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All right , good afternoon , everyone . 

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I have quite a bit to pass along today . 

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So I appreciate your patience and we'll 

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get right to your questions . Uh First 

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let me start off by offering the 

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department's deepest condolences to the 

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families of our five US marines 

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assigned to Marine Heavy helicopter 

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squadron , 361 marine aircraft group 16 

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3rd marine aircraft wing who died in a 

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helicopter crash February 6th in 

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California . As Secretary Austin said 

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in his statement this morning , we 

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mourn their tragic loss and his prayers 

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are with these brave marines , their 

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families , loved ones and teammates . 

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We will forever be grateful for their 

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call to duty and selfless service . And 

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we also want to thank the multiple 

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local state and federal agencies who 

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are assisting with recovery operations . 

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As a matter of policy , identities of 

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deceased service members will not be 

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released until 24 hours after all next 

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of kin notifications have been 

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completed for additional questions . I 

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would refer you to the Marine Corps . 

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Separately , Secretary Austin and 

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chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

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General CQ Brown Junior , Junior will 

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travel to Brussels Belgium next week to 

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host an in person meeting of the 

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Ukraine Defense contact group on 

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February 14 . This will be the 19th 

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meeting of the U DC G since Secretary 

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Austin formed the international group 

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in April 2022 . The secretary and 

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chairman will join ministers of defense 

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and senior military officials from 

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nearly 50 nations to discuss the 

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ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the 

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continued support from the 

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international community to provide the 

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Ukrainian people with the means 

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necessary to defend their sovereign 

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territory . While in Brussels Secretary 

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Austin will also participate in the 

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NATO Defense Ministerial February 15th 

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at NATO headquarters . Turning to the 

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Middle East as US central command 

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announced yesterday at 930 pm . Baghdad 

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time , February 7 US central Command 

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forces conducted a unilateral strike in 

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Iraq in response to the attacks on us 

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service members killing a Katab 

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Hezbollah commander responsible for 

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directly planning and participating in 

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attacks on us forces in the region . 

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There are no indications of collateral 

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damage or civilian casualties at this 

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time . Additionally , initial 

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assessments indicate that there were no 

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additional militants injured or killed 

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beyond the one Kuttab Hezbollah 

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commander who was targeted . 

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Additionally , Centcom continues to 

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assess the results from our earlier 

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strikes in Iraq and Syria on February 2 . 

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But initial indications are that over 

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40 militants associated with Iranian 

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proxy groups were killed or injured in 

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the US strikes against seven facilities 

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which included more than 85 targets 

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that Iran's I RGC and affiliated 

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militias have used to attack us forces 

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as we made clear , the United States 

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will continue to take necessary action 

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to protect our people and we will not 

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hesitate to hold responsible . All 

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those who threaten the safety of our 

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forces separate and distinct from the 

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US . Strikes in Iraq and Syria are the 

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multinational actions we took on 

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February 3rd as part of ongoing 

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international efforts to respond to 

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increased . Iranian backed Houthi 

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destabilizing and illegal activities in 

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the region . As you recall , coalition 

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forces targeted 13 locations striking 

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36 Houthi targets associated with the 

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Houthis deeply buried weapons storage 

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facilities , missile systems and 

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launchers , air defense systems and 

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radars . All capabilities . Houthi 

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militia have used to attack 

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international merchant and naval 

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vessels in the region . These strikes 

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were intended to further disrupt and 

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degrade Houthi capabilities to conduct 

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their attacks against us and 

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international vessels lawfully 

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transiting the Red Sea syncom continues 

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to evaluate the February 3 strikes but 

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initial assessments indicate that 35 

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targets at the 13 locations were 

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destroyed or functionally damaged . The 

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targets destroyed include command and 

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control sites , weapons storage missile 

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systems , UAV storage and operation 

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sites , radars and three helicopters . 

