1 00:00:00,259 --> 00:00:01,259 Lot of the 2 00:00:06,039 --> 00:00:08,890 hi everyone . Uh Mike , nice to see 3 00:00:08,899 --> 00:00:10,621 that you're back . Hope you're 4 00:00:10,621 --> 00:00:12,899 recovering well . Um So good afternoon . 5 00:00:12,899 --> 00:00:15,010 Just a few things here at the top and 6 00:00:15,010 --> 00:00:17,121 then I'd be happy to dive in and take 7 00:00:17,121 --> 00:00:19,232 your questions . So as you know , the 8 00:00:19,232 --> 00:00:21,399 secretary recently traveled to Ukraine 9 00:00:21,399 --> 00:00:21,180 earlier this week where he met with 10 00:00:21,190 --> 00:00:23,134 Ukrainian leaders to reinforce the 11 00:00:23,134 --> 00:00:25,190 staunch support of the United States 12 00:00:25,190 --> 00:00:27,412 for Ukraine's fight for freedom . While 13 00:00:27,412 --> 00:00:29,579 there , he met with President Zelensky 14 00:00:29,579 --> 00:00:31,523 and Minister of Defense Umarov and 15 00:00:31,523 --> 00:00:33,634 other leaders to receive an update on 16 00:00:33,634 --> 00:00:35,634 the situation on the battlefield in 17 00:00:35,634 --> 00:00:37,634 Ukraine . Additionally , during his 18 00:00:37,634 --> 00:00:39,857 trip , the secretary announced the 51st 19 00:00:39,857 --> 00:00:41,857 tranche of equipment to be provided 20 00:00:41,857 --> 00:00:44,023 from dod inventories for Ukraine since 21 00:00:44,023 --> 00:00:46,389 August 2021 valued at $100 million . 22 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,456 This package includes additional air 23 00:00:48,456 --> 00:00:50,289 defense capabilities , artillery 24 00:00:50,289 --> 00:00:52,233 ammunition , anti tank weapons and 25 00:00:52,233 --> 00:00:54,400 other equipment to help Ukraine defend 26 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,511 its sovereign territory and fight for 27 00:00:56,511 --> 00:00:58,622 its freedom from Russia's ongoing war 28 00:00:58,622 --> 00:01:00,622 of aggression . And on the heels of 29 00:01:00,622 --> 00:01:02,567 secretary's vis of the secretary's 30 00:01:02,567 --> 00:01:04,344 visit to Ukraine tomorrow , the 31 00:01:04,344 --> 00:01:06,511 secretary will virtually host the 17th 32 00:01:06,511 --> 00:01:08,678 meeting of the Ukraine defense contact 33 00:01:08,678 --> 00:01:10,344 group further reinforcing our 34 00:01:10,344 --> 00:01:12,400 commitment to Ukraine along with our 35 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,289 more than 50 allies , the US will 36 00:01:14,289 --> 00:01:16,456 continue to work with the coalition of 37 00:01:16,456 --> 00:01:18,622 allies and partners to provide Ukraine 38 00:01:18,622 --> 00:01:20,622 the capabilities it needs to defend 39 00:01:20,622 --> 00:01:22,400 itself , which is why it's also 40 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,511 critical that Congress take action to 41 00:01:24,511 --> 00:01:24,000 support Ukraine by passing the 42 00:01:24,010 --> 00:01:25,732 supplemental funding request . 43 00:01:26,989 --> 00:01:29,156 Switching gears to developments in the 44 00:01:29,156 --> 00:01:31,690 Middle East . I can confirm an attack 45 00:01:31,699 --> 00:01:34,209 last night by Iran backed militias 46 00:01:34,220 --> 00:01:36,529 using a close range ballistic missile 47 00:01:36,540 --> 00:01:39,980 against us . And coalition forces at Al 48 00:01:39,989 --> 00:01:42,739 Assad airbase in Iraq which resulted in 49 00:01:42,750 --> 00:01:44,959 several non serious injuries and some 50 00:01:44,970 --> 00:01:46,692 minor damage to infrastructure 51 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,181 immediately following the attack . A US 52 00:01:49,190 --> 00:01:52,059 military ac 130 aircraft in the area 53 00:01:52,110 --> 00:01:54,332 conducted a self defense strike against 54 00:01:54,332 --> 00:01:56,620 an Iranian backed militia vehicle and a 55 00:01:56,629 --> 00:01:58,462 number of Iranian backed militia 56 00:01:58,462 --> 00:02:00,480 personnel involved in this attack . 57 00:02:00,919 --> 00:02:02,975 This self defense strike resulted in 58 00:02:02,975 --> 00:02:05,559 some hostile fatalities . And since I 59 00:02:05,569 --> 00:02:07,839 know you'll ask us forces have been 60 00:02:07,849 --> 00:02:10,070 attacked approximately 66 times since 61 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,220 October 17th , 32 separate times in 62 00:02:13,229 --> 00:02:16,059 Iraq and 34 separate times in Syria . 63 00:02:16,509 --> 00:02:18,065 Us personnel have sustained 64 00:02:18,065 --> 00:02:20,770 approximately 62 injuries but this does 65 00:02:20,779 --> 00:02:22,809 not include any injuries from last 66 00:02:22,820 --> 00:02:24,987 night's attack as they are still being 67 00:02:24,987 --> 00:02:27,098 evaluated . And with that , I'm happy 68 00:02:27,098 --> 00:02:29,264 to take some questions . Tara , do you 69 00:02:29,264 --> 00:02:31,376 want to start us off ? Thank you . Um 70 00:02:31,376 --> 00:02:33,542 So we'll start with the strike . Um So 71 00:02:33,542 --> 00:02:35,487 retaliatory strike seems to be the 72 00:02:35,487 --> 00:02:38,020 first uh since these hostilities began 73 00:02:38,029 --> 00:02:39,973 where there were people as targets 74 00:02:39,973 --> 00:02:41,862 instead of uh infrastructure or a 75 00:02:41,862 --> 00:02:43,751 weapon storage facility . Can you 76 00:02:43,751 --> 00:02:45,751 provide any details about why these 77 00:02:45,751 --> 00:02:47,973 specific militants were targeted ? So I 78 00:02:47,973 --> 00:02:50,960 wouldn't say that I was um well , let 79 00:02:50,970 --> 00:02:53,190 me take a step back . The militants 80 00:02:53,199 --> 00:02:56,440 were targeted because uh the , the ac 81 00:02:56,449 --> 00:02:58,616 130 was able to determine the point of 82 00:02:58,616 --> 00:03:01,759 origin from where the um close range 83 00:03:01,770 --> 00:03:03,937 ballistic missile was being fired upon 84 00:03:03,937 --> 00:03:06,130 or , or fired um to the base . So they 85 00:03:06,139 --> 00:03:08,250 were able to take action because they 86 00:03:08,250 --> 00:03:10,361 saw uh the militants , they were able 87 00:03:10,361 --> 00:03:12,759 to keep an eye on the movement of um 88 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,210 these , these militants as they moved 89 00:03:15,220 --> 00:03:17,276 into their vehicles . And that's why 90 00:03:17,276 --> 00:03:19,276 they were able to uh to respond . I 91 00:03:19,276 --> 00:03:21,442 wouldn't say this is the first time we 92 00:03:21,442 --> 00:03:23,498 have responded . Um Again , we don't 93 00:03:23,498 --> 00:03:25,664 read out every single time that um how 94 00:03:25,664 --> 00:03:27,720 a certain system or capability takes 95 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,831 down a drone or rocket attack . Um We 96 00:03:29,831 --> 00:03:31,850 have had other cases where we have 97 00:03:31,860 --> 00:03:35,589 responded um in retaliation uh when we 98 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:37,544 were able to identify the point of 99 00:03:37,544 --> 00:03:39,656 origin . So it's not our first time . 100 00:03:39,656 --> 00:03:42,770 Um But it is uh just something that , 101 00:03:42,779 --> 00:03:44,946 um , you know , has been , of course , 102 00:03:44,946 --> 00:03:47,001 publicly reported . And so wanted to 103 00:03:47,001 --> 00:03:49,112 make sure that all the facts were out 104 00:03:49,112 --> 00:03:48,850 there . Ok . Just to pull on that . I 105 00:03:48,860 --> 00:03:51,500 have one other topic . Um So you said 106 00:03:51,509 --> 00:03:53,509 it's not the first time that you've 107 00:03:53,509 --> 00:03:55,676 responded , but I think the building's 108 00:03:55,676 --> 00:03:57,787 been , you've announced basically all 109 00:03:57,787 --> 00:03:57,750 these other strikes and you've said 110 00:03:57,759 --> 00:03:59,926 it's been a weapon storage facility or 111 00:03:59,926 --> 00:04:01,981 training facility and if people have 112 00:04:01,981 --> 00:04:04,037 been killed , it has been kind of um 113 00:04:04,059 --> 00:04:06,059 because of the strike , not because 114 00:04:06,059 --> 00:04:08,281 they were being targeted specifically . 115 00:04:08,281 --> 00:04:10,503 Uh So you're not saying that like these 116 00:04:10,503 --> 00:04:12,615 specific militants were targeted , do 117 00:04:12,615 --> 00:04:14,726 you have any idea who these militants 118 00:04:14,726 --> 00:04:14,339 were ? We know that these are our 119 00:04:14,350 --> 00:04:18,209 Iranian backed militia members . 120 00:04:18,220 --> 00:04:20,329 Um But again , just to , just to 121 00:04:20,339 --> 00:04:22,339 differentiate , we have taken three 122 00:04:22,339 --> 00:04:24,850 strikes um in self defense , but those 123 00:04:24,859 --> 00:04:27,100 were preplanned . So it's just a little 124 00:04:27,109 --> 00:04:29,220 different here in terms of the nuance 125 00:04:29,220 --> 00:04:31,442 of how we're talking about these , this 126 00:04:31,442 --> 00:04:33,553 uh self defense strike that we took . 127 00:04:33,553 --> 00:04:36,609 Um what was it ? Early , early morning ? 