going 591 00:22:54,606 --> 00:22:56,939 to attack the United States uh and ISIS , 592 00:22:56,939 --> 00:22:56,580 Does that mean they will attack the 593 00:22:56,580 --> 00:22:58,747 United States ? Maybe , maybe not ? It 594 00:22:58,747 --> 00:23:00,730 depends . Uh First they have to 595 00:23:00,740 --> 00:23:02,629 reconstitute . 2nd , they have to 596 00:23:02,629 --> 00:23:04,573 develop the capability , then they 597 00:23:04,573 --> 00:23:06,462 would have to plan , coordinate , 598 00:23:06,462 --> 00:23:08,407 synchronized an operation and then 599 00:23:08,407 --> 00:23:10,573 execute that takes for terrorists . It 600 00:23:10,573 --> 00:23:09,760 takes considerable length of time . 601 00:23:10,140 --> 00:23:13,010 Well , we'll see uh in the meantime , 602 00:23:13,010 --> 00:23:16,280 what we're gonna do is maintain our 603 00:23:16,290 --> 00:23:19,080 ability to monitor and if necessary , 604 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,302 take action . The other thing that that 605 00:23:21,302 --> 00:23:24,870 talks to is we as a great power , we're 606 00:23:24,870 --> 00:23:26,870 going to have to deal with a rising 607 00:23:26,870 --> 00:23:29,060 china , a revisionist china . If you 608 00:23:29,060 --> 00:23:31,282 will , uh we have to deal with Russia , 609 00:23:31,282 --> 00:23:33,116 as you mentioned in your opening 610 00:23:33,116 --> 00:23:35,282 question , we still have North Korea . 611 00:23:35,282 --> 00:23:37,449 We have Iran , uh we have terrorists , 612 00:23:37,449 --> 00:23:39,727 We have climate change , we have Covid , 613 00:23:39,727 --> 00:23:41,782 uh we've got wildfires , we've we've 614 00:23:41,782 --> 00:23:43,893 got all kinds of challenges out there 615 00:23:43,893 --> 00:23:45,949 and as a great power we've got to be 616 00:23:45,949 --> 00:23:48,227 able to do all of those simultaneously . 617 00:23:48,227 --> 00:23:50,282 And the military is one piece of all 618 00:23:50,282 --> 00:23:52,393 the tools that we have as a country , 619 00:23:52,393 --> 00:23:54,504 but we the military play an important 620 00:23:54,504 --> 00:23:56,338 role in many of those . So we'll 621 00:23:56,338 --> 00:23:58,449 continue to deal with a reconstituted 622 00:23:58,449 --> 00:24:00,671 ISIS or Al Qaeda if that happens at the 623 00:24:00,671 --> 00:24:02,893 same time , will deter china and Russia 624 00:24:02,893 --> 00:24:05,060 and sure , our allies and partners and 625 00:24:05,060 --> 00:24:07,227 all the other tests that we have . You 626 00:24:07,227 --> 00:24:09,393 recently found yourself in the unusual 627 00:24:09,393 --> 00:24:11,393 position of having to deal with the 628 00:24:11,393 --> 00:24:13,282 taliban to facilitate the exit of 629 00:24:13,282 --> 00:24:15,393 americans and others from Afghanistan 630 00:24:15,393 --> 00:24:17,338 during , during the fall . Are you 631 00:24:17,338 --> 00:24:19,393 still in touch with the taliban ? Is 632 00:24:19,393 --> 00:24:21,449 there any working relationship going 633 00:24:21,449 --> 00:24:23,727 forward ? Whether it's for uh you know , 634 00:24:23,727 --> 00:24:25,671 dealing with ISIS or trying to get 635 00:24:25,671 --> 00:24:27,782 other americans or green card holders 636 00:24:27,782 --> 00:24:29,790 out of Afghanistan ? I am not 637 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:32,022 personally , but the U . S . Government 638 00:24:32,022 --> 00:24:34,244 is through the State Department talking 639 00:24:34,244 --> 00:24:36,356 to the taliban . Sure , we're talking 640 00:24:36,356 --> 00:24:38,467 to them day to day to try to continue 641 00:24:38,467 --> 00:24:38,340 to get american citizens out of 642 00:24:38,340 --> 00:24:40,507 Afghanistan which is still happening . 643 00:24:40,507 --> 00:24:42,860 It's still ongoing . Uh so american 644 00:24:42,870 --> 00:24:46,370 citizens and others that that we have 645 00:24:46,370 --> 00:24:48,426 worked with in the past or the legal 646 00:24:48,426 --> 00:24:50,314 permanent residents or or the SCV 647 00:24:50,314 --> 00:24:52,680 holders , et cetera . This ongoing 648 00:24:52,690 --> 00:24:54,880 discussions between the State 649 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,213 Department , not the Department offense , 650 00:24:57,213 --> 00:24:59,047 not the military , but the State 651 00:24:59,047 --> 00:25:01,213 Department uh and the taliban in order 652 00:25:01,213 --> 00:25:03,436 to help facilitate the exit of american 653 00:25:03,436 --> 00:25:02,990 citizens . I know you and the 654 00:25:02,990 --> 00:25:05,101 administration have talked about over 655 00:25:05,101 --> 00:25:07,101 the horizon capability . Should the 656 00:25:07,101 --> 00:25:08,768 need come to to strike within 657 00:25:08,768 --> 00:25:11,050 Afghanistan ? And I know you don't like 658 00:25:11,050 --> 00:25:13,650 to speculate , but do you , do you 659 00:25:13,650 --> 00:25:15,872 eliminate the possibility that american 660 00:25:15,872 --> 00:25:17,928 troops may have to re occupy on some 661 00:25:17,928 --> 00:25:20,510 level in Afghanistan ? You know , let's 662 00:25:20,510 --> 00:25:22,454 for example , if there is a threat 663 00:25:22,454 --> 00:25:24,621 against the U . S . Homeland , I think 664 00:25:24,621 --> 00:25:27,290 as we look at a terrorist threat going 665 00:25:27,300 --> 00:25:29,411 forward , whether it's Afghanistan or 666 00:25:29,411 --> 00:25:32,240 anywhere else . Our general position is 667 00:25:32,340 --> 00:25:34,550 as we look at lessons learned over the 668 00:25:34,550 --> 00:25:38,200 last 20 years is to make sure that we 669 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,030 have the capability to monitor through 670 00:25:41,030 --> 00:25:42,586 intelligence , surveillance 671 00:25:42,586 --> 00:25:44,586 reconnaissance capabilities that we 672 00:25:44,586 --> 00:25:46,530 have uh and then to conduct strike 673 00:25:46,530 --> 00:25:48,586 operations , whether they are strike 674 00:25:48,586 --> 00:25:50,697 operations from inside the country or 675 00:25:50,697 --> 00:25:52,641 outside the country . Uh Those are 676 00:25:52,641 --> 00:25:54,808 different tactics that we can use . Uh 677 00:25:54,808 --> 00:25:56,641 in addition to that , we want to 678 00:25:56,641 --> 00:25:58,808 continue to work with host nations and 679 00:25:58,808 --> 00:26:00,641 work by with and through partner 680 00:26:00,641 --> 00:26:02,697 nations to help facilitate that with 681 00:26:02,697 --> 00:26:04,308 specifically with respect to 682 00:26:04,308 --> 00:26:08,040 Afghanistan do I envision in the future 683 00:26:08,050 --> 00:26:10,290 some reintroduction of military forces 684 00:26:10,300 --> 00:26:13,040 on the ground in Afghanistan . Those 685 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,207 would be presidential choices , policy 686 00:26:15,207 --> 00:26:17,318 choices . So I would never say always 687 00:26:17,318 --> 00:26:19,429 never say never sort of thing . But I 688 00:26:19,429 --> 00:26:21,540 think it's unlikely at this point . I 689 00:26:21,540 --> 00:26:23,596 want to follow one of your answers a 690 00:26:23,596 --> 00:26:25,707 moment ago . Just to clarify , is the 691 00:26:25,707 --> 00:26:27,373 military part of the american 692 00:26:27,373 --> 00:26:29,760 evacuation effort over in Afghanistan ? 693 00:26:30,940 --> 00:26:34,720 Yes , the the military component ended 694 00:26:34,730 --> 00:26:37,280 on the 31st . So no more transports 695 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,113 going in and we're C17s . That's 696 00:26:39,113 --> 00:26:41,391 correct . All right . Not at this time . 697 00:26:41,391 --> 00:26:43,460 So , what kind of , I mean , talking 698 00:26:43,460 --> 00:26:45,516 about china , you suggested that our 699 00:26:45,516 --> 00:26:47,849 orientation has to change as a military . 700 00:26:47,849 --> 00:26:50,127 So , where are we in the war on terror ? 701 00:26:50,127 --> 00:26:52,238 Is that is that book now closed if we 702 00:26:52,238 --> 00:26:54,404 move past it ? No , absolutely not . I 703 00:26:54,404 --> 00:26:56,516 mean , not my opinion . The terrorism 704 00:26:56,516 --> 00:26:58,970 um , comes from a variety of reasons . 705 00:26:58,970 --> 00:27:01,380 It's a tactic . It's a it's a means to 706 00:27:01,380 --> 00:27:03,436 inflict violence in order to achieve 707 00:27:03,436 --> 00:27:05,770 some political objective uh and the 708 00:27:05,780 --> 00:27:07,947 terrorism that we've been dealing with 709 00:27:07,947 --> 00:27:10,169 for 20 years or more uh with Al Qaeda , 710 00:27:10,169 --> 00:27:12,336 with ISIS , with the Taliban , with Al 711 00:27:12,336 --> 00:27:14,447 Shabaab with all these various groups 712 00:27:14,447 --> 00:27:16,550 around the world is based upon an 713 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,590 ideology , it's a movement uh until 714 00:27:19,590 --> 00:27:22,270 unless that movement ceases until 715 00:27:22,270 --> 00:27:24,270 unless that ideology ceases , we're 716 00:27:24,270 --> 00:27:26,326 gonna be dealing with terrorists and 717 00:27:26,326 --> 00:27:28,580 terrorism for a long time to come . How 718 00:27:28,580 --> 00:27:30,691 do you get rid of that movement ? How 719 00:27:30,691 --> 00:27:32,840 do you get rid of that ideology uh 720 00:27:32,850 --> 00:27:35,017 that's going to be much more dependent 721 00:27:35,017 --> 00:27:37,239 upon indigenous countries in the region 722 00:27:37,239 --> 00:27:39,294 than it is on the United States , uh 723 00:27:39,294 --> 00:27:41,410 that that is going to be dependent on 724 00:27:41,420 --> 00:27:43,860 the rule of law , good governance 725 00:27:43,860 --> 00:27:45,971 enfranchisement of peoples around the 726 00:27:45,971 --> 00:27:48,920 world so that the grievances that led 727 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,290 to terrorism to begin with are somehow 728 00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:53,520 stripped away . You're probably never 729 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,090 going to eliminate it completely as in 730 00:27:56,100 --> 00:27:59,460 just complete elimination . Uh but you 731 00:27:59,470 --> 00:28:02,020 need to be able to reduce it to a small , 732 00:28:02,020 --> 00:28:04,450 manageable level and that is going to 733 00:28:04,450 --> 00:28:06,617 take a considerable amount of time and 734 00:28:06,617 --> 00:28:08,839 we'll be dealing with for a long time . 735 00:28:08,839 --> 00:28:08,720 And at the same time you said you're 736 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:10,910 dealing with this research that this 737 00:28:10,910 --> 00:28:13,990 growth in china . Does the military you 738 00:28:13,990 --> 00:28:16,570 have right now , is it properly aligned ? 739 00:28:16,570 --> 00:28:18,792 I mean , is this we're talking let's go 740 00:28:18,792 --> 00:28:20,737 buy some more aircraft carriers to 741 00:28:20,737 --> 00:28:22,903 project in the pacific or how do you ? 742 00:28:22,903 --> 00:28:25,180 Well , we're gonna uh as we look to the 743 00:28:25,180 --> 00:28:26,791 future into this operational 744 00:28:26,791 --> 00:28:29,920 environment and as we see the 745 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,031 operational environment changing in a 746 00:28:32,031 --> 00:28:34,660 fundamental way , uh we have got to 747 00:28:34,670 --> 00:28:37,630 take a hard look at how our military is 748 00:28:37,630 --> 00:28:40,340 organized , the way we fight , how we 749 00:28:40,340 --> 00:28:42,760 develop our talents and leadership , um 750 00:28:42,770 --> 00:28:45,270 the equipment that we have etcetera . 