WEBVTT 00:02.359 --> 00:05.329 Hello , good afternoon everyone . Um I 00:05.340 --> 00:07.960 do have quite a few items at the top . 00:07.969 --> 00:10.191 So if you'll just bear with me and then 00:10.191 --> 00:12.080 I'd be happy to jump in and start 00:12.080 --> 00:14.302 taking your questions . So earlier this 00:14.302 --> 00:16.299 week , as , as you may have seen , 00:16.309 --> 00:18.420 Secretary Austin gave opening remarks 00:18.420 --> 00:20.253 yesterday at the Ukraine Defense 00:20.253 --> 00:22.365 Industrial Based Conference held here 00:22.365 --> 00:24.520 in Washington DC . The conference 00:24.530 --> 00:26.530 connected Relevant US and Ukrainian 00:26.530 --> 00:28.752 industry and government representatives 00:28.752 --> 00:30.641 to discuss initiatives that could 00:30.641 --> 00:32.697 enhance Ukraine's defense industrial 00:32.697 --> 00:34.919 base and build on and build on momentum 00:34.919 --> 00:36.808 generated by a successful event . 00:36.808 --> 00:38.808 Ukraine hosted in Kiev in September 00:38.808 --> 00:41.599 2023 . All of which signals strong us 00:41.610 --> 00:43.277 support for enhanced industry 00:43.277 --> 00:45.610 partnership . As part of the conference , 00:45.779 --> 00:47.830 Dr Bill Lalan under Secretary for 00:47.840 --> 00:49.896 acquisition and sustainment convened 00:49.896 --> 00:51.840 the eighth meeting of the National 00:51.840 --> 00:53.618 Armament Directors uh under the 00:53.618 --> 00:55.840 auspices of the Ukraine defense contact 00:55.840 --> 00:57.896 group . Today . The meeting is being 00:57.896 --> 00:59.896 held here at the Pentagon the first 00:59.896 --> 01:02.118 time the forum has convened here in the 01:02.118 --> 01:04.118 United States . This meeting brings 01:04.118 --> 01:06.173 together more than 40 nations , NATO 01:06.173 --> 01:08.173 and the European Union to engage on 01:08.173 --> 01:09.951 industrial base and sustainment 01:09.951 --> 01:12.062 challenges in support of Ukraine both 01:12.062 --> 01:14.229 for their immediate requirements while 01:14.229 --> 01:16.229 also supporting Ukraine's long term 01:16.229 --> 01:18.340 defense and national security needs . 01:18.340 --> 01:20.396 Later in that in the day , Secretary 01:20.396 --> 01:22.396 Austin hosted Ukrainian Minister of 01:22.396 --> 01:24.284 Defense Um Umarov for a bilateral 01:24.284 --> 01:26.451 meeting . Secretary Austin highlighted 01:26.451 --> 01:28.618 the department's ongoing activities to 01:28.618 --> 01:30.562 meet Ukraine's urgent requirements 01:30.562 --> 01:32.729 including the announcement of the 52nd 01:32.729 --> 01:34.951 tranche of security assistance from dod 01:34.951 --> 01:37.709 inventories for Ukraine . The package 01:37.720 --> 01:39.498 included additional air defense 01:39.498 --> 01:41.629 capabilities , artillery ammunition , 01:41.800 --> 01:43.911 anti tank weapons and other equipment 01:43.911 --> 01:45.800 to help Ukraine counter Russia's 01:45.809 --> 01:48.150 ongoing war of aggression . This 01:48.160 --> 01:50.327 package utilized assistance previously 01:50.327 --> 01:52.370 authorized for Ukraine during prior 01:52.379 --> 01:54.379 fiscal years under the presidential 01:54.379 --> 01:56.900 drawdown authority but it is critical 01:56.919 --> 01:59.050 as you all know that Congress passed 01:59.059 --> 02:00.948 the president's national security 02:00.948 --> 02:03.059 supplemental request to ensure we can 02:03.059 --> 02:05.290 continue to support Ukraine security 02:05.300 --> 02:07.189 assistance for Ukraine is a smart 02:07.189 --> 02:09.189 investment in our national security 02:09.189 --> 02:11.300 because it helps prevent a larger war 02:11.300 --> 02:13.189 in Europe while strengthening our 02:13.189 --> 02:15.244 defense industrial base and creating 02:15.244 --> 02:17.244 skilled jobs back home here for the 02:17.244 --> 02:18.911 American people . And without 02:18.911 --> 02:21.133 additional funding , the department may 02:21.133 --> 02:23.022 soon reach a point where it can't 02:23.022 --> 02:22.750 sustain the current level of security 02:22.759 --> 02:25.559 assistance . Support to Ukraine . Also 02:25.570 --> 02:27.681 yesterday , the US Air Force Navy and 02:27.681 --> 02:29.848 Marine Corps in co ordination with the 02:29.848 --> 02:31.737 department's V 22 . Joint program 02:31.737 --> 02:33.848 office announced an operational stand 02:33.848 --> 02:35.990 down for all osprey variants in the 02:36.000 --> 02:39.410 wake of the November 29th CV 22 mishap 02:39.479 --> 02:42.080 off the coast of Japan . This action is 02:42.089 --> 02:44.311 being taken out of abundance of caution 02:44.311 --> 02:46.119 while the AFS investigation is 02:46.130 --> 02:48.910 conducted as each service conducts 02:48.919 --> 02:51.141 operational safety reviews within their 02:51.141 --> 02:53.197 fleets . Each will re evaluate their 02:53.197 --> 02:55.419 respective grounding bulletins and then 02:55.419 --> 02:57.641 determine timelines for resuming flight 02:57.641 --> 02:59.808 operations in close coordinations with 02:59.808 --> 03:01.863 the joint program office . We'd also 03:01.863 --> 03:03.975 like to thank the government of Japan 03:03.975 --> 03:06.141 for all their assistance in the search 03:06.141 --> 03:08.197 and recovery efforts throughout this 03:08.197 --> 03:10.419 incident . And we will continue to work 03:10.419 --> 03:12.475 with them on sharing information and 03:12.475 --> 03:11.809 safety procedures during the 03:11.820 --> 03:13.710 investigation . Of course , our 03:13.720 --> 03:15.776 thoughts remain with the families of 03:15.776 --> 03:17.809 those airmen who are lost air force 03:17.820 --> 03:19.487 Special Operations Command is 03:19.487 --> 03:21.653 investigating the CV 22 mishap and I'd 03:21.653 --> 03:23.709 refer you to them for any additional 03:23.709 --> 03:26.330 questions . Switching gears to Congress . 03:26.490 --> 03:28.212 Earlier this week , the Senate 03:28.212 --> 03:30.350 confirmed over 420 of our highly 03:30.360 --> 03:32.471 qualified general and flag officers . 