1 00:00:00,140 --> 00:00:01,140 mm hmm . 2 00:00:07,940 --> 00:00:11,770 So just a couple of things at the 3 00:00:11,770 --> 00:00:13,860 top here , as you've no doubt heard 4 00:00:14,740 --> 00:00:17,310 last night , us special operations 5 00:00:17,310 --> 00:00:19,310 forces under the control of U . S . 6 00:00:19,310 --> 00:00:20,866 Central command conducted a 7 00:00:20,866 --> 00:00:22,977 counterterrorism mission in Northwest 8 00:00:22,977 --> 00:00:25,080 Syria that resulted in the death of 9 00:00:25,090 --> 00:00:28,510 ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al 10 00:00:28,510 --> 00:00:31,260 Karachi , also known as Haji Abdullah . 11 00:00:32,340 --> 00:00:35,570 How'd you do ? It was a very hands on 12 00:00:35,570 --> 00:00:38,970 leader um , and uh involved 13 00:00:38,980 --> 00:00:41,850 uh in many day to day operations of 14 00:00:41,850 --> 00:00:45,640 ISIS and certainly uh keenly interested 15 00:00:45,650 --> 00:00:48,050 in restoring 16 00:00:49,590 --> 00:00:52,360 the lethality 17 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,360 uh and the higher optempo that ISIS had 18 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,560 once enjoyed . So his death , 19 00:01:00,540 --> 00:01:03,320 we believe dealt a significant blow 20 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,860 to ISIS . You've already heard from the 21 00:01:06,860 --> 00:01:10,040 President this morning . And I think 22 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,151 you've probably seen a statement that 23 00:01:12,151 --> 00:01:14,207 Secretary Austin put out joining the 24 00:01:14,207 --> 00:01:15,818 president and commending the 25 00:01:15,818 --> 00:01:17,707 professionalism and the skill the 26 00:01:17,707 --> 00:01:19,762 readiness exhibited by our forces in 27 00:01:19,762 --> 00:01:22,910 this operation , particularly with the 28 00:01:22,910 --> 00:01:26,050 extensive regard towards safeguarding 29 00:01:26,290 --> 00:01:28,820 innocent life that we knew it was 30 00:01:28,820 --> 00:01:31,150 located there at the target's location . 31 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,382 And while the cowardly actions of Hajji 32 00:01:34,382 --> 00:01:36,327 Abdullah and a small number of His 33 00:01:36,327 --> 00:01:38,438 followers resulted in the death , the 34 00:01:38,438 --> 00:01:40,950 tragic death of at least three innocent 35 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,551 civilians , the calculated efforts of 36 00:01:43,551 --> 00:01:46,680 our forces succeeded in protecting more 37 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,880 than 10 women Children and babies . 38 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,700 These efforts included a deliberate 39 00:01:53,700 --> 00:01:56,890 decision by the president to execute a 40 00:01:56,890 --> 00:01:59,780 raid on the location as opposed to an 41 00:01:59,780 --> 00:02:02,560 airstrike . Despite the additional risk 42 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,930 that that decision put on our forces . 43 00:02:08,030 --> 00:02:11,470 And as I think you've probably seen in 44 00:02:11,470 --> 00:02:13,692 addition to all that as they got to the 45 00:02:13,692 --> 00:02:17,050 site , they called out 46 00:02:17,740 --> 00:02:20,960 to everyone in the in the building and 47 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,560 giving them an opportunity to leave 48 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,390 peacefully quietly . Uh and uh for 49 00:02:27,390 --> 00:02:29,700 abdullah to surrender himself , of 50 00:02:29,700 --> 00:02:31,700 course he chose a different route . 51 00:02:32,540 --> 00:02:34,818 While there were no U . S . Casualties , 52 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,040 one of our helicopters did suffer a 53 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,350 mechanical failure early on 54 00:02:42,250 --> 00:02:44,490 in the infiltration phase of the 55 00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:47,660 operation . The helicopter was able to 56 00:02:47,660 --> 00:02:51,010 depart the target location and land at 57 00:02:51,020 --> 00:02:54,460 another location further away off site , 58 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,000 but ultimately it was determined that 59 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,560 further use of the helicopter was not 60 00:03:01,570 --> 00:03:03,580 practical , uh and in fact could be 61 00:03:03,580 --> 00:03:06,010 dangerous . Uh and so General Mackenzie 62 00:03:06,010 --> 00:03:08,121 made the decision that the helicopter 63 00:03:08,121 --> 00:03:11,060 should be abandoned uh and uh and 64 00:03:11,060 --> 00:03:13,171 detonated so it could be destroyed in 65 00:03:13,171 --> 00:03:17,170 place . Um So Moving forward , I'm 66 00:03:17,170 --> 00:03:19,170 sure you've got lots of questions . 67 00:03:19,170 --> 00:03:21,392 I'll do the best I can to answer them . 68 00:03:21,392 --> 00:03:23,448 I want to remind you that this is an 69 00:03:23,448 --> 00:03:25,726 operation that is not yet 24 hours old . 70 00:03:25,740 --> 00:03:27,573 So while we will provide as much 71 00:03:27,573 --> 00:03:30,760 context as we can to you um I suspect 72 00:03:30,770 --> 00:03:32,659 as you all covered these kinds of 73 00:03:32,659 --> 00:03:34,826 things before that we will continue to 74 00:03:34,826 --> 00:03:37,103 learn more information as time goes on . 75 00:03:37,103 --> 00:03:39,214 We are still reviewing the results of 76 00:03:39,214 --> 00:03:41,214 this operation , We are still going 77 00:03:41,214 --> 00:03:43,326 through the after action process that 78 00:03:43,326 --> 00:03:45,437 we always do . We will do the best we 79 00:03:45,437 --> 00:03:48,050 can to to provide you as much context . 80 00:03:48,060 --> 00:03:50,460 I also would add and I'm saying this as 81 00:03:50,460 --> 00:03:52,516 a bit of a disclaimer here before we 82 00:03:52,516 --> 00:03:54,627 begin taking questions that there are 83 00:03:54,627 --> 00:03:56,849 still operational security matters that 84 00:03:56,849 --> 00:03:58,960 we're just not gonna be able to speak 85 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,310 to . We obviously take these kinds of 86 00:04:01,310 --> 00:04:03,477 missions very seriously . We obviously 87 00:04:03,477 --> 00:04:05,643 want to be able to continue to conduct 88 00:04:05,643 --> 00:04:07,810 these kinds of operations because ISIS 89 00:04:07,810 --> 00:04:09,977 remains a threat . So there's going to 90 00:04:09,977 --> 00:04:12,199 be some information um uh that you will 91 00:04:12,199 --> 00:04:14,199 want to know that we are simply not 92 00:04:14,199 --> 00:04:16,366 going to be able to provide so that we 93 00:04:16,366 --> 00:04:18,588 can preserve our flexibility to conduct 94 00:04:18,588 --> 00:04:18,560 these sorts of operations going forward 95 00:04:18,570 --> 00:04:21,490 with that , john thank you . A couple 96 00:04:21,490 --> 00:04:24,320 questions on the civilians . Um if I 97 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,042 heard you , did you I hear you 98 00:04:26,042 --> 00:04:28,209 correctly , that you said you Verified 99 00:04:28,209 --> 00:04:30,750 three civilians were killed . And also 100 00:04:31,140 --> 00:04:33,830 could you elaborate on perhaps explain 101 00:04:33,830 --> 00:04:36,370 a little further what Secretary Austen 102 00:04:36,370 --> 00:04:38,426 meant in his written statement about 103 00:04:38,426 --> 00:04:40,759 looking into the possibility that U . S . 104 00:04:40,759 --> 00:04:42,814 Actions may have resulted in harm to 105 00:04:42,814 --> 00:04:44,537 civilians . What exactly is he 106 00:04:44,537 --> 00:04:47,840 referring to ? So we know that uh that 107 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:51,610 when abdullah detonated an explosive 108 00:04:51,610 --> 00:04:55,440 device which obviously killed him , uh 109 00:04:55,450 --> 00:04:58,960 we know that there were three people on 110 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,210 that third floor with him that were 111 00:05:01,210 --> 00:05:04,860 also killed His wife and two 112 00:05:04,860 --> 00:05:08,680 Children . Um uh and so that's what I'm 113 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,680 talking about when I talk about the 114 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,690 three , We also know as I said that we 115 00:05:13,690 --> 00:05:16,400 were able to safely evacuate 10 116 00:05:16,410 --> 00:05:19,490 individuals , six from the first floor , 117 00:05:19,500 --> 00:05:21,460 an adult male and adult female 118 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,040 and and four Children and then four 119 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,010 Children from the second floor , which 120 00:05:30,070 --> 00:05:32,990 our forces were able to safely get to 121 00:05:32,990 --> 00:05:35,930 get out of the building on that second 122 00:05:35,930 --> 00:05:39,210 floor where uh one of Abdullah's 123 00:05:39,220 --> 00:05:43,020 lieutenant's engaged our forces , um 124 00:05:43,770 --> 00:05:47,460 actually one of his lieutenants and 125 00:05:47,950 --> 00:05:50,920 the lieutenant's wife firing back at 126 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,140 our forces . Uh they were killed . Uh 127 00:05:54,150 --> 00:05:58,060 and uh and it appears as if a 128 00:05:58,070 --> 00:06:00,126 child was also killed on that second 129 00:06:00,126 --> 00:06:02,070 floor . And that's for your second 130 00:06:02,070 --> 00:06:05,580 question . I mean , um Mhm . We're 131 00:06:05,580 --> 00:06:09,030 always mindful of the potential for 132 00:06:09,190 --> 00:06:11,560 civilian harm or harm to innocent life . 