128 00:04:36,679 --> 00:04:39,410 I think , um our time eastern time , um 129 00:04:39,420 --> 00:04:41,750 we were able to identify the point of 130 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:43,871 origin of these attacks because an ac 131 00:04:43,871 --> 00:04:46,570 130 was up already in the area and 132 00:04:46,579 --> 00:04:48,801 therefore , was able to respond . Um We 133 00:04:48,801 --> 00:04:51,023 do of course , read out any retaliatory 134 00:04:51,023 --> 00:04:53,190 action or self defense strikes that we 135 00:04:53,190 --> 00:04:55,660 take , but just wanna sort of put these 136 00:04:55,670 --> 00:04:57,670 into separate buckets as we , as we 137 00:04:57,670 --> 00:04:59,503 talk about them . There's been a 138 00:04:59,503 --> 00:05:01,670 retaliatory strike . Yes , but again , 139 00:05:01,670 --> 00:05:03,781 it wasn't planned . So we were able , 140 00:05:03,781 --> 00:05:05,948 there was an ac 130 up in the air that 141 00:05:05,948 --> 00:05:07,837 was able to identify the point of 142 00:05:07,837 --> 00:05:10,059 origin and was able to respond and then 143 00:05:10,059 --> 00:05:11,837 just separate topic um as these 144 00:05:11,837 --> 00:05:13,948 negotiations for hostage release , um 145 00:05:13,948 --> 00:05:15,948 continue , uh part of what has been 146 00:05:15,948 --> 00:05:17,948 negotiated is that there might be a 147 00:05:17,948 --> 00:05:19,948 pullback of any surveillance . Does 148 00:05:19,948 --> 00:05:22,114 this include us , surveillance systems 149 00:05:22,114 --> 00:05:24,170 with the US ? Pull back its drones . 150 00:05:24,170 --> 00:05:26,226 Yeah , I think you saw the president 151 00:05:26,226 --> 00:05:28,448 speak to this earlier today that , um , 152 00:05:28,448 --> 00:05:31,440 while we are certainly , um , heartened 153 00:05:31,450 --> 00:05:33,394 by the way , the conversations are 154 00:05:33,394 --> 00:05:35,228 going , there's still not a deal 155 00:05:35,228 --> 00:05:37,450 reached , um , until there is one , I'm 156 00:05:37,450 --> 00:05:39,672 just not going to get ahead of anything 157 00:05:39,672 --> 00:05:41,839 that we will or won't do when it comes 158 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,061 to ISR um or anything that it's that we 159 00:05:44,061 --> 00:05:46,006 are doing when it comes to hostage 160 00:05:46,006 --> 00:05:48,117 recovery . You know , we're assisting 161 00:05:48,117 --> 00:05:50,450 with that um from the embassy of course , 162 00:05:50,450 --> 00:05:52,617 but I just don't have more details and 163 00:05:52,617 --> 00:05:52,239 definitely don't want to get ahead of 164 00:05:52,250 --> 00:05:54,950 any deal that that might happen . But 165 00:05:54,959 --> 00:05:57,126 whether or not it's part of it is that 166 00:05:57,126 --> 00:05:59,348 one of the options ? I'm just not going 167 00:05:59,348 --> 00:05:59,170 to get into further details on that . 168 00:05:59,709 --> 00:06:03,029 Yeah , Rio , thank you , North Korea . 169 00:06:03,380 --> 00:06:05,559 Does the Pentagon confirm North Korea 170 00:06:05,570 --> 00:06:08,119 has successfully placed a spy satellite 171 00:06:08,380 --> 00:06:11,329 into orbit . We are aware of the D Pr 172 00:06:11,339 --> 00:06:13,489 K's launch of a space launch vehicle 173 00:06:13,670 --> 00:06:16,369 and are consulting with Rock and Japan 174 00:06:16,670 --> 00:06:18,892 um as well as other regional allies and 175 00:06:18,892 --> 00:06:22,049 partners . Uh We so I can confirm that 176 00:06:22,059 --> 00:06:24,226 we are aware of that , but we're still 177 00:06:24,226 --> 00:06:26,609 assessing um the success of the launch . 178 00:06:27,820 --> 00:06:31,049 Do you affect the new spy satellite 179 00:06:31,059 --> 00:06:33,281 would potentially enhance North Korea's 180 00:06:33,281 --> 00:06:35,503 military capability ? Does that require 181 00:06:35,503 --> 00:06:37,989 more us military assets in the region ? 182 00:06:38,070 --> 00:06:39,959 Well , I'm not going to speculate 183 00:06:39,959 --> 00:06:42,014 because we don't also know if it was 184 00:06:42,014 --> 00:06:43,959 successful . Um So again , this is 185 00:06:43,959 --> 00:06:46,181 something that we continue to work with 186 00:06:46,181 --> 00:06:48,348 our partners in the region , with Rock 187 00:06:48,348 --> 00:06:50,570 and Japan to continue to assess . Um We 188 00:06:50,570 --> 00:06:52,348 know this is another example of 189 00:06:52,348 --> 00:06:54,570 destabilizing action in the region . Um 190 00:06:54,570 --> 00:06:56,980 And we again just reiterate our very 191 00:06:56,989 --> 00:07:00,609 firm commitment to um uh the Republic 192 00:07:00,619 --> 00:07:02,841 of Korea and Japan . But how it's gonna 193 00:07:02,841 --> 00:07:04,452 affect the D Pr K's military 194 00:07:04,452 --> 00:07:06,619 capabilities . I just wouldn't be able 195 00:07:06,619 --> 00:07:08,730 to speculate on that . Yeah , Idris , 196 00:07:08,730 --> 00:07:10,841 you have carried out tator strikes in 197 00:07:10,841 --> 00:07:13,008 Iraq since October 7th , since October 198 00:07:13,008 --> 00:07:15,279 7th , or you mean since October 17th ? 199 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:17,667 Yes , October 17th , we have , well as 200 00:07:17,667 --> 00:07:19,667 you know , well , again , trying to 201 00:07:19,667 --> 00:07:21,778 parse out the two buckets you've also 202 00:07:21,778 --> 00:07:24,040 done prior to yesterday night . I don't 203 00:07:24,049 --> 00:07:26,216 have the , um , I don't have the exact 204 00:07:26,216 --> 00:07:28,271 details of all the responses that we 205 00:07:28,271 --> 00:07:30,382 have done . Um , whether if it was in 206 00:07:30,382 --> 00:07:32,320 Syria or Iraq , um for the three 207 00:07:32,329 --> 00:07:34,519 strikes that we have announced those 208 00:07:34,529 --> 00:07:36,700 were all in Syria . Um For the one 209 00:07:36,709 --> 00:07:39,769 again that was took place early this 210 00:07:39,779 --> 00:07:43,019 morning , we had an aircraft that was 211 00:07:43,029 --> 00:07:46,920 able to identify where the close 212 00:07:46,929 --> 00:07:49,096 range ballistic missile was being shot 213 00:07:49,096 --> 00:07:51,151 from . And therefore we were able to 214 00:07:51,151 --> 00:07:53,373 take action . I would have to take that 215 00:07:53,373 --> 00:07:55,485 question . I don't have the answer to 216 00:07:55,485 --> 00:07:57,707 that . Just , it's another question the 217 00:07:57,707 --> 00:07:59,762 French have now sent two warships to 218 00:07:59,762 --> 00:08:01,929 provide medical assistance to those in 219 00:08:01,929 --> 00:08:04,151 Gaza . Given the amount of warships you 220 00:08:04,151 --> 00:08:06,262 have is a secretary considering using 221 00:08:06,262 --> 00:08:08,096 some of those to provide medical 222 00:08:08,096 --> 00:08:10,207 assistance . I don't have anything to 223 00:08:10,207 --> 00:08:12,373 preview today . Um Most of the medical 224 00:08:12,373 --> 00:08:14,318 assistance that I know that we are 225 00:08:14,318 --> 00:08:16,429 really focused on is making sure that 226 00:08:16,429 --> 00:08:18,485 humanitarian aid is getting into the 227 00:08:18,485 --> 00:08:20,651 region . Um We are continuing to see a 228 00:08:20,651 --> 00:08:22,873 steady flow of trucks being able to get 229 00:08:22,873 --> 00:08:25,160 life saving support , medical supplies , 230 00:08:25,190 --> 00:08:27,899 food and other assistance into Gaza . 231 00:08:28,019 --> 00:08:30,075 But um I just don't have anything to 232 00:08:30,075 --> 00:08:31,908 announce from here today on , on 233 00:08:31,908 --> 00:08:34,130 anything that any of our ships would be 234 00:08:34,130 --> 00:08:35,852 doing , Tony on the spy of the 235 00:08:35,852 --> 00:08:37,908 satellite . You're not confirming it 236 00:08:37,908 --> 00:08:39,797 was a spy satellite . You're just 237 00:08:39,797 --> 00:08:42,130 confirming there was a launch , correct , 238 00:08:42,130 --> 00:08:42,030 correct . So it could be a weather 239 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:44,150 satellite , a communication satellite 240 00:08:44,150 --> 00:08:46,317 or something , not a spy . All we know 241 00:08:46,317 --> 00:08:48,483 is that was a space , the space launch 242 00:08:48,483 --> 00:08:50,706 vehicle , but I don't have more details 243 00:08:50,706 --> 00:08:52,817 than that clear . Uh I'm switching to 244 00:08:52,817 --> 00:08:54,928 Israel again , how much equipment has 245 00:08:54,928 --> 00:08:56,872 the US tapped from its war reserve 246 00:08:57,010 --> 00:09:00,239 located in Israel for ID F use ? 247 00:09:03,140 --> 00:09:05,084 Well as you know that the types of 248 00:09:05,084 --> 00:09:07,307 equipment that we continue to provide . 249 00:09:07,307 --> 00:09:09,450 Israel range from um 1.5 millimeter 250 00:09:09,460 --> 00:09:11,890 rounds , uh precision guided munitions 251 00:09:11,989 --> 00:09:14,045 and air defense systems not going to 252 00:09:14,045 --> 00:09:16,045 get into more specifics on that . I 253 00:09:16,045 --> 00:09:18,100 know I've seen some of the reporting 254 00:09:18,100 --> 00:09:20,211 out there , but I'm just not going to 255 00:09:20,211 --> 00:09:22,378 get into uh more specifics right now . 256 00:09:22,378 --> 00:09:24,600 Um In terms of what we are supplying or 257 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:26,822 how we are . I think that's what you're 258 00:09:26,822 --> 00:09:29,156 asking how we are supplying . Um Israel . 