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More broadly . Since the first 

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coalition strikes on January 11 , we 

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assess that we've destroyed or degraded 

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more than 100 missiles and launchers 

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including anti ship , land attack and 

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surface to air missiles plus numerous 

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communication capabilities , unmanned 

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aerial vehicles , unmanned surface 

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vessels , coastal radars , air 

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surveillance capabilities and weapon 

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storage areas . I will repeat again 

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that the US does not want escalation 

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and that these strikes are directly in 

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response to the actions by the Iranian 

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backed Houthis again . However , we 

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will not hesitate to defend lives in 

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the free flow of commerce in one of the 

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world's most vital waterways . Shifting 

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to the Indo Pacific this week , the US 

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military and the Japan self defense 

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force conducted a bilateral command 

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post exercise known as Keen Edge 24 

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with the participation of the 

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Australian Defense Force . The exercise 

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is the latest in a series of joint 

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multilateral command post exercises 

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designed to increase our integrated 

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joint operational capability , refined 

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command and control procedures and 

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enhance interoperability of all 

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participants . This year's iteration of 

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the Keen Edge exercise included greater 

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synchronization with the US Space 

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command and US Cyber command , 

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expanding the multi domain 

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collaboration that is incumbent on any 

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large scale exercise or operation . And 

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finally , as a status update on the 

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topic that many of you have been asking 

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about the dod performance improvement 

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officer and Director of Administration 

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and Management and her team have 

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completed their 30 day review of the 

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Department of Defense notification 

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process for when the deputy secretary 

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or another designated official assumes 

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the duties and functions of the 

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Secretary of Defense . The review has 

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been submitted to Secretary Austin and 

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he is in the process of reviewing it . 

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Uh Much of the report is classified 

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since it relates generally to 

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continuity of operations and the 

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security of our personnel However , as 

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the secretary has said , we remain 

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committed to being as transparent as 

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possible about the review and we'll 

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have more information once the 

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secretary's review is complete . And 

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with that , I'll be glad to take your 

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questions . We go to associated press 

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leader B the Thank you . Um Just a 

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couple follow ups on the strike . So 

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you confirming that um Al Saadi was the 

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only person in the vehicle at the time 

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and the only person killed is that um 

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accurately , you're saying that is 

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correct . We are , we have high 

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confidence that that was the case . And 

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then uh you said you mentioned 40 

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militants or were those primarily um kh 

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militia that were killed , the 40 that 

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you mentioned ? Because I think there's 

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been some statements of there was a 

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belief that no Iranians have been 

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killed . Is that still the case ? Uh So , 

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uh you know , again , Sam continues to 

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assess right now , we have no 

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indications that Iranians were killed 

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in these strikes . Um I don't have a 

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specific breakdown in terms of the 

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particular uh Iranian proxy militant 

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group . Uh Other than to say , uh again , 

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our assessment is that uh you know what 

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I read out to you and then just on the 

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review just for uh uh was that 

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submitted today ? And is there an 

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expectation that there are any 

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disciplinary actions recommended in 

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this report or , or review or is that 

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something that comes later ? Yeah , on 

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that part , uh I haven't seen the 

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review so I , I can't answer that 

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question . Uh Again , we'll try to keep 

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you updated on , on that front . Uh To 

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my knowledge , the report was submitted 

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to the secretary uh today . Ok , 

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Jennifer , what evidence does the 

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Pentagon have that Khatib Hezbollah was 

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behind the drone strike that killed 

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Americans in Jordan . Uh Well , as we 

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said in our statement , uh this , this 

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commander was responsible for directly 

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planning and participating in attacks 

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on us forces in the region . So again , 

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um I'll just leave it at that Jennifer . 