133 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:16,030 And while the strong indications are 134 00:06:16,030 --> 00:06:19,890 here is that that the life that the 135 00:06:19,890 --> 00:06:22,090 lives taken in this operation , the 136 00:06:22,090 --> 00:06:24,090 lives of innocence taken in this 137 00:06:24,090 --> 00:06:27,100 operation were caused by uh 138 00:06:27,110 --> 00:06:29,280 Abdullah and his decision to blow 139 00:06:29,290 --> 00:06:31,670 himself up and everybody else with him 140 00:06:31,670 --> 00:06:33,726 on that third floor , as well as the 141 00:06:33,726 --> 00:06:35,726 resistance of his lieutenant on the 142 00:06:35,726 --> 00:06:38,230 second floor . Um uh we're willing to 143 00:06:38,230 --> 00:06:40,450 take a look to just examine and make 144 00:06:40,450 --> 00:06:43,440 sure um that there wasn't any action 145 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,496 that we might have taken . That that 146 00:06:45,496 --> 00:06:48,110 that could have also uh caused harm to 147 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,680 innocence in any way . I think we're 148 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:53,750 just gonna take a look and see . But 149 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,250 but right now , uh the strong strong 150 00:06:56,250 --> 00:06:59,060 indications are that to the degree 151 00:06:59,060 --> 00:07:01,227 there's a loss of innocent life , it's 152 00:07:01,227 --> 00:07:03,449 it's lost caused by Mr Abdullah and his 153 00:07:03,449 --> 00:07:05,782 lieutenant quite confident on the three , 154 00:07:05,782 --> 00:07:07,949 that's only three people , that is the 155 00:07:07,949 --> 00:07:10,200 that's what we have right now bob , I'm 156 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:12,311 gonna give you what I can right now . 157 00:07:12,340 --> 00:07:14,100 And I think , you know , that 158 00:07:14,110 --> 00:07:16,054 information can change over time . 159 00:07:16,054 --> 00:07:17,832 That's what we have right now . 160 00:07:18,390 --> 00:07:20,612 Additional information on the team that 161 00:07:20,612 --> 00:07:22,668 executed the operation . I'm sorry . 162 00:07:22,668 --> 00:07:24,723 Any additional information about the 163 00:07:24,723 --> 00:07:27,240 team that executed the operation ? No , 164 00:07:27,390 --> 00:07:29,612 I don't have any more information about 165 00:07:29,612 --> 00:07:31,779 the team that executed the operation . 166 00:07:31,779 --> 00:07:33,820 About what kind of support or 167 00:07:33,830 --> 00:07:36,880 cooperation that the sdf provided to 168 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,870 the operation . The sdf were helpful 169 00:07:39,950 --> 00:07:42,560 in um 170 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,010 and enabling our ability to conduct 171 00:07:47,010 --> 00:07:49,121 this operation . But I'm not going to 172 00:07:49,121 --> 00:07:51,970 go into more detail about what that 173 00:07:51,970 --> 00:07:54,137 assistance looked like . I will remind 174 00:07:54,137 --> 00:07:56,137 Pierre that this was a US operation 175 00:07:56,540 --> 00:07:59,100 conducted by U . S . Forces only gen 176 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,830 will anyone get a reward for justice 177 00:08:02,830 --> 00:08:05,052 reward for this tip ? And how long have 178 00:08:05,052 --> 00:08:07,510 you had this intelligence Also , you 179 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,450 referred to the three innocent 180 00:08:09,450 --> 00:08:12,320 civilians , but would the wife of Hajji 181 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:14,480 Abdullah be considered an innocent 182 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,730 civilian ? Uh you know , I think I'm 183 00:08:17,730 --> 00:08:19,397 just gonna leave it the way I 184 00:08:19,397 --> 00:08:22,210 characterized it , jen . Um um and 185 00:08:22,210 --> 00:08:24,154 again , we're going to continue to 186 00:08:24,154 --> 00:08:27,600 review and look at this . I think I 187 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:29,822 think I'm just gonna leave it the way I 188 00:08:29,822 --> 00:08:31,989 described it . And as for the reward , 189 00:08:31,989 --> 00:08:34,156 I don't have any updates on that yet . 190 00:08:34,156 --> 00:08:36,267 There was a $10 million dollar reward 191 00:08:36,267 --> 00:08:39,160 on his head . Um but I don't have any 192 00:08:39,730 --> 00:08:42,210 updates on whether that award can or 193 00:08:42,220 --> 00:08:44,109 will be claimed . And then on the 194 00:08:44,109 --> 00:08:46,164 intelligence , I would just tell you 195 00:08:46,164 --> 00:08:49,370 that uh this operation was literally 196 00:08:49,370 --> 00:08:52,640 months in the planning . Um and of 197 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:56,090 course a strong basis for being able to 198 00:08:56,090 --> 00:08:57,979 conduct an operation like this is 199 00:08:57,979 --> 00:09:00,201 valuable intelligence intelligence that 200 00:09:00,201 --> 00:09:02,312 comes from multiple streams and again 201 00:09:02,312 --> 00:09:04,423 without getting into more detail than 202 00:09:04,423 --> 00:09:08,360 that . Um uh There was as obviously 203 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,000 because of the success of the operation . 204 00:09:11,010 --> 00:09:13,820 I mean the the intelligence was a a 205 00:09:13,820 --> 00:09:17,460 mosaic that allowed us the level of 206 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:19,960 of awareness and fidelity of 207 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,127 information to be able to conduct this 208 00:09:22,127 --> 00:09:24,293 in the way we did . Was he responsible 209 00:09:24,293 --> 00:09:27,350 for the Abbey Gate bombing ? I don't 210 00:09:27,350 --> 00:09:29,730 have a direct connection to speak to in 211 00:09:29,730 --> 00:09:33,320 terms of that . However , he's the he 212 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:35,720 was the leader of ISIS and it was an 213 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,210 ISIS K . Attack . But what we do know 214 00:09:38,210 --> 00:09:41,420 is he was hands on kind of leader , 215 00:09:41,750 --> 00:09:45,630 we know that um that he 216 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,010 certainly had knowledge of and 217 00:09:48,020 --> 00:09:51,760 uh was it uh at 218 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,920 least maintaining a level of 219 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:56,850 situational awareness during the 220 00:09:56,850 --> 00:09:59,350 Hasakah Prison break last week . We 221 00:09:59,350 --> 00:10:01,461 know that he was directly involved in 222 00:10:01,461 --> 00:10:03,406 the massacre in the in the rape of 223 00:10:03,406 --> 00:10:07,190 innocent uh Yazidis back in 2014 . Um 224 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,660 uh mm this is a 225 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,040 this is a man that we should all be 226 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,207 happy is no longer walking on the face 227 00:10:15,207 --> 00:10:18,910 of the Earth court . Did you get D . N . 228 00:10:18,910 --> 00:10:21,132 A . Of him and have a positive DNA . Is 229 00:10:21,132 --> 00:10:23,188 that how you were able to identify ? 230 00:10:23,188 --> 00:10:22,940 Can you tell us a little bit more about 231 00:10:22,950 --> 00:10:24,950 that ? Can you if you got a bunch , 232 00:10:24,950 --> 00:10:27,172 let's take one at a time . Alright . We 233 00:10:27,172 --> 00:10:29,600 were able to identify his body through 234 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:31,711 fingerprints and D . N . A . Analysis 235 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,330 on site ? Well the fingerprint the 236 00:10:36,330 --> 00:10:38,441 fingerprints were on site . It took a 237 00:10:38,441 --> 00:10:40,274 little bit longer to get the DNA 238 00:10:40,274 --> 00:10:42,330 analysis . So it was a combination . 