259 00:09:29,156 --> 00:09:31,267 Uh We have been able to supply Israel 260 00:09:31,267 --> 00:09:33,156 from our stocks stockpiles within 261 00:09:33,156 --> 00:09:35,267 Israel and we have other stockpiles . 262 00:09:35,267 --> 00:09:37,489 Of course , available to us that we are 263 00:09:37,489 --> 00:09:39,711 flowing aid and continue to flow aid to 264 00:09:39,711 --> 00:09:41,989 Israel . I was a casualty question too . 265 00:09:41,989 --> 00:09:44,211 The Pentagon within the policy shop has 266 00:09:44,211 --> 00:09:46,433 a civilian harm and mitigation response 267 00:09:46,433 --> 00:09:48,545 group that congressman , did you guys 268 00:09:48,545 --> 00:09:48,033 set up ? A couple of years ago , 269 00:09:48,533 --> 00:09:50,593 Assistant Secretary Carlin last week 270 00:09:50,603 --> 00:09:52,603 said that some of the people in her 271 00:09:52,603 --> 00:09:55,833 group are monitoring the events in Gaza . 272 00:09:55,843 --> 00:09:58,010 Can you give a little bit more clarity 273 00:09:58,010 --> 00:10:00,121 in terms of what they're monitoring ? 274 00:10:00,121 --> 00:10:02,121 And are they gathering reports from 275 00:10:02,121 --> 00:10:04,343 human rights groups or what exactly are 276 00:10:04,343 --> 00:10:06,343 they monitoring ? I don't have more 277 00:10:06,343 --> 00:10:06,026 specific fix on what they are 278 00:10:06,036 --> 00:10:09,476 monitoring what they continue to um or 279 00:10:09,486 --> 00:10:11,597 the information that they continue to 280 00:10:11,597 --> 00:10:14,705 receive um is information that's both 281 00:10:14,716 --> 00:10:16,938 going to be publicly available and then 282 00:10:16,938 --> 00:10:19,049 of course , um anything that comes in 283 00:10:19,049 --> 00:10:21,105 through other channels , but I don't 284 00:10:21,105 --> 00:10:23,327 have more specific details on that . Um 285 00:10:23,327 --> 00:10:25,383 It's something that uh you know , as 286 00:10:25,383 --> 00:10:27,327 you mentioned , this civilian hard 287 00:10:27,327 --> 00:10:29,250 mitigation and response um entity 288 00:10:29,260 --> 00:10:32,479 continues to look at and their review 289 00:10:32,489 --> 00:10:34,760 does inform senior leaders here in the 290 00:10:34,770 --> 00:10:36,659 building accurate to say that the 291 00:10:36,659 --> 00:10:39,070 Pentagon is actively monitoring reports 292 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,419 of civilian casualties in . I would say 293 00:10:41,429 --> 00:10:44,239 it's accurate for this for chimer , the 294 00:10:44,250 --> 00:10:47,179 civilian harm mitigation and response 295 00:10:47,330 --> 00:10:49,679 office to be doing that . Yeah , of 296 00:10:49,690 --> 00:10:52,179 course . Yeah . Thanks on the 297 00:10:52,190 --> 00:10:54,599 unannounced retaliatory strikes . Have 298 00:10:54,609 --> 00:10:57,440 any of those killed any militants ? Uh , 299 00:10:57,450 --> 00:10:59,672 I think I read this out in the , in the 300 00:10:59,672 --> 00:11:01,728 topper but I did say that we believe 301 00:11:01,728 --> 00:11:03,950 there are some , uh , fatalities . Um , 302 00:11:06,090 --> 00:11:08,090 you mean the strikes that , uh , we 303 00:11:08,090 --> 00:11:10,549 have taken proactively like that we had 304 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,700 announced from , uh , the second or the ? 305 00:11:14,330 --> 00:11:17,710 Sure . Um , oh , for the unno , I don't 306 00:11:17,719 --> 00:11:19,663 have anything more for you on , on 307 00:11:19,663 --> 00:11:22,219 other casualties and then to follow up 308 00:11:22,229 --> 00:11:24,890 a separate topic . Um , last week , 309 00:11:24,900 --> 00:11:27,059 Senator Lindsey Graham suggested that 310 00:11:27,070 --> 00:11:30,729 the US should target Iran directly . Um , 311 00:11:30,869 --> 00:11:32,869 instead of these Iranian affiliated 312 00:11:32,869 --> 00:11:35,799 groups in Iraq and Syria . Um , why is 313 00:11:35,809 --> 00:11:38,159 the Pentagon not doing that ? Uh Can 314 00:11:38,169 --> 00:11:39,700 you any reaction ? 315 00:11:41,780 --> 00:11:45,760 Well , we feel that , uh , one we are 316 00:11:45,770 --> 00:11:49,359 extremely mindful of this uh conflict 317 00:11:49,369 --> 00:11:51,702 broadening out into a regional conflict . 318 00:11:51,702 --> 00:11:53,869 That's what we do not want to see . We 319 00:11:53,869 --> 00:11:55,647 do not want to be pulled into a 320 00:11:55,647 --> 00:11:57,758 regional conflict , both from attacks 321 00:11:57,758 --> 00:11:59,758 on our troops and also from what is 322 00:11:59,758 --> 00:12:02,570 happening in Israel . Um , we feel very 323 00:12:02,580 --> 00:12:05,440 confident that the , um , 324 00:12:05,890 --> 00:12:08,479 targets that we have selected . One . 325 00:12:08,489 --> 00:12:12,450 We know that Iran supports backs arms 326 00:12:12,460 --> 00:12:15,619 equips financially , uh , uh supports 327 00:12:15,630 --> 00:12:18,210 these groups and these , these I RGC 328 00:12:18,219 --> 00:12:21,200 affiliate , uh uh sorry , locations and 329 00:12:21,210 --> 00:12:23,266 their affiliates . So we are hitting 330 00:12:23,266 --> 00:12:25,154 them where it hurts . Um , we are 331 00:12:25,154 --> 00:12:27,321 hitting weapons storage facilities and 332 00:12:27,321 --> 00:12:29,377 completely destroying them . So they 333 00:12:29,377 --> 00:12:31,377 are no longer of use . Um But we do 334 00:12:31,377 --> 00:12:33,488 want to see this conflict contained . 335 00:12:33,488 --> 00:12:35,989 Um Of course , we will always choose to 336 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,944 respond at a time and place of our 337 00:12:37,944 --> 00:12:40,289 choosing . Um But again , we feel very 338 00:12:40,299 --> 00:12:43,599 confident in the responses that we 339 00:12:43,609 --> 00:12:46,669 have uh or the targets we have selected 340 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:48,140 in Syria , Joseph 341 00:12:50,179 --> 00:12:52,750 Kirby earlier said that Russia's Wagner 342 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,539 group maybe provide , may provide air 343 00:12:55,549 --> 00:12:59,369 defense capabilities to Hezbollah or 344 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:01,500 Iran . Does the Pentagon share that 345 00:13:01,500 --> 00:13:03,667 assessment ? Can you elaborate or give 346 00:13:03,667 --> 00:13:05,889 any more updates or clarity on that ? I 347 00:13:05,889 --> 00:13:08,056 don't have anything to dispute that we 348 00:13:08,056 --> 00:13:10,111 certainly share that assessment . We 349 00:13:10,111 --> 00:13:12,489 haven't seen that happen , but we know 350 00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:15,710 that look since the beginning of the 351 00:13:15,719 --> 00:13:19,010 war in Ukraine , um it's clearly what 352 00:13:19,020 --> 00:13:21,076 is happening in Ukraine is not , you 353 00:13:21,076 --> 00:13:23,242 know , falling in Russia's favor . And 354 00:13:23,242 --> 00:13:26,049 so we've seen Russia continue to seek 355 00:13:26,059 --> 00:13:28,750 out support from other countries such 356 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,559 as the D , Pr K and Iran , we know Iran 357 00:13:31,570 --> 00:13:34,469 is supplying them with um drones that 358 00:13:34,479 --> 00:13:37,119 you're seeing hit in Ukrainian cities , 359 00:13:37,130 --> 00:13:40,080 civilian infrastructure . Um And so we 360 00:13:40,090 --> 00:13:43,650 are closely aware of the deepening 361 00:13:43,659 --> 00:13:45,770 relationship with Russia and Iran and 362 00:13:45,770 --> 00:13:47,548 that's something that of course 363 00:13:47,548 --> 00:13:49,715 concerns us . Um I don't have anything 364 00:13:49,715 --> 00:13:52,039 to confirm of any type of transfer of 365 00:13:52,049 --> 00:13:53,882 uh this capability , but um it's 366 00:13:53,882 --> 00:13:56,105 something that we continue to monitor . 367 00:13:56,105 --> 00:13:58,327 Um follow up on last week . Uh When you 368 00:13:58,327 --> 00:14:01,159 guys downgraded intel on not a hospital , 369 00:14:01,309 --> 00:14:03,420 is there any more intel that you guys 370 00:14:03,420 --> 00:14:05,587 can elaborate or provide to the public 371 00:14:05,587 --> 00:14:07,476 on uh with that hospital or other 372 00:14:07,476 --> 00:14:09,859 hospitals in , in Gaza that Hamas was 373 00:14:09,869 --> 00:14:12,202 allegedly using as a commanding officer . 374 00:14:13,359 --> 00:14:15,415 Yeah , I don't have anything more to 375 00:14:15,415 --> 00:14:17,526 provide today today , two journalists 376 00:14:17,526 --> 00:14:20,690 were killed in Lebanon . I think marks 377 00:14:20,700 --> 00:14:22,867 three or four that have been killed by 378 00:14:22,867 --> 00:14:24,700 the Lebanese army said it was an 379 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:26,478 Israeli strike , any comment or 380 00:14:26,478 --> 00:14:28,700 response . I've seen that reporting and 381 00:14:28,700 --> 00:14:30,589 I know you've asked me about this 382 00:14:30,589 --> 00:14:34,000 before and of course , that is awful . 