03:32.539 --> 03:34.817 These holds have dragged on for months , 03:34.817 --> 03:36.817 degraded our military readiness and 03:36.817 --> 03:38.817 forced far too many of our military 03:38.817 --> 03:41.039 families to put their lives on hold and 03:41.039 --> 03:43.095 endure even greater sacrifices . And 03:43.100 --> 03:45.267 while this was welcome news , we still 03:45.267 --> 03:47.489 have dozens of officers that still have 03:47.489 --> 03:49.711 had holds placed on them , some of whom 03:49.711 --> 03:51.929 are four stars . We urge the Senate to 03:51.940 --> 03:54.107 confirm the remainder of our qualified 03:54.107 --> 03:56.329 military leaders as soon as possible so 03:56.329 --> 03:58.440 that we can have our team in place to 03:58.440 --> 04:00.329 meet this critical moment for our 04:00.329 --> 04:02.384 national security and shifting gears 04:02.384 --> 04:04.607 again . Uh Next week , Deputy Secretary 04:04.610 --> 04:06.666 of Defense Kathleen Hicks will visit 04:06.666 --> 04:08.943 locations in Silicon Valley California . 04:08.943 --> 04:11.054 She will visit the defense Innovation 04:11.054 --> 04:12.943 Unit where she will meet with diu 04:12.943 --> 04:15.054 personnel who are accelerating the US 04:15.054 --> 04:16.943 military's adoption of commercial 04:16.943 --> 04:18.832 technology to strengthen national 04:18.832 --> 04:21.054 security . And she will also receive an 04:21.054 --> 04:23.277 update on DIU projects through a series 04:23.277 --> 04:25.332 of capabilities demonstrations . She 04:25.332 --> 04:27.332 will also meet with a wide range of 04:27.332 --> 04:29.110 industry leaders to discuss the 04:29.110 --> 04:31.166 department's replicator initiative , 04:31.166 --> 04:32.832 discuss innovation across the 04:32.832 --> 04:34.999 department and see demonstrations of A 04:34.999 --> 04:37.110 I powered autonomous technologies and 04:37.110 --> 04:39.166 just one more item . earlier today , 04:39.166 --> 04:41.054 Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin 04:41.054 --> 04:43.277 called his Royal Highness Prince Khalid 04:43.277 --> 04:45.850 Bin Soleiman . Saudi , Minister S Saudi 04:45.859 --> 04:48.070 Minister of Defense to discuss houthis 04:48.100 --> 04:50.322 threats to freedom of navigation in the 04:50.322 --> 04:52.544 Red Sea . We will have a readout coming 04:52.544 --> 04:54.767 shortly if you don't already have it in 04:54.767 --> 04:56.933 your inbox with that . I'd be happy to 04:56.933 --> 04:59.156 open up to some questions . Do you want 04:59.156 --> 05:01.211 to start us , Sena ? Um First on the 05:01.211 --> 05:03.378 Osprey , the Osprey makes up a sizable 05:03.378 --> 05:05.600 portion of the Marine Corps Fleet . Air 05:05.600 --> 05:07.600 fleet . How is Marine Corps and Air 05:07.600 --> 05:09.656 Force and Navy going to mitigate the 05:09.656 --> 05:11.799 loss of uh access to this aircraft 05:11.809 --> 05:13.976 while this investigation is going on ? 05:13.976 --> 05:16.198 Well , because it's something that they 05:16.198 --> 05:18.309 are instituting in terms of the stand 05:18.309 --> 05:20.476 down . I'd really uh refer you to them 05:20.476 --> 05:22.531 to speak to um how they are managing 05:22.531 --> 05:24.698 this , um this stand down and how it's 05:24.698 --> 05:26.365 um impacting or not their own 05:26.365 --> 05:28.476 operations . So I'd refer you to them 05:28.476 --> 05:30.365 to speak to . That is a secretary 05:30.365 --> 05:32.365 concerned about a loss of this many 05:32.365 --> 05:34.420 aircraft at once with so many things 05:34.420 --> 05:36.642 going on , the secretary fully supports 05:36.642 --> 05:38.698 the services and they're um out of , 05:38.698 --> 05:40.976 you know , the abundance of caution to , 05:40.976 --> 05:43.031 to stand these , these fleet , these 05:43.031 --> 05:45.198 aircraft down . This is something that 05:45.198 --> 05:47.420 we've done before . Um , whenever there 05:47.420 --> 05:49.642 is a mishap that , um , a service feels 05:49.642 --> 05:52.154 needs , um , either more investigation 05:52.165 --> 05:54.443 or just out of an abundance of caution , 05:54.443 --> 05:56.665 um , there have been stand downs of the 05:56.665 --> 05:58.887 of fleets before of other platforms and 05:58.887 --> 06:01.109 so the secretary of course supports the 06:01.109 --> 06:03.276 service's decision to do that . Um And 06:03.276 --> 06:05.387 again , I'd refer you to the services 06:05.387 --> 06:07.554 regarding their , their details on the 06:07.554 --> 06:09.832 pause of operations . And then uh last , 06:09.832 --> 06:12.054 the , the Pentagon for more than a year 06:12.054 --> 06:11.885 has been trying to stand up a flight 06:11.894 --> 06:14.265 safety office where all of this data is 06:14.274 --> 06:16.163 supposed to go to be able to look 06:16.163 --> 06:18.274 across services , see trends . What's 06:18.274 --> 06:20.385 the status of that office ? And is it 06:20.385 --> 06:22.607 looking to this incident ? I don't have 06:22.607 --> 06:25.279 a status update on the office , but as 06:25.290 --> 06:28.059 I mentioned , um in the beginning , we 06:28.070 --> 06:30.126 do have the joint program office for 06:30.126 --> 06:32.348 this platform that is coordinating with 06:32.348 --> 06:34.670 the services and other customers who 06:34.679 --> 06:36.950 use the Osprey . Um So that is 06:36.959 --> 06:38.792 something that is , you know , a 06:38.792 --> 06:41.054 connecting uh office that is 06:41.065 --> 06:43.605 coordinating across the services and to 06:43.614 --> 06:45.725 our allies and partners . But I don't 06:45.725 --> 06:47.447 have an update for you on that 06:47.447 --> 06:49.614 particular office at this time to be a 06:49.614 --> 06:51.670 deputy secretary of defense level to 06:51.670 --> 06:53.781 really elevate flight safety and when 06:53.781 --> 06:55.892 concerns are raised by maintainers or 06:55.892 --> 06:58.114 units elevate them to a point where you 06:58.114 --> 07:00.225 get a very high level of visibility . 07:00.225 --> 07:02.281 But it's been more than a year since 07:02.281 --> 07:02.234 the office was supposed to be up and 07:02.244 --> 07:04.484 running . So again , I would say that 07:05.470 --> 07:08.040 as you know , the secretary takes 07:08.049 --> 07:11.250 safety and security as one of his top 07:11.260 --> 07:14.989 priorities , um we are the , the 07:15.000 --> 07:17.200 services are out of an abundance of 07:17.209 --> 07:20.589 caution . Um Again , putting a 07:20.600 --> 07:23.559 pause on this platform . I don't have 07:23.570 --> 07:25.626 an update for you on that particular 07:25.626 --> 07:27.514 office , but it's not to say that 07:27.514 --> 07:29.459 safety and security of our service 07:29.459 --> 07:31.514 members is not a concern . Um That's 07:31.514 --> 07:33.790 exactly why you're seeing , um , the 07:33.799 --> 07:35.799 Navy , the Marine Corps and the Air 07:35.799 --> 07:37.910 Force do what they are doing . Um But 07:37.910 --> 07:40.077 I'd refer you to them to speak to , to 07:40.077 --> 07:42.243 more details on that . Yeah , thanks , 07:42.260 --> 07:44.371 Laura . Yeah . Um Can you please give 07:44.371 --> 07:46.593 us an update on the attacks in Iraq and 07:46.593 --> 07:48.927 Syria ? How many , how many have we had ? 