239 00:10:42,330 --> 00:10:44,386 It's a little more detail about this 240 00:10:44,386 --> 00:10:46,608 firefight that occurred sort of towards 241 00:10:46,608 --> 00:10:48,830 the end of the two hour time frame that 242 00:10:48,830 --> 00:10:48,130 they were on the ground . There are 243 00:10:48,130 --> 00:10:50,130 some locals or something . What was 244 00:10:50,130 --> 00:10:52,241 that ? A couple of people were killed 245 00:10:52,241 --> 00:10:53,963 towards towards the end of the 246 00:10:53,963 --> 00:10:57,460 operation ? Um uh There were um 247 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,607 there was a small group of individuals 248 00:11:00,607 --> 00:11:02,662 approaching the compound . They they 249 00:11:02,662 --> 00:11:05,550 were appropriately deemed as hostile . 250 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,760 Um And they were engaged , they were 251 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:12,540 engaged and we 252 00:11:12,540 --> 00:11:16,300 know that in that engagement , two 253 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,620 of them were killed . Um and that 254 00:11:19,630 --> 00:11:22,010 resulted in the end of that hostile 255 00:11:22,010 --> 00:11:25,030 activity . The remaining of individuals 256 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:28,020 left the site on the ground by the air . 257 00:11:28,030 --> 00:11:31,010 I don't know exactly , I know that at 258 00:11:31,010 --> 00:11:33,232 least some engagement came from the air 259 00:11:33,232 --> 00:11:35,343 but I can't be sure that there wasn't 260 00:11:35,343 --> 00:11:37,454 some engagement from the ground , can 261 00:11:37,454 --> 00:11:39,121 you say ? Do you know who the 262 00:11:39,121 --> 00:11:41,232 lieutenant was ? You mentioned he and 263 00:11:41,232 --> 00:11:40,780 his wife were killed and it was just 264 00:11:40,780 --> 00:11:43,350 someone relatively senior . It was it 265 00:11:43,350 --> 00:11:47,170 was a senior lieutenant of Abdullah . I 266 00:11:47,180 --> 00:11:50,750 don't have the name . You could say you 267 00:11:50,750 --> 00:11:53,360 could say it was a deputy and then um 268 00:11:53,370 --> 00:11:56,960 can you was this mission to kill or 269 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:58,960 capture mission ? Was there ever an 270 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:01,016 effort to try to take him alive ? Uh 271 00:12:01,016 --> 00:12:03,016 you know , without getting into the 272 00:12:03,016 --> 00:12:05,071 specifics of uh of the orders . This 273 00:12:05,071 --> 00:12:07,680 there was a raid against Abdullah . Um 274 00:12:07,690 --> 00:12:11,590 um and uh again 275 00:12:11,590 --> 00:12:15,420 he decided to kill himself and others 276 00:12:15,430 --> 00:12:18,720 before uh coming into direct contact 277 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,110 with the the assault force uh that he 278 00:12:21,110 --> 00:12:23,020 did not fight back . 279 00:12:26,540 --> 00:12:29,060 The the the the objective was 280 00:12:30,740 --> 00:12:34,380 two finish his leadership of 281 00:12:34,380 --> 00:12:36,491 ISIS and that was achieved . And then 282 00:12:36,491 --> 00:12:38,658 finally the question , I'm sure all of 283 00:12:38,658 --> 00:12:40,602 us are wondering , was there a dog 284 00:12:40,602 --> 00:12:42,713 involved ? What was its name ? And do 285 00:12:42,713 --> 00:12:44,936 you have a photo ? I do not know . I do 286 00:12:44,936 --> 00:12:47,720 not know and I do not know . I'll take 287 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,320 all three . You're welcome . Louis john , 288 00:12:51,330 --> 00:12:54,210 why did the mission take two hours ? 289 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:56,778 For what what was the process ? I mean , 290 00:12:56,778 --> 00:12:59,100 was there a calculated process to get 291 00:12:59,100 --> 00:13:02,660 civilians out of this building ? Was 292 00:13:02,660 --> 00:13:04,771 that a part of the delay ? Because it 293 00:13:04,771 --> 00:13:06,938 sounds like two hours on the ground is 294 00:13:06,938 --> 00:13:08,882 quite a long time for one of these 295 00:13:08,882 --> 00:13:10,882 kinds of missions . So it's a great 296 00:13:10,882 --> 00:13:12,882 question , louis first of all , the 297 00:13:12,882 --> 00:13:14,882 plan was to have them there for two 298 00:13:14,882 --> 00:13:16,993 hours uh , From the get go , the plan 299 00:13:16,993 --> 00:13:20,990 was for two hours on site . And it 300 00:13:20,990 --> 00:13:24,750 speaks to the level of care that 301 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,200 US Special operations forces used in 302 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:32,130 this mission which was designed 303 00:13:32,140 --> 00:13:35,680 to preserve innocent life . 304 00:13:35,690 --> 00:13:39,210 Um I uh to go to the site as they did . 305 00:13:39,220 --> 00:13:41,164 First of all , it was securing and 306 00:13:41,164 --> 00:13:45,070 isolating the site . Then it was to 307 00:13:45,070 --> 00:13:48,660 get innocence . And quite frankly to 308 00:13:48,660 --> 00:13:51,660 encourage mr Abdullah to leave the site . 309 00:13:52,810 --> 00:13:55,260 And that's why they used a bullhorn and 310 00:13:55,270 --> 00:13:58,740 made several call outs , beseeching 311 00:13:58,990 --> 00:14:02,050 everybody in that building to leave . 312 00:14:02,540 --> 00:14:05,460 Um and that takes some time to you want 313 00:14:05,460 --> 00:14:07,404 to make sure you make a good faith 314 00:14:07,404 --> 00:14:09,700 effort to do that . And we did um they 315 00:14:09,700 --> 00:14:12,090 were engaged , there was an explosion 316 00:14:12,090 --> 00:14:14,720 on the third floor and engagement , uh 317 00:14:14,730 --> 00:14:16,897 gunfire from the from the building and 318 00:14:16,897 --> 00:14:20,240 then they , they went in . Um uh and 319 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:22,407 obviously you want to process the site 320 00:14:22,407 --> 00:14:24,629 as best you can get as much information 321 00:14:24,629 --> 00:14:27,020 as you can . Um and of course in this , 322 00:14:27,030 --> 00:14:29,197 in this regard because he chose to end 323 00:14:29,197 --> 00:14:31,810 his life the way he did uh to be able 324 00:14:31,810 --> 00:14:34,360 to um identify 325 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:39,260 and then safely leave the site . So 326 00:14:40,340 --> 00:14:42,451 honestly from from soup to nuts . The 327 00:14:42,451 --> 00:14:44,507 original plan was to have them there 328 00:14:44,507 --> 00:14:46,618 for two hours and they were there for 329 00:14:46,618 --> 00:14:48,229 just about exactly two hours 330 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,184 characterization has been by other 331 00:14:50,184 --> 00:14:53,980 officials that , that he 332 00:14:54,110 --> 00:14:56,860 detonated this explosive very early on 333 00:14:56,870 --> 00:14:59,180 after the arrival of the troops . I 334 00:14:59,180 --> 00:15:01,170 mean , do you have a notion of how 335 00:15:01,180 --> 00:15:03,640 quickly he did that or was this a long 336 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:05,950 drawn out process ? I don't have the 337 00:15:05,950 --> 00:15:09,350 exact minute by minute Tiktok , but 338 00:15:09,350 --> 00:15:11,570 that characterization as I understand 339 00:15:11,570 --> 00:15:14,880 it is accurate . It wasn't long after 340 00:15:14,890 --> 00:15:17,090 they isolated and secured the site and 341 00:15:17,090 --> 00:15:19,520 began the call outs that there was a 342 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,576 large explosion on the third floor , 343 00:15:21,576 --> 00:15:23,798 which turned out to have of course been 344 00:15:23,798 --> 00:15:27,140 uh , abdullah , killing himself and the 345 00:15:27,140 --> 00:15:29,196 family members that were with him on 346 00:15:29,196 --> 00:15:31,140 the third floor and and putting at 347 00:15:31,140 --> 00:15:33,490 significant risk everybody else in that 348 00:15:33,490 --> 00:15:36,350 building . One more please 349 00:15:37,340 --> 00:15:40,500 the Kabul eric drone strike and the 350 00:15:40,500 --> 00:15:42,667 repercussions that have happened since 351 00:15:42,667 --> 00:15:44,611 then . We saw the secretary issues 352 00:15:44,611 --> 00:15:47,020 guidance recently . Um , did that 353 00:15:47,030 --> 00:15:49,560 factor in at all into the notion of 354 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,190 that we're gonna go in with ground 355 00:15:52,190 --> 00:15:55,300 troops and an air a raid as opposed to 356 00:15:55,310 --> 00:15:57,410 a drug store . What , what , what 357 00:15:57,410 --> 00:15:59,530 factored into that decision Louis was 358 00:15:59,530 --> 00:16:01,960 our long standing practice