383 00:14:34,140 --> 00:14:37,179 Um We certainly don't condone the 384 00:14:37,190 --> 00:14:39,030 targeting of journalists who are 385 00:14:39,039 --> 00:14:41,200 covering this war who are doing their 386 00:14:41,210 --> 00:14:44,359 job uh by reporting . Um I don't have 387 00:14:44,369 --> 00:14:47,409 more information um in regards to what 388 00:14:47,419 --> 00:14:49,586 the , the strike , I think that you're 389 00:14:49,586 --> 00:14:51,586 referencing , but I have seen those 390 00:14:51,586 --> 00:14:53,419 reports and again , just blanket 391 00:14:53,419 --> 00:14:55,475 condemnation of any journalists that 392 00:14:55,475 --> 00:14:57,809 are um doing their jobs on the front 393 00:14:57,820 --> 00:15:00,070 lines , um reporting on what is 394 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,247 happening on the ground in Israel , in 395 00:15:02,247 --> 00:15:04,510 Ukraine wherever it might be . Um Of 396 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:06,187 course , we don't want to see 397 00:15:06,187 --> 00:15:08,242 journalists being targeted like that 398 00:15:10,380 --> 00:15:13,210 on , on the work that you said , like 399 00:15:13,219 --> 00:15:15,275 the reports they're collecting . How 400 00:15:15,275 --> 00:15:17,229 much is this work informing the 401 00:15:17,239 --> 00:15:19,350 secretary and the department in terms 402 00:15:19,350 --> 00:15:21,461 of support to Israel . It's something 403 00:15:21,461 --> 00:15:23,183 that informs senior leadership 404 00:15:23,183 --> 00:15:25,239 conversations here or senior leaders 405 00:15:25,239 --> 00:15:27,406 conversations here , I should say . Um 406 00:15:27,406 --> 00:15:29,572 again , I'm not going to get into more 407 00:15:29,572 --> 00:15:31,795 details on that , but that is something 408 00:15:31,795 --> 00:15:33,850 that this department is focused on . 409 00:15:33,850 --> 00:15:37,010 And um as they assess uh more material 410 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,799 that gets uh flowed up through our 411 00:15:39,809 --> 00:15:42,760 system here . Uh That like at a certain 412 00:15:42,770 --> 00:15:45,169 point , will you be able to share the 413 00:15:45,179 --> 00:15:47,235 findings or there's not , I wouldn't 414 00:15:47,235 --> 00:15:49,235 say this is like a formal report or 415 00:15:49,235 --> 00:15:52,710 formal um like uh investigation or task 416 00:15:52,719 --> 00:15:54,719 force that's being put into place . 417 00:15:54,719 --> 00:15:56,830 This is what this office does , um or 418 00:15:56,830 --> 00:15:58,719 one of the many functions of this 419 00:15:58,719 --> 00:16:01,010 office and um you know , we're grateful 420 00:16:01,020 --> 00:16:03,239 to have it and it does inform our 421 00:16:03,250 --> 00:16:05,739 thinking as of course , we engage with 422 00:16:05,750 --> 00:16:08,890 um the Israelis and all frankly , all 423 00:16:08,900 --> 00:16:11,070 of our partners and allies um in any 424 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:13,302 type of situation . So that , that this 425 00:16:13,302 --> 00:16:15,524 office adds incredible value , not just 426 00:16:15,524 --> 00:16:17,469 to for the but other circumstances 427 00:16:17,469 --> 00:16:20,369 around the world before the land 428 00:16:20,380 --> 00:16:23,090 invasion of northern parts of Gaza , 429 00:16:23,099 --> 00:16:24,932 there's been lots of discussions 430 00:16:24,932 --> 00:16:28,039 between this department and the Israeli 431 00:16:28,049 --> 00:16:31,090 forces about civilian harm mitigation , 432 00:16:31,099 --> 00:16:34,250 how to sharing experiences from other 433 00:16:34,260 --> 00:16:36,880 wars . Now , it seems Israel is 434 00:16:36,890 --> 00:16:39,020 signaling , it wants to move its 435 00:16:39,030 --> 00:16:40,974 operation and land invasion to the 436 00:16:40,974 --> 00:16:42,974 southern parts of Gaza . And you do 437 00:16:42,974 --> 00:16:45,169 know that hundreds of thousands have 438 00:16:45,179 --> 00:16:47,235 been displaced in that area which is 439 00:16:47,235 --> 00:16:49,770 very crowded under a severe civilian 440 00:16:49,780 --> 00:16:51,724 humanitarian crisis . According to 441 00:16:51,724 --> 00:16:54,409 international organizations is the dod 442 00:16:54,419 --> 00:16:57,179 currently active in conversation with 443 00:16:57,190 --> 00:16:59,250 the , with the Israelis about this 444 00:16:59,260 --> 00:17:02,489 potential operation . And , and do you 445 00:17:02,500 --> 00:17:06,339 think um escalating the 446 00:17:06,349 --> 00:17:10,339 land or incursion will have major risks 447 00:17:10,349 --> 00:17:13,199 on civilian Palestinian civilians in 448 00:17:13,209 --> 00:17:15,376 the southern parts of Gaza . Well , we 449 00:17:15,376 --> 00:17:17,542 know , as you mentioned , the south is 450 00:17:17,542 --> 00:17:21,339 where civilians were told to go to flee 451 00:17:21,349 --> 00:17:23,405 the con or , and , and move , uh , I 452 00:17:23,405 --> 00:17:25,627 should say relocate from the north . So 453 00:17:25,627 --> 00:17:27,793 of course , it's something that we are 454 00:17:27,793 --> 00:17:29,571 in conversations about with the 455 00:17:29,571 --> 00:17:31,900 Israelis . It is their operation . Um , 456 00:17:31,910 --> 00:17:34,132 and it is something that they will have 457 00:17:34,132 --> 00:17:36,299 to speak to . But absolutely , we , we 458 00:17:36,299 --> 00:17:38,354 are , um , having conversations with 459 00:17:38,354 --> 00:17:40,466 them , the secretary , I believe just 460 00:17:40,466 --> 00:17:42,632 had another call , um , or is going to 461 00:17:42,632 --> 00:17:44,910 have another call with Minister Galant , 462 00:17:44,910 --> 00:17:47,077 um , today . And it's , it's of course 463 00:17:47,077 --> 00:17:48,688 something that in all of our 464 00:17:48,688 --> 00:17:50,910 conversations , whenever we talk to our 465 00:17:50,910 --> 00:17:53,484 Israeli counterparts , um , abiding by 466 00:17:53,494 --> 00:17:55,805 the law of armed conflict , protecting 467 00:17:55,814 --> 00:17:57,536 those human or upholding those 468 00:17:57,536 --> 00:17:59,258 humanitarian laws is extremely 469 00:17:59,258 --> 00:18:01,370 important . Um , and that's something 470 00:18:01,370 --> 00:18:03,536 that you continue to see reiterated in 471 00:18:03,536 --> 00:18:05,592 our readouts as well that we post on 472 00:18:05,592 --> 00:18:07,703 online . Great . I'm just gonna go to 473 00:18:07,703 --> 00:18:09,814 the phones real quickly here before I 474 00:18:09,814 --> 00:18:12,036 forget . Um , Haley CNN . I believe you 475 00:18:12,036 --> 00:18:14,147 were on the phone . Yeah . Hi , thank 476 00:18:14,147 --> 00:18:16,314 you . Um , I'm wondering just a couple 477 00:18:16,314 --> 00:18:18,536 of follow ups on , um , the attack last 478 00:18:18,536 --> 00:18:20,536 night . Uh , is this the first time 479 00:18:20,536 --> 00:18:23,170 that we have seen a ballistic missile 480 00:18:23,180 --> 00:18:25,180 used in this way ? And then is this 481 00:18:25,180 --> 00:18:27,402 also the first time ? And I know you're 482 00:18:27,402 --> 00:18:29,569 saying that we've , uh , res respond , 483 00:18:29,569 --> 00:18:31,736 you know , had these kind of responses 484 00:18:31,736 --> 00:18:33,902 um , previously when we know the point 485 00:18:33,902 --> 00:18:36,124 of origin . Is this the first time that 486 00:18:36,124 --> 00:18:38,236 we know that hostile forces have been 487 00:18:38,236 --> 00:18:40,347 killed or um have , has that happened 488 00:18:40,347 --> 00:18:42,458 in the past ? Uh Thanks Haley . So in 489 00:18:42,458 --> 00:18:44,569 terms of uh your first question , was 490 00:18:44,569 --> 00:18:46,635 this the first time that um a close 491 00:18:46,645 --> 00:18:49,156 range ballistic missile was used ? Yes , 492 00:18:49,166 --> 00:18:51,255 this is the first time since October 493 00:18:51,265 --> 00:18:53,975 17th . Um when these attacks started on 494 00:18:53,985 --> 00:18:56,291 us forces , this is the first time that 495 00:18:56,432 --> 00:18:58,321 um this type of munition was used 496 00:18:58,321 --> 00:19:00,952 against us forces . Um And then on your 497 00:19:00,962 --> 00:19:02,629 second question , in terms of 498 00:19:02,629 --> 00:19:04,740 casualties , um I believe this is the 499 00:19:04,740 --> 00:19:06,851 first time that we are assessing that 500 00:19:06,851 --> 00:19:09,073 there were some casualties . Um But I , 501 00:19:09,073 --> 00:19:11,184 I just don't have more information on 502 00:19:11,184 --> 00:19:13,018 any other additional retaliatory 503 00:19:13,018 --> 00:19:16,709 strikes we've taken um in the past . Uh 504 00:19:16,719 --> 00:19:18,941 ok , great . I'm gonna go to Jeff Shoal 505 00:19:18,941 --> 00:19:21,052 task on purpose . Thank you . Can the 506 00:19:21,052 --> 00:19:23,275 duty provide any more information about 507 00:19:23,275 --> 00:19:25,599 what exactly is this close range 508 00:19:25,609 --> 00:19:28,310 ballistic missile ? Also can duty say 509 00:19:28,319 --> 00:19:31,510 why the AC 130 had its transponder on 510 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,687 while conducting the strike , allowing 511 00:19:33,687 --> 00:19:35,742 flight trackers to follow it in real 512 00:19:35,742 --> 00:19:37,909 time . Thanks Jeff for your question . 