1 00:00:00,540 --> 00:00:04,160 tom dan , How you 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,410 doing ? How's my boy liam ? 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:12,730 Good . Okay . Uh uh 4 00:00:12,740 --> 00:00:15,770 I don't have any uh announcements to 5 00:00:15,770 --> 00:00:17,937 make at the top . I do want to take us 6 00:00:17,937 --> 00:00:19,992 someone want to congratulate all the 7 00:00:19,992 --> 00:00:22,326 winners of the Pulitzer prize yesterday , 8 00:00:22,326 --> 00:00:24,270 all the prizes yesterday , lots of 9 00:00:24,270 --> 00:00:27,590 great reporting . That was justly 10 00:00:27,590 --> 00:00:29,990 rewarded . I want to highlight two in 11 00:00:29,990 --> 00:00:32,212 particular , won the award that went to 12 00:00:32,212 --> 00:00:34,046 the journalists of Ukraine , the 13 00:00:34,046 --> 00:00:36,101 Ukrainian people , reporters who are 14 00:00:36,190 --> 00:00:40,130 doing such a a masterful job telling 15 00:00:40,130 --> 00:00:42,280 the story of their fellow citizens 16 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,560 during this invasion in this war . Um 17 00:00:45,570 --> 00:00:48,110 it's it's tough to read , tough to 18 00:00:48,110 --> 00:00:50,390 watch , but you know what it should be 19 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,550 based on what Mr Putin is doing and and 20 00:00:53,550 --> 00:00:55,494 the bravery and skill that they're 21 00:00:55,494 --> 00:00:57,828 showing every day is is truly inspiring . 22 00:00:57,828 --> 00:01:00,090 Just as just as the work of and the 23 00:01:00,100 --> 00:01:03,540 fighting of the Ukrainian soldiers is I 24 00:01:03,550 --> 00:01:05,910 also would be remiss if I didn't also 25 00:01:05,910 --> 00:01:08,077 congratulate the staff of the new york 26 00:01:08,077 --> 00:01:10,299 Times for the Pulitzer that they won in 27 00:01:10,299 --> 00:01:12,410 their coverage of civilian casualties 28 00:01:12,410 --> 00:01:14,466 caused by the United States military 29 00:01:14,466 --> 00:01:16,688 and military operations . That coverage 30 00:01:16,688 --> 00:01:19,860 was , and it still is not comfortable , 31 00:01:20,340 --> 00:01:23,100 not easy and not simple to address . 32 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,820 We know that we had more work to do to 33 00:01:26,830 --> 00:01:28,997 better prevent civilian harm and we're 34 00:01:28,997 --> 00:01:31,108 doing that work . We knew that we had 35 00:01:31,108 --> 00:01:33,330 made mistakes were trying to learn from 36 00:01:33,330 --> 00:01:36,120 those mistakes . Um and we knew that we 37 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,120 weren't always as transparent about 38 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,176 those mistakes as we should be , but 39 00:01:40,176 --> 00:01:42,120 they're reporting reinforced those 40 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,064 concerns and in some cases gave us 41 00:01:44,064 --> 00:01:46,470 cause for additional concerns and it 42 00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:48,414 made us ask ourselves some new and 43 00:01:48,414 --> 00:01:50,526 difficult questions of our own . Even 44 00:01:50,526 --> 00:01:52,303 as it forced us to answer their 45 00:01:52,303 --> 00:01:54,526 difficult questions , I cannot say that 46 00:01:54,526 --> 00:01:56,748 this process was pleasant , but I guess 47 00:01:56,748 --> 00:01:58,637 that's the whole point . It's not 48 00:01:58,637 --> 00:02:00,637 supposed to be . That's what a free 49 00:02:00,637 --> 00:02:03,210 press at its very best does it holds us 50 00:02:03,210 --> 00:02:05,377 to account ? It makes us think even as 51 00:02:05,377 --> 00:02:08,920 it informs , it changes our minds and 52 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:11,830 it helps us make , it helps us better 53 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,360 at our big job of defending this nation . 54 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,262 The talented staff and reporters in new 55 00:02:18,262 --> 00:02:20,429 york times , some of whom work in this 56 00:02:20,429 --> 00:02:22,780 very press corps alongside you . I have 57 00:02:22,780 --> 00:02:25,780 done all that and yes , we are grateful 58 00:02:25,780 --> 00:02:28,370 to them for it . We know they're happy 59 00:02:28,370 --> 00:02:30,370 for the Pulitzer , but we hope that 60 00:02:30,370 --> 00:02:32,537 they are also content in the knowledge 61 00:02:32,537 --> 00:02:34,648 that they made a real difference on a 62 00:02:34,648 --> 00:02:36,703 real and very challenging issue with 63 00:02:36,703 --> 00:02:39,780 that . We'll take questions later . Um , 64 00:02:39,780 --> 00:02:43,610 thanks . Um , can you address 65 00:02:43,620 --> 00:02:46,860 the uptick in violence in Odessa ? 66 00:02:47,340 --> 00:02:49,850 Um , you've talked a lot over the last 67 00:02:49,850 --> 00:02:53,500 week or month or more about ongoing 68 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:55,500 shipment of weapons , etcetera into 69 00:02:55,500 --> 00:02:58,360 Ukraine . But has this increased tempo 70 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,260 and Odessa made any of those shipments 71 00:03:01,270 --> 00:03:04,190 more difficult . And there's been 72 00:03:04,190 --> 00:03:06,246 conflicting reports about whether or 73 00:03:06,246 --> 00:03:08,468 not there are hypersonic missiles fired 74 00:03:08,468 --> 00:03:10,801 into Odessa . Can you address that also ? 75 00:03:10,801 --> 00:03:12,912 Thank you ? I have I have no evidence 76 00:03:12,912 --> 00:03:15,079 to speak to with respect to hypersonic 77 00:03:15,079 --> 00:03:17,079 missiles being fired at Odessa , we 78 00:03:17,079 --> 00:03:20,200 have seen the Russians Use hypersonic 79 00:03:20,210 --> 00:03:22,760 missiles in the past over the last 75 80 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,360 plus days largely to hit 81 00:03:26,140 --> 00:03:29,280 buildings essentially . Um , but it 82 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,210 hasn't been a preponderance of of the 83 00:03:32,220 --> 00:03:34,442 missiles by any stretch but used by the 84 00:03:34,442 --> 00:03:38,170 Russians . Um and there has been no 85 00:03:38,180 --> 00:03:41,950 impact to that at least none that I'm 86 00:03:41,950 --> 00:03:43,839 tracking that . We're tracking no 87 00:03:43,839 --> 00:03:46,140 impact to the flow of and shipment of 88 00:03:46,140 --> 00:03:48,650 material into Ukraine either as a 89 00:03:48,650 --> 00:03:51,400 result of the strikes on Odessa or the 90 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,380 strikes anywhere else that stuff 91 00:03:53,380 --> 00:03:55,950 continues to flow every day . Yeah . 