1 00:00:00,689 --> 00:00:02,911 Just a few things to deliver up top and 2 00:00:02,911 --> 00:00:06,030 we'll get right to your questions here . 3 00:00:07,300 --> 00:00:09,380 So first of all , I'd like to take a 4 00:00:09,390 --> 00:00:12,390 moment to recap recent operations in 5 00:00:12,399 --> 00:00:14,390 the US central command area of 6 00:00:14,399 --> 00:00:17,700 responsibility . Our statement last 7 00:00:17,709 --> 00:00:20,200 night , a US contractor was killed 8 00:00:20,209 --> 00:00:22,510 yesterday and five US service members 9 00:00:22,750 --> 00:00:25,000 and one additional US contractor were 10 00:00:25,010 --> 00:00:28,260 wounded after a one way unmanned aerial 11 00:00:28,270 --> 00:00:30,381 vehicle struck a maintenance facility 12 00:00:30,381 --> 00:00:32,650 on a coalition base near Hasaka in 13 00:00:32,659 --> 00:00:35,279 north northeast Syria at approximately 14 00:00:35,290 --> 00:00:37,880 1 38 PM . Local time . 15 00:00:38,770 --> 00:00:40,826 Secretary Austin at the direction of 16 00:00:40,826 --> 00:00:42,937 President Biden authorized us central 17 00:00:42,937 --> 00:00:44,937 command forces to conduct precision 18 00:00:44,937 --> 00:00:47,650 strikes into Eastern Syria against 19 00:00:47,659 --> 00:00:49,759 facilities used by groups affiliated 20 00:00:49,770 --> 00:00:51,992 with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard 21 00:00:51,992 --> 00:00:54,479 Corps . The air strikes were conducted 22 00:00:54,490 --> 00:00:57,119 in response to yesterday's attack as 23 00:00:57,130 --> 00:00:59,074 well as a series of recent attacks 24 00:00:59,074 --> 00:01:01,500 against coalition forces in Syria by 25 00:01:01,509 --> 00:01:05,098 groups affiliated with the IRGC . In 26 00:01:05,109 --> 00:01:07,488 terms of air strike details . Two US 27 00:01:07,499 --> 00:01:10,149 air force F-15 E fighter aircraft 28 00:01:10,329 --> 00:01:13,088 assigned to us air forces central and 29 00:01:13,098 --> 00:01:14,709 based in the Centcom area of 30 00:01:14,709 --> 00:01:17,719 responsibility struck two I RGC 31 00:01:17,728 --> 00:01:19,895 affiliated facilities at approximately 32 00:01:19,895 --> 00:01:23,830 7 40 PM eastern time or 2 40 AM . 33 00:01:23,839 --> 00:01:26,639 Local . The facilities were located 34 00:01:26,650 --> 00:01:30,589 near in eastern Syria . And 35 00:01:30,599 --> 00:01:32,766 we're continuing to assess the outcome 36 00:01:32,766 --> 00:01:34,830 of the strikes . Initial indications 37 00:01:34,839 --> 00:01:37,006 are that the facilities were destroyed 38 00:01:37,006 --> 00:01:39,228 in regards to any militant casualties . 39 00:01:39,228 --> 00:01:41,510 We're still assessing these precision 40 00:01:41,519 --> 00:01:43,575 strikes were intended to protect and 41 00:01:43,575 --> 00:01:45,575 defend us personnel and the US took 42 00:01:45,575 --> 00:01:47,575 proportionate and deliberate action 43 00:01:47,575 --> 00:01:49,241 intended to limit the risk of 44 00:01:49,241 --> 00:01:52,360 escalation and minimize casualties . As 45 00:01:52,370 --> 00:01:54,648 Secretary Austin said in his statement , 46 00:01:54,648 --> 00:01:56,703 no group will strike our troops with 47 00:01:56,703 --> 00:01:58,989 impunity Again . Secretary Austin along 48 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,056 with the Department of Defense offer 49 00:02:01,056 --> 00:02:03,222 our thoughts and prayers to the family 50 00:02:03,222 --> 00:02:04,944 and colleagues of the American 51 00:02:04,944 --> 00:02:06,889 contractor who was killed and with 52 00:02:06,889 --> 00:02:09,056 those who were wounded in the attack , 53 00:02:09,056 --> 00:02:11,167 our forces deployed in Syria continue 54 00:02:11,167 --> 00:02:10,869 to conduct their important mission in 55 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,047 support of the international coalition 56 00:02:13,047 --> 00:02:15,269 to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis . 57 00:02:15,889 --> 00:02:17,778 Separately , Secretary Austin and 58 00:02:17,778 --> 00:02:19,889 chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 59 00:02:19,889 --> 00:02:21,833 General Milley testified yesterday 60 00:02:21,833 --> 00:02:23,611 before the House appropriations 61 00:02:23,611 --> 00:02:25,830 subcommittee on defense to discuss the 62 00:02:25,839 --> 00:02:28,899 President's fiscal year 2024 budget . 