of trying to 359 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,530 minimize civilian harm , not what 360 00:16:04,530 --> 00:16:06,890 happened on 29 August or in any other 361 00:16:06,890 --> 00:16:09,860 day . Um , but but a longstanding 362 00:16:09,870 --> 00:16:12,037 desire to minimize civilian harm . And 363 00:16:12,037 --> 00:16:14,460 the president made that decision . Um , 364 00:16:14,470 --> 00:16:18,180 and it was a significant decision 365 00:16:18,180 --> 00:16:20,910 because it involved putting our troops 366 00:16:21,210 --> 00:16:23,550 at much greater risk in order to do it 367 00:16:23,550 --> 00:16:27,050 this way . Um , but that's in keeping 368 00:16:27,050 --> 00:16:30,090 with a longstanding desire by us to try 369 00:16:30,090 --> 00:16:32,146 to minimize civilian harm as much as 370 00:16:32,146 --> 00:16:34,270 possible , boring , just a follow up 371 00:16:34,270 --> 00:16:36,326 question , civilian casualties , you 372 00:16:36,326 --> 00:16:38,270 said there were three on the third 373 00:16:38,270 --> 00:16:40,326 floor of the wife and two kids , but 374 00:16:40,326 --> 00:16:42,492 you also said it appears as if a child 375 00:16:42,492 --> 00:16:44,603 was also killed on the second floor , 376 00:16:44,603 --> 00:16:46,659 wouldn't that before I was referring 377 00:16:46,659 --> 00:16:46,560 when I said when I was referring to the 378 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:48,671 three , I was I was talking about the 379 00:16:48,671 --> 00:16:52,510 context of him killing himself Again , 380 00:16:52,510 --> 00:16:54,510 I'm not going to get into a blow by 381 00:16:54,510 --> 00:16:57,170 blow on every single uh event . Here , 382 00:16:57,180 --> 00:16:59,291 we are still processing this orange . 383 00:16:59,291 --> 00:17:01,440 It's not even 24 hours old . We're 384 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:03,496 giving you as much information as we 385 00:17:03,496 --> 00:17:05,329 can right now , information will 386 00:17:05,329 --> 00:17:07,551 continue to flow in and as we can share 387 00:17:07,551 --> 00:17:09,990 it with you , we will let it let it not 388 00:17:09,990 --> 00:17:12,640 be forgotten though , that we also You 389 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,830 know saved , helped save 10 lives 390 00:17:14,830 --> 00:17:16,774 including four kids on that second 391 00:17:16,774 --> 00:17:20,450 floor . So 10 , 10 people , mostly 392 00:17:20,450 --> 00:17:22,561 Children were able to get out of that 393 00:17:22,561 --> 00:17:24,561 building safely because of the care 394 00:17:24,561 --> 00:17:26,617 that was put into that mission . one 395 00:17:26,617 --> 00:17:28,728 follow up question , did any of those 396 00:17:28,728 --> 00:17:30,617 who took part in the planning for 397 00:17:30,617 --> 00:17:32,839 either the bin laden raid or the or the 398 00:17:32,839 --> 00:17:32,770 Baghdadi raid take part in the 399 00:17:32,770 --> 00:17:34,937 operation or execution of this rate as 400 00:17:34,937 --> 00:17:38,900 well . Yeah . About the Children of 401 00:17:38,910 --> 00:17:41,021 those who are killed or those who are 402 00:17:41,021 --> 00:17:43,021 saved . Who are they ? Do you think 403 00:17:43,021 --> 00:17:45,243 like who are the civilians in the , who 404 00:17:45,243 --> 00:17:47,577 are the civilians in the building again ? 405 00:17:47,577 --> 00:17:49,799 I want to be careful here as I don't we 406 00:17:49,799 --> 00:17:51,910 don't have perfect knowledge of every 407 00:17:51,910 --> 00:17:53,966 single individual that was killed in 408 00:17:53,966 --> 00:17:55,799 this uh , in this raid . We know 409 00:17:55,799 --> 00:17:58,021 hygiene . Abdullah was killed . We know 410 00:17:58,021 --> 00:18:00,132 his lieutenant that was on the second 411 00:18:00,132 --> 00:18:03,440 floor was killed . We know that When he 412 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,496 blew himself up on the third floor , 413 00:18:05,496 --> 00:18:09,100 three others went with him . Um And 414 00:18:09,110 --> 00:18:11,760 uh We know of at least one 415 00:18:12,140 --> 00:18:15,330 uh child that was killed on the second 416 00:18:15,330 --> 00:18:18,800 floor . But you know , I I don't I 417 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:20,800 don't have much more information to 418 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,744 give you than that . Are there any 419 00:18:22,744 --> 00:18:24,911 civilians under us custody right now ? 420 00:18:24,911 --> 00:18:27,070 Where where did you want to say that 421 00:18:27,070 --> 00:18:29,126 you want to go after the operation ? 422 00:18:29,126 --> 00:18:31,190 There is no there are there there's 423 00:18:31,190 --> 00:18:33,301 nobody in U . S . Custody as a result 424 00:18:33,301 --> 00:18:36,590 of this raid helicopter . What was the 425 00:18:36,590 --> 00:18:39,080 mechanical issue ? I would describe the 426 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,302 mechanical issue as a drive train issue 427 00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:44,460 that rendered it uh not usable for 428 00:18:44,460 --> 00:18:48,290 future flight in the operation fire or 429 00:18:48,710 --> 00:18:51,010 something . It didn't catch fire was a 430 00:18:51,010 --> 00:18:54,360 drive train issue . Um It didn't crash . 431 00:18:54,740 --> 00:18:57,350 Um It landed safely at an alternative 432 00:18:57,350 --> 00:19:01,250 location . They looked 433 00:19:01,250 --> 00:19:03,417 at it to determine whether it could be 434 00:19:03,417 --> 00:19:05,583 fixed and and and continued to be used 435 00:19:05,583 --> 00:19:07,250 in the operation . And it was 436 00:19:07,250 --> 00:19:09,139 determined that that that was not 437 00:19:09,139 --> 00:19:11,361 possible . So General Mackenzie ordered 438 00:19:11,361 --> 00:19:13,472 that it be uh detonated and destroyed 439 00:19:13,472 --> 00:19:15,639 on site . All right . I haven't gotten 440 00:19:15,639 --> 00:19:18,920 any . Yeah , go ahead . In addition to 441 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,031 the people involved . Was there other 442 00:19:21,031 --> 00:19:23,142 material like digital media that were 443 00:19:23,142 --> 00:19:25,087 recovered that could be useful for 444 00:19:25,087 --> 00:19:27,142 without getting into details bob ? I 445 00:19:27,142 --> 00:19:29,910 think , you know , that it's common 446 00:19:29,910 --> 00:19:32,077 practice when we conduct raids of this 447 00:19:32,077 --> 00:19:36,060 kind to try to to 448 00:19:36,060 --> 00:19:39,650 collect uh information um and 449 00:19:39,660 --> 00:19:42,680 uh and material that that might help us 450 00:19:42,690 --> 00:19:45,490 uh in the continued prosecution of 451 00:19:45,490 --> 00:19:47,520 these kinds of operations and 452 00:19:47,530 --> 00:19:49,641 operations against ISIS . And I think 453 00:19:49,641 --> 00:19:51,960 that's as far as I'll go , I'll just 454 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,182 tell you it's common practice for us to 455 00:19:54,182 --> 00:19:57,300 try to um to examine whether there's 456 00:19:57,310 --> 00:19:59,670 usable material that that can help us 457 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:01,902 in future operations . And I think I'll 458 00:20:01,902 --> 00:20:05,000 leave it at that carla babb . Hey , 459 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,000 thanks john for doing this . I have 460 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,111 three questions just to clear up some 461 00:20:09,111 --> 00:20:11,167 things . If those who were saved are 462 00:20:11,167 --> 00:20:13,500 not in U . S . Custody , where are they ? 463 00:20:13,500 --> 00:20:15,556 Are they in sdf custody , where they 464 00:20:15,556 --> 00:20:17,556 left at the scene ? Can you clarify 465 00:20:17,556 --> 00:20:19,611 that ? Um clarification number two , 466 00:20:19,611 --> 00:20:21,833 please ? When you said that the hostels 467 00:20:21,833 --> 00:20:24,056 that were coming at the end , does that 468 00:20:24,056 --> 00:20:26,278 is it safe to assume that these hostile 469 00:20:26,278 --> 00:20:28,830 actors had weapons and they were 470 00:20:28,830 --> 00:20:30,941 engaged as you were kind of referring 471 00:20:30,941 --> 00:20:32,997 to with Courtney ? They were engaged 472 00:20:32,997 --> 00:20:35,470 with an air strike . Um And then number 473 00:20:35,470 --> 00:20:38,720 three uh v always spoken to the sdf and 474 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,290 they said that the the SDF says that us 475 00:20:41,290 --> 00:20:43,068 launched the operation from Sdf 476 00:20:43,068 --> 00:20:45,234 territory . Can you confirm that ? And 477 00:20:45,234 --> 00:20:47,401 can you confirm that they were helping 478 00:20:47,401 --> 00:20:49,568 with the intelligence and the tracking 479 00:20:49,568 --> 00:20:51,568 of um the ISIS leader ? Thanks . Um 480 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,510 there's nobody in custody carla . Um So 481 00:20:54,510 --> 00:20:56,510 there's there's nobody that there's 482 00:20:56,510 --> 00:20:58,454 nobody to tell you that they're in 483 00:20:58,454 --> 00:21:00,566 custody that and certainly no U . S . 