92 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,670 Present your tone . The congressional 93 00:03:59,670 --> 00:04:01,726 delegation that visited key recently 94 00:04:01,940 --> 00:04:03,940 that the government wanted multiple 95 00:04:03,940 --> 00:04:06,370 rocket launchers , uh more advanced 96 00:04:06,370 --> 00:04:09,790 drones and anti ship missiles and the 97 00:04:09,790 --> 00:04:11,568 multiple rocket launchers would 98 00:04:11,568 --> 00:04:13,734 obviously have a longer range than the 99 00:04:13,734 --> 00:04:15,846 artillery that the U . S . And others 100 00:04:15,846 --> 00:04:15,640 have given them . Is that something 101 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,980 that you're seriously considering ? I'm 102 00:04:17,980 --> 00:04:20,036 not gonna get into our deliberations 103 00:04:20,036 --> 00:04:22,258 with the Ukrainians , dan . I mean , uh 104 00:04:22,258 --> 00:04:24,147 we get a version of this question 105 00:04:24,147 --> 00:04:26,640 almost every day . Uh We are in 106 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:28,418 constant communication with the 107 00:04:28,418 --> 00:04:30,560 Ukrainians about the fight . In fact 108 00:04:30,570 --> 00:04:32,681 Secretary spoke to Minister Reznikoff 109 00:04:32,681 --> 00:04:34,890 just yesterday about the fight . We're 110 00:04:34,890 --> 00:04:37,057 in a constant conversation at multiple 111 00:04:37,057 --> 00:04:39,223 levels with the Ukrainians . Um and as 112 00:04:39,223 --> 00:04:42,280 we continue to put together packages of 113 00:04:42,290 --> 00:04:44,730 drawdown authority going forward . Um 114 00:04:44,740 --> 00:04:46,796 It is very much informed by what the 115 00:04:46,796 --> 00:04:48,907 Ukrainians need in the fight and what 116 00:04:48,907 --> 00:04:51,000 we can provide in the fight . Um I 117 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,222 would just tell you that we were trying 118 00:04:53,222 --> 00:04:55,056 to focus and have since the very 119 00:04:55,056 --> 00:04:57,222 beginning on systems that they already 120 00:04:57,222 --> 00:04:59,444 know how to use uh , and don't need any 121 00:04:59,444 --> 00:05:01,556 ramp up time short of that ? It's the 122 00:05:01,556 --> 00:05:03,500 systems that are at least somewhat 123 00:05:03,500 --> 00:05:05,890 compatible um , and not totally alien 124 00:05:05,900 --> 00:05:08,270 to them so that they can . Again , the 125 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:10,447 training is not onerous , it's not too 126 00:05:10,447 --> 00:05:12,391 lengthy , doesn't require too many 127 00:05:12,391 --> 00:05:14,447 people taken out of the fight . Um , 128 00:05:14,447 --> 00:05:16,669 and that these are systems that that we 129 00:05:16,669 --> 00:05:18,724 know that they can have an immediate 130 00:05:18,724 --> 00:05:20,891 impact . I'm not going to get ahead of 131 00:05:20,891 --> 00:05:22,891 of decisions that haven't been made 132 00:05:22,891 --> 00:05:22,680 with respect to future drawdown 133 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,260 authority or what systems might go . Um , 134 00:05:25,270 --> 00:05:28,990 all I can tell you is that uh , that we 135 00:05:28,990 --> 00:05:30,990 were hearing directly from them . I 136 00:05:30,990 --> 00:05:33,400 mean , I understand uh that they also 137 00:05:33,410 --> 00:05:36,530 make similar arguments in public and 138 00:05:36,530 --> 00:05:38,419 also make similar arguments to to 139 00:05:38,419 --> 00:05:40,500 lawmakers . It's not as if we're not 140 00:05:40,500 --> 00:05:42,722 talking to them about this in real time 141 00:05:42,722 --> 00:05:44,889 ourselves and we do the best we can to 142 00:05:44,889 --> 00:05:46,833 to fulfill those needs . And if we 143 00:05:46,833 --> 00:05:49,090 can't , um , then we're working hard 144 00:05:49,090 --> 00:05:51,380 with allies and partners who also have 145 00:05:51,380 --> 00:05:53,158 access to some systems that the 146 00:05:53,158 --> 00:05:54,769 Ukrainians desire and or are 147 00:05:54,769 --> 00:05:57,280 comfortable with to get them to get 148 00:05:57,280 --> 00:05:59,391 them to help provide it as well . And 149 00:05:59,391 --> 00:06:01,058 were even involved in helping 150 00:06:01,058 --> 00:06:03,550 coordinate the shipments of that other 151 00:06:03,550 --> 00:06:06,520 material that isn't american into 152 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,890 Ukraine . There's been an uptick that 153 00:06:09,890 --> 00:06:12,710 appears in Russian sorties ? Is there 154 00:06:12,710 --> 00:06:15,450 any change in the airspace ? Do the 155 00:06:15,450 --> 00:06:19,000 Russians have more control in the air , 156 00:06:19,010 --> 00:06:20,788 we'll call it the closer to air 157 00:06:20,788 --> 00:06:22,843 superiority right now now , we would 158 00:06:22,843 --> 00:06:24,954 not assess that the Russians have air 159 00:06:24,954 --> 00:06:27,010 superiority over Ukraine . Uh And we 160 00:06:27,010 --> 00:06:29,232 would still assess that the airspace is 161 00:06:29,232 --> 00:06:31,454 contested . And one of the reasons it's 162 00:06:31,454 --> 00:06:33,566 contested is because Ukrainians still 163 00:06:33,566 --> 00:06:33,480 have a viable air force of their own 164 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,370 and they also have um a very effective 165 00:06:37,380 --> 00:06:39,602 air defense capability , both short and 166 00:06:39,602 --> 00:06:42,630 long range air defense capability . And 167 00:06:42,630 --> 00:06:44,741 we know that it's having an impact on 168 00:06:45,140 --> 00:06:47,390 Russia because not only they did not 169 00:06:47,390 --> 00:06:49,612 have air superiority but because of the 170 00:06:49,612 --> 00:06:51,501 kinds of flight profiles that are 171 00:06:51,501 --> 00:06:53,723 flying most of their sorties never even 172 00:06:53,723 --> 00:06:55,946 leave Russian airspace . So uh so we're 173 00:06:55,946 --> 00:06:58,001 going to continue to stay focused on 174 00:06:58,001 --> 00:06:59,668 making sure that the that the 175 00:06:59,668 --> 00:07:01,723 Ukrainians have again that their air 176 00:07:01,723 --> 00:07:04,800 defense remains remains effective . Yes , 177 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:08,320 Sylvie . Mhm . I've been speaking about 178 00:07:08,330 --> 00:07:12,050 the Ukrainian forces that were 179 00:07:12,350 --> 00:07:15,760 deployed along the Rhombus frontline . 