63 00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:31,467 Next week , both leaders are scheduled 64 00:02:31,467 --> 00:02:33,411 to testify before the Senate Armed 65 00:02:33,411 --> 00:02:35,578 Services Committee and the House Armed 66 00:02:35,578 --> 00:02:37,522 Services Committee on dod s budget 67 00:02:37,522 --> 00:02:39,578 posture and our future years defense 68 00:02:39,578 --> 00:02:41,800 program . Again , the secretary and the 69 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:43,911 chairman look forward to working with 70 00:02:43,911 --> 00:02:46,133 Congress to provide our service members 71 00:02:46,133 --> 00:02:45,250 serving around the world with the 72 00:02:45,259 --> 00:02:47,537 resources that they need to accomplish . 73 00:02:47,537 --> 00:02:49,490 Do O DS mission And strengthen 74 00:02:49,500 --> 00:02:51,500 America's national security for the 75 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:54,500 21st century and beyond . Finally , on 76 00:02:54,509 --> 00:02:56,731 Wednesday , Secretary Austin unveiled a 77 00:02:56,731 --> 00:02:58,842 comprehensive plan aimed at improving 78 00:02:58,842 --> 00:03:00,842 the lives of our dedicated military 79 00:03:00,842 --> 00:03:03,065 force and their families . The new plan 80 00:03:03,065 --> 00:03:05,287 consists of six additional actions that 81 00:03:05,287 --> 00:03:07,453 address essential needs in education , 82 00:03:07,453 --> 00:03:09,620 child care , parental leave and career 83 00:03:09,620 --> 00:03:11,842 advancement . The Department of Defense 84 00:03:11,842 --> 00:03:13,953 is committed to working with Congress 85 00:03:13,953 --> 00:03:16,009 and other stakeholders to ensure the 86 00:03:16,009 --> 00:03:17,953 successful implementation of these 87 00:03:17,953 --> 00:03:19,731 measures . The plan directs the 88 00:03:19,731 --> 00:03:21,509 implementation of the following 89 00:03:21,509 --> 00:03:23,453 universal pre kindergarten and dod 90 00:03:23,453 --> 00:03:25,287 education activities , schools , 91 00:03:25,287 --> 00:03:27,231 dependent care , flexible spending 92 00:03:27,231 --> 00:03:28,953 accounts for service members , 93 00:03:28,953 --> 00:03:30,953 promoting awareness of new military 94 00:03:30,953 --> 00:03:33,120 parental leave benefits . Improvements 95 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,953 to the exceptional family member 96 00:03:34,953 --> 00:03:37,440 program expanded spouse eligibility for 97 00:03:37,449 --> 00:03:39,616 career advancement account , financial 98 00:03:39,616 --> 00:03:42,050 assistance and continuing efforts for 99 00:03:42,059 --> 00:03:44,690 portability for professional licenses 100 00:03:44,699 --> 00:03:47,279 for military families . Secretary 101 00:03:47,289 --> 00:03:49,345 Austin and the Department of Defense 102 00:03:49,345 --> 00:03:51,511 are dedicated to enhancing the quality 103 00:03:51,511 --> 00:03:53,511 of life for our service members and 104 00:03:53,511 --> 00:03:55,345 their families through these new 105 00:03:55,345 --> 00:03:57,345 measures . The dod will collaborate 106 00:03:57,345 --> 00:03:57,130 with Congress and state partners to 107 00:03:57,139 --> 00:03:59,195 ensure the successful implementation 108 00:03:59,410 --> 00:04:01,021 and ongoing support of these 109 00:04:01,021 --> 00:04:02,880 initiatives . The memorandum and 110 00:04:02,889 --> 00:04:05,056 additional information can be found on 111 00:04:05,056 --> 00:04:07,222 the DOD website and with that , I will 112 00:04:07,222 --> 00:04:09,389 take your questions . We'll start with 113 00:04:09,389 --> 00:04:13,320 A P . Thanks Pat a couple of things . 114 00:04:13,330 --> 00:04:16,480 Just one quick clarification in the 115 00:04:16,489 --> 00:04:20,098 counter strikes . Did the US uh hit 116 00:04:20,109 --> 00:04:22,848 three or two ? Was it three strikes or 117 00:04:22,859 --> 00:04:25,658 two strikes ? Uh 22 different uh 118 00:04:25,669 --> 00:04:27,718 facilities ? So two strikes , two 119 00:04:27,729 --> 00:04:30,848 strikes . Ok . And then uh secondly , 120 00:04:30,919 --> 00:04:33,449 can you talk a little bit about the 121 00:04:33,459 --> 00:04:36,819 protection at the uh base where 122 00:04:36,968 --> 00:04:40,359 the Iranian uh drone hit 123 00:04:41,170 --> 00:04:43,899 my understanding is that there was some 124 00:04:43,910 --> 00:04:46,899 um either lacking protections there . 