751 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,473 And and again , we have multiple 752 00:28:47,473 --> 00:28:49,640 problems you have to deal with . So on 753 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:51,862 the one hand , you've got an issue with 754 00:28:51,862 --> 00:28:53,862 China or Russia , you've got lesser 755 00:28:53,862 --> 00:28:55,918 regional challenges with North Korea 756 00:28:55,918 --> 00:28:58,084 and Iran for example . And then you've 757 00:28:58,084 --> 00:29:00,251 got terrorism and we have to have many 758 00:29:00,251 --> 00:29:02,473 different capabilities in our inventory 759 00:29:02,473 --> 00:29:03,918 to deal with all of those 760 00:29:03,918 --> 00:29:06,230 simultaneously with respect to the 761 00:29:06,230 --> 00:29:08,286 terrorism piece . We think it's best 762 00:29:08,286 --> 00:29:09,897 handled through intelligence 763 00:29:09,897 --> 00:29:12,119 capabilities and through special forces 764 00:29:12,119 --> 00:29:15,030 and uh CIA and so on . Uh , we don't 765 00:29:15,030 --> 00:29:17,252 think terrorism is best handled through 766 00:29:17,252 --> 00:29:19,474 large conventional forces , et cetera . 767 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:21,720 Uh , that's different than say china 768 00:29:21,730 --> 00:29:23,786 with china . We're gonna need a full 769 00:29:23,786 --> 00:29:26,100 panoply of uh , you know , conventional 770 00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:29,440 forces , air , land and sea , but also 771 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,850 space and cyber . Uh , you know , the 772 00:29:31,860 --> 00:29:35,060 domains have expanded over time . And 773 00:29:35,070 --> 00:29:38,060 and one of the areas that concerns me a 774 00:29:38,060 --> 00:29:40,840 lot is space and cyber as we go forward . 775 00:29:40,850 --> 00:29:44,350 Uh , there are significant capabilities 776 00:29:44,350 --> 00:29:48,170 that that happened in space today , 777 00:29:48,180 --> 00:29:50,910 that our economy , our country on our 778 00:29:50,910 --> 00:29:53,870 military entirely depend on . Uh , and 779 00:29:53,870 --> 00:29:56,092 the same thing with any modern advanced 780 00:29:56,092 --> 00:29:58,092 industrial society , the same thing 781 00:29:58,092 --> 00:30:00,203 with the chinese for that matter . So 782 00:30:00,203 --> 00:30:02,370 operations in space and then second to 783 00:30:02,370 --> 00:30:04,426 that is cyber . Uh , and you'll hear 784 00:30:04,426 --> 00:30:06,481 from paul , Nakasone ian in a little 785 00:30:06,481 --> 00:30:08,537 bit . Uh , those are going to be key 786 00:30:08,537 --> 00:30:10,537 determine ear's of who has decisive 787 00:30:10,537 --> 00:30:12,314 advantage at the beginning of a 788 00:30:12,314 --> 00:30:14,340 conflict . Uh , and those are areas 789 00:30:14,340 --> 00:30:16,396 that have great concern for us . You 790 00:30:16,396 --> 00:30:18,618 mentioned space , I want to circle back 791 00:30:18,618 --> 00:30:20,673 to one of my earlier questions about 792 00:30:20,673 --> 00:30:23,070 hypersonic weapons . Uh , r is the US 793 00:30:23,070 --> 00:30:25,560 in position to have space dominance or 794 00:30:25,590 --> 00:30:29,300 is that at risk . Um , well , 795 00:30:29,310 --> 00:30:33,030 again , I don't want to uh , I don't 796 00:30:33,030 --> 00:30:36,810 want to go too much into dominance . 797 00:30:36,810 --> 00:30:38,866 Are not dominance in space . I would 798 00:30:38,866 --> 00:30:41,640 just say that space today is a new 799 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:45,490 domain of war conflict . We don't 800 00:30:45,490 --> 00:30:49,270 want to uh you have a conflict in space . 801 00:30:49,530 --> 00:30:52,200 We've got good systems in space 802 00:30:53,340 --> 00:30:55,900 And I would say that we are the number 803 00:30:55,900 --> 00:30:57,920 one country on earth that has 804 00:30:57,920 --> 00:30:59,880 capabilities in space , but other 805 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,870 countries are close behind and space is 806 00:31:02,870 --> 00:31:06,380 becoming a very contested uh , domain 807 00:31:06,390 --> 00:31:09,270 for us to operate in and our countries 808 00:31:09,270 --> 00:31:11,437 and other countries are very dependent 809 00:31:11,437 --> 00:31:13,548 upon space capabilities . Um you have 810 00:31:13,548 --> 00:31:15,381 to think in terms of offense and 811 00:31:15,381 --> 00:31:17,520 defense , uh , when things started up 812 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:19,464 in space or in cyberspace for that 813 00:31:19,464 --> 00:31:21,576 matter , people weren't thinking them 814 00:31:21,576 --> 00:31:24,380 as when they designed these systems , 815 00:31:24,380 --> 00:31:26,602 they weren't looking at it as if it was 816 00:31:26,602 --> 00:31:30,000 a militarily contested place . Um and 817 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,380 so these systems aren't necessarily 818 00:31:32,380 --> 00:31:34,840 resilient , robust . They're not 819 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:36,618 necessarily don't have built in 820 00:31:36,618 --> 00:31:38,770 defensive systems . So that's an area 821 00:31:38,780 --> 00:31:41,230 defense that is going to have to be 822 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,296 significantly improved in both space 823 00:31:43,296 --> 00:31:45,950 and cyberspace . And then everyone has 824 00:31:45,950 --> 00:31:47,894 always said it's probably true , I 825 00:31:47,894 --> 00:31:50,117 guess is is your best defense is a good 826 00:31:50,117 --> 00:31:52,210 offense . So you're going to have to 827 00:31:52,210 --> 00:31:55,530 have offensive capabilities also in 828 00:31:55,530 --> 00:31:58,840 space and cyberspace in order to make 829 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:00,896 