484 00:21:00,566 --> 00:21:02,621 Uh there's nobody in U . S . Custody 485 00:21:02,621 --> 00:21:06,160 for sure . Um on the 486 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,350 on the the engagement towards the end 487 00:21:09,350 --> 00:21:11,740 of the operation . Uh The other two 488 00:21:11,740 --> 00:21:13,860 that I talked about . Um There were 489 00:21:13,860 --> 00:21:15,693 clear indications that there was 490 00:21:15,693 --> 00:21:17,916 hostile intent . I'm not gonna get into 491 00:21:17,916 --> 00:21:20,040 it . Uh More detail than that . Clear 492 00:21:20,050 --> 00:21:21,994 indications that there was hostile 493 00:21:21,994 --> 00:21:24,760 intent and they were engaged . Um And 494 00:21:24,770 --> 00:21:27,270 their compadres left after that 495 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:30,720 engagement . Um and then three on 496 00:21:30,730 --> 00:21:33,740 sdf . We appreciate the support that we 497 00:21:33,740 --> 00:21:37,110 got from the sdf . Um I'll leave it to 498 00:21:37,140 --> 00:21:39,390 the sdf to describe it in ways that 499 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:41,511 that they deem fit . I'm not going to 500 00:21:41,511 --> 00:21:43,720 uh to talk about it in any more detail 501 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,670 than that . Okay . Uh Jeff 502 00:21:47,670 --> 00:21:51,510 shogun thank you . 503 00:21:51,510 --> 00:21:53,800 Can you say what type of special 504 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:55,967 operations forces were involved in the 505 00:21:55,967 --> 00:21:59,670 raid such as seals , delta or rangers ? 506 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:02,729 I'm going to describe them in any 507 00:22:02,729 --> 00:22:04,896 greater specificity than I have . Us . 508 00:22:04,896 --> 00:22:06,896 Special operations forces under the 509 00:22:06,896 --> 00:22:06,860 control of U . S . Central command . 510 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:10,790 Tony capaci . Oh I've done two 511 00:22:10,790 --> 00:22:12,734 questions , quick questions . What 512 00:22:12,734 --> 00:22:14,590 happened to his body . Uh Was it 513 00:22:14,590 --> 00:22:16,757 carried away like what the US did with 514 00:22:16,757 --> 00:22:18,812 bin laden's body or was it too badly 515 00:22:18,812 --> 00:22:21,270 damaged to do anything with ? And to an 516 00:22:21,270 --> 00:22:23,437 administration official told reporters 517 00:22:23,437 --> 00:22:25,603 today that this had been planned for a 518 00:22:25,603 --> 00:22:27,826 long long time . The president had been 519 00:22:27,826 --> 00:22:29,992 presented in december with a table top 520 00:22:29,992 --> 00:22:32,214 model of the compound or the building ? 521 00:22:32,214 --> 00:22:34,540 Why was the rate now versus maybe two 522 00:22:34,540 --> 00:22:36,818 or three weeks ago or even a month ago . 523 00:22:36,818 --> 00:22:38,929 Can you give any light shed any light 524 00:22:38,929 --> 00:22:41,470 on that ? Yeah his body was left at the 525 00:22:41,470 --> 00:22:44,410 site um As for the timing 526 00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:47,470 is correct . This was a mission long 527 00:22:47,470 --> 00:22:49,581 planned months in the planning , as I 528 00:22:49,581 --> 00:22:53,050 mentioned to gen . Um but look , you 529 00:22:53,060 --> 00:22:56,960 you have to build enough context 530 00:22:57,170 --> 00:23:00,850 around the individuals pattern of 531 00:23:00,850 --> 00:23:04,380 life and you have to factor in uh 532 00:23:04,390 --> 00:23:06,446 external factors that that you don't 533 00:23:06,446 --> 00:23:08,830 get to control like the weather . Um So 534 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:10,880 lots of things go into making a 535 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,380 decision about when you when you 536 00:23:13,380 --> 00:23:15,740 execute a rate of this complexity and 537 00:23:15,740 --> 00:23:18,170 this danger . Um and there were a lot 538 00:23:18,170 --> 00:23:20,480 of factors that had to line up to be 539 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,591 just right . You have to , you know , 540 00:23:22,591 --> 00:23:24,591 make sure that your intelligence is 541 00:23:24,591 --> 00:23:26,536 solid and that the individual that 542 00:23:26,536 --> 00:23:28,591 you're going after is in fact at the 543 00:23:28,591 --> 00:23:30,990 location you believe him to be and that 544 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,550 all the external factors um ah 545 00:23:35,540 --> 00:23:39,050 the not just the weather , but uh 546 00:23:39,060 --> 00:23:42,860 the um ability 547 00:23:42,860 --> 00:23:46,030 to uh to operate um at that particular 548 00:23:46,030 --> 00:23:48,350 time of day and have enough visibility , 549 00:23:48,350 --> 00:23:50,770 all those things factor in . So it was 550 00:23:50,770 --> 00:23:53,220 a multiple factors . Um it all came 551 00:23:53,220 --> 00:23:57,140 together uh such that this was the 552 00:23:57,150 --> 00:23:59,840 best window to execute this mission and 553 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,180 I would remind you that it's not like 554 00:24:03,180 --> 00:24:05,291 we were just sitting on our hands for 555 00:24:05,291 --> 00:24:07,458 those months . I mean , these , as you 556 00:24:07,458 --> 00:24:09,236 probably saw in the Secretary's 557 00:24:09,236 --> 00:24:11,180 statement , I mean , these Special 558 00:24:11,180 --> 00:24:13,850 Operations Forces conducted dozens of 559 00:24:13,860 --> 00:24:16,990 rehearsals to make sure that they could 560 00:24:16,990 --> 00:24:20,660 get this exactly right , okay . Um 561 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:25,760 Mike breast Hi Mr Kirby , thanks 562 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:27,982 for taking my question . I'm hoping you 563 00:24:27,982 --> 00:24:30,760 can provide a little insight into where 564 00:24:30,770 --> 00:24:33,470 ISIS stands right now . The threat they 565 00:24:33,470 --> 00:24:36,910 pose between the rate at the prison two 566 00:24:36,910 --> 00:24:39,750 weeks ago , uh and Abdullah's 567 00:24:39,750 --> 00:24:41,861 assassination . Where do things stand 568 00:24:41,861 --> 00:24:44,990 both in Syria as well as Global ? Well , 569 00:24:44,990 --> 00:24:46,934 I'll tell you what they're they're 570 00:24:46,934 --> 00:24:49,210 leaderless today . Um and that's a 571 00:24:49,210 --> 00:24:51,210 significant blow . This is not 572 00:24:51,210 --> 00:24:53,432 something that we believe ISIS is going 573 00:24:53,432 --> 00:24:55,266 to be able to just get over real 574 00:24:55,266 --> 00:24:57,266 quickly and really easily . Um That 575 00:24:57,266 --> 00:25:00,760 said uh they they are not the force 576 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:04,680 that they were In 2014 , as we 577 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:08,180 all remember that um uh their growth 578 00:25:08,180 --> 00:25:10,820 and rapid acceleration across Iraq and 579 00:25:10,830 --> 00:25:14,420 Syria . Uh This is a uh 580 00:25:14,430 --> 00:25:17,100 ISIS is not the significance of the 581 00:25:17,110 --> 00:25:19,221 threat of the same significant nature 582 00:25:19,221 --> 00:25:21,221 that they were back then , but they 583 00:25:21,221 --> 00:25:23,166 still remain a viable threat . And 584 00:25:23,166 --> 00:25:25,277 we've talked about that many times um 585 00:25:25,277 --> 00:25:27,221 that this is a group that wants to 586 00:25:27,221 --> 00:25:29,277 reconstitute its strength , wants to 587 00:25:29,277 --> 00:25:31,332 continue to attack and kill and maim 588 00:25:31,332 --> 00:25:34,540 and terrorize . Um and uh and hygiene . 589 00:25:34,540 --> 00:25:36,730 Abdullah was was very much involved in 590 00:25:36,730 --> 00:25:38,897 trying to resuscitate the group and to 591 00:25:38,897 --> 00:25:41,170 grow their capabilities . Um They 592 00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:43,180 remain , as we've said many times , 593 00:25:43,180 --> 00:25:45,390 they remain dangerous . They remain a 594 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,456 threat to our national security , to 595 00:25:47,456 --> 00:25:49,567 the lives of other innocence . Um And 596 00:25:49,567 --> 00:25:51,733 we're gonna as the secretary said in a 597 00:25:51,733 --> 00:25:53,844 statement today , we're gonna stay at 598 00:25:53,844 --> 00:25:57,840 it . Travis Triton . Hey john , thanks 599 00:25:57,850 --> 00:26:00,740 a couple of quick questions . Um First 600 00:26:00,750 --> 00:26:03,380 on the efforts to get civilians out of 601 00:26:03,380 --> 00:26:05,491 the building , you said that they had 602 00:26:05,491 --> 00:26:07,547 called out to them with a bullhorn , 603 00:26:07,547 --> 00:26:10,030 Can you say specifically how long they 604 00:26:10,030 --> 00:26:12,260 gave civilians to leave the building ? 