125 00:04:46,910 --> 00:04:49,760 Can you say whether or not any of the 126 00:04:49,769 --> 00:04:51,825 radars or aerostats or anything that 127 00:04:51,825 --> 00:04:53,739 are there uh either failed or not 128 00:04:53,750 --> 00:04:55,720 operating , is there adequate 129 00:04:55,730 --> 00:04:57,809 protection there ? Now , how did the 130 00:04:57,820 --> 00:05:01,570 drone pierce the security of that base ? 131 00:05:01,579 --> 00:05:03,746 And then I have one follow up . Sure . 132 00:05:03,746 --> 00:05:05,523 Uh So first of all , uh broadly 133 00:05:05,523 --> 00:05:07,579 speaking , uh for operation security 134 00:05:07,579 --> 00:05:09,635 reasons , I'm not gonna get into the 135 00:05:09,635 --> 00:05:11,857 specifics in terms of , of the types of 136 00:05:11,857 --> 00:05:14,019 force protection capabilities uh We 137 00:05:14,029 --> 00:05:16,085 have in our facilities other than to 138 00:05:16,085 --> 00:05:18,196 say , we take force protection very , 139 00:05:18,196 --> 00:05:20,920 very seriously . Um I will say , you 140 00:05:20,929 --> 00:05:22,929 know , as it pertains to radar , my 141 00:05:22,929 --> 00:05:24,985 understanding is uh that there was a 142 00:05:24,985 --> 00:05:27,318 complete site picture in terms of radar , 143 00:05:27,318 --> 00:05:29,570 all that said uh as is the case in any 144 00:05:29,579 --> 00:05:32,119 type of attack , uh us central command 145 00:05:32,130 --> 00:05:34,739 will conduct a review to assess uh what 146 00:05:34,750 --> 00:05:36,972 happened and take a look at what if any 147 00:05:36,972 --> 00:05:39,299 other type of mitigating actions need 148 00:05:39,309 --> 00:05:41,531 to be taken . Um But it would obviously 149 00:05:41,531 --> 00:05:43,698 be premature to , to talk about that . 150 00:05:43,698 --> 00:05:45,865 And then you're following just a quick 151 00:05:45,865 --> 00:05:47,959 follow up on the the actual uh uh 152 00:05:49,230 --> 00:05:53,190 situation . Now , obviously the US was 153 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,256 struck again . Green village was hit 154 00:05:55,256 --> 00:05:57,144 again in response to those the US 155 00:05:57,144 --> 00:05:58,880 retaliatory strikes are things 156 00:05:58,890 --> 00:06:01,112 escalating there . Can we expect more ? 157 00:06:01,112 --> 00:06:03,529 Is this turning into a far more 158 00:06:03,540 --> 00:06:06,279 escalatory situation in Syria for the 159 00:06:06,290 --> 00:06:09,079 troops ? Sure . And as you highlight 160 00:06:09,089 --> 00:06:11,739 this morning at approximately eight oh 161 00:06:11,750 --> 00:06:14,510 five AM local time , which would have 162 00:06:14,519 --> 00:06:17,399 been one oh five AM 163 00:06:18,529 --> 00:06:21,820 eastern time . We had 10 rockets that 164 00:06:21,829 --> 00:06:23,773 targeted coalition forces at Green 165 00:06:23,773 --> 00:06:26,309 Village in northeast Syria . The attack 166 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:28,153 resulted in no injuries to us or 167 00:06:28,153 --> 00:06:30,619 coalition personnel and no damage to 168 00:06:30,630 --> 00:06:33,140 equipment or facilities in terms of 169 00:06:33,149 --> 00:06:35,316 escalation . Look again , our focus in 170 00:06:35,316 --> 00:06:38,394 Syria is on the defeat ISIS mission and 171 00:06:38,404 --> 00:06:40,571 that will remain our focus . We do not 172 00:06:40,571 --> 00:06:42,737 see conflict with Iran . We don't seek 173 00:06:42,737 --> 00:06:44,793 escalation with Iran but the strikes 174 00:06:44,793 --> 00:06:46,904 that we took last night were intended 175 00:06:46,904 --> 00:06:48,960 to send a very clear message that we 176 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:50,737 will take the protection of our 177 00:06:50,737 --> 00:06:52,793 personnel seriously and that we will 178 00:06:52,793 --> 00:06:54,960 respond quickly and decisively if they 179 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,779 are threatened . Thank you , General , 180 00:06:58,790 --> 00:07:00,957 I have two questions . So according to 181 00:07:00,957 --> 00:07:03,239 the dod , the intelligence assessment 182 00:07:03,250 --> 00:07:06,510 is this uh U A V to be of Iranian 183 00:07:06,519 --> 00:07:09,010 origin . Uh The groups that were 184 00:07:09,019 --> 00:07:12,890 targeted by the US are affiliated 185 00:07:12,899 --> 00:07:15,730 with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard . 186 00:07:16,059 --> 00:07:18,529 Uh One American citizen was killed , 187 00:07:18,609 --> 00:07:21,329 six more were injured . Do you and the 188 00:07:21,339 --> 00:07:23,859 department and the Secretary of Defense 189 00:07:24,170 --> 00:07:26,337 hold Iran responsible for the death of 190 00:07:26,337 --> 00:07:28,392 an American citizen . Look , we know 191 00:07:28,392 --> 00:07:31,100 that these groups are sponsored by Iran . 192 00:07:31,109 --> 00:07:33,589 So Iran certainly plays a role in terms 193 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,420 of ensuring that this type of activity 194 00:07:37,429 --> 00:07:40,359 doesn't happen , is responsible for the 195 00:07:40,369 --> 00:07:42,480 death of an American citizen or not . 196 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,702 Look , Iran certainly again backs these 197 00:07:44,702 --> 00:07:47,079 groups and by default , therefore , has 198 00:07:47,089 --> 00:07:49,311 a responsibility to ensure that they're 199 00:07:49,311 --> 00:07:51,256 not contributing to insecurity and 200 00:07:51,256 --> 00:07:53,367 stability , but clearly they continue 201 00:07:53,367 --> 00:07:55,367 to do that . Thank you , Jennifer . 202 00:07:56,290 --> 00:07:58,709 Make it quick . So yesterday General 203 00:07:58,829 --> 00:08:00,980 Guilla was on the hill delivering his 204 00:08:00,989 --> 00:08:03,750 testimony . According to the statement , 205 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,230 the attack happened at 1 38 local time . 206 00:08:06,529 --> 00:08:08,418 So that was before , prior to his 207 00:08:08,418 --> 00:08:10,929 testimony when he delivered uh his 208 00:08:10,940 --> 00:08:12,940 testimony on the hill . Did he know 209 00:08:12,940 --> 00:08:14,884 about the attack ? And if so , why 210 00:08:14,884 --> 00:08:17,162 didn't he inform the Congress about it ? 211 00:08:17,162 --> 00:08:19,162 Yeah , I , I'd have to refer you to 212 00:08:19,162 --> 00:08:21,273 General Cara . Thank you , Jennifer . 213 00:08:21,273 --> 00:08:23,440 General Rider . What kind of drone was 214 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,160 this Iranian drone ? And how fast was 215 00:08:26,170 --> 00:08:28,503 it flying when it came towards the base ? 216 00:08:28,739 --> 00:08:32,039 And did it in the end actually crash 217 00:08:32,049 --> 00:08:34,760 into the base or did it fire its 218 00:08:34,770 --> 00:08:37,380 missiles at the base ? Yeah , thanks . 219 00:08:37,390 --> 00:08:39,849 Uh Jennifer . So we're still uh 220 00:08:39,859 --> 00:08:41,803 assessing some of those pieces . I 221 00:08:41,803 --> 00:08:43,970 don't have that information to provide 222 00:08:43,970 --> 00:08:46,081 other than we are very confident that 223 00:08:46,081 --> 00:08:48,192 based on the forensics , based on the 224 00:08:48,192 --> 00:08:50,303 intelligence analysis that we've done 225 00:08:50,303 --> 00:08:52,470 that it was of Iranian origin . Did it 226 00:08:52,470 --> 00:08:54,359 crash into the facility or fire a 227 00:08:54,359 --> 00:08:56,359 weapon at the facility ? It did not 228 00:08:56,359 --> 00:08:58,470 fire a weapon to my knowledge . So if 229 00:08:58,470 --> 00:09:00,849 you say the radar was working and if 230 00:09:00,859 --> 00:09:03,179 you were tracking it and drones don't 231 00:09:03,190 --> 00:09:06,599 fly that quickly , um How is it that it 232 00:09:06,609 --> 00:09:08,950 was able to crash into the base ? And , 233 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:10,904 and you say that you're protecting 234 00:09:10,904 --> 00:09:12,960 those bases ? Look again , this is a 235 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,127 dangerous part of the world , the work 236 00:09:15,127 --> 00:09:17,182 that we do is inherently dangerous . 