513 00:19:37,909 --> 00:19:40,131 Um I'm sorry , this is going to be very 514 00:19:40,131 --> 00:19:42,242 unsatisfactory , but I cannot provide 515 00:19:42,242 --> 00:19:44,353 any further details on either of your 516 00:19:44,353 --> 00:19:46,409 questions . Um And last one from the 517 00:19:46,409 --> 00:19:48,500 phone , uh heather us and I , hi , 518 00:19:48,510 --> 00:19:50,621 thanks so much to your questions . Um 519 00:19:50,621 --> 00:19:52,566 So first , uh we heard that the uh 520 00:19:52,566 --> 00:19:55,650 secretary of uh of extended the Fords 521 00:19:55,660 --> 00:19:57,882 deployment . I wanted to see if you had 522 00:19:57,882 --> 00:20:00,099 any extra detail on that . And second 523 00:20:00,109 --> 00:20:03,569 last week , um you refer to the um , 524 00:20:03,579 --> 00:20:05,635 Palestine , the Gaza Health Ministry 525 00:20:05,635 --> 00:20:07,857 with some skepticism when talking about 526 00:20:07,857 --> 00:20:10,023 the numbers . And I was just wondering 527 00:20:10,023 --> 00:20:11,912 if the dod is treating uh Israeli 528 00:20:11,912 --> 00:20:14,135 intelligence with the same skepticism . 529 00:20:14,135 --> 00:20:16,190 It's treating information that comes 530 00:20:16,190 --> 00:20:18,301 out of Gaza . Thanks Heather for your 531 00:20:18,301 --> 00:20:17,839 question . Um In terms of the Ford 532 00:20:17,849 --> 00:20:20,071 deployment , she remains on station , I 533 00:20:20,071 --> 00:20:22,127 have no announcements to make on her 534 00:20:22,127 --> 00:20:24,293 movement . Um When the secretary feels 535 00:20:24,293 --> 00:20:26,627 that uh the Ford is ready to rotate out , 536 00:20:26,989 --> 00:20:29,211 we will certainly let you know . But at 537 00:20:29,211 --> 00:20:31,378 this moment , I just uh she remains on 538 00:20:31,378 --> 00:20:33,322 station in the Eastern Med . Um in 539 00:20:33,322 --> 00:20:35,378 terms of uh your second question , I 540 00:20:35,378 --> 00:20:37,545 think it is important to remember that 541 00:20:37,545 --> 00:20:39,719 the Health Ministry in Gaza is in fact 542 00:20:39,729 --> 00:20:42,079 run by Hamas . So we cannot 543 00:20:42,089 --> 00:20:45,420 independently verify uh the casualty 544 00:20:45,430 --> 00:20:49,219 numbers um from a US source uh at this 545 00:20:49,229 --> 00:20:51,780 time . Um again , with anything when it 546 00:20:51,790 --> 00:20:54,012 comes to intelligence , of course , the 547 00:20:54,012 --> 00:20:57,239 United States um always seeks to uh 548 00:20:57,250 --> 00:21:00,819 verify information on our own um and 549 00:21:00,829 --> 00:21:02,885 through our own source and methods . 550 00:21:02,885 --> 00:21:05,375 But um we , we do see the public uh 551 00:21:05,385 --> 00:21:08,194 reporting out there . Again . It's just 552 00:21:08,204 --> 00:21:11,175 to caution um as people report on these 553 00:21:11,185 --> 00:21:13,129 numbers that this is the Hamas run 554 00:21:13,129 --> 00:21:15,074 Health Ministry . And so we cannot 555 00:21:15,074 --> 00:21:17,129 independently verify these numbers . 556 00:21:17,129 --> 00:21:20,244 Great . Yeah , Janie , thank you . Uh 557 00:21:20,275 --> 00:21:23,655 uh on North Korea satellite , did the 558 00:21:23,665 --> 00:21:26,824 Pentagon uh aware of Russia have to 559 00:21:26,834 --> 00:21:29,974 transport satellite technology to North 560 00:21:30,015 --> 00:21:32,469 Korea . I'm not aware of any reports of 561 00:21:32,479 --> 00:21:35,040 Rus Russia transferring , I'm not aware 562 00:21:35,050 --> 00:21:38,000 of any of those reports . If they 563 00:21:38,579 --> 00:21:40,746 transport to North Scotia , it will be 564 00:21:40,746 --> 00:21:42,900 a successful launch . Again . I'm not 565 00:21:42,910 --> 00:21:44,799 aware of anything to do with this 566 00:21:44,799 --> 00:21:46,910 launch in Russia . All I can tell you 567 00:21:46,910 --> 00:21:49,589 is we are aware of the space um launch 568 00:21:49,599 --> 00:21:52,420 vehicle that North Korea uh launched , 569 00:21:52,430 --> 00:21:55,510 I believe is um today on the 21st . Um 570 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:57,742 but I don't have more information and , 571 00:21:57,742 --> 00:21:59,576 and , and frankly don't have any 572 00:21:59,576 --> 00:22:01,631 details or would be able to give you 573 00:22:01,631 --> 00:22:03,576 any details on how Russia would be 574 00:22:03,576 --> 00:22:06,902 involved in that . And uh South Korean 575 00:22:06,912 --> 00:22:10,743 Defense Minister said that they uh if 576 00:22:11,762 --> 00:22:15,103 North Korea would launch the 577 00:22:15,822 --> 00:22:19,465 again and the 919 , 578 00:22:19,475 --> 00:22:22,215 North Korea and South Korea a military 579 00:22:22,225 --> 00:22:26,115 agreement and this is what discussed at 580 00:22:26,125 --> 00:22:29,066 the , listen to us and South Korea 581 00:22:29,076 --> 00:22:32,255 defense ministers meeting is the US 582 00:22:32,265 --> 00:22:35,985 decisions the same as the South Korea . 583 00:22:36,186 --> 00:22:38,408 I think what you're referring to is the 584 00:22:38,408 --> 00:22:40,575 C MA . And again , that's an agreement 585 00:22:40,575 --> 00:22:42,605 between the two nations and I just 586 00:22:42,615 --> 00:22:45,465 don't have anything further to share 587 00:22:45,475 --> 00:22:47,697 with you this afternoon . Yeah , in the 588 00:22:47,697 --> 00:22:50,880 back a follow up from last week . And 589 00:22:50,890 --> 00:22:53,057 another colleague had asked a question 590 00:22:53,057 --> 00:22:55,112 two weeks prior to that , you know , 591 00:22:55,112 --> 00:22:57,334 you said the military continues to flow 592 00:22:57,334 --> 00:23:00,189 to Israel . How much in US dollars have 593 00:23:00,199 --> 00:23:02,310 you ? Are you still working on that ? 594 00:23:02,310 --> 00:23:04,421 We are still working on that and I do 595 00:23:04,421 --> 00:23:04,270 owe you an answer and I have not 596 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,489 forgotten . So , iii I will come back 597 00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:09,790 to you on that . So , 598 00:23:10,310 --> 00:23:12,477 just like my colleague said that there 599 00:23:12,477 --> 00:23:14,643 were lots of conversations between the 600 00:23:14,643 --> 00:23:16,477 Americans and the Israelis about 601 00:23:16,477 --> 00:23:18,770 mitigating civilian loss of life and 602 00:23:18,780 --> 00:23:21,609 how they can um responsibly carry out 603 00:23:21,619 --> 00:23:24,430 these uh offenses . And now they're 604 00:23:24,439 --> 00:23:26,606 looking to move into the South where , 605 00:23:26,606 --> 00:23:28,550 as you said , and so many people , 606 00:23:28,550 --> 00:23:30,772 hundreds of thousands , perhaps they've 607 00:23:30,772 --> 00:23:32,717 been told to move to it . Now , if 608 00:23:32,717 --> 00:23:34,939 that's any indication , the invasion of 609 00:23:34,939 --> 00:23:37,161 the North , are we expecting another at 610 00:23:37,161 --> 00:23:39,050 least 15,000 Sweden deaths in the 611 00:23:39,050 --> 00:23:40,828 upcoming weeks ? Look , I can't 612 00:23:40,828 --> 00:23:42,790 speculate on um an operation that 613 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:44,800 hasn't happened , an operation that 614 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:46,800 we're not involved in uh what I can 615 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,430 tell you is in every single one of our 616 00:23:49,439 --> 00:23:51,689 conversations from this department and 617 00:23:51,699 --> 00:23:53,939 you've heard from other podiums . Um 618 00:23:53,949 --> 00:23:56,227 And , and including at the White House . 619 00:23:56,227 --> 00:23:58,338 Um One of the things that we continue 620 00:23:58,338 --> 00:24:00,005 to emphasize with our Israeli 621 00:24:00,005 --> 00:24:02,270 counterparts is um the , the 622 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,630 preservation of innocent lives . Um 623 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:06,362 That is something that you see 624 00:24:06,362 --> 00:24:08,696 consistently , not only in our readouts , 625 00:24:08,696 --> 00:24:10,751 but both publicly and privately . We 626 00:24:10,751 --> 00:24:12,696 continue to emphasize . Um I can't 627 00:24:12,696 --> 00:24:14,862 speculate on what's going to happen in 628 00:24:14,862 --> 00:24:17,449 the South . Um I , again , I'm just 629 00:24:17,459 --> 00:24:20,510 going to say that we remain in your 630 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,790 daily contact with our Israeli 631 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,022 counterpart with , with the secretary's 632 00:24:25,022 --> 00:24:27,189 Israeli counterpart . Um I'm not gonna 633 00:24:27,189 --> 00:24:30,589 characterize how again we're not going 634 00:24:30,599 --> 00:24:32,766 to armchair quarterback . This , we're 635 00:24:32,766 --> 00:24:34,766 not on the ground , this is not our 636 00:24:34,766 --> 00:24:36,932 operation , but I think it's important 637 00:24:36,932 --> 00:24:39,099 that I reiterate here that in any of 638 00:24:39,109 --> 00:24:40,998 our conversations , we always are 639 00:24:40,998 --> 