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Was he directly involved in planning 

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that attack on the Jordan base ? I 

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don't have any information on that . We 

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are confident that he was responsible 

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for directly planning and participating 

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in attacks on us . Forces of which 

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there's been over 160 as you know , and 

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did you tell the Iraqi Prime Minister 

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or anyone in the Iraqi government ahead 

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of this strike ? So , uh we notified 

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the Iraqi shortly after the strike 

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occurred . I'm not going to go into any 

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more details in terms of , you know , 

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private diplomatic discussions . Um We 

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of course , uh fully respect Iraq's 

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sovereignty uh and have been very clear 

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uh in our public statements and private 

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conversations uh that we would respond 

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at a time and place of our choosing 

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when it came to holding uh the groups 

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that have been attacking us forces 

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accountable . And is your response over , 

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um you know , a as I said , uh this 

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strike that we did yesterday was in 

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response to the continued attacks on , 

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on us forces . I'm not going to discuss 

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or speculate about potential future 

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operations other than to say that we 

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will continue to take necessary actions 

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to protect our forces . Let me go over 

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here to Tom and then we'll go to the 40 

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militants killed or would you have a 

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break down from Iraq and Syria ? And 

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also any sense , civilians were killed ? 

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The mayor of , of Al Qaim says one 

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civilian was killed , five houses 

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damaged . Are you guys looking into 

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that ? So Tom , I don't , I don't have 

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a breakdown for you . Uh Iraq versus 

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Syria . Um What I will say is that we 

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are aware of allegations that at least 

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one civilian was killed during the , 

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the February 2 strikes . Uh which 

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Centcom is reviewing as you've heard us 

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say , we will always take civilian harm 

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mitigation very seriously and take all 

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possible precautions to minimize 

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potential harms to civilian . But 

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beyond that , I don't know , do you 

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know where it was ? I don't have that 

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in front of me . So again , Centcom 

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will review this and uh yeah , and 

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Leslie on the review , will that also 

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look into the communications breakdown 

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of what happened there um for the , the 

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30 day review . Uh So it will look at 

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all the relevant facts associated with 

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the notification process as it pertains 

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to uh transferring authorities from the 

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the secretary to the deputy secretary 

277
00:10:11,239 --> 00:10:13,369
again , that , that memo is available 

278
00:10:13,380 --> 00:10:15,429
online on the dod website under the 

279
00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,289
publications tab and you can see 

280
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exactly what the review uh is calling 

281
00:10:19,570 --> 00:10:22,380
for , Missy . Um , but will the review 

282
00:10:22,390 --> 00:10:25,440
be provided to Congress ? Um And if so , 

283
00:10:25,710 --> 00:10:28,440
would that be in a classified format so 

284
00:10:28,450 --> 00:10:30,394
they can review it in a classified 

285
00:10:30,394 --> 00:10:32,450
setting or will you wait and do some 

286
00:10:32,450 --> 00:10:34,530
sort of unclassified version of that 

287
00:10:34,539 --> 00:10:36,595
and then going back to Iraq , do you 

288
00:10:36,595 --> 00:10:38,928
have an update on the , uh H MC process ? 

289
00:10:38,928 --> 00:10:41,095
Um , there's some reports that there's 

290
00:10:41,095 --> 00:10:43,428
gonna be a meeting in a few days . Yeah , 

291
00:10:43,428 --> 00:10:45,261
thanks , Missy . So , um , we'll 

292
00:10:45,261 --> 00:10:47,909
certainly work to keep informed about , 

293
00:10:48,010 --> 00:10:50,232
uh , the review and , and so we'll keep 

294
00:10:50,232 --> 00:10:52,454
you updated on that front again at this 

295
00:10:52,454 --> 00:10:54,788
stage . The , the secretary just got it . 

296
00:10:54,788 --> 00:10:56,732
So he's reviewing . But , um , I'm 

297
00:10:56,732 --> 00:10:58,677
confident , uh , as we always do , 

298
00:10:58,677 --> 00:11:00,899
we'll work with Congress to ensure they 

299
00:11:00,899 --> 00:11:03,121
have , uh , the information that they , 

300
00:11:03,121 --> 00:11:05,288
that they request and that they need , 

301
00:11:05,288 --> 00:11:07,399
uh , on the H MC . Um , you know , we 

302
00:11:07,399 --> 00:11:09,732
do remain committed to the H MC process . 