07:48.927 --> 07:50.816 How many injuries have there been 07:50.816 --> 07:52.927 altogether ? And um , have there been 07:52.927 --> 07:55.149 any more incidents in the Red Sea since 07:55.149 --> 07:57.540 yesterday ? Um So in terms of any other 07:57.549 --> 08:00.269 additional instances or attacks since 08:00.279 --> 08:02.390 yesterday , I'm not tracking anything 08:02.390 --> 08:04.446 that's occurred in the Red Sea or at 08:04.446 --> 08:06.446 any of our bases . Um I believe , I 08:07.149 --> 08:10.160 believe as of today , there have been 08:10.170 --> 08:13.559 approximately 78 attacks on our , on 08:13.570 --> 08:15.681 our bases , but I don't have anything 08:15.681 --> 08:17.626 that's happened within the last 24 08:17.626 --> 08:19.570 hours . The department assess that 08:19.570 --> 08:21.403 there has been a slowdown in the 08:21.403 --> 08:23.570 attacks in the last couple days a week 08:23.570 --> 08:25.792 or so . Well , I mean , and I feel like 08:25.792 --> 08:27.903 I was asked this question a few weeks 08:27.903 --> 08:29.848 ago when there was , you know , an 08:29.848 --> 08:32.126 uptick in attacks and yet we do have a , 08:32.126 --> 08:34.292 like a day or two that will go without 08:34.292 --> 08:34.260 any attacks . So it's really hard to 08:34.270 --> 08:38.059 say I would , um , direct you 08:38.070 --> 08:40.960 to the forces , the , these hostile 08:40.969 --> 08:43.191 militant groups that continue to attack 08:43.191 --> 08:45.247 our , our , our coalition forces and 08:45.247 --> 08:47.400 our troops in Iraq and Syria on why 08:47.409 --> 08:49.242 they are , you know , doing what 08:49.242 --> 08:51.353 they're doing and when they decide to 08:51.353 --> 08:53.465 do it , but in the last 24 hours , we 08:53.465 --> 08:55.742 haven't seen any attacks on our forces . 08:55.742 --> 08:55.599 Um , should that change ? Of course , 08:55.609 --> 08:57.553 we would let you know . But , um , 08:57.553 --> 08:59.553 that's the latest that I have as of 08:59.553 --> 09:01.665 right now when I'm standing up here . 09:02.900 --> 09:05.090 Oh , I'm sorry . Um , as of December , 09:05.219 --> 09:07.869 as of , I would say December 4th . Um , 09:07.880 --> 09:10.960 it's still about 66 of our folks , um , 09:10.969 --> 09:13.260 who have received nonserious , non life 09:13.289 --> 09:15.289 threatening injuries , all who have 09:15.289 --> 09:17.400 returned to work . Um , I know you'll 09:17.400 --> 09:19.511 probably ask about TB is , but I just 09:19.511 --> 09:21.733 don't have an update for you on that at 09:21.733 --> 09:25.229 this time . The United 09:25.239 --> 09:28.520 States indicted for , for 09:28.530 --> 09:32.130 Russians for war crimes . Is this 09:32.140 --> 09:35.770 just because they started the war in 09:35.780 --> 09:37.947 Ukraine . Yeah , that's something that 09:37.947 --> 09:39.724 I saw the Department of Justice 09:39.724 --> 09:41.836 announced yesterday . I direct you to 09:41.836 --> 09:44.030 them for more information . I don't 09:44.710 --> 09:48.630 think it was put in again . I would 09:48.640 --> 09:50.862 direct you to the Department of Justice 09:50.862 --> 09:52.840 who launched or who announced that 09:53.289 --> 09:55.233 yesterday . I just don't have more 09:55.233 --> 09:57.456 information on those , on those names . 09:57.456 --> 09:59.729 One . Sure . Ok . The United States 09:59.739 --> 10:03.000 Space Force Command announce that 10:04.200 --> 10:06.539 possibility , uh , with destroying 10:06.549 --> 10:09.099 North Korea as a military satellite . 10:09.340 --> 10:12.760 And when do you think that time will be 10:12.770 --> 10:14.992 coming ? I'm sorry , I've not seen that 10:14.992 --> 10:17.159 report , but I don't have anything for 10:17.159 --> 10:19.048 you on that . I'm gonna go to the 10:19.048 --> 10:21.900 phones here , Ris Reuters . Hey , 10:21.909 --> 10:24.229 Sabrina , there have been a number of 10:24.239 --> 10:26.799 reports in the past uh couple of hours 10:26.809 --> 10:28.809 about the killing of uh the Reuters 10:28.809 --> 10:30.920 journalist Osam Abdullah and injuring 10:30.920 --> 10:33.031 of other journalists in Lebanon uh in 10:33.031 --> 10:35.142 October . And one of the stories from 10:35.142 --> 10:37.031 Reuters says definitively that an 10:37.031 --> 10:39.950 Israeli tank um was responsible for 10:39.960 --> 10:42.669 firing two shells um that killed uh 10:42.679 --> 10:45.250 Assam . Does the dod have an 10:45.260 --> 10:47.482 independent assessment of what happened 10:47.482 --> 10:50.059 that day ? Um Secondly , do you , have 10:50.070 --> 10:52.126 you talked to the Israelis about the 10:52.126 --> 10:54.292 killing ? And thirdly , do you believe 10:54.292 --> 10:56.514 Israel kills journalists as a matter of 10:56.514 --> 11:00.469 policy ? Uh Thanks to um so in terms 11:00.479 --> 11:02.590 of an independent assessment , I just 11:02.590 --> 11:05.650 don't have that for you . Um uh at this 11:05.659 --> 11:07.830 time , I have seen the reports out 11:07.840 --> 11:09.562 there but there's , that's not 11:09.562 --> 11:11.618 something that um we've been able to 11:11.618 --> 11:13.451 assess independently here in the 11:13.451 --> 11:15.799 building . Um , again , I think you've 11:15.809 --> 11:18.440 seen with all of our readouts that the 11:18.450 --> 11:20.783 secretary has had with Minister Gallant , 11:20.799 --> 11:23.239 um , with other senior leader 11:23.250 --> 11:24.861 engagements from across this 11:24.861 --> 11:27.039 administration , we continue to urge 11:27.049 --> 11:30.590 Israel um to conduct its operations in 11:30.599 --> 11:33.880 a targeted manner um , as it is seeking 11:33.890 --> 11:37.669 out a and , and addressing a , 11:37.679 --> 11:40.150 um , a brutal terrorist organization 11:40.159 --> 11:43.049 within Gaza . Um , we continue to urge 11:43.059 --> 11:45.330 Israel to uphold the laws of armed 11:45.340 --> 11:47.809 conflict and humanitarian law and the 11:47.820 --> 11:49.764 protection of innocent civilians , 11:49.764 --> 11:51.876 which includes members of the press . 