180 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:18,690 Um Is it your assessment that they are 181 00:07:18,690 --> 00:07:21,340 still holding this line or did they 182 00:07:21,350 --> 00:07:23,517 move from this line ? Oh my goodness , 183 00:07:23,517 --> 00:07:25,683 Sylvia that there's movement every day 184 00:07:25,683 --> 00:07:27,780 in the Donbas , but the Ukrainians 185 00:07:27,780 --> 00:07:29,920 still have a force presence in the 186 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,087 Donbas . I'm not going to detail where 187 00:07:32,087 --> 00:07:34,031 it is or how many ? Again , that's 188 00:07:34,031 --> 00:07:36,250 that's forced disposition data and 189 00:07:36,250 --> 00:07:38,417 information that I don't think we need 190 00:07:38,417 --> 00:07:40,639 to be publicly talking about ? But they 191 00:07:40,639 --> 00:07:42,583 are they are still in the Donbas , 192 00:07:42,583 --> 00:07:44,694 they're still putting up a very stiff 193 00:07:44,694 --> 00:07:46,917 resistance . Um And they have they have 194 00:07:46,917 --> 00:07:49,028 prevented the Russians from achieving 195 00:07:49,028 --> 00:07:51,250 many of the objectives that they had in 196 00:07:51,250 --> 00:07:53,139 the Donbas region . They're still 197 00:07:53,139 --> 00:07:55,250 they're still fighting hard telethons 198 00:07:55,250 --> 00:07:57,472 assessed that Russia is running through 199 00:07:57,472 --> 00:07:59,361 its stockpile of precision guided 200 00:07:59,361 --> 00:08:01,306 munitions . Does this also include 201 00:08:01,306 --> 00:08:03,528 hypersonic and does the pentagon assess 202 00:08:03,528 --> 00:08:05,083 that Russia will be able to 203 00:08:05,083 --> 00:08:07,028 reconstitute the stock problem ? I 204 00:08:07,028 --> 00:08:08,694 don't have an update on their 205 00:08:08,694 --> 00:08:10,750 hypersonic inventory . What are they 206 00:08:10,750 --> 00:08:14,010 have not fired uh from our assessment ? 207 00:08:14,020 --> 00:08:16,820 Um A whole lot of hypersonic missiles . 208 00:08:16,830 --> 00:08:19,340 Um And again , it's a bit of a head 209 00:08:19,340 --> 00:08:21,118 scratcher . Why you would use a 210 00:08:21,118 --> 00:08:23,118 hypersonic against a building , But 211 00:08:23,118 --> 00:08:25,284 I'll let the Russians speak for that . 212 00:08:25,284 --> 00:08:28,150 Um uh they 213 00:08:29,130 --> 00:08:31,241 and I've talked about this many times 214 00:08:31,241 --> 00:08:33,241 from the podium . We do assess that 215 00:08:33,241 --> 00:08:34,963 they are running through their 216 00:08:34,963 --> 00:08:37,186 precision guided missiles , missiles at 217 00:08:37,186 --> 00:08:39,408 a pretty fast clip . Um We know that in 218 00:08:39,408 --> 00:08:41,700 Mario paul for instance , uh their use 219 00:08:41,710 --> 00:08:45,110 of of munitions has migrated from 220 00:08:45,110 --> 00:08:48,170 almost all precision guided to 221 00:08:48,180 --> 00:08:50,870 a significant number of what we would 222 00:08:50,870 --> 00:08:53,037 call dumb bombs . Non precision guided 223 00:08:53,037 --> 00:08:56,920 guided munitions in Mario opal . Um 224 00:08:56,930 --> 00:08:59,140 And we we believe that the that the 225 00:08:59,140 --> 00:09:01,362 sanctions are part of this because it's 226 00:09:01,362 --> 00:09:03,584 harder for Mr Putin to get the kinds of 227 00:09:03,584 --> 00:09:05,473 components that make up precision 228 00:09:05,473 --> 00:09:07,307 guided munitions and his defense 229 00:09:07,307 --> 00:09:09,196 industrial base is having trouble 230 00:09:09,196 --> 00:09:11,307 keeping up with that . Um I'm sorry , 231 00:09:11,307 --> 00:09:13,730 there was another question there how 232 00:09:13,730 --> 00:09:16,390 long it's gonna take . I don't know , I 233 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,080 can't predict how long it would take or 234 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,660 what efforts Mr Putin is making too 235 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,129 replenish his supplies . I mean , 236 00:09:24,129 --> 00:09:26,018 that's a question only he and his 237 00:09:26,018 --> 00:09:28,240 Ministry of Defense can answer . But we 238 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,184 we know that that that already the 239 00:09:30,184 --> 00:09:32,296 sanctions are having an effect on his 240 00:09:32,296 --> 00:09:34,518 ability to wage war . They rely more on 241 00:09:34,518 --> 00:09:36,573 dumb bombs . Wouldn't those aircraft 242 00:09:36,573 --> 00:09:38,629 have to enter Ukrainian airspace ? I 243 00:09:38,629 --> 00:09:38,170 didn't say there never entering 244 00:09:38,170 --> 00:09:40,392 Ukrainian airspace and that there , but 245 00:09:40,392 --> 00:09:42,559 they're not . But the preponderance of 246 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:44,892 them or not . I mean , and when they do , 247 00:09:44,892 --> 00:09:47,003 they don't stay in Ukrainian airspace 248 00:09:47,003 --> 00:09:46,270 very long . And that's because 249 00:09:46,270 --> 00:09:48,270 Ukrainian air defenses are still so 250 00:09:48,270 --> 00:09:51,310 effective . Yeah , thank you . Because 251 00:09:51,310 --> 00:09:53,643 it's a great public interest in Ukraine . 252 00:09:53,643 --> 00:09:55,643 I have to return to my question . I 253 00:09:55,643 --> 00:09:57,754 tried to discuss with you last week . 254 00:09:57,754 --> 00:09:59,866 It was terribly , obviously right now 255 00:09:59,866 --> 00:10:01,977 after President biden signed the land 256 00:10:01,977 --> 00:10:03,866 lease for Ukraine Act , what this 257 00:10:03,866 --> 00:10:06,032 situation , from the pentagon point of 258 00:10:06,032 --> 00:10:08,143 view , do you have any plan how , you 259 00:10:08,143 --> 00:10:09,977 know , the aid will be separated 260 00:10:09,977 --> 00:10:12,088 between the four military sales ? And 261 00:10:12,088 --> 00:10:14,310 yeah , we're still , I mean , I think , 262 00:10:14,310 --> 00:10:17,360 look , we're still analyzing the 263 00:10:17,940 --> 00:10:21,450 the lend lease Act two 264 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,810 to determine exactly specifically what 265 00:10:25,810 --> 00:10:27,921 the authorities and what capabilities 266 00:10:27,921 --> 00:10:31,470 it will will help us uh provide . I 267 00:10:31,470 --> 00:10:33,637 would , you know , remind that in many 268 00:10:33,637 --> 00:10:37,370 cases , um it's going to require um 269 00:10:37,380 --> 00:10:40,950 some bilateral uh 270 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,016 agreements between the United States 271 00:10:43,016 --> 00:10:45,127 and Ukraine that's what lend lease is 272 00:10:45,127 --> 00:10:47,127 about and when through lend lease , 273 00:10:47,127 --> 00:10:49,182 when an item is given to a country , 274 00:10:49,182 --> 00:10:51,238 they're responsible for , you know , 275 00:10:51,238 --> 00:10:53,770 either returning it and maintaining it 276 00:10:53,770 --> 00:10:57,610 and returning it and or um uh providing 277 00:10:57,610 --> 00:10:59,666 compensation for it should it not be 278 00:10:59,666 --> 00:11:01,721 able to be returned ? And so there's 279 00:11:01,721 --> 00:11:03,943 for each item under lend lease , you've 280 00:11:03,943 --> 00:11:06,054 got to work through , you got to work 281 00:11:06,054 --> 00:11:08,277 through that agreement . So we're we're 282 00:11:08,277 --> 00:11:10,443 still we're still analyzing uh all the 283 00:11:10,443 --> 00:11:12,499 authorities now that the act now the 284 00:11:12,499 --> 00:11:14,554 law will give us and we're certainly 285 00:11:14,554 --> 00:11:14,070 going to act in accordance with the law , 286 00:11:14,070 --> 00:11:16,070 certainly within the spirit and the 287 00:11:16,070 --> 00:11:18,237 intent of it . But it's just too early 288 00:11:18,237 --> 00:11:20,348 to know with granularity exactly what 289 00:11:20,348 --> 00:11:22,626 that's going to mean . In the meantime , 290 00:11:22,626 --> 00:11:24,792 however , we continue to urge Congress 291 00:11:24,792 --> 00:11:24,750 to pass the President's supplemental 292 00:11:24,750 --> 00:11:26,730 requests , which he asked for $33 293 00:11:26,730 --> 00:11:28,970 billion.05 billion of that would 294 00:11:28,980 --> 00:11:31,460 include drawdown authority , additional 295 00:11:31,460 --> 00:11:33,460 drawdown authorities so that we can 296 00:11:33,460 --> 00:11:35,910 continue uninterrupted providing things 297 00:11:35,910 --> 00:11:39,130 out of our own stocks . Yeah , go ahead . 298 00:11:40,540 --> 00:11:43,200 Hey , mike . How are you ? It's hard 299 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,033 with the lights sometimes to see 300 00:11:45,033 --> 00:11:47,089 everybody's face . What's going on ? 301 00:11:47,089 --> 00:11:48,867 Can I ask you a sort of general 302 00:11:48,867 --> 00:11:50,922 question . What what do you think is 303 00:11:50,922 --> 00:11:54,340 the the US strategic objectives arming 304 00:11:54,340 --> 00:11:56,780 Ukraine with billions of dollars of 305 00:11:56,780 --> 00:11:59,400 arms apart from defending helping 306 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,567 Ukraine to defend itself . That is the 307 00:12:01,567 --> 00:12:03,622 strategic objectives to help to help 308 00:12:03,622 --> 00:12:05,567 Ukraine defend itself against this 309 00:12:05,567 --> 00:12:08,280 unlawful and unprovoked invasion . Um I 310 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,280 gather that the question is kind of 311 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,169 getting at , you know , what does 312 00:12:12,169 --> 00:12:14,930 victory look like uh and victory is 313 00:12:14,940 --> 00:12:17,162 needs to be defined by the Ukrainians , 314 00:12:17,162 --> 00:12:19,540 by President Zelensky uh , and the 315 00:12:19,540 --> 00:12:21,770 people of Ukraine , not the United 316 00:12:21,770 --> 00:12:25,630 States . So what we want to do is make 317 00:12:25,630 --> 00:12:28,710 sure that we are , we are giving 318 00:12:28,710 --> 00:12:31,770 Ukraine um , the advantages they need 319 00:12:31,770 --> 00:12:34,400 on the battlefield and at any future 320 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,780 negotiating table to be able to define 321 00:12:36,780 --> 00:12:38,836 for themselves what victory is gonna 322 00:12:38,836 --> 00:12:41,850 look like . And there isn't as it were 323 00:12:41,860 --> 00:12:45,770 an extra overarching objective , an 324 00:12:45,780 --> 00:12:49,140 extra overarching objective such as 325 00:12:49,150 --> 00:12:52,950 such as these are the America and 326 00:12:52,950 --> 00:12:55,620 Russia . I think , look , we obviously 327 00:12:55,620 --> 00:12:58,680 don't want to see uh , as you've heard , 328 00:12:58,690 --> 00:13:00,970 uh Secretary Austin say , we don't want 329 00:13:00,970 --> 00:13:03,137 to see Russia in a position to be able 330 00:13:03,137 --> 00:13:05,359 to visit this sort of violence on their 331 00:13:05,359 --> 00:13:07,581 neighbors again , but this is not about 332 00:13:07,581 --> 00:13:09,692 the US versus Russia mike . I mean as 333 00:13:09,692 --> 00:13:12,130 much as uh mr Putin would love to make 334 00:13:12,130 --> 00:13:14,130 it about the west versus Russia and 335 00:13:14,130 --> 00:13:16,352 NATO versus Russia . Us versus Russia . 336 00:13:16,352 --> 00:13:18,720 This is about Russia against the people 337 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,510 of Ukraine . And what we're focused on 338 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,830 is making sure Ukraine can defend 339 00:13:23,830 --> 00:13:26,620 itself , that it is placed in positions 340 00:13:26,630 --> 00:13:28,797 of advantage on the battlefield and at 341 00:13:28,797 --> 00:13:30,797 the negotiating table . This is not 342 00:13:30,797 --> 00:13:33,680 about the US versus Russia . Um , it is , 343 00:13:33,690 --> 00:13:36,410 it is very much about trying to help 344 00:13:36,420 --> 00:13:40,080 end this war . Um , and to give Ukraine 345 00:13:40,090 --> 00:13:42,146 the advantage is that it needs to do 346 00:13:42,146 --> 00:13:46,020 that , john just an issue of lend 347 00:13:46,020 --> 00:13:48,187 lease ? It's very interesting . Should 348 00:13:48,187 --> 00:13:50,409 you have an open evening sometime to go 349 00:13:50,409 --> 00:13:52,409 back and see which nations actually 350 00:13:52,409 --> 00:13:54,520 have repaid the United States for the 351 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:56,576 lend lease act of World War Two have 352 00:13:56,576 --> 00:13:58,631 you ? I have and the number is one . 353 00:13:59,230 --> 00:14:02,190 Great Britain , the soviet union . Now 354 00:14:02,190 --> 00:14:05,690 Russia has not parenthetically , my 355 00:14:05,690 --> 00:14:07,634 question is not about lend lease . 356 00:14:07,634 --> 00:14:09,801 However , yesterday you don't have any 357 00:14:09,801 --> 00:14:13,220 open evenings either . So I guess it 358 00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:16,890 was a rhetorical offering . Yesterday 359 00:14:16,890 --> 00:14:19,300 you talked about why the conflict was 360 00:14:19,310 --> 00:14:21,600 not necessarily stalemate . Today , I'm 361 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,822 going to ask you about another word and 362 00:14:23,822 --> 00:14:26,640 that's the word proxy . You just said 363 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,158 this is not about the US versus Russia . 364 00:14:29,158 --> 00:14:32,220 I did hear that . But you know , proxy 365 00:14:32,220 --> 00:14:35,920 war is that when one side supports 366 00:14:36,170 --> 00:14:38,392 someone in the conflict is not directly 367 00:14:38,392 --> 00:14:40,970 engaged in the conflict , but acting on 368 00:14:40,970 --> 00:14:42,970 behalf of other parties . Would you 369 00:14:42,970 --> 00:14:45,192 call this a proxy war from the , on the 370 00:14:45,192 --> 00:14:47,414 part of the United States and some NATO 371 00:14:47,414 --> 00:14:49,637 nations ? And why not ? Please ? It's a 372 00:14:49,637 --> 00:14:52,350 war that Russia started a war of choice ? 373 00:14:52,620 --> 00:14:54,731 A war against the people of Ukraine . 