00:24:42,831 emphasizing the need to preserve 640 00:24:42,831 --> 00:24:44,887 innocent civilian lives , um , to be 641 00:24:44,887 --> 00:24:46,776 precise with any operation and of 642 00:24:46,776 --> 00:24:49,994 course , to uphold the laws of armed 643 00:24:50,005 --> 00:24:52,795 conflict , one follow up , can you give 644 00:24:52,814 --> 00:24:55,064 us any sense of how many unannounced 645 00:24:55,074 --> 00:24:57,435 counter strikes there have been since 646 00:24:57,444 --> 00:24:59,277 October 17th ? You mentioned the 647 00:24:59,277 --> 00:25:01,277 unannounced strikes , just any data 648 00:25:01,277 --> 00:25:03,444 around how many there have been ? Um , 649 00:25:03,444 --> 00:25:03,025 I'm happy to take that question . I 650 00:25:03,035 --> 00:25:05,146 just don't have that in front of me , 651 00:25:05,146 --> 00:25:07,313 but again , I just don't want there to 652 00:25:07,313 --> 00:25:10,910 be a focus on um , these particular , 653 00:25:11,089 --> 00:25:13,145 uh , self defense strikes because it 654 00:25:13,145 --> 00:25:16,300 happens again , if we can identify a 655 00:25:16,469 --> 00:25:18,469 point of origin in the moment we're 656 00:25:18,469 --> 00:25:20,580 going to take action because it is in 657 00:25:20,580 --> 00:25:22,858 self defense . Um And so I just wanted , 658 00:25:22,858 --> 00:25:24,913 I know Tara had asked about this but 659 00:25:24,913 --> 00:25:27,025 just trying to separate out the , the 660 00:25:27,025 --> 00:25:29,191 three , and I'm trying to remember the 661 00:25:29,191 --> 00:25:31,302 dates here , uh off the top of my top 662 00:25:31,302 --> 00:25:33,525 of my head , but the three strikes that 663 00:25:33,525 --> 00:25:32,800 we had announced , which was on the 664 00:25:32,810 --> 00:25:35,088 26th , the eighth and the 12th . Again , 665 00:25:35,088 --> 00:25:37,839 those were preplanned um in advance 666 00:25:37,849 --> 00:25:40,270 targeting specific facilities um and 667 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,502 infrastructure that we know these I RGC 668 00:25:42,502 --> 00:25:46,130 affiliate uh militias use the , the 669 00:25:46,140 --> 00:25:48,307 kinetic action that you saw last night 670 00:25:48,307 --> 00:25:50,307 that the , the US military took was 671 00:25:50,307 --> 00:25:52,362 again in response to a direct attack 672 00:25:52,362 --> 00:25:54,584 happening on our base . And you pointed 673 00:25:54,584 --> 00:25:56,751 out that there have been 66 attacks by 674 00:25:56,751 --> 00:25:58,751 Iranian backed militia groups on us 675 00:25:58,751 --> 00:26:00,862 coalition forces since October 17th . 676 00:26:00,862 --> 00:26:02,862 Why aren't these us counter strikes 677 00:26:02,862 --> 00:26:05,140 working as a deterrent strategy ? Well , 678 00:26:05,140 --> 00:26:07,307 you know , I would push back on that . 679 00:26:07,307 --> 00:26:09,418 I know , I know 66 is a high number . 680 00:26:09,418 --> 00:26:11,362 But again , we have days sometimes 681 00:26:11,362 --> 00:26:13,529 where we don't have attacks . So is it 682 00:26:13,529 --> 00:26:15,696 like , would you say that the strategy 683 00:26:15,696 --> 00:26:17,918 is not working if one day goes by where 684 00:26:17,918 --> 00:26:19,973 there's not an attack on us forces ? 685 00:26:19,973 --> 00:26:22,084 I'm not saying that that's the way to 686 00:26:22,084 --> 00:26:21,670 caveat it . But what I am saying is 687 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,469 that we're not seeing , we don't want 688 00:26:24,479 --> 00:26:27,959 to see this conflict widen out . Um We 689 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:31,540 will respond when we feel at the time 690 00:26:31,550 --> 00:26:33,989 and place of our choosing that we need 691 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:35,833 to respond . We have three times 692 00:26:35,833 --> 00:26:38,109 already . We did again last night . Um 693 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,280 I , I wouldn't say that again . It's 694 00:26:41,290 --> 00:26:44,150 not working . Um I would say that we 695 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:45,993 are being very deliberate in our 696 00:26:45,993 --> 00:26:49,239 strikes and what we target these groups 697 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:52,489 while uh have , have inflicted some 698 00:26:52,500 --> 00:26:54,510 minor damage to infrastructure . Um 699 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,640 Right now , we are seeing nonserious 700 00:26:56,650 --> 00:26:59,219 injuries , um minor damage to 701 00:26:59,229 --> 00:27:02,300 infrastructure in comparison to um 702 00:27:02,699 --> 00:27:04,921 weapons facilities being destroyed . Uh 703 00:27:04,921 --> 00:27:07,459 A command and control center node being 704 00:27:07,589 --> 00:27:10,109 leveled . Um And , and so again and , 705 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,230 and , and another um I'm sorry , in a 706 00:27:12,230 --> 00:27:14,397 training facility also uh destroyed So 707 00:27:14,397 --> 00:27:16,730 again , if you look at this , the , the , 708 00:27:16,730 --> 00:27:20,599 um , the scope and the , the 709 00:27:20,609 --> 00:27:22,776 ability for us to respond , we've been 710 00:27:22,776 --> 00:27:24,887 very precise and have inflicted a lot 711 00:27:24,887 --> 00:27:27,949 of damage , Mike . Yeah , the army 712 00:27:27,959 --> 00:27:29,959 recently sent out a letter to about 713 00:27:29,959 --> 00:27:32,070 2000 soldiers who were discharged for 714 00:27:32,070 --> 00:27:34,292 their refusal to take the COVID vaccine 715 00:27:34,420 --> 00:27:37,189 that gives them the opportunity to , uh , 716 00:27:37,199 --> 00:27:39,300 come back into the military . Do you 717 00:27:39,310 --> 00:27:41,739 know if this is going to be done to the , 718 00:27:41,750 --> 00:27:44,290 you know , d dod wide or the other 719 00:27:44,300 --> 00:27:46,467 service is gonna do this as well ? I , 720 00:27:46,467 --> 00:27:48,689 I'm sorry , I haven't seen the letter . 721 00:27:48,689 --> 00:27:50,744 So I would refer you to the army for 722 00:27:50,744 --> 00:27:52,744 any more specifics on that . I just 723 00:27:52,744 --> 00:27:55,078 don't have more information on that . I , 724 00:27:55,078 --> 00:27:57,022 I just , I don't , I'm hesitant to 725 00:27:57,022 --> 00:27:56,270 comment just because I haven't seen the 726 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:58,447 letter and the contents of it . So I'd 727 00:27:58,447 --> 00:28:00,447 refer you for more specifics to the 728 00:28:00,447 --> 00:28:02,949 army . Yeah . Erin . Yeah . Um going 729 00:28:02,959 --> 00:28:06,560 back to North Korea . Um so they have 730 00:28:06,569 --> 00:28:09,930 sent uh satellites that have gone into 731 00:28:09,939 --> 00:28:12,270 orbit in the past had , did this one 732 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,209 enter the orbit ? I don't have uh more 733 00:28:15,219 --> 00:28:17,441 on that . I think that's something that 734 00:28:17,441 --> 00:28:19,386 we're still assessing . Yeah . All 735 00:28:19,386 --> 00:28:21,163 right , thanks Sabrina . Uh Two 736 00:28:21,163 --> 00:28:23,275 questions . One , both to clarify for 737 00:28:23,275 --> 00:28:25,569 me . Uh the , the kinetic action last 738 00:28:25,579 --> 00:28:27,939 night , the , the gunship was already 739 00:28:27,949 --> 00:28:31,119 in the air . OK . Thank you . And on 740 00:28:31,130 --> 00:28:33,979 what Mike was asking about the , uh the 741 00:28:33,989 --> 00:28:36,420 letter that may have gone out to others 742 00:28:36,430 --> 00:28:38,319 to get back . Service personnel . 743 00:28:38,319 --> 00:28:41,989 There's been reports uh that the 744 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,910 uh action by the Pentagon was illegal 745 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,869 because the COVID vaccine had not yet 746 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,020 been approved by the FDA . Have you 747 00:28:51,030 --> 00:28:53,189 heard anything about this ? I'm , I'm 748 00:28:53,199 --> 00:28:56,010 sorry , I have not . Yeah . Yeah , 749 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:58,262 thanks Sabrina . Just a quick follow up 750 00:28:58,262 --> 00:29:00,429 um on the North Korea satellite . Have 751 00:29:00,429 --> 00:29:02,484 you guys assessed uh specifically if 752 00:29:02,484 --> 00:29:04,818 it's a military satellite at this point ? 753 00:29:04,818 --> 00:29:07,040 No , all I have for you is that we know 754 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,318 it is a space , a space launch vehicle . 