605 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,130 Um And secondly , when we look at 606 00:26:15,140 --> 00:26:17,251 photos of the compound and we see the 607 00:26:17,251 --> 00:26:19,850 damage to the building , was that 608 00:26:19,850 --> 00:26:22,820 primarily from the suicide bomb or 609 00:26:22,820 --> 00:26:24,890 we're us munitions used on that 610 00:26:24,900 --> 00:26:27,150 building . Thanks damage . You see in 611 00:26:27,150 --> 00:26:29,610 the picture with the the third floor 612 00:26:29,620 --> 00:26:32,060 floor collapsed onto the second and 613 00:26:32,060 --> 00:26:34,490 even uh even more than that , and that 614 00:26:34,490 --> 00:26:38,000 was caused by Abdullah igniting an 615 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,040 explosive device which as I said , 616 00:26:40,050 --> 00:26:43,880 killed himself and his family . Um and 617 00:26:43,890 --> 00:26:45,890 as for time look , Travis , I don't 618 00:26:45,890 --> 00:26:48,112 have a minute by minute . Uh There were 619 00:26:48,112 --> 00:26:51,370 numerous calls made uh to 620 00:26:51,370 --> 00:26:54,480 encourage everyone in the building to 621 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,420 leave . Numerous calls were made . Um 622 00:26:57,430 --> 00:27:01,180 and uh at some point not too far into 623 00:27:01,180 --> 00:27:04,710 the operation , uh Abdullah 624 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,850 exploded this device . Um uh and that 625 00:27:07,850 --> 00:27:11,330 precipitated uh more activity 626 00:27:11,330 --> 00:27:13,850 by at least one shooter from the 627 00:27:13,850 --> 00:27:16,680 building that led to us forces going in . 628 00:27:16,690 --> 00:27:19,400 And um to your point about , you know , 629 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,567 how much time do we give people that ? 630 00:27:21,567 --> 00:27:24,910 I would remind that um that the U . S . 631 00:27:24,910 --> 00:27:27,610 Forces actually extricated four 632 00:27:27,610 --> 00:27:29,666 Children from the second floor after 633 00:27:29,666 --> 00:27:31,721 they went into the building . So the 634 00:27:31,721 --> 00:27:35,300 efforts to save the lives of 635 00:27:35,310 --> 00:27:38,640 of innocence wasn't just in the opening 636 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:40,918 gambit here with the bullhorn . I mean , 637 00:27:40,918 --> 00:27:44,260 it was , it was well into the operation . 638 00:27:44,260 --> 00:27:46,540 It was something that was , was ever 639 00:27:46,540 --> 00:27:49,640 present on their minds . Um , Mike , 640 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,630 glenn , yeah , I 641 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,529 don't think much Tony ask you one 642 00:27:55,529 --> 00:27:57,640 question , but do you know that , you 643 00:27:57,640 --> 00:27:59,807 know , do you believe that this rate I 644 00:27:59,807 --> 00:28:03,660 have prevented in future a specific 645 00:28:03,660 --> 00:28:05,827 terrorist mission that they were going 646 00:28:05,827 --> 00:28:07,720 to carry out ? You were kind of 647 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:09,498 breaking up mike . I think your 648 00:28:09,498 --> 00:28:11,609 question was , do we have information 649 00:28:11,609 --> 00:28:14,720 that , that his death has disrupted a 650 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,664 specific attack ? Is that what you 651 00:28:16,664 --> 00:28:19,570 asked ? Yes , that's it . Yes , that's 652 00:28:19,580 --> 00:28:21,740 information that suggests that mike , 653 00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:23,806 but I would remind that this was the 654 00:28:23,806 --> 00:28:25,910 leader of ISIS and and he was a very 655 00:28:25,910 --> 00:28:27,980 hands on leader . He was involved in 656 00:28:27,990 --> 00:28:31,540 helping direct a lot of operations . So 657 00:28:31,540 --> 00:28:34,790 we have no doubt uh , that that his 658 00:28:34,790 --> 00:28:38,630 death will have a blow on ISIS 659 00:28:38,630 --> 00:28:41,210 and and there potential to conduct 660 00:28:41,210 --> 00:28:43,610 future operations . I do want to remind 661 00:28:43,610 --> 00:28:46,470 that they they are still a threat and 662 00:28:46,470 --> 00:28:48,748 we're , and we're not , nobody's taken , 663 00:28:48,748 --> 00:28:51,280 uh , you know , a victory lap here . Uh , 664 00:28:51,290 --> 00:28:53,401 we're gonna stay at this . They still 665 00:28:53,401 --> 00:28:55,550 remain a threat . They still espouse 666 00:28:55,550 --> 00:28:58,790 this , uh extreme ideology and this 667 00:28:58,790 --> 00:29:00,957 intent to kill the main to terrorize . 668 00:29:01,050 --> 00:29:03,161 And so we're going to stay focused on 669 00:29:03,161 --> 00:29:05,560 it , dan Lamar . 670 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,030 Thanks for your time , hoping maybe we 671 00:29:11,030 --> 00:29:13,030 can draw you out and flesh out some 672 00:29:13,030 --> 00:29:14,919 details on some of these tabletop 673 00:29:14,919 --> 00:29:16,974 exercises , It sounds like they went 674 00:29:16,974 --> 00:29:18,808 back at least as far as december 675 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:20,590 involving , you know , senior 676 00:29:20,590 --> 00:29:22,812 commanders and that sort of thing . Can 677 00:29:22,812 --> 00:29:24,868 you lay out a bit of what this looks 678 00:29:24,868 --> 00:29:27,090 like in terms of how far back it goes , 679 00:29:27,090 --> 00:29:29,368 who would involve , that kind of thing ? 680 00:29:29,368 --> 00:29:31,534 Thank you . Yeah , dan , I'm not gonna 681 00:29:31,534 --> 00:29:33,646 be able to go into more detail than I 682 00:29:33,646 --> 00:29:33,310 already have again . This was months in 683 00:29:33,310 --> 00:29:35,532 the planning , um several months in the 684 00:29:35,532 --> 00:29:38,660 planning . Um and it included um actual 685 00:29:38,660 --> 00:29:40,549 physical rehearsals , as I said , 686 00:29:40,549 --> 00:29:44,210 dozens by the Special Operations Forces 687 00:29:44,220 --> 00:29:47,350 as well as you can imagine , um some 688 00:29:47,350 --> 00:29:49,572 tabletop planning as well . But I don't 689 00:29:49,572 --> 00:29:51,780 have a Tiktok of exactly how all that 690 00:29:51,780 --> 00:29:54,330 process uh worked out . It was 691 00:29:54,340 --> 00:29:56,370 extensively planned extensively 692 00:29:56,370 --> 00:29:58,480 resourced , um and quite frankly 693 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:00,702 extensively informed over the course of 694 00:30:00,702 --> 00:30:03,120 several months , gen if I could take 695 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,120 you to Russia , Ukraine , there's a 696 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,990 report that the U . S . Has evidence 697 00:30:07,990 --> 00:30:09,823 that Russia has developed a plan 698 00:30:09,823 --> 00:30:11,712 approved at the highest levels in 699 00:30:11,712 --> 00:30:13,934 Moscow to create a pretext for invading 700 00:30:13,934 --> 00:30:16,046 Ukraine by falsely pinning the attack 701 00:30:16,046 --> 00:30:18,212 on Ukrainian forces that could involve 702 00:30:18,212 --> 00:30:20,600 alleged casualties in Eastern Ukraine . 