sure that our national interests are 830 00:32:00,896 --> 00:32:03,118 preserved . There's a lot of work to be 831 00:32:03,118 --> 00:32:05,284 done in those areas were not currently 832 00:32:05,284 --> 00:32:07,340 that I know of involved in a kinetic 833 00:32:07,340 --> 00:32:10,100 war right now , but you talk about um , 834 00:32:10,110 --> 00:32:13,060 cybersecurity right now are shots being 835 00:32:13,060 --> 00:32:17,050 fired , shots being received a cyber 836 00:32:17,050 --> 00:32:19,880 war even as we speak . Well , you can 837 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:22,200 get lots more color in detail from paul 838 00:32:22,210 --> 00:32:24,321 Nicholson here in a few minutes . But 839 00:32:24,321 --> 00:32:28,060 we are in a very very contested uhh 840 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:32,310 uh domain in cyber . And every 841 00:32:32,310 --> 00:32:35,850 single day our nation is literally 842 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:40,210 being hacked , penetrated , uh 843 00:32:40,220 --> 00:32:43,230 espionage intelligence operations going 844 00:32:43,230 --> 00:32:46,080 all in cyberspace . Uh people are out 845 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,247 there trying to steal money from banks 846 00:32:48,247 --> 00:32:50,560 and interdict phones and do all kinds 847 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,370 of things in cyber . So the short 848 00:32:53,370 --> 00:32:55,481 answer to your question is yes . On a 849 00:32:55,481 --> 00:32:57,490 daily basis it happens millions of 850 00:32:57,490 --> 00:33:00,120 times a day . Uh the pentagon has , I 851 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,231 don't know how many attempts but it's 852 00:33:02,231 --> 00:33:04,453 it's an astronomical amount of attempts 853 00:33:04,453 --> 00:33:06,510 to get through our uh systems . So 854 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:09,260 every single day , cyberspace is highly 855 00:33:09,260 --> 00:33:11,960 contested by criminals , by non state 856 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:13,960 actors and terrorists , but also by 857 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:15,904 nation states to include china and 858 00:33:15,904 --> 00:33:18,238 Russia . And we see it every single day . 859 00:33:18,238 --> 00:33:20,460 You all you gotta do is turn on your 860 00:33:20,470 --> 00:33:22,692 phone and you'll you'll you'll see it . 861 00:33:22,692 --> 00:33:25,570 So it's out there . It's real . Is it 862 00:33:25,570 --> 00:33:27,792 kinetic ? No . Does it have an effect ? 863 00:33:27,792 --> 00:33:30,560 Yes . Uh Is it serious ? Absolutely . 864 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,262 All right . I want to talk for a moment 865 00:33:33,262 --> 00:33:35,262 about Iran obviously we're seeing a 866 00:33:35,262 --> 00:33:37,429 diplomatic awakening now over over the 867 00:33:37,429 --> 00:33:39,373 nuclear deal , but from a military 868 00:33:39,373 --> 00:33:41,318 standpoint , what have you seen in 869 00:33:41,318 --> 00:33:43,207 terms of Iran's capabilities with 870 00:33:43,207 --> 00:33:45,262 ballistic missiles And of course the 871 00:33:45,262 --> 00:33:47,420 Big one , the nuclear research . Um 872 00:33:47,430 --> 00:33:50,660 Again , I'm hesitant to uh go into too 873 00:33:50,660 --> 00:33:52,604 much detail because a lot of it is 874 00:33:52,604 --> 00:33:56,100 classified , but With Iran um Bran has 875 00:33:56,100 --> 00:33:58,267 been a challenge for the United States 876 00:33:58,267 --> 00:34:00,322 since at least the revolution 1979 . 877 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,500 And they remain so , uh , Iran does not 878 00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:06,722 want uh and they know it's not in their 879 00:34:06,722 --> 00:34:08,890 interest to have a open kinetic fight 880 00:34:08,890 --> 00:34:10,834 with the United States . Uh , that 881 00:34:10,834 --> 00:34:13,057 probably wouldn't end well for them and 882 00:34:13,057 --> 00:34:14,890 they know that . So they're very 883 00:34:14,890 --> 00:34:17,168 calculated , but at the same time , uh , 884 00:34:17,168 --> 00:34:19,168 they do a lot of things in the gray 885 00:34:19,168 --> 00:34:21,168 zone and uh , they execute a lot of 886 00:34:21,168 --> 00:34:23,001 what we call the line operations 887 00:34:23,001 --> 00:34:24,890 throughout the Middle East in the 888 00:34:24,890 --> 00:34:27,057 region that are absolutely undermining 889 00:34:27,057 --> 00:34:28,946 and against uh , U . S . National 890 00:34:28,946 --> 00:34:31,000 interest uh , to include kinetic 891 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,400 actions , uh terrorist actions through 892 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,580 surrogates and so on . Uh , so Iran is 893 00:34:36,580 --> 00:34:38,890 a very , very difficult uh , issue for 894 00:34:38,890 --> 00:34:41,057 the region and for the United States . 895 00:34:41,057 --> 00:34:43,334 Uh , we have all kinds of capabilities . 