374 00:14:55,140 --> 00:14:57,600 Um , and it's a war that's being fought 375 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,760 by the people of Ukraine . Now look , 376 00:15:02,140 --> 00:15:04,251 have they engendered ? And rightly so 377 00:15:04,251 --> 00:15:07,270 the support of the United States and so 378 00:15:07,270 --> 00:15:09,700 many other nations in this fight for 379 00:15:09,700 --> 00:15:11,867 freedom that they are fighting . Yes , 380 00:15:11,867 --> 00:15:14,033 they have . But that doesn't make it a 381 00:15:14,033 --> 00:15:16,200 proxy war again . Um That's the that's 382 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,256 the Putin trope ? That's exactly the 383 00:15:18,256 --> 00:15:20,367 narrative that Mr Putin would love to 384 00:15:20,367 --> 00:15:22,478 have out there , that it's the United 385 00:15:22,478 --> 00:15:24,422 States fighting Russia , that that 386 00:15:24,422 --> 00:15:27,220 we're somehow uh , you know , trying to 387 00:15:27,230 --> 00:15:30,700 uh , diminish 388 00:15:30,710 --> 00:15:34,280 uh Russia as a nation , or 389 00:15:34,300 --> 00:15:38,300 or uh yeah , force him out 390 00:15:38,300 --> 00:15:40,820 of power . None of that is true . And 391 00:15:40,820 --> 00:15:42,542 you can listen to those troops 392 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:44,807 throughout his speech yesterday . This 393 00:15:44,807 --> 00:15:46,918 isn't about nazism , there's no nazis 394 00:15:46,918 --> 00:15:49,084 in Ukraine , it's not about the West , 395 00:15:49,084 --> 00:15:51,307 it's not about the United States . Uh , 396 00:15:51,307 --> 00:15:54,470 it's about a completely fabricated 397 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,340 justification that Mr Putin put forth 398 00:15:58,340 --> 00:16:00,284 about his own national security is 399 00:16:00,284 --> 00:16:02,396 being put at risk by Ukraine . That's 400 00:16:02,396 --> 00:16:04,396 what started this war , That's what 401 00:16:04,396 --> 00:16:06,562 this war is all about . Um And I think 402 00:16:06,562 --> 00:16:08,784 it's , you know , useful to remind that 403 00:16:08,784 --> 00:16:12,730 Ukraine threatened absolutely nobody to 404 00:16:12,730 --> 00:16:15,680 include Russia , anything else . 405 00:16:17,050 --> 00:16:19,050 two questions . 1 , I wonder if you 406 00:16:19,050 --> 00:16:22,170 could preview of the british defense 407 00:16:22,170 --> 00:16:24,226 Secretary Wallace's visit tomorrow . 408 00:16:24,740 --> 00:16:26,907 Why is he coming ? What does Secretary 409 00:16:26,907 --> 00:16:29,073 Austin expect to chat with him about ? 410 00:16:29,073 --> 00:16:31,296 Is this , like , sort of getting closer 411 00:16:31,296 --> 00:16:33,990 to the next Ukraine contact group ? And 412 00:16:33,990 --> 00:16:36,820 then , secondly , on what you mentioned 413 00:16:36,820 --> 00:16:39,160 at the top about the Times story and 414 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:41,560 the civilian casualties . I don't want 415 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:43,900 to rehash old news . But can you talk 416 00:16:43,900 --> 00:16:46,200 about any ongoing changes that are 417 00:16:46,210 --> 00:16:48,266 being implemented Now , we're in the 418 00:16:48,266 --> 00:16:51,420 middle of working through the you saw 419 00:16:51,420 --> 00:16:53,670 the Secretary stood up , civilian 420 00:16:53,770 --> 00:16:57,400 civilian harm mitigation uh team and 421 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,050 process . And Um they're they've 422 00:17:01,060 --> 00:17:03,730 they've started now a 90 day initial 423 00:17:03,740 --> 00:17:05,962 process of getting themselves started . 424 00:17:05,962 --> 00:17:08,210 And and manning up and that's , that's 425 00:17:08,210 --> 00:17:10,860 ongoing . And , um , their whole 426 00:17:10,860 --> 00:17:13,550 purpose is to look for innovative ways 427 00:17:13,550 --> 00:17:15,770 to help us get better , um , at 428 00:17:15,950 --> 00:17:18,830 civilian harm mitigation and to be able 429 00:17:18,830 --> 00:17:20,997 to come back on a routine basis to the 430 00:17:20,997 --> 00:17:23,390 secretary to , to advise them on , on 431 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:25,567 better processes , better techniques , 432 00:17:25,567 --> 00:17:28,000 better policies to help mitigate 433 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,944 civilian harm . So yeah , I mean , 434 00:17:29,944 --> 00:17:32,480 we've we've we've taken away not just 435 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:34,424 from the reporting but from recent 436 00:17:34,424 --> 00:17:36,647 experiences that we know we have to get 437 00:17:36,647 --> 00:17:38,924 better at this . And , and we are . Um , 438 00:17:38,924 --> 00:17:42,670 so I think you're going to see , um , 439 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,880 even before Their 90 day initial 440 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:48,769 assessment period is up . I think 441 00:17:48,769 --> 00:17:51,870 you're gonna see the secretary speak 442 00:17:51,870 --> 00:17:54,990 about this as well . I mean , it's 443 00:17:54,990 --> 00:17:57,390 something we take seriously and it's 444 00:17:57,390 --> 00:17:59,900 something that , uh , we're not afraid 445 00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:01,990 to admit that we take seriously and 446 00:18:01,990 --> 00:18:03,980 that we want to do better . Unlike 447 00:18:03,990 --> 00:18:07,260 Russia , unlike the unmitigated 448 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,910 violence and destruction that they're 449 00:18:09,910 --> 00:18:12,210 causing on the people of Ukraine . Um , 450 00:18:12,220 --> 00:18:15,940 uh , and without without care , without 451 00:18:15,940 --> 00:18:18,370 acknowledgement , no investigations , 452 00:18:18,610 --> 00:18:22,300 no transparency , no effort to even not 453 00:18:22,300 --> 00:18:24,740 cause civilian harm , much less the war 454 00:18:24,740 --> 00:18:26,462 crimes that their soldiers are 455 00:18:26,462 --> 00:18:28,684 committing on the ground . Now . Look , 456 00:18:28,684 --> 00:18:31,220 I'm not saying that we have everything 457 00:18:31,220 --> 00:18:33,387 in order . We don't , and we know that 458 00:18:33,387 --> 00:18:35,276 and here's the difference . We're 459 00:18:35,276 --> 00:18:37,387 willing to admit it and we're willing 460 00:18:37,387 --> 00:18:39,331 to investigate and were willing to 461 00:18:39,331 --> 00:18:41,220 stand up teams to go look and get 462 00:18:41,220 --> 00:18:41,150 better at it . I'm willing to stand up 463 00:18:41,150 --> 00:18:43,590 here at the podium , um , and talk 464 00:18:43,590 --> 00:18:45,757 about it . And so is the secretary and 465 00:18:45,757 --> 00:18:47,646 we're willing to acknowledge that 466 00:18:47,646 --> 00:18:49,368 sometimes you're reporting the 467 00:18:49,368 --> 00:18:51,479 reporting that all of you have done , 468 00:18:51,479 --> 00:18:50,670 not just the new york times , but all 469 00:18:50,670 --> 00:18:52,837 of you have done on civilian harm . We 470 00:18:52,837 --> 00:18:55,003 also take seriously . And when you ask 471 00:18:55,003 --> 00:18:57,114 us tough questions , we answer them . 