755 00:29:09,318 --> 00:29:11,880 But uh that's all I have . Yeah . Yes , 756 00:29:12,609 --> 00:29:15,050 thanks Sabrina . Uh on the matter in 757 00:29:15,060 --> 00:29:18,310 Gaza . Uh of course , you know , the 758 00:29:18,319 --> 00:29:21,250 north , the whole Gaza Strip is one of 759 00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:23,969 the world's mo mostly densely populated 760 00:29:23,979 --> 00:29:26,500 areas . And with the people going 761 00:29:26,510 --> 00:29:29,719 southward , the population density is 762 00:29:29,729 --> 00:29:32,800 increased even more in the south . So I 763 00:29:32,810 --> 00:29:34,589 know you said like it's not our 764 00:29:34,599 --> 00:29:36,655 operation but it's your weapons that 765 00:29:36,655 --> 00:29:38,766 the Israeli government is or the army 766 00:29:38,766 --> 00:29:41,199 is using there . So the last week you 767 00:29:41,209 --> 00:29:43,880 said that even though you are providing 768 00:29:43,890 --> 00:29:47,189 these weapons with no restrictions , 769 00:29:47,339 --> 00:29:50,939 but still you are following . If any 770 00:29:50,989 --> 00:29:53,109 weapon given by the United States to 771 00:29:53,119 --> 00:29:55,660 any ally around the world should be 772 00:29:55,670 --> 00:29:58,339 used according to the international law 773 00:29:58,349 --> 00:30:01,489 and to uh look for the humanitarian 774 00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:04,699 issue as well . So in this uh frame , 775 00:30:04,709 --> 00:30:08,089 uh do you have any special uh contact 776 00:30:08,099 --> 00:30:10,680 with your Israeli counterparts ? And do 777 00:30:10,689 --> 00:30:14,199 you follow up uh to avoid any civilian 778 00:30:14,209 --> 00:30:16,770 casualties increase civilian casualties 779 00:30:16,780 --> 00:30:19,099 since the numbers are bigger than 780 00:30:19,109 --> 00:30:22,040 before in the south now . Yeah . So 781 00:30:22,050 --> 00:30:23,994 thanks for the question . Um , and 782 00:30:23,994 --> 00:30:25,994 there's , I think two in there . So 783 00:30:25,994 --> 00:30:28,106 just taking them apart . Um , again , 784 00:30:28,106 --> 00:30:30,599 with any partner or ally that we give 785 00:30:30,609 --> 00:30:33,640 or we supply our military weapons too , 786 00:30:33,650 --> 00:30:36,819 we expect them to follow the laws of 787 00:30:36,829 --> 00:30:39,060 armed conflict that we ourselves do as 788 00:30:39,069 --> 00:30:40,847 well . We expect them to uphold 789 00:30:40,847 --> 00:30:43,420 humanitarian laws . So when I think you 790 00:30:43,430 --> 00:30:45,708 were paraphrasing a bit of what I said , 791 00:30:45,729 --> 00:30:47,951 uh while we don't put conditions on how 792 00:30:47,951 --> 00:30:50,349 they are used , we do expect them to be 793 00:30:50,359 --> 00:30:52,780 used in accordance with how we would 794 00:30:52,790 --> 00:30:55,349 use them as well . Um And so they are , 795 00:30:55,359 --> 00:30:57,081 so I think that's an important 796 00:30:57,081 --> 00:30:59,081 distinction to make . Um And then I 797 00:30:59,081 --> 00:31:01,137 think your second question was on um 798 00:31:01,137 --> 00:31:03,520 the population and , and the potential 799 00:31:03,530 --> 00:31:05,474 operation that could happen in the 800 00:31:05,474 --> 00:31:07,641 South if I'm using these weapons there 801 00:31:07,641 --> 00:31:10,660 on a mo a higher density 802 00:31:10,670 --> 00:31:13,579 population in the South could create a 803 00:31:13,589 --> 00:31:17,079 bigger risk than before . So sorry . 804 00:31:17,089 --> 00:31:18,922 That , that's right . That's not 805 00:31:18,922 --> 00:31:20,867 something that we want to see . Of 806 00:31:20,867 --> 00:31:23,033 course , we want to see . Um , we know 807 00:31:23,033 --> 00:31:25,200 that there are innocent civilians that 808 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,145 have moved from the north into the 809 00:31:27,145 --> 00:31:28,978 south of Gaza , seeking refuge , 810 00:31:28,978 --> 00:31:31,780 seeking um security . And so again , 811 00:31:31,790 --> 00:31:33,846 it's something that uh the secretary 812 00:31:33,846 --> 00:31:36,079 continues to speak with Minister Galan 813 00:31:36,089 --> 00:31:38,560 about um about the need to protect 814 00:31:38,569 --> 00:31:40,513 innocent civilians . And again , I 815 00:31:40,513 --> 00:31:42,625 don't want to get ahead of anything . 816 00:31:42,625 --> 00:31:44,736 We haven't seen an operation happen , 817 00:31:44,736 --> 00:31:46,902 uh , we haven't seen , um , you know , 818 00:31:46,902 --> 00:31:49,069 exactly what this could look like . So 819 00:31:49,069 --> 00:31:51,069 I think it's just , it's prudent to 820 00:31:51,069 --> 00:31:53,291 just , uh , to , you know , I , I don't 821 00:31:53,291 --> 00:31:55,458 want to speculate on any , on anything 822 00:31:55,458 --> 00:31:57,625 that could happen in the South , but I 823 00:31:57,625 --> 00:31:57,109 think it is important to remember that 824 00:31:57,119 --> 00:31:59,175 in all of our conversations with the 825 00:31:59,175 --> 00:32:00,786 Israelis , we are absolutely 826 00:32:00,786 --> 00:32:04,530 reiterating the need to uphold 827 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:06,640 um humanitarian laws and the law of 828 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:10,170 armed conflict , but the risk is there . 829 00:32:10,189 --> 00:32:12,869 So do you uh contact them before 830 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,047 something happens or you're doing , we 831 00:32:15,047 --> 00:32:17,213 do not control and we are not embedded 832 00:32:17,213 --> 00:32:19,436 in their operations , but I think it is 833 00:32:19,436 --> 00:32:21,436 important and I know I've said this 834 00:32:21,436 --> 00:32:23,602 before , but I think it's important to 835 00:32:23,602 --> 00:32:25,713 remember that Hamas uses civilians as 836 00:32:25,713 --> 00:32:28,030 shields to conduct their own operations 837 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,151 and to hide their command and control 838 00:32:30,151 --> 00:32:33,839 centers to hide ammunitions and weapons 839 00:32:33,849 --> 00:32:36,829 depots in highly populated civilian 840 00:32:36,839 --> 00:32:39,119 areas . So again , uh while we are 841 00:32:39,130 --> 00:32:41,074 going to continue to still have uh 842 00:32:41,074 --> 00:32:42,797 conversations with our Israeli 843 00:32:42,797 --> 00:32:45,599 counterparts about um the need to 844 00:32:45,609 --> 00:32:47,720 protect and preserve innocent lives , 845 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:49,831 we can't forget that Hamas is putting 846 00:32:49,831 --> 00:32:51,998 innocent people at risk . Matt , thank 847 00:32:51,998 --> 00:32:54,109 you , Sabrina . Um On that ac 130 you 848 00:32:54,109 --> 00:32:56,220 said it was already in the air at the 849 00:32:56,220 --> 00:32:58,331 time ? Was that just by chance in the 850 00:32:58,331 --> 00:33:00,498 region or was it loitering in the area 851 00:33:00,498 --> 00:33:02,609 in anticipation of a potential attack 852 00:33:02,609 --> 00:33:04,553 from one of these groups Yeah . Uh 853 00:33:04,553 --> 00:33:04,510 Thanks Matt . So I'm not going to get 854 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:06,631 into more specifics on why or when it 855 00:33:06,631 --> 00:33:08,798 was up in the air . All I can tell you 856 00:33:08,798 --> 00:33:11,020 is that it was already in the area . Um 857 00:33:11,020 --> 00:33:13,187 As a point of clarification , you said 858 00:33:13,187 --> 00:33:15,298 that it had eyes on those militants . 859 00:33:15,298 --> 00:33:17,520 Um Did you say that it was viewing them 860 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,520 before the attack or saw the attack 861 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:21,687 actually occur ? And if so was it in a 862 00:33:21,687 --> 00:33:23,798 position to perhaps prevented the the 863 00:33:23,798 --> 00:33:25,631 launch of that missile ? I don't 864 00:33:25,631 --> 00:33:27,742 believe it was in uh in a position to 865 00:33:27,742 --> 00:33:29,909 prevent uh I believe it was in the air 866 00:33:29,910 --> 00:33:32,229 and saw it happen in real time . Yeah . 867 00:33:32,569 --> 00:33:34,680 Uh Thank you . So , Juncker , we also 868 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:36,680 said today that Iran is considering 869 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:38,458 providing Russia with ballistic 870 00:33:38,458 --> 00:33:40,625 missiles for use in Ukraine . So would 871 00:33:40,625 --> 00:33:42,736 the US in partners consider providing 872 00:33:42,736 --> 00:33:44,958 Ukraine with more advanced capabilities 873 00:33:44,958 --> 00:33:47,125 to defend itself properly in this ? Uh 874 00:33:47,125 --> 00:33:49,119 Thanks for the question . Um I I'm 875 00:33:49,130 --> 00:33:51,630 aware that uh you know , we or we 876 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,920 continue to be concerned that Iran 877 00:33:54,930 --> 00:33:58,719 could provide uh ballistic missiles to 878 00:33:58,729 --> 00:34:01,010 Russia for use within Ukraine . But we 879 00:34:01,020 --> 00:34:04,109 feel confident that , well , one , we 880 00:34:04,119 --> 00:34:06,400 haven't seen it happen yet . Um Two , 881 00:34:06,410 --> 00:34:08,899 we feel very confident in the aid and 882 00:34:08,909 --> 00:34:11,110 the capabilities we have been able to 883 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,459 provide Ukraine to date . Um And you're 884 00:34:13,469 --> 00:34:15,729 seeing them make , employing them 885 00:34:15,739 --> 00:34:18,310 effectively on the battlefield . Um 886 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:20,760 