896 00:34:43,334 --> 00:34:45,279 Uh , and Iran knows that and we're 897 00:34:45,279 --> 00:34:47,390 prepared to do whatever the president 898 00:34:47,390 --> 00:34:49,446 directs us to do . I'm sort of going 899 00:34:49,446 --> 00:34:49,290 down your list of some of the 900 00:34:49,290 --> 00:34:51,346 challenges . You mentioned earlier , 901 00:34:51,346 --> 00:34:54,040 North Korea um , continue to test 902 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:56,920 weapons , a various source . What is 903 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,010 your level of concern about not only 904 00:34:59,010 --> 00:35:01,121 their capability but their intentions 905 00:35:01,121 --> 00:35:03,820 with that capability . Again , you know , 906 00:35:03,820 --> 00:35:06,900 North Korea is one of the hardest the 907 00:35:06,910 --> 00:35:09,560 countries on the earth to try to figure 908 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,430 out intentions for a lot of reasons 909 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,329 mostly because it's a very , very 910 00:35:14,329 --> 00:35:18,220 closed totalitarian society . But the 911 00:35:18,230 --> 00:35:20,250 uh South korean military is very 912 00:35:20,250 --> 00:35:22,670 capable . Our military is very capable 913 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:25,760 and you've got a also a , 914 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:28,900 uh , capability with the Japanese that 915 00:35:28,900 --> 00:35:31,233 are there . That is very , very capable . 916 00:35:31,233 --> 00:35:33,330 So , I'm confident that the combined 917 00:35:33,330 --> 00:35:35,330 forces of the United States and the 918 00:35:35,330 --> 00:35:37,108 Republic of Korea can deal with 919 00:35:37,108 --> 00:35:39,330 anything that North Korea has in mind . 920 00:35:39,330 --> 00:35:42,130 Having said that , um , You know , it's 921 00:35:42,130 --> 00:35:44,463 one of those areas where you never know , 922 00:35:44,463 --> 00:35:46,519 it's , the peninsula is one of those 923 00:35:46,519 --> 00:35:49,270 areas that is highly militarized , 70% 924 00:35:49,270 --> 00:35:51,381 of the North Korean militaries within 925 00:35:51,381 --> 00:35:53,492 miles of the DMZ , when they're miles 926 00:35:53,492 --> 00:35:55,680 of soul . So , bad things could happen 927 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:57,810 on the korean peninsula on relatively 928 00:35:57,810 --> 00:35:59,780 short notice . Uh , so we always 929 00:35:59,780 --> 00:36:01,836 maintain a very , very high state of 930 00:36:01,836 --> 00:36:03,891 readiness with respect to the korean 931 00:36:03,891 --> 00:36:03,620 peninsula . Do you think it was their 932 00:36:03,620 --> 00:36:05,564 level of responsibility with these 933 00:36:05,564 --> 00:36:07,676 weapons in terms of their command and 934 00:36:07,676 --> 00:36:09,787 control and their internal security ? 935 00:36:09,787 --> 00:36:11,842 Do we know ? Well , I would say that 936 00:36:11,842 --> 00:36:13,953 the government of North Korea at this 937 00:36:13,953 --> 00:36:16,120 point in time appears to be stable and 938 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:18,009 they have good control over their 939 00:36:18,009 --> 00:36:20,231 military and their systems and uh , all 940 00:36:20,231 --> 00:36:22,720 of their weaponry , etcetera . Uh , so 941 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:24,831 I don't think you would see something 942 00:36:24,831 --> 00:36:26,776 accidental happened from them . It 943 00:36:26,776 --> 00:36:28,998 could , but I don't think that's highly 944 00:36:28,998 --> 00:36:31,164 probable . They have very , very tight 945 00:36:31,164 --> 00:36:33,387 control over their system . All right , 946 00:36:33,387 --> 00:36:35,331 I'm gonna open up to questions the 947 00:36:35,331 --> 00:36:34,860 moment , but I do want to ask this on a 948 00:36:34,870 --> 00:36:37,300 personal level . You , you became a bit 949 00:36:37,300 --> 00:36:39,356 of a lightning rod recently . We saw 950 00:36:39,356 --> 00:36:43,020 that your appearance is in before 951 00:36:43,020 --> 00:36:45,242 Congress . Can you tell us how that has 952 00:36:45,242 --> 00:36:47,353 impacted your job and if you have any 953 00:36:47,353 --> 00:36:49,409 regrets over being as forthcoming as 954 00:36:49,409 --> 00:36:51,930 you were with Woodward ? Well , I'm a 955 00:36:51,930 --> 00:36:54,700 soldier and uh , you know , my 956 00:36:54,710 --> 00:36:56,766 dedication is to the constitution in 957 00:36:56,766 --> 00:36:58,988 the country and I serve at the pleasure 958 00:36:58,988 --> 00:37:01,154 of the President when the president uh 959 00:37:01,530 --> 00:37:03,752 no longer finds me useful , then I move 960 00:37:03,752 --> 00:37:05,919 on until that day . I just continue to 961 00:37:05,919 --> 00:37:07,697 serve the country and serve the 962 00:37:07,697 --> 00:37:09,863 constitution and drive on . And do you 963 00:37:09,863 --> 00:37:09,860 still feel again with the open 964 00:37:09,860 --> 00:37:11,804 relationship with the president in 965 00:37:11,804 --> 00:37:13,916 terms of absence ? His chief military 966 00:37:13,916 --> 00:37:16,138 adviser ? Sure , very good relationship 967 00:37:16,138 --> 00:37:18,193 with the President , the Secretary , 968 00:37:18,193 --> 00:37:20,249 defense and the other members of the 969 00:37:20,249 --> 00:37:19,640 national security team . You've been 970 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,862 great taking my questions . I'd like to 971 00:37:21,862 --> 00:37:23,696 open up if I can get some of the 972 00:37:23,696 --> 00:37:25,862 audience here . Gentleman has his hand 973 00:37:25,862 --> 00:37:27,751 up right there . So we'll bring a 974 00:37:27,751 --> 00:37:28,973 microphone to you and 975 00:37:37,930 --> 00:37:39,986 thank you . Thank you so much german 976 00:37:39,986 --> 00:37:42,041 millie . Uh , we know this week that 977 00:37:42,041 --> 00:37:44,097 CIA Director Bill Burns and a senior 978 00:37:44,097 --> 00:37:46,500 administration delegation is in Russia . 