237 00:09:17,182 --> 00:09:16,950 That's why you have the military in 238 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,127 these types of places conducting these 239 00:09:19,127 --> 00:09:21,539 type of operations . We've seen rocket 240 00:09:21,549 --> 00:09:23,605 attacks , mortar attacks in the past 241 00:09:23,605 --> 00:09:25,669 from these kinds of groups . Again , 242 00:09:25,849 --> 00:09:28,016 Centcom will do an assessment in terms 243 00:09:28,016 --> 00:09:30,520 of , of the attack . But the fact is 244 00:09:30,530 --> 00:09:33,280 that these I RGC back groups conducted 245 00:09:33,289 --> 00:09:35,456 this attack and unfortunately , we had 246 00:09:35,456 --> 00:09:37,678 an American killed . Why wasn't there a 247 00:09:37,678 --> 00:09:39,845 contingency to shoot down the drone if 248 00:09:39,845 --> 00:09:41,956 it was coming into the base ? Again , 249 00:09:41,956 --> 00:09:44,178 look , we take a variety of measures to 250 00:09:44,178 --> 00:09:46,400 safeguard our people , but again , it's 251 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,511 an inherently dangerous place . And , 252 00:09:48,511 --> 00:09:50,733 and again , we'll look into the details 253 00:09:50,733 --> 00:09:52,900 of the actual attack . Thank you . You 254 00:09:52,900 --> 00:09:51,750 go to Janie . 255 00:09:58,059 --> 00:09:59,909 Thank you , Senator . I have two 256 00:09:59,919 --> 00:10:03,159 questions . North Korea announced that 257 00:10:03,169 --> 00:10:07,010 it had conducted a nuclear underwater 258 00:10:07,020 --> 00:10:10,429 explosion test and Kim jong-un said 259 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,950 that he would respond 260 00:10:14,099 --> 00:10:18,039 to us and South Korea , how 261 00:10:18,049 --> 00:10:21,119 will the US react to this ? Yeah , so 262 00:10:21,130 --> 00:10:24,150 I'm I'm aware that North Korea issued a 263 00:10:24,159 --> 00:10:27,270 press release about this . Um 264 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,059 suppose in capability . I've seen the 265 00:10:30,070 --> 00:10:32,299 press reports , but I don't have any 266 00:10:32,309 --> 00:10:34,587 further information to provide on that , 267 00:10:34,587 --> 00:10:36,809 concerned about Kim Jong Un , but we're 268 00:10:36,809 --> 00:10:38,753 always concerned about any type of 269 00:10:38,753 --> 00:10:40,976 destabilizing activity by North Korea . 270 00:10:40,976 --> 00:10:43,087 And so again , it's something that we 271 00:10:43,087 --> 00:10:44,865 take very seriously , but as it 272 00:10:44,865 --> 00:10:46,809 pertains to the North Korean press 273 00:10:46,809 --> 00:10:48,698 release , you know , I don't have 274 00:10:48,698 --> 00:10:51,650 anything further to provide chairman of 275 00:10:51,659 --> 00:10:55,090 the joint Chiefs of Staff General will 276 00:10:55,140 --> 00:10:58,619 visit to South Korea soon . Does he 277 00:10:58,630 --> 00:11:02,469 have any plans to visit the M 278 00:11:02,479 --> 00:11:05,719 G ? Uh I don't have anything to read 279 00:11:05,729 --> 00:11:07,840 out today in terms of General Milly's 280 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,007 upcoming visit . Um , so I'd refer you 281 00:11:10,007 --> 00:11:12,479 to , to join . I don't want to 282 00:11:12,489 --> 00:11:14,600 speculate , but thank you . Let me go 283 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,549 to or uh following the 10 rockets 284 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,670 that were fired at Green Village ? Do 285 00:11:20,670 --> 00:11:22,837 you believe it was the same group that 286 00:11:22,837 --> 00:11:22,630 carried out the same group or the same 287 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:24,640 militia that carried out the rocket 288 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,696 attack and the drone attack ? Do you 289 00:11:26,696 --> 00:11:28,862 plan to respond to those rockets ? And 290 00:11:28,862 --> 00:11:30,973 what will it take , do you believe to 291 00:11:30,973 --> 00:11:33,251 restore deterrence there ? Yeah , sure . 