703 00:30:20,610 --> 00:30:22,610 But also inside Russia , it's being 704 00:30:22,610 --> 00:30:24,666 reported by the Washington post . Is 705 00:30:24,666 --> 00:30:26,930 that report accurate ? Is , has that 706 00:30:26,940 --> 00:30:29,162 intelligence been declassified and what 707 00:30:29,162 --> 00:30:31,329 can you tell us what I can tell you is 708 00:30:31,329 --> 00:30:33,384 that first of all , you know , we've 709 00:30:33,384 --> 00:30:35,496 discussed this idea of false flags by 710 00:30:35,496 --> 00:30:35,270 the Russians before . We've made no 711 00:30:35,270 --> 00:30:38,460 secret of that . Um uh and 712 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:42,690 we do have information that it is 713 00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:44,589 that that , that the Russians are 714 00:30:44,589 --> 00:30:46,700 likely to want to fabricate a pretext 715 00:30:46,700 --> 00:30:48,650 for an invasion , which again , is 716 00:30:48,650 --> 00:30:50,720 right out of their playbook . One 717 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,580 option is the Russian government we 718 00:30:54,580 --> 00:30:56,469 think is planning to stage a fake 719 00:30:56,469 --> 00:30:59,180 attack by Ukrainian military or 720 00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:01,320 intelligence forces against Russian 721 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,190 sovereign territory or against Russian 722 00:31:04,190 --> 00:31:06,390 speaking people , uh , to therefore 723 00:31:06,390 --> 00:31:09,080 justify their action as part of this , 724 00:31:09,090 --> 00:31:12,670 um , fake attack . Uh , we believe that 725 00:31:12,670 --> 00:31:14,790 Russia would produce a very graphic 726 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,500 propaganda video , which would include 727 00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:20,150 corpses , um , and actors that would be 728 00:31:20,150 --> 00:31:23,030 depicting Mourners , uh , and images of 729 00:31:23,030 --> 00:31:25,320 destroyed locations , as well as 730 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:27,800 military equipment at the hands of 731 00:31:27,810 --> 00:31:30,032 Ukraine or the West , even to the point 732 00:31:30,032 --> 00:31:32,143 where some of this equipment would be 733 00:31:32,143 --> 00:31:34,630 to make made to look like it was 734 00:31:34,650 --> 00:31:37,530 Western supplied Ukrainian to Ukraine 735 00:31:37,530 --> 00:31:41,420 equipment . Um , so this is , 736 00:31:41,420 --> 00:31:43,476 and this is just one example that we 737 00:31:43,476 --> 00:31:45,390 can talk about today . Uh , we're 738 00:31:45,390 --> 00:31:47,557 watching this across the board . We've 739 00:31:47,557 --> 00:31:49,850 seen these kinds of activities by the 740 00:31:49,850 --> 00:31:51,960 Russians in the past and we believe 741 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,182 it's important when we see it like this 742 00:31:54,182 --> 00:31:56,293 and , and we can to call it out being 743 00:31:56,293 --> 00:32:00,180 briefed on the hill right now . Uh , 744 00:32:00,190 --> 00:32:03,120 Austin familiar on the hill , there on 745 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,430 the hill , in a classified briefing to 746 00:32:05,430 --> 00:32:08,460 talk about the whole spate of things 747 00:32:08,460 --> 00:32:10,571 we're concerned about with respect to 748 00:32:10,571 --> 00:32:12,738 Russia and Ukraine . Um , I won't it's 749 00:32:12,738 --> 00:32:14,460 a classified briefing . So I'm 750 00:32:14,460 --> 00:32:16,627 obviously not gonna get into an agenda 751 00:32:16,627 --> 00:32:18,349 item with you here in terms of 752 00:32:18,349 --> 00:32:20,404 everything they're talking about but 753 00:32:20,404 --> 00:32:22,404 they they're both up on the hill uh 754 00:32:22,404 --> 00:32:24,682 communicating with members of congress . 755 00:32:24,682 --> 00:32:26,793 What we're seeing writ large and what 756 00:32:26,793 --> 00:32:28,904 we're doing about it to help our NATO 757 00:32:28,904 --> 00:32:31,340 allies . No it has been approved at the 758 00:32:31,340 --> 00:32:33,396 highest level of the Kremlin in this 759 00:32:33,396 --> 00:32:35,618 particular case . I would just say that 760 00:32:35,618 --> 00:32:37,784 the our experience is that very little 761 00:32:37,784 --> 00:32:41,260 of this nature is is not approved 762 00:32:41,270 --> 00:32:43,380 at the highest levels of the Russian 763 00:32:43,380 --> 00:32:45,880 government . Putin the highest levels 764 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,770 of the Russian government kelly . 765 00:32:49,770 --> 00:32:53,410 Meyer . Hi john thanks for taking my 766 00:32:53,410 --> 00:32:55,700 question . I have to if I can um you 767 00:32:55,700 --> 00:32:57,811 mentioned the mechanical issue on the 768 00:32:57,811 --> 00:33:00,033 helicopter . Um those involved . Okay . 769 00:33:00,033 --> 00:33:02,256 And any other issues we aren't aware of 770 00:33:02,256 --> 00:33:04,478 or did everything runs like clockwork . 771 00:33:04,478 --> 00:33:06,422 And the second on the U . S . Army 772 00:33:06,422 --> 00:33:08,589 dismissing unvaccinated soldiers . Are 773 00:33:08,589 --> 00:33:10,700 any of them the ones deploying are on 774 00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:12,478 high alert to deploy to eastern 775 00:33:12,478 --> 00:33:14,644 european allies around Ukraine for you 776 00:33:14,644 --> 00:33:16,533 to the army in terms of uh of who 777 00:33:16,533 --> 00:33:18,840 they're discharging with respect to the 778 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:20,896 vaccine mandate . But I suspect that 779 00:33:20,896 --> 00:33:23,062 there's privacy concerns there kelly . 780 00:33:23,062 --> 00:33:25,173 So I um I don't want to speak for the 781 00:33:25,173 --> 00:33:27,118 army but I don't know that they're 782 00:33:27,118 --> 00:33:29,340 going to be able to give you that level 783 00:33:29,340 --> 00:33:31,396 of specificity . It remains a lawful 784 00:33:31,396 --> 00:33:33,451 order . It remains a readiness issue 785 00:33:33,451 --> 00:33:35,920 the vaccines work . Um And um we want 786 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,390 everybody to to to to take them and to 787 00:33:38,390 --> 00:33:41,360 keep safe to keep their units safe . Um 788 00:33:41,370 --> 00:33:45,080 As for the um the helicopter crew . My 789 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,550 understanding is that they're all fine 790 00:33:47,550 --> 00:33:49,810 as as as we said at the top there were 791 00:33:49,810 --> 00:33:51,960 no U . S . Casualties . Um And that 792 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,071 would include the helicopter crew and 793 00:33:54,071 --> 00:33:56,182 it wasn't a crash landing they landed 794 00:33:56,182 --> 00:33:59,020 safely again it was a drive train issue 795 00:33:59,030 --> 00:34:01,197 that rendered that helicopter unusable 796 00:34:01,197 --> 00:34:03,550 for the rest of the operation . Um So 797 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,040 obviously it was destroyed but the crew 798 00:34:06,050 --> 00:34:09,850 are safe and sound sylvie from FP . 799 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:19,000 Hello Sorry sorry um Can you tell us 800 00:34:19,010 --> 00:34:22,790 um how many helicopters and how 801 00:34:22,790 --> 00:34:26,410 many U . S . Troops were involved ? Yes 802 00:34:26,410 --> 00:34:28,354 Sylvia . I'm not gonna answer that 803 00:34:28,354 --> 00:34:31,030 question actually . Um Back when uh 804 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,262 when I opened up the press conference I 805 00:34:33,262 --> 00:34:35,373 told you there's gonna be some detail 806 00:34:35,373 --> 00:34:34,970 we're not gonna be able to provide 807 00:34:34,970 --> 00:34:37,192 because we want to preserve our ability 808 00:34:37,192 --> 00:34:39,303 to continue to conduct these sorts of 809 00:34:39,303 --> 00:34:41,414 operations . So what I would tell you 810 00:34:41,414 --> 00:34:43,637 is that we had exactly the force levels 811 00:34:43,637 --> 00:34:45,803 and exactly the resources we needed to 812 00:34:45,803 --> 00:34:47,914 conduct this operation and I'll leave 813 00:34:47,914 --> 00:34:51,760 it at that to recap . Thanks john I'm 814 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,260 following up on bob's question . Can 815 00:34:54,260 --> 00:34:56,310 you confirm whether any sort of 816 00:34:56,310 --> 00:34:58,088 intelligence was taken from the 817 00:34:58,088 --> 00:35:00,143 compound any computer drives or cell 818 00:35:00,143 --> 00:35:02,810 phones ? And then secondly um to follow 819 00:35:02,810 --> 00:35:05,870 up on Louise question um the decisions 820 00:35:05,870 --> 00:35:08,040 that were made in this raid did they 821 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,790 incorporate any lessons learned from 822 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:14,540 the civilian casualty report done after 823 00:35:14,540 --> 00:35:16,840 the august 29th strike . Thank you . 824 00:35:16,900 --> 00:35:18,844 I've kind of addressed that second 825 00:35:18,844 --> 00:35:20,956 question before as as when when louis 826 00:35:20,956 --> 00:35:23,040 asked it . I mean we always try to 827 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:26,360 avoid civilian harm . Um This operation , 828 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,180 It was a completely different character 829 00:35:29,190 --> 00:35:31,580 than the airstrike that happened on 29 830 00:35:31,590 --> 00:35:35,150 August . But in general we always try 831 00:35:35,150 --> 00:35:39,050 to learn from uh from previous missions 832 00:35:39,050 --> 00:35:41,106 from previous operations . These are 833 00:35:41,106 --> 00:35:43,217 two completely different operations . 