979 00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:48,444 And following your meeting in late 980 00:37:48,444 --> 00:37:50,750 september with General Gerasimov , you 981 00:37:50,750 --> 00:37:52,972 had stated to the media that the United 982 00:37:52,972 --> 00:37:55,028 States should explore ways to expand 983 00:37:55,028 --> 00:37:57,194 its military contacts with Russia as a 984 00:37:57,194 --> 00:37:59,130 way to increase trust and avoid a 985 00:37:59,130 --> 00:38:01,074 miscalculation , which you've also 986 00:38:01,074 --> 00:38:03,241 alluded to here today , given the high 987 00:38:03,241 --> 00:38:05,500 level of exercise and military activity 988 00:38:05,510 --> 00:38:07,780 that we're seeing along the borders of 989 00:38:07,790 --> 00:38:10,700 NATO and Russia and europe should not 990 00:38:10,710 --> 00:38:13,160 all NATO nations and the NATO chain of 991 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:15,540 command itself share the burden of 992 00:38:15,540 --> 00:38:17,207 increasing trust and avoiding 993 00:38:17,207 --> 00:38:19,280 miscalculation with Russia . So in 994 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,113 short , would you support a more 995 00:38:21,113 --> 00:38:24,030 holistic alliance approach to trying to , 996 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,376 you know , build trust with Russia , 997 00:38:26,376 --> 00:38:28,542 especially considering what we've seen 998 00:38:28,542 --> 00:38:30,653 recently in terms of the breakdown in 999 00:38:30,653 --> 00:38:32,876 communication between NATO and Russia . 1000 00:38:32,876 --> 00:38:34,876 Thank you . Yeah , that's the short 1001 00:38:34,876 --> 00:38:38,470 answer is yes . I I firmly believe that 1002 00:38:38,470 --> 00:38:41,060 you should not only talk to your allies 1003 00:38:41,060 --> 00:38:43,004 and partners and friends , but you 1004 00:38:43,004 --> 00:38:45,200 absolutely need to talk to your 1005 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,950 adversaries and your enemies . And I 1006 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:52,310 think that we are currently in an era a 1007 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:55,540 period of great power peace . Uh and we 1008 00:38:55,540 --> 00:38:57,651 want to keep it that way . We want to 1009 00:38:57,651 --> 00:38:59,873 keep it a great power competition . The 1010 00:38:59,873 --> 00:39:02,040 last thing this world needs , the last 1011 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:01,220 the United States needs , or anybody 1012 00:39:01,220 --> 00:39:03,580 else needs is a great power war . And 1013 00:39:03,580 --> 00:39:07,020 so the extent to which uh we the 1014 00:39:07,020 --> 00:39:10,470 military or NATO through intermediaries 1015 00:39:10,470 --> 00:39:13,240 or directly can communicate back and 1016 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:16,670 forth with Russia china or any other 1017 00:39:16,670 --> 00:39:18,781 country I think is in the plus column 1018 00:39:18,781 --> 00:39:21,003 of things to do . Uh and I think that's 1019 00:39:21,003 --> 00:39:23,003 a smart thing to do with respect to 1020 00:39:23,003 --> 00:39:25,690 NATO . You know , there are elements of 1021 00:39:25,690 --> 00:39:28,290 NATO that uh people in NATO that do 1022 00:39:28,300 --> 00:39:30,870 communicate directly with with Russia . 1023 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:33,890 Uh so I communicate at my level uh but 1024 00:39:33,890 --> 00:39:37,780 also secure and others . Uh Secretary 1025 00:39:37,780 --> 00:39:39,780 General Stoltenberg and others , so 1026 00:39:39,780 --> 00:39:42,002 there are communication mechanisms back 1027 00:39:42,002 --> 00:39:44,224 and forth between the United States and 1028 00:39:44,224 --> 00:39:46,280 Russia and between NATO and Russia . 1029 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:48,391 Question Yes , sir , in the back . Uh 1030 00:39:48,391 --> 00:39:48,320 huh . 1031 00:39:55,020 --> 00:39:58,900 Sorry , thank you . Uh Sam dorman from 1032 00:39:58,900 --> 00:40:01,010 Fox News , thank you for joining us 1033 00:40:01,010 --> 00:40:03,430 today . And I just want to ask you 1034 00:40:03,430 --> 00:40:05,541 about , I think the debate over women 1035 00:40:05,541 --> 00:40:07,486 being drafted into the military is 1036 00:40:07,486 --> 00:40:09,486 gonna start ramping up again . Um I 1037 00:40:09,486 --> 00:40:11,708 know you've endorsed the idea that both 1038 00:40:11,708 --> 00:40:14,880 sexes should be um drafted . And so I 1039 00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:17,070 was wondering there's concerns about , 1040 00:40:17,070 --> 00:40:19,181 you know , basic training results and 1041 00:40:19,181 --> 00:40:20,959 just the the idea of a physical 1042 00:40:20,959 --> 00:40:23,070 disadvantage for women in combat . So 1043 00:40:23,070 --> 00:40:25,292 it's one of you could address those and 1044 00:40:25,292 --> 00:40:29,070 then um I guess howard where would 1045 00:40:29,070 --> 00:40:31,820 women be placed within the military if 1046 00:40:31,820 --> 00:40:33,931 there was this , if there was a large 1047 00:40:33,931 --> 00:40:36,880 scale draft ? Yeah , so first of all , 1048 00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:39,047 we have an all volunteer military , we 1049 00:40:39,047 --> 00:40:41,540 want to keep it that way . And I am not 1050 00:40:41,540 --> 00:40:43,707 aware of any serious discussions about 1051 00:40:43,707 --> 00:40:45,873 anyone about reinstating drafts or any 1052 00:40:45,873 --> 00:40:47,984 of that kind of stuff Uh with respect 1053 00:40:47,984 --> 00:40:50,207 to women in the military , we've opened 1054 00:40:50,207 --> 00:40:51,818 up all military occupational 1055 00:40:51,818 --> 00:40:54,630 specialties . Uh two women and I firmly 1056 00:40:54,630 --> 00:40:57,520 believe we should . Uh and perhaps not 1057 00:40:57,530 --> 00:40:59,570 all women will want to be in the 1058 00:40:59,570 --> 00:41:01,570 infantry and maybe not all women to 1059 00:41:01,570 --> 00:41:03,681 meet the standards for the industry , 1060 00:41:03,681 --> 00:41:05,830 but some women will we just had the 1061 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:08,870 first woman successfully lead a platoon 1062 00:41:08,870 --> 00:41:11,150 of rangers and the ranger regiment in 1063 00:41:11,150 --> 00:41:13,261 combat as an infantry officer , we've 1064 00:41:13,261 --> 00:41:15,930 had 100 I think we're at over 100 women 1065 00:41:15,930 --> 00:41:18,097 have graduated the U . S . Army ranger 1066 00:41:18,097 --> 00:41:20,840 school , We have the first woman in 1067 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:22,951 special forces . First woman became a 1068 00:41:22,951 --> 00:41:25,480 seal recently . So look at , you know , 1069 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:27,813 this this country is built upon an idea . 