11:51.876 --> 11:53.876 Um And so that's something that has 11:53.876 --> 11:55.820 come up uh that we've talked about 11:55.820 --> 11:57.987 publicly . It has come up privately as 11:57.987 --> 12:00.153 well and um I'll just leave it at that 12:00.153 --> 12:03.179 uh constantly military times . Uh 12:03.190 --> 12:05.789 Thanks Sabrina . Um I wanted to going 12:05.799 --> 12:08.760 back to the Osprey in August . You said 12:08.770 --> 12:11.070 that the department has confidence in 12:11.080 --> 12:13.539 the Osprey as a platform . Uh given 12:13.549 --> 12:15.605 everything that's come out this past 12:15.605 --> 12:17.605 week . Is that still true ? Is that 12:17.605 --> 12:19.660 still an accurate statement ? Thanks 12:19.660 --> 12:21.716 Constantine for the question . And I 12:21.716 --> 12:21.590 think as you heard me say to Tara 12:21.599 --> 12:24.140 earlier again , we've seen this done 12:24.150 --> 12:26.440 before with other platforms out of an 12:26.450 --> 12:28.783 abundance of caution . Um The Air Force , 12:28.783 --> 12:30.672 the Marine Corps and the Navy are 12:30.672 --> 12:32.783 standing down um their , their Osprey 12:32.783 --> 12:34.839 fleet . Um I would direct you to the 12:34.839 --> 12:36.672 services to speak to you of when 12:36.672 --> 12:38.783 they're going to be um back up in the 12:38.783 --> 12:41.006 air . But as you can understand , there 12:41.006 --> 12:42.950 will always be an inherent risk in 12:42.950 --> 12:45.700 military aviation and to mitigate that 12:45.710 --> 12:48.059 risk , we will continue to maintain the 12:48.070 --> 12:50.219 high level of operational 12:50.229 --> 12:52.289 standardization uh for all of our 12:52.299 --> 12:55.140 pilots and for all of the crew . Um as 12:55.150 --> 12:57.261 you probably know , the osprey is one 12:57.261 --> 12:59.483 of the premier assault aviation systems 12:59.483 --> 13:01.599 that we have . It is versatile , its 13:01.609 --> 13:04.030 speed um and its uh vertical lift 13:04.039 --> 13:06.640 capabilities are not met by any other 13:06.650 --> 13:09.250 platform existing in fixed or rotary 13:09.260 --> 13:11.038 wing platforms . And so it's an 13:11.038 --> 13:14.489 incredibly useful um platform for all 13:14.500 --> 13:16.650 of our services to use again . Out of 13:16.659 --> 13:18.659 an abundance of caution , there has 13:18.659 --> 13:20.715 been a stand down and I would direct 13:20.715 --> 13:22.659 you to the services uh for when um 13:22.659 --> 13:25.239 those will be back up in the air . All 13:25.250 --> 13:27.361 right , I will take one more from the 13:27.361 --> 13:29.417 phone and then I'll come back in the 13:29.417 --> 13:31.500 room . Uh Chris Gordon , uh thanks 13:31.510 --> 13:34.210 Sabrina . Uh Senator Warren expressed 13:34.219 --> 13:36.609 concern uh during a Senate Armed 13:36.619 --> 13:38.675 Services Committee hearing yesterday 13:38.675 --> 13:41.380 about too many service members uh are 13:41.390 --> 13:43.446 receiving lasting injuries or losing 13:43.446 --> 13:45.890 their lives due to accidents . Does the 13:45.900 --> 13:48.479 Pentagon share that view ? Um And what 13:48.489 --> 13:50.545 could be done to make training safer 13:50.545 --> 13:52.378 broadly ? Does the part does the 13:52.378 --> 13:54.322 department need to review training 13:54.322 --> 13:56.600 accidents in whatever form aviation or ? 13:56.919 --> 13:59.086 Well , thanks Chris for the question . 13:59.086 --> 14:01.141 Well , as you can see , I mean , the 14:01.141 --> 14:03.141 Air Force is doing an investigation 14:03.141 --> 14:05.363 right now into the mishap that happened 14:05.363 --> 14:07.252 off the coast of Japan . Safety , 14:07.252 --> 14:09.419 security of our personnel , whether it 14:09.419 --> 14:11.679 be our , in our air force , our army , 14:11.690 --> 14:13.912 our Navy or Marine Corps . Uh , we take 14:13.912 --> 14:16.079 that very seriously . That's something 14:16.079 --> 14:18.380 that the secretary um I know is a 14:18.390 --> 14:20.700 priority for him . And so we are 14:20.710 --> 14:22.710 evaluating any time that there is a 14:22.710 --> 14:24.419 mishap . Um , and there's an 14:24.429 --> 14:26.373 investigation , taking the lessons 14:26.373 --> 14:28.640 learned from that and applying it and 14:28.650 --> 14:31.500 um making sure that uh safety protocols 14:31.510 --> 14:33.621 and procedures are , are followed and 14:33.621 --> 14:35.732 enhanced if need be . All right , I'm 14:35.732 --> 14:37.732 gonna come back in the room . Tom . 14:37.732 --> 14:39.843 Thanks , Sabrina . I have a quick two 14:39.843 --> 14:41.954 questions . One on the Osprey . Uh Do 14:41.954 --> 14:44.066 the services have the ability to do a 14:44.066 --> 14:46.177 stand down independently or does that 14:46.177 --> 14:48.399 have to be service wide and they can do 14:48.399 --> 14:50.566 it independently ? Yeah , thanks . And 14:50.566 --> 14:52.899 the second question unrelated to Osprey , 14:52.899 --> 14:55.010 uh President of Guiana yesterday said 14:55.010 --> 14:56.954 that he's requesting us military , 14:56.954 --> 14:58.880 possible us military support . Uh 14:58.890 --> 15:01.950 Because of uh Venezuela's referendum 15:02.219 --> 15:04.409 and oil fields , this is not getting 15:04.419 --> 15:06.419 ahead of a decision , but this is a 15:06.419 --> 15:08.586 clarification . Would such a request ? 15:08.586 --> 15:10.808 Stay at South com would have to come to 15:10.808 --> 15:12.808 the Pentagon . How does that work ? 15:12.808 --> 15:14.697 Well , of course , any decision , 15:14.697 --> 15:14.390 whether it's requesting military 15:14.400 --> 15:17.059 support , of course , would we 15:17.070 --> 15:19.126 originate at the Cocom ? And then of 15:19.126 --> 15:21.237 course , flow up through OS D ? Thank 15:21.237 --> 15:23.237 you . Great . Thank you Sabrina . I 15:23.237 --> 15:25.570 wanna go back to uh Ari's question . So , 15:25.570 --> 15:27.570 so this is the you said you saw the 15:27.570 --> 15:29.681 report , I guess you're talking about 15:29.681 --> 15:31.626 the human rights watch and amnesty 15:31.626 --> 15:33.737 targeting um Reuters , photographer , 15:33.737 --> 15:35.848 my late friend Issam Abdullah and six 15:35.848 --> 15:38.014 other journalists including Al Jazeera 15:38.014 --> 15:40.070 and a FP . This incident happened in 15:40.070 --> 15:42.181 Lebanon , didn't happen in Gaza where 15:42.181 --> 15:44.237 Hamas exists . Um according to the , 15:44.237 --> 15:46.403 the reports , it was deliberate and it 15:46.403 --> 15:48.979 amounts to a war crime . In addition to 15:48.989 --> 15:51.045 this discussion , does the secretary 15:51.045 --> 15:53.267 support accountability when it comes to 15:53.267 --> 15:55.378 the killing of Issam Abdullah and the 15:55.378 --> 15:57.600 targeting of these journalists ? Well , 15:57.600 --> 15:59.711 first fa I'm so sorry , I had no idea 15:59.711 --> 16:01.767 that you knew this journalist and of 16:01.767 --> 16:03.878 course , our , our thoughts on behalf 16:03.878 --> 16:05.989 of the department are with you and of 16:05.989 --> 16:08.390 course the family um look , we are in 16:08.400 --> 16:10.400 constant communication , your daily 16:10.400 --> 16:12.739 communication um with our , with the 16:12.750 --> 16:14.583 Israeli counter , sorry with the 16:14.583 --> 16:16.639 Secretary's Israeli counterparts and 16:16.639 --> 16:18.417 also here um from senior levels 16:18.417 --> 16:20.583 engaging with the Israeli government . 