303
00:11:09,732 --> 00:11:11,621
Um , I don't want to get into the 

304
00:11:11,621 --> 00:11:13,843
specifics on how and when those private 

305
00:11:13,843 --> 00:11:15,954
conversations will occur other than , 

306
00:11:15,954 --> 00:11:18,177
um , we , again , we will work with our 

307
00:11:18,177 --> 00:11:20,232
Iraqi partners on that . Do you have 

308
00:11:20,232 --> 00:11:21,899
any update on him potentially 

309
00:11:21,899 --> 00:11:24,177
testifying before the , um , yes , the , 

310
00:11:24,177 --> 00:11:26,288
the secretary will testify to the has 

311
00:11:26,288 --> 00:11:28,344
on 29th February and will that be an 

312
00:11:28,354 --> 00:11:30,576
open hearing ? I'd have to refer you to 

313
00:11:30,576 --> 00:11:32,755
Congress on that piece . Ok , Dan , 

314
00:11:32,854 --> 00:11:34,687
could you give us an idea of how 

315
00:11:34,687 --> 00:11:38,614
important Al SA was to that 

316
00:11:38,625 --> 00:11:41,224
militia group and to these attacks on 

317
00:11:41,234 --> 00:11:43,940
us forces ? Uh Well , again , I'd , I'd 

318
00:11:43,950 --> 00:11:46,729
point you to Sam's press release and as 

319
00:11:46,739 --> 00:11:48,739
I highlighted , I mean , this was a 

320
00:11:48,739 --> 00:11:50,628
commander who was responsible for 

321
00:11:50,628 --> 00:11:52,461
directly planning and conducting 

322
00:11:52,461 --> 00:11:54,969
attacks against us forces . And so , uh 

323
00:11:54,979 --> 00:11:58,309
again , our our focus uh in 

324
00:11:58,450 --> 00:12:00,659
Iraq and Syria is on the enduring 

325
00:12:00,669 --> 00:12:02,725
defeat of ISIS . But when our forces 

326
00:12:02,725 --> 00:12:04,391
are threatened , we will take 

327
00:12:04,391 --> 00:12:07,190
appropriate action and this strike was 

328
00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:09,570
conducted in response to the attack 

329
00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:13,010
against our forces uh as well as the 

330
00:12:13,020 --> 00:12:15,260
attack on our base , our facility in 

331
00:12:15,270 --> 00:12:17,492
Jordan where three service members were 

332
00:12:17,492 --> 00:12:19,659
killed and uh numerous wounded . Could 

333
00:12:19,659 --> 00:12:21,770
I just ask you about the sea stallion 

334
00:12:21,770 --> 00:12:24,000
uh crash ? Um Were there , is there any 

335
00:12:24,010 --> 00:12:26,121
indication at this point that weather 

336
00:12:26,250 --> 00:12:28,361
versus mechanical failures might have 

337
00:12:28,361 --> 00:12:30,583
been a factor ? And also were there any 

338
00:12:30,583 --> 00:12:32,806
indications that the crew tried to land 

339
00:12:32,806 --> 00:12:35,320
or just considered landing before it 

340
00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,440
went down ? Yeah , thanks Dan . I I 

341
00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,662
don't have any information on that . As 

342
00:12:39,662 --> 00:12:41,440
you know , uh in any type of uh 

343
00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,551
aviation accident or incident , there 

344
00:12:43,551 --> 00:12:45,718
will be an investigation . And so it's 

345
00:12:45,718 --> 00:12:45,250
very important to allow that 

346
00:12:45,260 --> 00:12:47,859
investigation uh to run its course 

347
00:12:47,869 --> 00:12:50,390
before any uh you know , there's any 

348
00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,567
discussion or speculation on , on what 

349
00:12:52,567 --> 00:12:54,400
may have happened . So I'd , I'd 

350
00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,622
encourage you to keep in touch with the 