1070 00:41:27,813 --> 00:41:31,210 Uh and the idea says it's a very simple 1071 00:41:31,210 --> 00:41:33,210 idea , it's very powerful . It's an 1072 00:41:33,210 --> 00:41:35,266 idea that , you know , the nazis and 1073 00:41:35,266 --> 00:41:37,432 the imperial japanese and the fascists 1074 00:41:37,432 --> 00:41:39,599 in Italy and Al Qaeda and al Shabaab , 1075 00:41:39,599 --> 00:41:41,877 A lot of people hate this idea , right ? 1076 00:41:41,877 --> 00:41:41,680 But the idea says that you and I are 1077 00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:43,791 created equal . And it doesn't matter 1078 00:41:43,791 --> 00:41:45,958 if you're a male or female or catholic 1079 00:41:45,958 --> 00:41:48,013 protestant muslim , jew . It doesn't 1080 00:41:48,013 --> 00:41:47,830 matter . It doesn't matter if you're 1081 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:49,970 gay or straight or , or tall or short 1082 00:41:49,970 --> 00:41:51,859 or richard poor , if you meet the 1083 00:41:51,859 --> 00:41:54,026 standards of military , you're welcome 1084 00:41:54,026 --> 00:41:56,192 and you're on the team . And if you're 1085 00:41:56,192 --> 00:41:55,230 willing to shed your blood to defend 1086 00:41:55,230 --> 00:41:57,610 this constitution , uh then bring it on 1087 00:41:57,620 --> 00:41:59,676 uh you know , giving uniform and and 1088 00:41:59,676 --> 00:42:01,676 come on . So that's the idea that's 1089 00:42:01,676 --> 00:42:03,564 America , we're all americans and 1090 00:42:03,564 --> 00:42:05,787 you're gonna rise or fall based on your 1091 00:42:05,787 --> 00:42:07,953 level of merit , your hard work , your 1092 00:42:07,953 --> 00:42:07,600 knowledge , your skills , your 1093 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:09,880 attributes , uh you're gonna be judged 1094 00:42:09,890 --> 00:42:12,260 by the content of your character . Uh 1095 00:42:12,270 --> 00:42:14,750 so I don't I don't have any problem and 1096 00:42:14,750 --> 00:42:17,240 I know that the uh the leadership of 1097 00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:19,351 the United States Military Department 1098 00:42:19,351 --> 00:42:21,518 offense does not have any problem . We 1099 00:42:21,518 --> 00:42:23,573 have to do it in smart ways . Uh but 1100 00:42:23,573 --> 00:42:25,851 all people , regardless of who you are , 1101 00:42:25,851 --> 00:42:27,740 I ought to have an opportunity to 1102 00:42:27,740 --> 00:42:30,018 succeed in life . The best answer here . 1103 00:42:30,500 --> 00:42:32,500 The advantage of being in the front 1104 00:42:32,500 --> 00:42:35,490 row . 1105 00:42:38,230 --> 00:42:39,952 Oh yeah , actually we're gonna 1106 00:42:39,952 --> 00:42:42,063 microphone c I'm sorry my apologies . 1107 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:44,290 Starting treaty ribbon from the 1108 00:42:44,290 --> 00:42:46,650 philadelphia Inquirer . Our policy 1109 00:42:46,650 --> 00:42:48,910 towards Taiwan has been one of 1110 00:42:48,910 --> 00:42:52,120 strategic ambiguity . Now there is a 1111 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:54,170 lot of argument that it should be 1112 00:42:54,170 --> 00:42:57,470 clarified strategic clarity . Um the 1113 00:42:57,470 --> 00:43:00,110 administration has been encouraging 1114 00:43:00,300 --> 00:43:03,890 more U . N . Ties with 1115 00:43:03,890 --> 00:43:06,460 Taiwan . Are we moving towards 1116 00:43:06,460 --> 00:43:10,340 strategic clarity on Taiwan in terms 1117 00:43:10,350 --> 00:43:14,110 of defense and with that be a dangerous 1118 00:43:14,110 --> 00:43:16,730 risk . Yeah , I mean that's a great 1119 00:43:16,730 --> 00:43:18,786 question . Uh and I'm going to avoid 1120 00:43:18,786 --> 00:43:21,010 that question . 1121 00:43:22,300 --> 00:43:25,540 I mean look at these advantages and 1122 00:43:25,540 --> 00:43:28,530 disadvantages uh to everything and and 1123 00:43:28,530 --> 00:43:30,308 there are risks associated with 1124 00:43:30,308 --> 00:43:33,690 everything . So uh strategic ambiguity 1125 00:43:33,700 --> 00:43:36,970 with respect to Taiwan based upon the 1126 00:43:36,970 --> 00:43:38,859 Taiwan relations act in the three 1127 00:43:38,859 --> 00:43:40,859 communicates has been successful to 1128 00:43:40,859 --> 00:43:43,500 date . Um and whether or not that 1129 00:43:43,500 --> 00:43:45,900 changes as we go forward should be a 1130 00:43:45,900 --> 00:43:47,870 matter of considered thought deep 1131 00:43:47,870 --> 00:43:51,040 deliberation and this is not the place 1132 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:53,690 for me to wax and wane eloquently about 1133 00:43:53,690 --> 00:43:55,857 that . I don't think so . I think that 1134 00:43:55,910 --> 00:43:58,077 there's a lot of thought that needs to 1135 00:43:58,077 --> 00:43:58,020 be put in that . But right now our 1136 00:43:58,020 --> 00:44:01,380 policy is what it is and it will 1137 00:44:01,380 --> 00:44:03,491 continue for the foreseeable future . 