16:20.583 --> 16:22.650 Um You've seen all types um from the 16:22.659 --> 16:24.492 vice president's office , uh her 16:24.492 --> 16:26.603 national security adviser was just in 16:26.603 --> 16:28.770 the region as well engaging with their 16:28.770 --> 16:31.549 his Israeli counterparts um to discuss 16:31.559 --> 16:33.590 what is happening within Gaza and 16:33.599 --> 16:35.929 around Israel . We do not want to see 16:35.940 --> 16:38.051 this conflict spread out into a wider 16:38.051 --> 16:40.260 regional conflict . Um As you know , 16:40.270 --> 16:42.659 we've sent and search assets into the 16:42.669 --> 16:45.210 region to bolster our deterrence and 16:45.219 --> 16:47.330 send a message that we do not want to 16:47.330 --> 16:49.441 see this conflict widen . Um And that 16:49.441 --> 16:51.909 also means uh any conflict or clashes 16:51.919 --> 16:55.070 along the northern border . Um , I've 16:55.080 --> 16:57.247 said it before and I'll say it again , 16:57.247 --> 16:59.413 the targeting of innocent civilians is 16:59.413 --> 17:01.636 something that we take very seriously . 17:01.636 --> 17:03.989 Um , and so we are in all of our 17:04.000 --> 17:05.722 conversations with the Israeli 17:05.722 --> 17:09.069 government urging that they always 17:09.079 --> 17:11.959 take into account innocent civilians as 17:11.969 --> 17:14.025 they are conducting their operations 17:14.025 --> 17:16.136 against a terrorist organization that 17:16.136 --> 17:18.844 is Hamas . Thank you on a separate 17:18.854 --> 17:21.145 issue . Uh , Israeli forces announced 17:21.155 --> 17:24.114 yesterday that they have received so 17:24.125 --> 17:27.494 far , uh almost 10,000 tons of uh 17:27.505 --> 17:31.155 equipment and ammunition and almost 200 17:31.435 --> 17:34.025 air shipment . Uh Are you able to say 17:34.035 --> 17:36.864 whether all of that came from the US or 17:36.875 --> 17:40.464 what , how the proportion of us aid ? 17:40.750 --> 17:44.069 Um , as part of what , what is , what 17:44.079 --> 17:46.569 was announced , I can't say for certain 17:46.579 --> 17:50.449 what part is uh us support . Um We've 17:50.459 --> 17:52.459 been very clear that we're going to 17:52.459 --> 17:54.250 continue to support Israel with 17:54.260 --> 17:56.939 security assistance , um , through F MS 17:56.949 --> 18:00.515 and FMF . Um And as long 18:00.525 --> 18:02.747 as you know , they need that support to 18:02.747 --> 18:05.025 conduct their operations against Hamas . 18:05.025 --> 18:07.025 Um But in terms of the announcement 18:07.025 --> 18:09.081 that the Israeli government made , I 18:09.081 --> 18:11.081 can't tell you what specifically in 18:11.081 --> 18:13.247 that package that was delivered was us 18:13.247 --> 18:15.303 military assistance . All I can tell 18:15.303 --> 18:17.136 you is that we are continuing to 18:17.136 --> 18:19.358 support Israel . Um I , you know , I'll 18:19.358 --> 18:21.525 just leave it at that for the future . 18:21.525 --> 18:23.636 This is not a question . Would you be 18:23.636 --> 18:25.680 able to compile the amount of 18:25.689 --> 18:28.069 assistance that's been provided whether 18:28.079 --> 18:30.989 in a dollar term or , I don't know , 18:31.010 --> 18:33.066 weight or whatever . Yeah , I mean , 18:33.066 --> 18:35.066 that's something that I know you've 18:35.066 --> 18:34.900 asked about , that's something that 18:34.910 --> 18:36.790 we're working through , uh , the 18:36.800 --> 18:38.522 difference . And what makes it 18:38.522 --> 18:40.719 difficult is that the way we provide 18:40.729 --> 18:42.673 security assistance , let's say to 18:42.673 --> 18:44.840 Ukraine is through , coming off of our 18:44.840 --> 18:46.951 stock shelves and , um , it's through 18:46.951 --> 18:48.951 the presidential drawdown authority 18:48.951 --> 18:50.951 which is different from the funding 18:50.951 --> 18:53.118 mechanism such as uh F MS and FMF . We 18:53.118 --> 18:55.173 are working on it . Um It's not that 18:55.173 --> 18:57.340 I've forgotten . I certainly haven't . 18:57.340 --> 18:59.285 Um , as you know , we've said that 18:59.285 --> 19:01.949 we're providing broad strokes uh Israel 19:01.959 --> 19:04.869 with uh ammunition , precision guided 19:04.880 --> 19:06.880 munitions and then air defense , of 19:06.880 --> 19:09.660 course , as well , Nancy . Um I just 19:09.670 --> 19:11.837 wanna start by reiterating F's Point . 19:11.837 --> 19:14.059 The war is two months today and I think 19:14.059 --> 19:16.059 this is um , information we've been 19:16.059 --> 19:18.114 asking for for a few weeks and given 19:18.114 --> 19:17.790 that at least part of it is paid for by 19:17.800 --> 19:20.022 tax dollars . I just wanna re reiterate 19:20.022 --> 19:22.022 how , um much we'd like to see that 19:22.022 --> 19:24.189 information as soon as possible . Um I 19:24.189 --> 19:25.911 had a question about the Biden 19:25.911 --> 19:28.022 administration's announcement earlier 19:28.022 --> 19:29.967 this week , kind of issuing a dire 19:29.967 --> 19:31.967 warning that if um Congress did not 19:31.967 --> 19:34.133 pass funding for Ukraine by the end of 19:34.133 --> 19:34.099 the year , it could affect um 19:34.140 --> 19:36.300 resourcing for that war . Some 19:36.310 --> 19:38.260 Republicans are saying that the 19:38.270 --> 19:40.430 situation is not as urgent as the 19:40.439 --> 19:42.661 administration has presented it because 19:42.661 --> 19:44.883 there's at least a billion in funds and 19:44.883 --> 19:47.579 given the pace of um funding or um 19:47.959 --> 19:50.126 weapons that have been provided so far 19:50.126 --> 19:52.237 that that money can stretch out for a 19:52.237 --> 19:54.348 bit of time . I wanted to know if you 19:54.348 --> 19:56.515 could give me a Pentagon assessment in 19:56.515 --> 19:58.570 terms of um when funds could run out 19:58.570 --> 20:00.849 and , and how urgently this funding 20:00.859 --> 20:03.949 needs to be provided um For Ukraine do . 