472 00:18:57,114 --> 00:18:59,281 You're not seeing any of that from the 473 00:18:59,281 --> 00:19:01,614 Russian Ministry of Defense . None zero . 474 00:19:01,614 --> 00:19:03,670 And you know what , you're not gonna 475 00:19:03,670 --> 00:19:03,540 see it going forward . And I'm now I'm 476 00:19:03,540 --> 00:19:05,540 all lathered up . And what was your 477 00:19:05,540 --> 00:19:07,762 first question ? I want to drill down a 478 00:19:07,762 --> 00:19:09,984 little bit on that . Does the Secretary 479 00:19:09,984 --> 00:19:12,207 anticipate there would be work with the 480 00:19:12,207 --> 00:19:14,429 US Air force since airmen were involved 481 00:19:14,429 --> 00:19:16,429 and they're involved in . So yeah , 482 00:19:16,429 --> 00:19:18,429 look , I mean , it's it cuts across 483 00:19:18,429 --> 00:19:20,484 services abraham , I mean , it's not 484 00:19:20,484 --> 00:19:22,596 about looking at a service specific . 485 00:19:22,940 --> 00:19:26,810 Um , but often times uh , in the last 486 00:19:26,820 --> 00:19:29,560 20 plus years of warfare , when when we 487 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,560 have caused civilian harm , it's 488 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,460 because of joint operations . So 489 00:19:33,470 --> 00:19:35,637 sometimes it's the result of people on 490 00:19:35,637 --> 00:19:37,803 the ground , sometimes it's the result 491 00:19:37,803 --> 00:19:40,200 of of people uh in Air ops . I mean , 492 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,256 it's and sometimes it's it's kind of 493 00:19:42,256 --> 00:19:44,422 both . I mean , you know , you you can 494 00:19:44,422 --> 00:19:46,478 find examples where coordination and 495 00:19:46,478 --> 00:19:48,422 communication wasn't as good as it 496 00:19:48,422 --> 00:19:50,311 should have been and intelligence 497 00:19:50,311 --> 00:19:50,240 analysis wasn't where it should have 498 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,360 been . Um So I mean , it cuts across , 499 00:19:53,370 --> 00:19:55,370 it wouldn't be fair to say , well , 500 00:19:55,370 --> 00:19:57,537 it's , you know , we're gonna go after 501 00:19:57,537 --> 00:19:59,703 the Air Force on this , I mean , we're 502 00:19:59,703 --> 00:19:59,210 gonna go after ourselves , all of 503 00:19:59,210 --> 00:20:01,432 ourselves on this and try to get better 504 00:20:01,432 --> 00:20:05,430 at it . Oh yeah , yeah , 505 00:20:05,730 --> 00:20:07,619 well we look forward to having Mr 506 00:20:07,619 --> 00:20:09,786 Wallace back at the pentagon . I think 507 00:20:09,786 --> 00:20:09,570 this will be the second meeting in the 508 00:20:09,570 --> 00:20:11,570 pentagon with Secretary Austin . Of 509 00:20:11,570 --> 00:20:13,403 course , he's no stranger to the 510 00:20:13,403 --> 00:20:15,237 pentagon . He was here uh in the 511 00:20:15,237 --> 00:20:17,292 previous administration as well . Uh 512 00:20:17,292 --> 00:20:19,403 Great Britain is as always a terrific 513 00:20:19,403 --> 00:20:22,140 partner uh in such a staunch start ally . 514 00:20:22,140 --> 00:20:24,260 So um it's a real treat for us to be 515 00:20:24,260 --> 00:20:26,316 able to have Mr Wallace back here in 516 00:20:26,316 --> 00:20:28,482 the pentagon . Press Secretary is very 517 00:20:28,482 --> 00:20:30,038 much looking forward to the 518 00:20:30,038 --> 00:20:32,038 conversation . Look , I think uh it 519 00:20:32,038 --> 00:20:34,149 goes without saying that Ukraine will 520 00:20:34,149 --> 00:20:36,316 be a major topic of discussion and the 521 00:20:36,316 --> 00:20:39,090 british have been leaders and strong 522 00:20:39,090 --> 00:20:40,868 strong contributors in terms of 523 00:20:40,868 --> 00:20:42,701 providing security assistance to 524 00:20:42,701 --> 00:20:44,868 Ukraine and in helping coordinate that 525 00:20:44,868 --> 00:20:47,150 assistance as well . Um so I think 526 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,327 there's there's a lot to talk about in 527 00:20:49,327 --> 00:20:52,930 terms of support to Ukraine . Uh 528 00:20:52,940 --> 00:20:55,150 Minister Wallace was at the Ramstein 529 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,327 contact group . Now , we're calling it 530 00:20:57,327 --> 00:20:59,382 the contact group , the consultative 531 00:20:59,382 --> 00:21:01,890 meeting back in uh in Germany um there 532 00:21:01,890 --> 00:21:05,120 will be another one this month . Most 533 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:08,210 likely a virtual meeting the May 534 00:21:08,210 --> 00:21:10,210 meeting . The Secretary wants to do 535 00:21:10,210 --> 00:21:12,377 these monthly . So the one in May will 536 00:21:12,377 --> 00:21:14,543 most likely be virtual . We don't have 537 00:21:14,543 --> 00:21:14,370 we don't have it all locked in right 538 00:21:14,370 --> 00:21:16,592 now will be later this month . Um and I 539 00:21:16,592 --> 00:21:18,648 have no doubt that the Secretary and 540 00:21:18,648 --> 00:21:20,814 Minister Wallace will have a chance to 541 00:21:20,814 --> 00:21:22,981 talk about sort of what the agenda and 542 00:21:22,981 --> 00:21:24,926 that that that first contact group 543 00:21:24,926 --> 00:21:27,092 second consultative meeting looks like 544 00:21:27,092 --> 00:21:29,314 and feels like . But there's gonna be a 545 00:21:29,314 --> 00:21:29,230 lot to discuss and we're absolutely 546 00:21:29,230 --> 00:21:31,520 delighted to have him back . Yeah . 547 00:21:31,530 --> 00:21:35,160 Really , I want to ask you about Taiwan , 548 00:21:35,170 --> 00:21:37,750 the U . S . Warship , the USs port 549 00:21:37,750 --> 00:21:39,940 Royal transit in the Taiwan strait 550 00:21:39,950 --> 00:21:42,160 today that this is the second transit 551 00:21:42,170 --> 00:21:44,810 over the last two weeks . Are there any 552 00:21:44,810 --> 00:21:47,250 particular concern about the chinese 553 00:21:47,250 --> 00:21:49,520 military activities around the Taiwan 554 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:51,687 strait ? What does the U . S . Want to 555 00:21:51,687 --> 00:21:53,720 demonstrate by stepping up the 556 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,110 monitoring activities . Now , I don't 557 00:21:56,110 --> 00:21:58,332 know that . I call it stepping up rio . 