1138 00:44:04,390 --> 00:44:06,446 Okay , See something lady back there 1139 00:44:06,446 --> 00:44:09,180 and or maroon sweater , look at the 1140 00:44:09,180 --> 00:44:10,958 microphone to you . Thank you . 1141 00:44:18,890 --> 00:44:20,834 Well she's grabbing the microphone 1142 00:44:20,834 --> 00:44:23,001 Lester I don't know if you notice that 1143 00:44:23,001 --> 00:44:25,279 the boston braves won the world series , 1144 00:44:25,279 --> 00:44:27,057 the boston braves . She has the 1145 00:44:27,057 --> 00:44:31,050 microphone red sox . Thank you a quick 1146 00:44:31,050 --> 00:44:33,106 question for you . My name is Joanne 1147 00:44:33,106 --> 00:44:35,161 Sears . I'm from velocity government 1148 00:44:35,161 --> 00:44:37,106 relations . It's good to see you . 1149 00:44:37,106 --> 00:44:37,090 Thank you for coming today . I want to 1150 00:44:37,090 --> 00:44:39,400 talk about the continuing resolution 1151 00:44:39,410 --> 00:44:41,688 and I want to talk about the N . D . A . 1152 00:44:41,688 --> 00:44:43,854 Could you give us a perspective on how 1153 00:44:43,854 --> 00:44:47,760 that affects uh your ability to lead 1154 00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:49,593 and our ability , our military's 1155 00:44:49,593 --> 00:44:51,482 ability to do their job . When we 1156 00:44:51,482 --> 00:44:54,670 continue to have these Crs year after 1157 00:44:54,670 --> 00:44:56,710 year after year . I happen to be 1158 00:44:56,710 --> 00:44:58,877 married to a frugal new Englander from 1159 00:44:58,877 --> 00:45:01,370 boston . So you know , we live within 1160 00:45:01,370 --> 00:45:03,537 our budget but we plan our budget . So 1161 00:45:03,537 --> 00:45:05,592 how is this affecting your job sir ? 1162 00:45:05,592 --> 00:45:08,520 And can you offer us any advice on or 1163 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:10,960 maybe give some advice to lovingly to 1164 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:13,127 Congress on how to get there . See are 1165 00:45:13,127 --> 00:45:15,238 over and done with so we can actually 1166 00:45:15,238 --> 00:45:17,630 fund the military . Thank you . So 1167 00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:21,380 thank you for that . As a matter of 1168 00:45:21,490 --> 00:45:25,100 routine Crs are very inefficient 1169 00:45:25,990 --> 00:45:29,150 way of managing something as large as 1170 00:45:29,150 --> 00:45:31,310 the India and the budget for the 1171 00:45:31,310 --> 00:45:34,460 national defense . And what ends up 1172 00:45:34,460 --> 00:45:36,800 happening is instead of having a 12 1173 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:38,744 month budget you end up with an 88 1174 00:45:38,744 --> 00:45:40,967 months or nine months or 10 months . So 1175 00:45:40,967 --> 00:45:42,967 uh and you lose predictability with 1176 00:45:42,967 --> 00:45:45,710 industry . So if industry can't uh if 1177 00:45:45,710 --> 00:45:47,932 they have to deal with things on a year 1178 00:45:47,932 --> 00:45:50,000 to year basis , cr to Cr basis , uh 1179 00:45:50,010 --> 00:45:52,232 they jack up the price of an individual 1180 00:45:52,232 --> 00:45:54,399 unit , unit cost sort of thing . So an 1181 00:45:54,399 --> 00:45:56,621 item is much more expensive . So it's a 1182 00:45:56,621 --> 00:45:58,343 very inefficient and much more 1183 00:45:58,343 --> 00:46:00,177 expensive way . Uh and it's very 1184 00:46:00,177 --> 00:46:02,343 difficult to provide predictability to 1185 00:46:02,343 --> 00:46:04,232 us the military or to industry to 1186 00:46:04,232 --> 00:46:06,454 provide the equipment that we need . So 1187 00:46:06,454 --> 00:46:08,720 I continually and have since I was 1188 00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:10,887 Chief of Staff , the army . So for six 1189 00:46:10,887 --> 00:46:12,998 years now I've been arguing for , you 1190 00:46:12,998 --> 00:46:15,109 know , steady predictable budgets . I 1191 00:46:15,109 --> 00:46:17,880 think the continuing use of CRS uh is 1192 00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:21,810 not the way to go , but the 535 members 1193 00:46:21,810 --> 00:46:24,240 of the board of directors , uh they 1194 00:46:24,250 --> 00:46:26,361 govern , you know , the purse strings 1195 00:46:26,361 --> 00:46:28,472 for the military . So uh we take what 1196 00:46:28,472 --> 00:46:30,472 we get . But it is I caution I'm an 1197 00:46:30,472 --> 00:46:32,583 advisor , not a decision maker , as I 1198 00:46:32,583 --> 00:46:34,806 get reminded on a daily basis . So , uh 1199 00:46:35,380 --> 00:46:38,660 so I would advise to uh pass the N . B . 1200 00:46:38,660 --> 00:46:41,420 A . And and stay away from CRS to the 1201 00:46:41,420 --> 00:46:43,531 extent possible . All right . We have 1202 00:46:43,531 --> 00:46:45,642 about a minute and a half left of one 1203 00:46:45,642 --> 00:46:47,780 quick question . Well , I guess we're 1204 00:46:47,780 --> 00:46:50,002 gonna make that the last question , but 1205 00:46:50,002 --> 00:46:52,169 General Milley chairman , thank you so 1206 00:46:52,169 --> 00:46:55,480 much for doing a real pleasure . Thank 1207 00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:56,480 you . 1208 00:47:00,780 --> 00:47:03,113 Yeah . And thank you for your questions . 1209 00:47:03,113 --> 00:47:05,660 Thank you so much . General Milley 1210 00:47:05,670 --> 00:47:07,726 Lester Holt . Thank you for covering 1211 00:47:07,726 --> 00:47:10,120 the waterfront , so to speak here on 1212 00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:12,231 the waterfront . We really appreciate 1213 00:47:12,231 --> 00:47:14,398 you taking time out and coming . Thank 1214 00:47:14,398 --> 00:47:17,490 you very much . And now I'd like . All 1215 00:47:17,490 --> 00:47:21,210 right , thank you . 1216 00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:23,740 I'd now like to invite Roy .