20:03.959 --> 20:05.959 Is there a point where the Pentagon 20:05.959 --> 20:08.126 feels without that funding in the next 20:08.126 --> 20:10.403 weeks ? Um It threatens the war itself ? 20:10.403 --> 20:12.403 Sure . So I think the assertion was 20:12.403 --> 20:15.359 that , that Ukraine doesn't need this 20:15.369 --> 20:17.591 funding and that they could manage with 20:17.591 --> 20:19.647 what we have left . Is that what you 20:19.647 --> 20:21.980 were saying ? The US has enough funding , 20:21.980 --> 20:24.147 there's still enough remaining funding 20:24.147 --> 20:24.130 that it could last for , it could be 20:24.140 --> 20:26.251 stretched out for a few more months . 20:26.251 --> 20:28.418 That is not as urgent as the president 20:28.418 --> 20:30.418 um presented yesterday . He said it 20:30.418 --> 20:32.696 needed to be , but before the holidays , 20:32.696 --> 20:34.751 I would sorry , I didn't mean to , I 20:34.751 --> 20:36.696 would , I would strongly push back 20:36.696 --> 20:39.329 against that assertion . Um The biggest 20:39.339 --> 20:41.506 problem that we are running up against 20:41.506 --> 20:44.280 is we don't have enough money to 20:44.290 --> 20:46.401 backfill our own stocks , which means 20:46.401 --> 20:48.623 we don't have enough to keep , continue 20:48.623 --> 20:50.679 to supply Ukraine with what it needs 20:50.679 --> 20:52.535 because it is our weapons , our 20:52.545 --> 20:54.767 capabilities , our systems being pulled 20:54.767 --> 20:56.934 off our shelves and being shipped over 20:56.934 --> 20:58.712 to Ukraine . And so if we can't 20:58.712 --> 21:00.878 backfill , that's going to also impact 21:00.878 --> 21:03.045 our own readiness , which means that's 21:03.045 --> 21:05.156 going to impact what we can provide . 21:05.156 --> 21:07.156 Ukraine . And so I , I would really 21:07.156 --> 21:09.378 push back on that assertion . And , you 21:09.378 --> 21:11.323 know , till , till very recently , 21:11.323 --> 21:13.434 we've enjoyed bipartisan support from 21:13.434 --> 21:16.520 Congress and that security assistance 21:16.530 --> 21:20.040 has been critical in providing Ukraine 21:20.050 --> 21:22.217 what it needs on the battlefield . And 21:22.217 --> 21:24.272 I , I mean , I would just remind you 21:24.272 --> 21:26.272 that um everyone thought that Putin 21:26.272 --> 21:28.680 would take Kiev in three days and the 21:28.689 --> 21:31.050 Ukrainians have done an incredible job 21:31.060 --> 21:33.209 of not only defending Kiev , but then 21:33.219 --> 21:35.441 there were other battles that they will 21:35.441 --> 21:37.775 continue to push . Uh the Russians back , 21:37.775 --> 21:40.050 continue to push them into the east and 21:40.060 --> 21:42.474 into the South . Um They are making 21:42.484 --> 21:46.364 very good use of our capabilities and 21:46.375 --> 21:48.564 not just ours , allies and partners as 21:48.574 --> 21:50.574 well providing them with the weapon 21:50.574 --> 21:52.925 systems that they need . And so , um 21:52.935 --> 21:55.157 you've heard the president say , you've 21:55.157 --> 21:57.268 heard the secretary say it , we're in 21:57.268 --> 21:59.268 it with Ukraine for the long haul . 21:59.268 --> 22:01.491 It's not just about making sure Ukraine 22:01.491 --> 22:03.602 has what it needs to defend itself on 22:03.602 --> 22:03.479 the battlefield . It's about making 22:03.489 --> 22:05.656 sure that Russia also gets the message 22:05.656 --> 22:07.890 that it cannot expand into other 22:07.900 --> 22:09.844 countries and into other sovereign 22:09.844 --> 22:11.956 countries because that's exactly what 22:11.956 --> 22:14.369 Vladimir Putin wants . And um you know , 22:14.380 --> 22:18.109 you've seen some support from both 22:18.119 --> 22:20.063 sides of the aisle in Congress . I 22:20.063 --> 22:22.063 think there's a small majority that 22:22.063 --> 22:24.550 oppose sending more funding for Ukraine . 22:24.770 --> 22:26.949 Um We're working through that . Uh We 22:26.959 --> 22:29.015 believe that the urgent supplemental 22:29.015 --> 22:31.126 request that we submitted to Congress 22:31.126 --> 22:33.348 is the right thing for Congress to pass 22:33.348 --> 22:35.515 and uh we're hopeful that it gets done 22:35.515 --> 22:38.244 and one last topic , um , can we get um , 22:38.255 --> 22:40.255 some sense of the number of sorties 22:40.255 --> 22:42.494 that the IKE and Ford uh strike groups 22:42.505 --> 22:45.185 have conducted ? Just um , I think we 22:45.194 --> 22:47.416 haven't had any real visibility in sort 22:47.416 --> 22:49.527 of how busy they've been as they have 22:49.527 --> 22:51.750 been in the Mediterranean . I'd love if 22:51.750 --> 22:53.861 possible . Some down on that . Yeah , 22:53.861 --> 22:56.027 we can take that . Yeah , no problem . 22:56.027 --> 22:57.861 Yes , over here . Thank you . Uh 22:57.861 --> 23:00.083 Comparing to the last couple of weeks , 23:00.270 --> 23:02.050 there are very few attacks on 23:02.060 --> 23:04.171 International Force and your force in 23:04.171 --> 23:06.338 Iraq . So do you believe it is because 23:06.338 --> 23:08.171 of your response to the previous 23:08.171 --> 23:10.699 attacks ? And if I may add this , do 23:10.709 --> 23:12.765 you believe the Iraqi government can 23:12.765 --> 23:14.987 protect your forces that are in Iraq at 23:14.989 --> 23:16.989 the invitation of the government of 23:16.989 --> 23:19.156 Iraq ? Well , just as you said , we're 23:19.156 --> 23:21.378 at , we're in Iraq at the invitation of 23:21.378 --> 23:23.545 the Iraqi . Uh They've been one of our 23:23.545 --> 23:25.711 partners in the region and within Iraq 23:25.711 --> 23:27.600 in protecting our forces . And of 23:27.600 --> 23:29.711 course , the mission , the reason why 23:29.711 --> 23:31.822 we're why we are in Iraq is to ensure 23:31.822 --> 23:34.084 the enduring defeat of ISIS so that the 23:34.094 --> 23:36.150 Iraqi military has been a partner in 23:36.150 --> 23:38.935 that effort . Um Look in terms of the 23:38.944 --> 23:41.680 attacks on our forces . I think it's 23:41.689 --> 23:44.160 important to remember that uh it's good 23:44.170 --> 23:46.226 that we have not seen attacks on our 23:46.226 --> 23:48.392 forces in the last 24 hours . We would 23:48.392 --> 23:50.670 like to see that continue . Um I can't 23:50.680 --> 23:52.958 speak to whether that will be the case . 