292 00:11:33,251 --> 00:11:35,362 Uh So our , our current assessment uh 293 00:11:35,362 --> 00:11:37,584 is that these , these uh rocket attacks 294 00:11:37,584 --> 00:11:39,960 were conducted by our I RGC affiliated 295 00:11:39,969 --> 00:11:43,650 groups that this rocket attack was done 296 00:11:43,659 --> 00:11:46,179 in an effort to retaliate from last 297 00:11:46,190 --> 00:11:49,200 night's attacks . Again , they did not 298 00:11:49,210 --> 00:11:51,849 cause any damage at the coalition 299 00:11:51,859 --> 00:11:55,419 facility as far as any type of future 300 00:11:55,429 --> 00:11:57,651 action . I'm not going to talk about or 301 00:11:57,651 --> 00:11:59,651 preview potential future operations 302 00:11:59,651 --> 00:12:01,596 other than to say , we will always 303 00:12:01,596 --> 00:12:03,210 reserve the right to respond 304 00:12:03,219 --> 00:12:05,890 appropriately if our forces are 305 00:12:05,900 --> 00:12:08,760 threatened . Thank you . Yes , sir . 306 00:12:12,549 --> 00:12:14,660 Are you not concerned that there will 307 00:12:14,660 --> 00:12:17,989 be an all out war with Iran due to the 308 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,119 continued exchange fire between the 309 00:12:21,130 --> 00:12:23,390 proxy groups and also they are 310 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,000 attacking your bases in Syria ? Yeah . 311 00:12:26,289 --> 00:12:29,789 So first of all , we don't see conflict 312 00:12:29,799 --> 00:12:33,270 or war with Iran . Our focus in Syria 313 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,609 is on the enduring defeat of Isis . 314 00:12:37,270 --> 00:12:40,020 You know , unfortunately , what you see 315 00:12:40,030 --> 00:12:42,809 in this situation are these Iranian 316 00:12:42,820 --> 00:12:45,880 backed groups , not only in Syria but 317 00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:48,530 conducting operations in the Strait of 318 00:12:48,539 --> 00:12:51,429 Hormuz in the Gulf and Iraq 319 00:12:51,489 --> 00:12:54,280 conducting destabilizing operations 320 00:12:54,289 --> 00:12:56,489 that are meant to export terror and 321 00:12:56,500 --> 00:12:59,479 instability . You know , Iran sending 322 00:12:59,489 --> 00:13:03,030 drones to Russia . And so again , the 323 00:13:03,039 --> 00:13:05,580 United States and our coalition , our 324 00:13:05,590 --> 00:13:08,000 allies and our partners were focused on 325 00:13:08,010 --> 00:13:10,900 trying to ensure stability security in 326 00:13:10,909 --> 00:13:13,131 these regions and that will continue to 327 00:13:13,131 --> 00:13:15,242 be our focus . We do not seek a wider 328 00:13:15,242 --> 00:13:17,369 conflict . And so we will , that said 329 00:13:17,380 --> 00:13:19,547 if our people are threatened , we will 330 00:13:19,547 --> 00:13:21,658 continue to respond appropriately and 331 00:13:21,658 --> 00:13:23,713 proportionately not the first time . 332 00:13:23,713 --> 00:13:25,713 And they did it many more times and 333 00:13:25,713 --> 00:13:27,880 they did it today as well . Will there 334 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,047 be any additional response from the US 335 00:13:30,047 --> 00:13:32,269 to these groups ? Yeah , I think I just 336 00:13:32,269 --> 00:13:34,324 answered that right . So again , I'm 337 00:13:34,324 --> 00:13:36,324 not gonna preview any potential for 338 00:13:36,324 --> 00:13:38,380 future actions other than to again , 339 00:13:38,380 --> 00:13:40,269 say that we will take appropriate 340 00:13:40,269 --> 00:13:42,380 action if our forces are threatened . 341 00:13:42,380 --> 00:13:43,380 Ok . Yes , sir . 