834 00:35:43,217 --> 00:35:46,210 And the desire to avoid civilian harm 835 00:35:46,210 --> 00:35:49,890 was baked in months ago uh into this 836 00:35:49,890 --> 00:35:53,320 particular plan . Um In fact the 837 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,270 decision itself to conduct a raid using 838 00:35:56,270 --> 00:35:58,370 special operations forces speaks 839 00:35:58,370 --> 00:36:00,930 volumes of the degree to which the 840 00:36:00,940 --> 00:36:04,760 president was was trying to avoid 841 00:36:04,770 --> 00:36:08,190 civilian harm . Um and quite frankly 842 00:36:08,190 --> 00:36:10,134 putting our forces at greater risk 843 00:36:10,134 --> 00:36:12,301 because of the because of the decision 844 00:36:12,301 --> 00:36:15,200 to make a raid like this . Um And I'm 845 00:36:15,210 --> 00:36:17,377 sorry , but I should have written your 846 00:36:17,377 --> 00:36:19,543 other question down and I didn't do it 847 00:36:19,543 --> 00:36:22,270 about the , can you confirm whether any 848 00:36:22,270 --> 00:36:24,640 sort of computer drives or cameras or 849 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:26,529 anything else were taken from the 850 00:36:26,529 --> 00:36:28,696 compound that could provide actionable 851 00:36:28,696 --> 00:36:31,029 intelligence ? Uh moving forward . Yeah . 852 00:36:31,029 --> 00:36:33,251 Look as I told bob I'm not going to get 853 00:36:33,251 --> 00:36:35,473 into talking about intelligence matters 854 00:36:35,473 --> 00:36:37,473 one way or the other . It is common 855 00:36:37,473 --> 00:36:39,473 practice when we conduct raids like 856 00:36:39,473 --> 00:36:42,000 this that we try to collect material 857 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,250 that can help us and inform us in terms 858 00:36:44,250 --> 00:36:47,070 of our ability to um to disrupt future 859 00:36:47,070 --> 00:36:48,737 attacks and to conduct future 860 00:36:48,737 --> 00:36:50,848 operations and I think I'm just gonna 861 00:36:50,848 --> 00:36:52,792 leave it at that nancy . Youssef , 862 00:36:53,630 --> 00:36:55,686 thank you . Um I wonder if you could 863 00:36:55,686 --> 00:36:57,574 clarify a couple of points On the 864 00:36:57,574 --> 00:36:59,519 explosion that happened on the 3rd 865 00:36:59,519 --> 00:37:02,470 floor ? Does the US believe that the 866 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,770 ISIS leader was wearing a suicide vest 867 00:37:04,780 --> 00:37:07,270 or that it was an explosive separate of 868 00:37:07,270 --> 00:37:09,860 that and wasn't one explosive . Can you 869 00:37:09,860 --> 00:37:12,027 tell us if there was any deconfliction 870 00:37:12,027 --> 00:37:14,138 that happened with any other nation ? 871 00:37:14,138 --> 00:37:16,249 And can you tell us who will lead the 872 00:37:16,250 --> 00:37:18,060 review of any possible civilian 873 00:37:18,060 --> 00:37:20,510 casualties by the us ? Thank you . 874 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:22,742 There's been no decision to do a review 875 00:37:22,742 --> 00:37:24,850 or investigation right now , Nancy . 876 00:37:24,850 --> 00:37:27,072 This again , this operation is not even 877 00:37:27,072 --> 00:37:29,740 24 hours old . Um As the secretary said , 878 00:37:29,740 --> 00:37:31,962 well , we certainly are willing to take 879 00:37:31,962 --> 00:37:34,740 a look uh to see if there's any 880 00:37:34,740 --> 00:37:36,851 possibility that anything that we did 881 00:37:36,851 --> 00:37:39,770 might have caused harm to innocent life . 882 00:37:39,780 --> 00:37:41,891 But I have no investigation review to 883 00:37:41,891 --> 00:37:43,780 speak to today . Um As for the 884 00:37:43,780 --> 00:37:45,947 explosion , all I can tell you is what 885 00:37:45,947 --> 00:37:48,113 we've already said , there was a large 886 00:37:48,113 --> 00:37:50,280 explosion early on in the operation on 887 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:52,950 the third floor which killed uh uh 888 00:37:53,530 --> 00:37:55,680 Hajji Abdullah and his family , We 889 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:57,900 believe he detonated that explosion . 890 00:37:57,910 --> 00:38:00,980 We cannot say at this time , uh exactly 891 00:38:00,980 --> 00:38:04,350 what this device was . Um So I leave it 892 00:38:04,350 --> 00:38:07,050 at that . And then you had a your first 893 00:38:07,050 --> 00:38:09,161 question , I'm not good at . I got to 894 00:38:09,161 --> 00:38:11,328 write these down . What was your first 895 00:38:11,328 --> 00:38:13,494 question just to be clear . I was just 896 00:38:13,494 --> 00:38:15,661 asking when you say that , that review 897 00:38:15,661 --> 00:38:15,420 though , that that that you said the 898 00:38:15,420 --> 00:38:17,420 secretary would be doing . I'm just 899 00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:19,698 trying to understand who would do that . 900 00:38:19,698 --> 00:38:19,070 And then the question was was there any 901 00:38:19,070 --> 00:38:21,237 deconfliction on any other nations and 902 00:38:21,237 --> 00:38:23,600 in the run up to this ? Look , we're 903 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:25,711 not calling , we're not calling for a 904 00:38:25,711 --> 00:38:27,822 review right now , nancy again , this 905 00:38:27,822 --> 00:38:29,989 operation literally just happened last 906 00:38:29,989 --> 00:38:32,156 night . What the secretary said in the 907 00:38:32,156 --> 00:38:34,378 statement was , we're gonna take a look 908 00:38:34,378 --> 00:38:36,600 and see if there's any possibility that 909 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:38,822 any action that we conducted might have 910 00:38:38,822 --> 00:38:40,989 led to the loss of innocent life . And 911 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:43,342 if there is , then we'll make decisions 912 00:38:43,342 --> 00:38:45,398 follow on that . But I don't want to 913 00:38:45,398 --> 00:38:44,750 leave you with the impression that 914 00:38:44,750 --> 00:38:46,917 there's an investigation in the offing 915 00:38:46,917 --> 00:38:48,972 here . Um that's not where we are at 916 00:38:48,972 --> 00:38:51,083 this point . As for deconfliction , I 917 00:38:51,083 --> 00:38:54,450 would tell you that uh uh 918 00:38:54,460 --> 00:38:57,020 appropriate deconfliction at the 919 00:38:57,020 --> 00:39:00,440 appropriate time uh was conducted in 920 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:03,340 order to make sure that this operation 921 00:39:03,340 --> 00:39:06,000 could proceed safely . And I think I'll 922 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,710 leave that there appropriate 923 00:39:08,710 --> 00:39:10,900 deconfliction as as happens in that 924 00:39:10,900 --> 00:39:13,070 part of Syria was convicted in this 925 00:39:13,070 --> 00:39:16,820 case . Um Let's see . Uh 926 00:39:16,830 --> 00:39:20,820 Helene cooper . Hi , thanks john 927 00:39:20,830 --> 00:39:24,160 um does this commando raid in Syria 928 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,327 send a message of any kind to vladimir 929 00:39:26,327 --> 00:39:29,950 Putin . This raid was not meant to send , 930 00:39:30,260 --> 00:39:33,790 send a message to any other nation . It 931 00:39:33,790 --> 00:39:36,450 was meant to um 932 00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:40,770 remove Haji Abdullah from his 933 00:39:40,770 --> 00:39:44,470 leadership of ISIS and to that degree , 934 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,700 it was successful and we are immensely 935 00:39:47,700 --> 00:39:51,110 proud of the forces that conducted this 936 00:39:51,110 --> 00:39:53,110 had planned it resources executed , 937 00:39:53,110 --> 00:39:57,110 rehearsed for it . Um It uh it says a 938 00:39:57,110 --> 00:40:00,510 lot about our capability , encounter 939 00:40:00,510 --> 00:40:03,300 terrorism , our focus our continued 940 00:40:03,300 --> 00:40:06,780 focus on the ISIS threat um and our 941 00:40:06,780 --> 00:40:08,750 ability to uh 942 00:40:10,300 --> 00:40:14,070 two plan and conduct an execution of 943 00:40:14,070 --> 00:40:16,540 this magnitude and with this complexity 944 00:40:16,550 --> 00:40:20,080 um uh with with the uh with the utmost 945 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:22,247 of professionalism and skill and quite 946 00:40:22,247 --> 00:40:25,450 frankly secrecy . I'll take a couple 947 00:40:25,450 --> 00:40:28,500 more . Did the U . S . Forces 948 00:40:28,510 --> 00:40:32,280 collect any information or documents 949 00:40:32,290 --> 00:40:34,457 whatever materials from the building ? 950 00:40:34,457 --> 00:40:36,346 I've already I've dealt with this 951 00:40:36,346 --> 00:40:39,210 question before a couple of times . It 952 00:40:39,210 --> 00:40:42,820 is routine that we try to collect 953 00:40:42,830 --> 00:40:44,886 useful material . When rates of this 954 00:40:44,886 --> 00:40:46,997 kind are conducted , I'm not going to 955 00:40:46,997 --> 00:40:49,108 speak with any specificity about this 956 00:40:49,108 --> 00:40:51,040 one . Okay . Thanks everybody 957 00:40:51,420 --> 00:40:52,040 appreciate it .