558 00:21:58,332 --> 00:22:00,720 We've conducted Taiwan uh strait 559 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,250 transits before . It's not it's it's 560 00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:05,880 not atypical for us . And you're right , 561 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:07,713 this was another routine transit 562 00:22:07,713 --> 00:22:10,750 conducted uh uh today on the on the 563 00:22:10,750 --> 00:22:13,620 10th through international waters . In 564 00:22:13,620 --> 00:22:15,800 accordance with international law , um 565 00:22:15,810 --> 00:22:17,921 the ship transited through a corridor 566 00:22:17,921 --> 00:22:19,754 in the street that is beyond the 567 00:22:19,754 --> 00:22:21,699 territorial territorial sea of any 568 00:22:21,699 --> 00:22:23,866 coastal state , which is the way we do 569 00:22:23,866 --> 00:22:26,740 this . Um And uh and the porch Royals 570 00:22:26,740 --> 00:22:28,796 transit demonstrates you ask what it 571 00:22:28,796 --> 00:22:30,740 demonstrates . It demonstrates our 572 00:22:30,740 --> 00:22:32,684 commitment to a free and open indo 573 00:22:32,684 --> 00:22:35,160 pacific , I want to stress again , we 574 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,120 will continue to fly sail and operate 575 00:22:38,130 --> 00:22:41,160 where anywhere where international law 576 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,438 applies and that's what this was about ? 577 00:22:43,438 --> 00:22:44,993 This was the application of 578 00:22:44,993 --> 00:22:47,520 international law and uh and our and 579 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,240 our right to to to operate inside that 580 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:53,090 law . I mean we believe in a rules 581 00:22:53,090 --> 00:22:54,646 based international order . 582 00:22:55,010 --> 00:22:57,232 International law is part of that rules 583 00:22:57,232 --> 00:22:59,600 based international order . Okay , let 584 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,050 me go to the phones here uh injuries 585 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,373 john earlier today , during the hearing , 586 00:23:05,380 --> 00:23:08,810 the head of the D . A . Um described 587 00:23:08,820 --> 00:23:12,770 the war as a stalemate yesterday when 588 00:23:12,770 --> 00:23:15,170 you talked , you wouldn't go that far . 589 00:23:15,170 --> 00:23:17,420 And I was just wondering um , if you 590 00:23:17,420 --> 00:23:19,198 now agree with him , is there a 591 00:23:19,198 --> 00:23:20,920 different definition ? Maybe a 592 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:22,976 statement ? I'm just trying to , you 593 00:23:22,976 --> 00:23:22,970 know , sort of square the circle 594 00:23:22,980 --> 00:23:24,910 between the two comments talking 595 00:23:24,910 --> 00:23:27,077 yesterday about what's going on in the 596 00:23:27,077 --> 00:23:29,243 Donbas , which is the focus of the war 597 00:23:29,243 --> 00:23:29,150 right now . We still believe it's a 598 00:23:29,150 --> 00:23:31,660 very dynamic environment . It's a , 599 00:23:31,670 --> 00:23:34,630 it's a very kinetic fight and and 600 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,980 villages and towns continue to to 601 00:23:37,980 --> 00:23:40,650 change hands . And the Russians have 602 00:23:40,650 --> 00:23:44,490 not made um uh much of any 603 00:23:44,490 --> 00:23:46,601 appreciable progress , but that's not 604 00:23:46,601 --> 00:23:49,080 to say they've made no progress over 605 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,500 the last uh few days and uh and week or 606 00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:55,170 so . So I'm I'm comfortable with the 607 00:23:55,170 --> 00:23:59,130 way I couched it yesterday . Um , let's 608 00:23:59,130 --> 00:24:01,840 see Howard Altman . Thanks john let's 609 00:24:01,850 --> 00:24:04,128 change the pace a little bit next week . 610 00:24:04,128 --> 00:24:06,128 Congress is going to be holding the 611 00:24:06,128 --> 00:24:09,510 first hearing into UFOs and 50 years Mr 612 00:24:09,510 --> 00:24:11,800 is uh there's gonna be two people from 613 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,930 the pentagon testifying . Can you 614 00:24:13,930 --> 00:24:16,050 comment about that ? And also can you 615 00:24:16,050 --> 00:24:18,580 tell us any update on the airborne 616 00:24:18,590 --> 00:24:21,860 objects identification and management 617 00:24:21,860 --> 00:24:24,320 synchronization group otherwise known 618 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,290 as a um sig any update on what they're 619 00:24:27,290 --> 00:24:30,220 doing . I don't have an update for you 620 00:24:30,220 --> 00:24:34,210 on on the the the 621 00:24:34,220 --> 00:24:37,540 ap group that you're talking about . Um 622 00:24:37,540 --> 00:24:41,250 we're still working to 623 00:24:41,260 --> 00:24:44,260 sufficiently staff that organization 624 00:24:44,260 --> 00:24:46,482 and get them into a battle rhythm . But 625 00:24:46,482 --> 00:24:48,649 I don't have any updates for you and I 626 00:24:48,649 --> 00:24:50,704 could not hear your first question . 627 00:24:50,704 --> 00:24:52,704 Give me a comment about next week . 628 00:24:52,704 --> 00:24:54,538 Congress is Gonna hold the first 629 00:24:54,538 --> 00:24:58,260 hearing in 50 years on U . F . O . S . 630 00:24:58,260 --> 00:25:00,427 U . A . P . S . I was wondering if you 631 00:25:00,427 --> 00:25:02,538 just comment on that since two people 632 00:25:02,538 --> 00:25:05,390 from uh us military gonna be testifying 633 00:25:05,390 --> 00:25:07,640 there . You know , we're looking we're 634 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:09,418 looking forward to the upcoming 635 00:25:09,418 --> 00:25:11,529 opportunity here to engage members of 636 00:25:11,529 --> 00:25:13,418 Congress on this . Very important 637 00:25:13,418 --> 00:25:15,584 matter . Um I'm not going to get ahead 638 00:25:15,584 --> 00:25:18,120 of that testimony but but we are 639 00:25:18,130 --> 00:25:19,963 absolutely committed to being as 640 00:25:19,963 --> 00:25:22,186 transparent as we can with the american 641 00:25:22,186 --> 00:25:24,186 people and with members of Congress 642 00:25:24,186 --> 00:25:28,030 about uh about our perspectives on this 643 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,151 and uh and what we're going to try to 644 00:25:30,151 --> 00:25:33,940 do to uh to make sure we I have a 645 00:25:33,940 --> 00:25:35,900 better process for identifying 646 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:41,010 these phenomena uh 647 00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:44,490 analyzing that information in a more 648 00:25:44,490 --> 00:25:46,490 proactive coordinated way than it's 649 00:25:46,490 --> 00:25:49,210 been done in the past and that we also 650 00:25:49,220 --> 00:25:50,998 are doing what we need to do to 651 00:25:50,998 --> 00:25:54,660 mitigate any safety issues as as many 652 00:25:54,660 --> 00:25:57,000 of these uh phenomena have been sighted 653 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,470 in in training ranges in training 654 00:25:59,470 --> 00:26:03,040 environments . And so um uh we're very 655 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,262 much concerned about safety of flight , 656 00:26:05,262 --> 00:26:07,040 so we're looking forward to the 657 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:09,151 opportunity to talk to congress about 658 00:26:09,151 --> 00:26:11,373 this . I won't get ahead of the hearing 659 00:26:11,373 --> 00:26:13,484 though . Uh Let's see , Mike breast , 660 00:26:15,940 --> 00:26:18,218 it sounded like Howard had a follow up . 