342 00:13:46,299 --> 00:13:49,080 Yesterday , us and R O K joint military 343 00:13:49,090 --> 00:13:51,909 exercise named the Field . She 23 344 00:13:51,919 --> 00:13:54,229 officially finished . How do you assess 345 00:13:54,239 --> 00:13:56,350 the outcome of this exercise ? Yeah , 346 00:13:56,350 --> 00:13:58,683 thanks for the question . Unfortunately , 347 00:13:58,683 --> 00:14:00,683 I don't have any information on the 348 00:14:00,683 --> 00:14:02,739 exercise at this point in time , but 349 00:14:02,739 --> 00:14:04,850 I'd refer to us F K . They could give 350 00:14:04,850 --> 00:14:04,039 you a good read out . And so do you 351 00:14:04,049 --> 00:14:06,330 plan to do more additional such a large 352 00:14:06,340 --> 00:14:08,396 scale 20 minutes exercise between us 353 00:14:08,396 --> 00:14:10,562 and South Korea ? So I don't , I don't 354 00:14:10,562 --> 00:14:12,830 have any specific exercises to 355 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:14,896 highlight here today . Other than to 356 00:14:14,896 --> 00:14:16,673 say that we very much value our 357 00:14:16,673 --> 00:14:18,840 relationship with South Korea and that 358 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:20,784 I am confident we will continue to 359 00:14:20,784 --> 00:14:23,020 conduct a variety of exercises , 360 00:14:23,030 --> 00:14:25,086 exchanges , partnerships in order to 361 00:14:25,086 --> 00:14:27,330 improve interoperability and ensure 362 00:14:27,340 --> 00:14:30,000 that we're working together to ensure 363 00:14:30,010 --> 00:14:32,177 security and stability in the region . 364 00:14:32,177 --> 00:14:33,566 Thank you . Let me go to 365 00:14:35,510 --> 00:14:37,369 General , I have a clarification 366 00:14:37,380 --> 00:14:40,119 question and then I have uh with 367 00:14:40,130 --> 00:14:43,460 respect to Iran back groups in the past , 368 00:14:43,469 --> 00:14:45,636 in the past strikes , we wouldn't hear 369 00:14:45,636 --> 00:14:48,409 attributions from the dod . And you are 370 00:14:48,419 --> 00:14:50,969 now very specifically mentioning Iran . 371 00:14:50,979 --> 00:14:53,349 Iran backed on I RGC in this statement . 372 00:14:53,359 --> 00:14:55,359 Is this , what , what is the reason 373 00:14:55,359 --> 00:14:57,470 behind that ? Is this something new ? 374 00:14:57,470 --> 00:14:59,692 Yeah , I can't speak for the past . All 375 00:14:59,692 --> 00:15:01,859 I can speak to is the information that 376 00:15:01,859 --> 00:15:03,859 we have , which is our intelligence 377 00:15:03,859 --> 00:15:05,970 community assessed that the origin of 378 00:15:05,970 --> 00:15:08,450 this drone was Iranian made . Uh And 379 00:15:08,460 --> 00:15:11,059 that the groups conducting uh this 380 00:15:11,070 --> 00:15:13,619 attack are affiliated with the I RGC . 381 00:15:14,690 --> 00:15:16,301 The other question about the 382 00:15:16,301 --> 00:15:18,523 contractors , uh the the contractor was 383 00:15:18,523 --> 00:15:20,650 killed . What was his job ? One ? And 384 00:15:20,659 --> 00:15:22,770 then how many contractors do you have 385 00:15:22,770 --> 00:15:25,349 in Syria ? Do you have a ballpark 386 00:15:25,359 --> 00:15:27,581 number for us ? Yeah , so I , I I'm not 387 00:15:27,581 --> 00:15:29,803 gonna provide any numbers as you know , 388 00:15:29,803 --> 00:15:31,859 uh we work closely with a variety of 389 00:15:31,859 --> 00:15:33,581 contractors around the world , 390 00:15:33,581 --> 00:15:35,692 conducting a variety of , of missions 391 00:15:35,692 --> 00:15:37,748 in terms of the organization of this 392 00:15:37,748 --> 00:15:39,803 particular contractor as a matter of 393 00:15:39,803 --> 00:15:41,915 policy , that is something that we uh 394 00:15:41,915 --> 00:15:44,081 will defer to the individual's company 395 00:15:44,190 --> 00:15:47,570 uh to to highlight or provide . And so 396 00:15:47,580 --> 00:15:49,802 I'm not going to be able to provide any 397 00:15:49,802 --> 00:15:52,400 additional details on that . Ok , let's 398 00:15:52,409 --> 00:15:53,687 see here . Yes , sir . 399 00:15:57,150 --> 00:15:59,229 Thank you taking my question . So as 400 00:15:59,239 --> 00:16:01,799 Taiwanese President Thai visit to the 401 00:16:01,809 --> 00:16:05,150 US next week , so it is expected that 402 00:16:05,349 --> 00:16:08,849 there will be Chinese backlash . So 403 00:16:08,859 --> 00:16:10,859 does Pentagon going to respond some 404 00:16:10,859 --> 00:16:14,369 actions like changing the deployment or 405 00:16:14,380 --> 00:16:17,109 build up military around the area of 406 00:16:17,119 --> 00:16:20,020 Taiwan ? Yeah , sure . Uh on the on the 407 00:16:20,030 --> 00:16:22,700 transit uh of the president uh that 408 00:16:22,710 --> 00:16:24,599 that's really something for state 409 00:16:24,599 --> 00:16:26,321 Department to address or to my 410 00:16:26,321 --> 00:16:28,469 knowledge . Uh really no dod equities 411 00:16:28,479 --> 00:16:30,710 associated with that . Uh Nor are we 412 00:16:30,719 --> 00:16:33,400 changing any uh postures uh that I'm 413 00:16:33,409 --> 00:16:35,576 aware of ? So , thank you time for one 414 00:16:35,576 --> 00:16:36,742 more . Yes , ma'am . 