23:52.958 --> 23:55.180 I can't predict the future . Um But I , 23:55.180 --> 23:58.890 I would remind you that when we have 23:58.900 --> 24:01.560 decided to respond , it has been 24:01.569 --> 24:04.060 deliberate , it has been effective . It 24:04.069 --> 24:08.069 has our strikes have been able to um 24:08.079 --> 24:11.239 destroy weapons facilities , uh command 24:11.250 --> 24:13.069 and control node , um storage 24:13.079 --> 24:15.189 facilities that these I RGC backed 24:15.199 --> 24:17.366 groups use . So I think it's important 24:17.366 --> 24:19.290 that while we did see a spate of 24:19.300 --> 24:21.467 attacks against our forces , they were 24:21.467 --> 24:23.356 largely not successful with minor 24:23.356 --> 24:25.578 damage to infrastructure . Um And so of 24:25.578 --> 24:27.800 course , we'll always respond back at a 24:27.800 --> 24:29.856 time and place of our choosing , but 24:29.856 --> 24:31.800 I'll just leave it at that . Yes , 24:31.890 --> 24:34.057 thank you . Uh I have two questions on 24:34.057 --> 24:36.359 Osprey . Is this the first time for us 24:36.369 --> 24:39.329 military to stop flying all Osprey bars 24:39.339 --> 24:41.660 at the same time ? My second question , 24:41.670 --> 24:43.726 can you give us a sense of the rough 24:43.726 --> 24:45.800 time , time frame of how long the uh 24:45.810 --> 24:48.910 stand down will last ? Is it like to be 24:48.920 --> 24:50.920 a matter of weeks and months rather 24:50.920 --> 24:52.753 than days ? I'd refer you to the 24:52.753 --> 24:54.976 services to speak to how long this down 24:54.976 --> 24:57.599 down this stand down will last . Um In 24:57.609 --> 24:59.609 terms of if this has been the first 24:59.609 --> 25:01.831 stand down , this , this is not , we've 25:01.831 --> 25:01.800 done this with other platforms , we've 25:01.810 --> 25:04.032 done it with the Osprey before . Um But 25:04.032 --> 25:06.088 I'd let the services speak to that . 25:06.088 --> 25:08.199 Thank you . Yeah , and then I'll come 25:08.199 --> 25:11.219 in the back . Sure . Uh , why did it 25:11.229 --> 25:14.290 take a week to , you know , uh , be the 25:14.300 --> 25:17.160 decision of , uh , stand down ? Well , 25:17.170 --> 25:19.459 again , we can started conducting the 25:19.469 --> 25:21.580 investigation as soon as the November 25:21.580 --> 25:23.180 29th mishap happened as the 25:23.189 --> 25:26.640 investigation um , was being conducted . 25:28.000 --> 25:30.189 The Air Force felt the need to issue 25:30.199 --> 25:31.921 that stand down . But for more 25:31.921 --> 25:34.143 information , I would direct you to the 25:34.143 --> 25:36.910 Air Force to speak to that . Um uh What , 25:36.920 --> 25:39.130 what is the uh potential material 25:39.140 --> 25:41.029 failure that was indicated in the 25:41.029 --> 25:43.140 preliminary investigation ? Could you 25:43.140 --> 25:45.869 give us a kind of more specific or 25:45.880 --> 25:47.936 modification ? I unfortunately don't 25:47.936 --> 25:50.102 have more information . I would direct 25:50.102 --> 25:52.213 you to the Air Force to speak to that 25:52.213 --> 25:51.380 again . This is an ongoing 25:51.390 --> 25:53.612 investigation . So I certainly wouldn't 25:53.612 --> 25:55.890 want to get ahead of that at this time . 25:55.890 --> 25:57.709 Thank you , Sabrina . Um as you 25:57.719 --> 25:59.886 mentioned of the opening when you came 25:59.886 --> 26:01.608 um that there's a call between 26:01.608 --> 26:03.349 Secretary Austin and his Saudi 26:03.359 --> 26:05.581 counterpart and they were talking about 26:05.581 --> 26:08.420 the Houthis . So today , uh the NSC 26:08.430 --> 26:10.890 coordinator John Kirby , he said we are 26:10.900 --> 26:13.339 not in an armed conflict with the 26:13.349 --> 26:16.670 Houthis . So does the dod share uh 26:16.680 --> 26:20.369 with uh Mr Kirby this view , you are 26:20.380 --> 26:22.640 not in a war with the Houthis and um 26:22.939 --> 26:26.650 how so you can prevent this conflict 26:26.660 --> 26:29.260 from widening and escalating ? Yeah , 26:29.270 --> 26:31.492 absolutely . We share that view . We're 26:31.492 --> 26:33.492 not in a an armed conflict with the 26:33.492 --> 26:36.920 Houthis , we have seen um drones and 26:36.930 --> 26:38.986 missiles shot from Houthi controlled 26:38.986 --> 26:41.660 areas within Yemen . Um Not necessarily 26:41.670 --> 26:44.359 targeting our ships . Uh But of course , 26:44.369 --> 26:46.202 targeting most likely commercial 26:46.209 --> 26:48.431 vessels that are transiting through the 26:48.431 --> 26:52.290 Red Sea . Um And so part of part of 26:52.300 --> 26:55.150 why we are in the region is to bolster 26:55.160 --> 26:57.382 our deterrence , but to also ensure the 26:57.382 --> 26:59.910 free passage way of commercial ships um 26:59.920 --> 27:02.087 that are transiting through one of the 27:02.087 --> 27:04.949 most vital uh waterways in the world . 27:05.199 --> 27:07.510 Um And so , yeah , no , I completely 27:07.520 --> 27:10.010 agree with what Mr Kirby said earlier 27:10.020 --> 27:12.187 today . We don't seek conflict . Uh We 27:12.187 --> 27:14.076 don't want to this widen out to a 27:14.076 --> 27:16.670 regional war um or into the larger 27:16.680 --> 27:18.902 region . And that's why you've seen the 27:18.902 --> 27:21.069 secretary make the decisions he did to 27:21.069 --> 27:23.291 send two carrier strike groups , one in 27:23.291 --> 27:25.579 the Eastern Med and then one of course , 27:25.589 --> 27:27.700 in the Centcom area of responsibility 27:27.700 --> 27:29.699 to deter , to send the message of 27:29.709 --> 27:31.765 deterrence to send a message to Iran 27:31.765 --> 27:33.653 and its proxies who would want to 27:33.653 --> 27:37.180 inflict whether it's damage or harm to 27:37.189 --> 27:39.760 us , forces in Iraq and Syria or 27:39.770 --> 27:42.579 disrupt commercial um uh 27:42.589 --> 27:45.270 commerce in the Red Sea and in the 27:45.280 --> 27:47.540 region . Um So that's , that was a very 27:47.550 --> 27:50.199 deliberate decision by the secretary . 