661 00:26:18,218 --> 00:26:20,273 He wants to ask , you can go ahead . 662 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,584 Yeah , thanks . Just quickly . How 663 00:26:22,584 --> 00:26:24,640 concerned is the pentagon that these 664 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,920 might be some kind of uh adversary um 665 00:26:27,930 --> 00:26:30,780 you know , objects from somebody like 666 00:26:30,780 --> 00:26:34,540 china or Russia etcetera ? I 667 00:26:34,550 --> 00:26:36,883 don't have we don't have a view on that . 668 00:26:36,883 --> 00:26:39,060 Uh Howard , I mean , we're 669 00:26:41,140 --> 00:26:45,110 there's there's been enough of of the 670 00:26:45,110 --> 00:26:47,750 sightings um in terms of particularly 671 00:26:47,750 --> 00:26:49,750 in terms of training ranges that uh 672 00:26:49,750 --> 00:26:51,980 that we do have , we think legitimate 673 00:26:51,990 --> 00:26:54,720 safety of flight concerns here . Um but 674 00:26:54,730 --> 00:26:57,050 but the department hasn't come to a 675 00:26:57,050 --> 00:27:00,080 conclusion um about what all these 676 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,360 phenomena are , what they represent , 677 00:27:02,740 --> 00:27:04,740 that's why we're putting this group 678 00:27:04,740 --> 00:27:06,962 together so that we can do a better job 679 00:27:06,962 --> 00:27:08,962 of just collating the information . 680 00:27:08,962 --> 00:27:11,184 It's been sort of ad hoc in the past in 681 00:27:11,184 --> 00:27:13,129 terms of a pilot here or a pilot , 682 00:27:13,129 --> 00:27:15,240 they're seeing something . Um and the 683 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,129 reporting procedures haven't been 684 00:27:17,129 --> 00:27:19,351 consistent . So what we're trying to do 685 00:27:19,351 --> 00:27:19,340 with this group is get together a 686 00:27:19,340 --> 00:27:21,451 process here and I know process isn't 687 00:27:21,451 --> 00:27:24,270 very fun for you to report on and 688 00:27:24,270 --> 00:27:26,326 probably not very fun for me to talk 689 00:27:26,326 --> 00:27:28,381 about , but that's what we need , we 690 00:27:28,381 --> 00:27:30,381 need a better process . That's what 691 00:27:30,381 --> 00:27:32,326 this group is gonna do for us . Uh 692 00:27:32,326 --> 00:27:34,548 let's see , George . I'm sorry , mike , 693 00:27:34,548 --> 00:27:36,690 go ahead . Thank you to follow up on 694 00:27:36,700 --> 00:27:39,510 Abraham's question . OSD said back at 695 00:27:39,510 --> 00:27:41,454 the end of February , that General 696 00:27:41,454 --> 00:27:43,510 Michael Garrett's investigation into 697 00:27:43,510 --> 00:27:45,510 the 2019 strike in Syria was in its 698 00:27:45,510 --> 00:27:47,454 final stages . Uh , and we haven't 699 00:27:47,454 --> 00:27:49,510 heard anything about it since . So I 700 00:27:49,510 --> 00:27:52,360 thought I'd ask . Um , and I think , 701 00:27:52,370 --> 00:27:54,148 you know , that work is uh , is 702 00:27:54,148 --> 00:27:57,110 complete and secretaries working his 703 00:27:57,110 --> 00:27:59,900 way through . Uh General Garrett's 704 00:27:59,910 --> 00:28:02,170 report and uh , and I think you'll 705 00:28:02,170 --> 00:28:04,226 probably hear more about that soon , 706 00:28:05,010 --> 00:28:05,600 Jared . 707 00:28:09,340 --> 00:28:11,507 Hi john , thank you . I just wanted to 708 00:28:11,507 --> 00:28:14,220 check if you can confirm uh , the King 709 00:28:14,220 --> 00:28:17,150 of Jordan is in town for visits at the 710 00:28:17,150 --> 00:28:19,094 White House among lawmakers . Just 711 00:28:19,094 --> 00:28:21,261 checking if he's gonna be visiting the 712 00:28:21,261 --> 00:28:23,483 Pentagon this week and I'm meeting with 713 00:28:23,483 --> 00:28:25,539 senior . I don't have , I don't have 714 00:28:25,539 --> 00:28:24,880 anything on the schedule to announce 715 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:26,936 right now , but when we do , we will 716 00:28:28,540 --> 00:28:31,330 Okay , time for a couple more . Yes , 717 00:28:31,330 --> 00:28:34,920 there's a report That Belarus 718 00:28:34,930 --> 00:28:37,170 has set the special forces down to the 719 00:28:37,180 --> 00:28:39,291 border and it said that it was due to 720 00:28:39,291 --> 00:28:41,513 20,000 Ukrainians that are currently on 721 00:28:41,513 --> 00:28:43,291 the border of Belarus , can you 722 00:28:43,291 --> 00:28:45,513 collaborate ? That information cannot . 723 00:28:46,340 --> 00:28:48,340 And also is there any update on the 724 00:28:48,340 --> 00:28:50,118 number of Ukrainian soldiers or 725 00:28:50,118 --> 00:28:52,173 soldiers that are still at the plant 726 00:28:52,173 --> 00:28:54,284 variable . I don't have an update for 727 00:28:54,284 --> 00:28:56,284 you . I don't think the numbers are 728 00:28:56,284 --> 00:28:58,229 personally appreciably changed . I 729 00:28:58,229 --> 00:29:00,451 would let the Ukrainians speak to their 730 00:29:00,451 --> 00:29:02,562 force levels in any one location . We 731 00:29:02,562 --> 00:29:04,673 do assess that they are still there , 732 00:29:04,673 --> 00:29:06,784 They're still resisting and the proof 733 00:29:06,784 --> 00:29:08,840 of that , that the the Russians know 734 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:08,550 they haven't taken Mario pole is there 735 00:29:08,550 --> 00:29:10,717 to continuing to bomb Mario people and 736 00:29:10,717 --> 00:29:12,828 they still have forced levels outside 737 00:29:12,828 --> 00:29:15,050 Mario pull themselves and in the city , 738 00:29:15,050 --> 00:29:16,828 Did you have one to give you an 739 00:29:16,828 --> 00:29:18,994 opportunity to respond to this Russian 740 00:29:18,994 --> 00:29:21,328 media report ? That's saying that the U . 741 00:29:21,328 --> 00:29:23,383 S . And NATO have military equipment 742 00:29:23,383 --> 00:29:25,272 lined up on Finland's border with 743 00:29:25,272 --> 00:29:27,383 Russia . Is that just a bogus Russian 744 00:29:27,383 --> 00:29:29,606 claim or is there any truth buying that 745 00:29:29,606 --> 00:29:31,950 bogus ? Okay , thanks everybody .