415 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:41,496 Thank you for taking my question . I 416 00:16:41,496 --> 00:16:43,440 have a follow up question on North 417 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,662 Korea's announcement yesterday . Um How 418 00:16:45,662 --> 00:16:47,496 much are you worried about North 419 00:16:47,496 --> 00:16:49,718 Korea's future deployment of underwater 420 00:16:49,718 --> 00:16:52,250 at a vehicle specifically ? Yeah , 421 00:16:52,260 --> 00:16:55,150 again , um to my knowledge , you know 422 00:16:55,159 --> 00:16:57,450 what we've seen right now is a press 423 00:16:57,460 --> 00:16:59,571 release coming from North Korea about 424 00:16:59,571 --> 00:17:01,849 this supposed capability . We've seen 425 00:17:01,859 --> 00:17:03,915 the press reports , but I don't have 426 00:17:03,915 --> 00:17:06,192 any specific information to provide on , 427 00:17:06,192 --> 00:17:08,192 on that particular aspect . Again , 428 00:17:08,192 --> 00:17:10,303 more broadly speaking , we constantly 429 00:17:10,303 --> 00:17:12,689 maintain , you know , awareness and 430 00:17:12,699 --> 00:17:15,780 observe and are concerned about any 431 00:17:15,790 --> 00:17:18,619 destabilizing activity by North Korea . 432 00:17:18,630 --> 00:17:20,463 And so we'll continue to consult 433 00:17:20,463 --> 00:17:22,241 closely with our allies and our 434 00:17:22,241 --> 00:17:24,019 partners in the region to deter 435 00:17:24,019 --> 00:17:25,908 aggression and ensure that we can 436 00:17:25,908 --> 00:17:28,000 continue to maintain security and 437 00:17:28,010 --> 00:17:30,589 stability in the region . Right ? The 438 00:17:30,599 --> 00:17:34,390 last question , sir . Thank you 439 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,250 General . Um So , Pepe de Blasio , he's 440 00:17:37,260 --> 00:17:39,316 the former Director of the Office of 441 00:17:39,316 --> 00:17:42,050 Missile Defense Policy . Um earlier 442 00:17:42,060 --> 00:17:44,060 today , he was at the C SI S and he 443 00:17:44,060 --> 00:17:45,782 said there's kind of a lack of 444 00:17:45,782 --> 00:17:47,782 political will in defensive missile 445 00:17:47,782 --> 00:17:49,893 technologies . Do you care to comment 446 00:17:49,893 --> 00:17:52,060 on that ? Uh I did not see that . So I 447 00:17:52,060 --> 00:17:54,227 I don't want to comment on it . Is the 448 00:17:54,227 --> 00:17:56,227 Biden administration pursuing , you 449 00:17:56,227 --> 00:17:58,004 know , research in that area to 450 00:17:58,004 --> 00:18:00,004 intercept hypersonic missiles , for 451 00:18:00,004 --> 00:18:02,319 example , improving ICBM interception 452 00:18:02,329 --> 00:18:04,329 capabilities . Yeah , I mean , look 453 00:18:04,329 --> 00:18:06,439 broadly speaking missile defense is 454 00:18:06,449 --> 00:18:08,449 something that the department takes 455 00:18:08,449 --> 00:18:10,616 very seriously for obvious reasons . I 456 00:18:10,616 --> 00:18:12,893 don't have specifics to provide to you . 457 00:18:12,893 --> 00:18:15,116 Certainly we can get with the offline . 458 00:18:15,116 --> 00:18:17,005 But when you look at the kinds of 459 00:18:17,005 --> 00:18:18,949 capabilities , the kind of missile 460 00:18:18,949 --> 00:18:21,116 capabilities that countries like China 461 00:18:21,116 --> 00:18:23,338 are developing or the use of missiles . 462 00:18:23,338 --> 00:18:25,505 And the war in Ukraine missile defense 463 00:18:25,505 --> 00:18:27,810 continues to be a very important uh 464 00:18:27,819 --> 00:18:30,060 aspect of our portfolio and something 465 00:18:30,069 --> 00:18:32,069 that we'll continue to take a close 466 00:18:32,069 --> 00:18:34,125 look at . Thank you . Thank you very 467 00:18:34,125 --> 00:18:33,910 much , everybody . Appreciate it .