They are using uh whether it's our high 887 00:34:20,949 --> 00:34:23,060 mars , we just announced another Haar 888 00:34:23,060 --> 00:34:25,282 system that will , that was in the last 889 00:34:25,282 --> 00:34:27,449 package that the secretary announced , 890 00:34:27,449 --> 00:34:29,505 um they have , you know , tremendous 891 00:34:29,505 --> 00:34:31,505 air defense systems as well . So we 892 00:34:31,505 --> 00:34:33,505 feel very confident in what we have 893 00:34:33,505 --> 00:34:35,505 been able to supply Ukraine to make 894 00:34:35,519 --> 00:34:38,448 progress on the battlefield . So ABC 895 00:34:38,458 --> 00:34:40,569 reported today that the US deliveries 896 00:34:40,569 --> 00:34:42,519 of arterial shells to Ukraine have 897 00:34:42,529 --> 00:34:45,148 fallen by more than 30% since the 898 00:34:45,158 --> 00:34:47,158 Israel Hamas war begun according to 899 00:34:47,158 --> 00:34:49,047 Ukrainian official . So could you 900 00:34:49,047 --> 00:34:51,102 confirm that ? And if true , doesn't 901 00:34:51,102 --> 00:34:53,425 mean that Israel war does affect us , 902 00:34:53,735 --> 00:34:56,395 ability to sustain Ukraine's immediate 903 00:34:56,405 --> 00:34:58,572 needs on the battle field . I saw that 904 00:34:58,572 --> 00:35:00,683 story . Um Look , I I would push back 905 00:35:00,683 --> 00:35:02,794 on that assertion . We have been able 906 00:35:02,794 --> 00:35:06,185 to supply Ukraine with what it needs um 907 00:35:06,195 --> 00:35:08,195 during its counter offensive and we 908 00:35:08,195 --> 00:35:10,251 will continue to supply Ukraine with 909 00:35:10,251 --> 00:35:12,485 what it needs as it heads as uh as we 910 00:35:12,495 --> 00:35:15,405 head into winter . Um We are able to do 911 00:35:15,415 --> 00:35:18,659 that and we're able to support Israel 912 00:35:18,669 --> 00:35:21,199 and what it needs to defend itself . Um 913 00:35:21,209 --> 00:35:24,860 I in its war with Hamas , um We feel 914 00:35:24,870 --> 00:35:27,310 confident we can do both . Um And we're 915 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,739 going to continue to do both , but let 916 00:35:29,750 --> 00:35:31,583 me just take this as a moment to 917 00:35:31,583 --> 00:35:35,209 reiterate that we need Congress's help . 918 00:35:35,330 --> 00:35:37,610 We cannot do this without congressional 919 00:35:37,620 --> 00:35:40,010 um uh or Congress passing the 920 00:35:40,020 --> 00:35:43,379 supplemental bill which we submitted uh 921 00:35:43,389 --> 00:35:45,500 months ago and that , you know , is a 922 00:35:45,500 --> 00:35:47,729 need for urgent emergency assistance . 923 00:35:47,739 --> 00:35:49,961 Um And that's not just for Ukraine . Um 924 00:35:49,961 --> 00:35:51,961 That's also for Israel for also the 925 00:35:51,961 --> 00:35:55,179 Indo Pacific . Um and so the only way 926 00:35:55,189 --> 00:35:57,411 that we can continue to support Ukraine 927 00:35:57,411 --> 00:36:00,179 is if also Congress passes that urgent 928 00:36:00,189 --> 00:36:02,411 supplemental that , that we requested . 929 00:36:02,411 --> 00:36:04,467 Yeah . Yeah , just a few more here . 930 00:36:04,467 --> 00:36:06,522 Yes . If I could just as a follow up 931 00:36:06,522 --> 00:36:08,578 question , the ac 130 strike in Iraq 932 00:36:08,578 --> 00:36:10,745 was the aircraft in the air because of 933 00:36:10,745 --> 00:36:12,856 any indications of a potential threat 934 00:36:12,856 --> 00:36:15,022 to us , personnel in the area . Yeah , 935 00:36:15,022 --> 00:36:14,949 I just , I appreciate the question but 936 00:36:14,959 --> 00:36:17,126 I just can't get into any more further 937 00:36:17,126 --> 00:36:20,379 details on that ruled out pre emptive 938 00:36:20,389 --> 00:36:22,611 strikes on Iran backed militias in Iraq 939 00:36:22,611 --> 00:36:24,611 in order to prevent or to defend us 940 00:36:24,611 --> 00:36:27,149 personnel . We have not taken anything 941 00:36:27,159 --> 00:36:29,270 off the table or ruled anything out . 942 00:36:29,270 --> 00:36:31,437 That's something that um is a decision 943 00:36:31,437 --> 00:36:33,492 that the secretary makes and , and , 944 00:36:33,492 --> 00:36:35,659 and recommends to the president who of 945 00:36:35,659 --> 00:36:37,889 course makes the ultimate decision . Um 946 00:36:38,370 --> 00:36:41,360 We have a range of options . Uh We know 947 00:36:41,370 --> 00:36:44,449 that of course these groups have uh 948 00:36:45,199 --> 00:36:47,419 targeted our forces in both Iraq and 949 00:36:47,429 --> 00:36:51,000 Syria . We feel right now that we have 950 00:36:51,010 --> 00:36:53,580 taken appropriate action to um 951 00:36:54,110 --> 00:36:56,300 decimate some of their facilities and 952 00:36:56,310 --> 00:36:59,739 some of their weapons . Um But again , 953 00:36:59,750 --> 00:37:01,917 we always reserve the right to respond 954 00:37:01,917 --> 00:37:03,917 at a time and place of our choosing 955 00:37:03,917 --> 00:37:06,028 last night by the US . That was not , 956 00:37:06,028 --> 00:37:08,139 that did not go all the way up to the 957 00:37:08,139 --> 00:37:08,129 White House for approval that was in 958 00:37:08,139 --> 00:37:10,306 direct response to attack happening on 959 00:37:10,306 --> 00:37:12,699 the base . So we saw , so as mentioned , 960 00:37:12,889 --> 00:37:16,419 the ac 130 did observed the attack and 961 00:37:16,429 --> 00:37:18,429 was able to take immediate action . 962 00:37:18,429 --> 00:37:20,318 That's something that at a , at a 963 00:37:20,318 --> 00:37:22,540 commander level , of course , if you're 964 00:37:22,540 --> 00:37:24,873 under attack and you're able to respond , 965 00:37:24,873 --> 00:37:26,985 that can , that's a decision that can 966 00:37:26,985 --> 00:37:29,096 be made at that level . Constantine . 967 00:37:29,096 --> 00:37:31,318 Um Just a quick follow up on the Ford . 968 00:37:31,318 --> 00:37:31,239 I mean , it looks like the ship is 969 00:37:31,250 --> 00:37:33,580 going to be on , will have been on 970 00:37:33,590 --> 00:37:35,646 deployment for about seven months at 971 00:37:35,646 --> 00:37:37,812 this point . Is there a maximum length 972 00:37:37,812 --> 00:37:39,923 of time that the secretary is willing 973 00:37:39,923 --> 00:37:41,701 to keep the Ford on station and 974 00:37:41,701 --> 00:37:43,868 deployed again ? I don't have anything 975 00:37:43,868 --> 00:37:46,090 for you on that right now . Um It's the 976 00:37:46,090 --> 00:37:45,780 secretary's decision . He will , he 977 00:37:45,790 --> 00:37:47,846 will make that uh when he determines 978 00:37:47,846 --> 00:37:49,846 that um , it's time for the Ford to 979 00:37:49,846 --> 00:37:52,270 come home . Um Right now she remains in 980 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:54,613 the Eastern Med and will be there until , 981 00:37:54,613 --> 00:37:56,836 until he decides that she needs to come 982 00:37:56,836 --> 00:37:59,058 back . Ok , Janie , I can take one more 983 00:37:59,058 --> 00:38:01,280 and then I gotta , I gotta wrap up . Do 984 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:03,179 you think uh nurse could I like 985 00:38:04,393 --> 00:38:07,653 launch is a violation of the UN 986 00:38:07,663 --> 00:38:10,683 Security Council resolution ? Yes . And 987 00:38:10,693 --> 00:38:12,804 the NSC I think I believe , put out a 988 00:38:12,804 --> 00:38:14,915 statement saying that as well . We've 989 00:38:14,915 --> 00:38:16,860 said that before from the podium , 990 00:38:16,860 --> 00:38:19,137 these launches again are destabilizing . 991 00:38:19,137 --> 00:38:20,971 They violate Un Security Council 992 00:38:20,971 --> 00:38:23,082 resolutions and I'll just leave it at 993 00:38:23,082 --> 00:38:25,304 that . But before I wrap , did you have 994 00:38:25,304 --> 00:38:27,415 a question . Ok , great . Um Before I 995 00:38:27,415 --> 00:38:29,582 wrap just two things , uh want to wish 996 00:38:29,582 --> 00:38:31,637 everyone a happy Thanksgiving . Um I 997 00:38:31,637 --> 00:38:33,804 know that uh it's been a , it's been a 998 00:38:33,804 --> 00:38:35,804 busy few weeks . And so , um I know 999 00:38:35,804 --> 00:38:37,971 this department is incredibly grateful 1000 00:38:37,971 --> 00:38:39,915 for our service members uh serving 1001 00:38:39,915 --> 00:38:42,082 abroad . Um Our civilians also serving 1002 00:38:42,082 --> 00:38:44,249 abroad and their and their families as 1003 00:38:44,249 --> 00:38:46,249 well . Um You know , thinking about 1004 00:38:46,249 --> 00:38:48,360 them during this Thanksgiving holiday 1005 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:47,706 and I hope all of you have a great 1006 00:38:47,716 --> 00:38:50,360 Thanksgiving . Um And then last note , 1007 00:38:50,389 --> 00:38:52,889 um our chief of staff , Jess Kos Meter 1008 00:38:52,899 --> 00:38:55,770 is leaving us . Um She will be going to 1009 00:38:55,780 --> 00:38:59,219 the NSC . And so , uh it is uh very sad 1010 00:38:59,229 --> 00:39:01,173 that we are seeing her leave , but 1011 00:39:01,173 --> 00:39:03,229 she's off to , to big things and I'm 1012 00:39:03,229 --> 00:39:05,285 sure you'll be working with her over 1013 00:39:05,285 --> 00:39:05,580 there and with that , I will wrap up .