27:51.030 --> 27:53.197 Yeah . Yeah . Thank you . So , just to 27:53.197 --> 27:54.974 circle back on Ukraine , um the 27:54.974 --> 27:56.586 Ukrainians admitted that the 27:56.586 --> 27:58.849 counteroffensive has failed . Um Do you 27:58.859 --> 28:01.081 agree with that assessment ? And do you 28:01.081 --> 28:03.137 believe the war is a stalemate ? And 28:03.137 --> 28:04.859 then , um how do you think the 28:04.859 --> 28:06.970 Ukrainians can break out of that ? Do 28:06.970 --> 28:06.869 you , does like more money and weapons 28:06.880 --> 28:08.936 help or do you think they need a new 28:08.936 --> 28:10.991 strategy ? I think your summary is a 28:10.991 --> 28:13.640 bit . Um , short , I don't think that 28:13.650 --> 28:16.219 they would say it's failed . Uh We have 28:16.229 --> 28:19.020 seen them make progress in the counter 28:19.079 --> 28:22.030 offensive . It might not be the gains 28:22.040 --> 28:23.929 that they want to be making every 28:23.929 --> 28:25.818 single day . But there , there is 28:25.818 --> 28:27.929 incremental progress . I think that's 28:27.929 --> 28:29.984 important to remember . Um I let the 28:29.984 --> 28:31.818 Ukrainians speak to uh their own 28:31.818 --> 28:33.707 operations and , and how they can 28:33.707 --> 28:36.270 change um what they need to do for the 28:36.280 --> 28:38.502 next phase of the war which is entering 28:38.502 --> 28:41.790 into winter . Um We have provided them 28:41.920 --> 28:44.260 the training , the equipment , the 28:44.270 --> 28:46.619 support that they need to be successful 28:46.630 --> 28:48.686 and we feel very confident that they 28:48.686 --> 28:50.910 will be successful . And part of that 28:50.939 --> 28:53.640 is also invigorating their defense 28:53.650 --> 28:55.817 industrial base , which is why you saw 28:55.817 --> 28:58.039 the secretary speak at commerce just uh 28:58.039 --> 29:00.150 yesterday about the need for industry 29:00.160 --> 29:02.271 to partner with Ukraine . So they can 29:02.271 --> 29:04.382 have a robust defense industrial base 29:04.382 --> 29:06.549 as they can as this war continues . Um 29:06.549 --> 29:08.660 But I would let the Ukrainians really 29:08.660 --> 29:10.882 speak to their own operations and , and 29:10.882 --> 29:12.549 characterize what they see as 29:12.549 --> 29:14.771 successful in the battlefield . The war 29:14.771 --> 29:16.938 is a stalemate right now . I would let 29:16.938 --> 29:16.790 the Ukrainians speak to their own 29:16.800 --> 29:18.856 operations again , we feel confident 29:19.439 --> 29:21.772 that they have what it need , what they , 29:21.772 --> 29:23.495 they have what they need to be 29:23.495 --> 29:25.717 successful on the battlefield . Great . 29:25.717 --> 29:27.717 I saw a question over here and then 29:27.717 --> 29:29.883 I'll wrap it up . I have two questions 29:29.883 --> 29:29.569 in the Middle East . Uh The first is 29:29.579 --> 29:31.635 the US sanctioned 13 individuals and 29:31.635 --> 29:33.746 entities that are funding the Houthis 29:33.746 --> 29:35.746 in Yemen . Do you believe that will 29:35.746 --> 29:37.801 slow down the amount of attacks that 29:37.801 --> 29:39.801 we're seeing in the Red Sea in that 29:39.801 --> 29:42.023 region over the coming weeks or is that 29:42.023 --> 29:44.135 something that will be more long term 29:44.135 --> 29:44.079 in slowing them down ? And then 29:44.089 --> 29:45.978 secondly , what is the Pentagon's 29:45.978 --> 29:48.579 assessment of Israel's campaign to 29:48.589 --> 29:51.209 eliminate Hamas in Gaza ? Um So in 29:51.219 --> 29:53.441 terms of the , I think you're referring 29:53.441 --> 29:55.497 to sanctions that were issued by the 29:55.497 --> 29:57.719 Department of our of Treasury , I would 29:57.719 --> 29:59.886 direct you to them um to speak more to 29:59.886 --> 29:59.760 the sanctions that were placed on those 29:59.770 --> 30:02.930 13 individuals . Look , when you're 30:02.939 --> 30:05.329 hitting a financial network that has 30:05.339 --> 30:08.020 obvious effects . Um I can't predict 30:08.030 --> 30:09.919 that that slows down or stops any 30:09.919 --> 30:13.089 attacks , we can only continue to send 30:13.099 --> 30:15.449 the message that um we do not want to 30:15.459 --> 30:19.160 see this war um or a war 30:19.170 --> 30:22.260 widen into a regional conflict and we 30:22.270 --> 30:25.010 will continue to respond . Should our 30:25.619 --> 30:27.859 commanders of our ships feel the need 30:27.869 --> 30:30.091 to in self defense ? And um I'm sorry , 30:30.091 --> 30:32.036 your second question , the current 30:32.036 --> 30:33.980 assessment of Israel's campaign to 30:33.980 --> 30:36.147 eliminate Hamas in Gaza ? Oh , sorry . 30:36.147 --> 30:38.599 Um Look , I've let Israel speak to that . 30:38.699 --> 30:41.599 Uh We continue to engage with the 30:41.609 --> 30:45.430 Israelis on um , they are targeting of 30:45.439 --> 30:48.270 a terrorist organization in Gaza . Um 30:48.280 --> 30:51.069 We are talking to them , the secretary 30:51.089 --> 30:53.089 is talking to Minister Galant on an 30:53.089 --> 30:55.033 almost daily basis , still getting 30:55.033 --> 30:57.400 updates . Um , but also voicing um , 30:57.410 --> 31:00.060 support and concern uh where he needs 31:00.069 --> 31:02.291 to . Did I see one more question . No , 31:02.291 --> 31:04.347 yes , one in the back and then we'll 31:04.347 --> 31:06.180 wrap it up . Thank you , MS from 31:06.180 --> 31:09.189 televisa . So , Director Ray from the 31:09.199 --> 31:12.719 FBI said a few days ago in a 31:12.729 --> 31:15.319 hearing , uh , on the judiciary 31:15.329 --> 31:18.930 committee in the Senate that the , the 31:18.939 --> 31:21.699 United States , uh , especially the FBI 31:21.709 --> 31:25.150 is seeing alerts terrorist alerts , 31:25.770 --> 31:29.619 uh , that are unprecedented and he even 31:29.630 --> 31:31.880 compared them or accepted the 31:31.890 --> 31:34.280 comparison to what the United States 31:34.290 --> 31:38.280 was seeing before 911 . Um , do you 31:38.290 --> 31:40.900 coincide with that ? Are you , are you 31:40.910 --> 31:43.550 also worried or are you concerned about 31:43.560 --> 31:45.569 an unprecedented level of terrorist 31:45.579 --> 31:47.635 threats ? Not only inside the United 31:47.635 --> 31:49.989 States , but also do United States 31:50.000 --> 31:53.530 interests abroad ? I , I would let , uh , 31:54.750 --> 31:56.917 the Department of Justice really speak 31:56.917 --> 31:59.083 to that and the Department of Homeland 31:59.083 --> 32:00.806 Security speak to the level of 32:00.806 --> 32:02.806 terrorist threats within the United 32:02.806 --> 32:04.750 States . That's not something this 32:04.750 --> 32:06.917 building can really speak to . Um , of 32:06.917 --> 32:06.650 course , we always monitor , uh , 32:06.660 --> 32:08.771 threats around the world , threats to 32:08.771 --> 32:10.827 our , uh , partners and allies and , 32:10.827 --> 32:13.130 and threats to our interests abroad . 32:13.339 --> 32:15.506 Um , that's something that we're going 32:15.506 --> 32:17.561 to continue to do , but I don't have 32:17.561 --> 32:19.561 anything to announce or read out in 32:19.561 --> 32:21.561 terms of , um , anything that we've 32:21.561 --> 32:21.410 observed that would change our behavior . 32:21.849 --> 32:22.849 All right . Thank you very much .