351
00:12:56,622 --> 00:12:56,520
Marine Corps and they can keep you 

352
00:12:56,530 --> 00:12:58,697
updated . Secretary , is there a wider 

353
00:12:58,697 --> 00:13:00,808
concern about aviation safety ? Now , 

354
00:13:00,808 --> 00:13:02,974
there's been so many mishaps , there's 

355
00:13:02,974 --> 00:13:05,280
been reports indicating , uh , problems 

356
00:13:05,289 --> 00:13:07,511
with , you know , training , sufficient 

357
00:13:07,511 --> 00:13:09,678
amount of training for both pilots and 

358
00:13:09,678 --> 00:13:11,900
the maintenance crews . Yeah . Well , I 

359
00:13:11,900 --> 00:13:14,067
mean , I can assure you that , that we 

360
00:13:14,067 --> 00:13:16,178
are dedicated to ensuring , uh , that 

361
00:13:16,178 --> 00:13:18,190
safety is in all of our programs to 

362
00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:20,311
include our aviation programs . We've 

363
00:13:20,311 --> 00:13:22,200
taken critical steps to integrate 

364
00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,144
industry be best practices when it 

365
00:13:24,144 --> 00:13:25,867
comes to evaluating training , 

366
00:13:25,867 --> 00:13:28,210
maintenance , safety standards . I can 

367
00:13:28,219 --> 00:13:30,330
also assure you that that each of the 

368
00:13:30,330 --> 00:13:32,441
services takes this very seriously as 

369
00:13:32,441 --> 00:13:34,820
well . Uh And so they will as always 

370
00:13:34,830 --> 00:13:36,886
continue to look at their training , 

371
00:13:36,886 --> 00:13:38,830
maintenance and safety programs to 

372
00:13:38,830 --> 00:13:40,608
ensure that we learn from every 

373
00:13:40,608 --> 00:13:42,719
incident and apply those lessons into 

374
00:13:42,719 --> 00:13:44,663
their risk management programs and 

375
00:13:44,663 --> 00:13:46,941
management of those fleets . Thank you . 

376
00:13:46,941 --> 00:13:49,400
I just have one clarification on the 

377
00:13:49,409 --> 00:13:51,890
higher the Military Commission . There 

378
00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:55,059
is a statement by Major General about 

379
00:13:55,070 --> 00:13:57,460
the meeting on February 11 . So on 

380
00:13:57,469 --> 00:13:59,719
confirming that or not . Sure , I refer 

381
00:13:59,729 --> 00:14:01,951
to that statement . Ok , cool . Ok . So 

382
00:14:02,780 --> 00:14:05,002
my que my question , I could have taken 

383
00:14:05,002 --> 00:14:07,359
that question . My question is uh I 

384
00:14:07,369 --> 00:14:09,840
have 22 questions . Um This is the 

385
00:14:09,849 --> 00:14:12,200
first time we hear uh an official 

386
00:14:12,210 --> 00:14:15,440
statement uh naming uh Abu Bakar Sadi . 

387
00:14:15,700 --> 00:14:17,756
Uh stepping from Centcom just said , 

388
00:14:17,756 --> 00:14:20,419
commander said he is involved in this 

389
00:14:20,429 --> 00:14:23,559
and that , I mean , why hasn't the 

390
00:14:23,570 --> 00:14:25,960
Pentagon or Centcom mentioned who the 

391
00:14:25,969 --> 00:14:28,080
guy who was targeted , especially the 

392
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,080
Iraqi government is protesting what 

393
00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:32,247
happened , targeting someone in a busy 

394
00:14:32,247 --> 00:14:33,969
street , endangering civilians 

395
00:14:33,969 --> 00:14:36,025
according to their statement . And , 

396
00:14:36,330 --> 00:14:38,497
and there's , it seems there's a major 

397
00:14:38,497 --> 00:14:40,386
disagreement between you and your 

398
00:14:40,386 --> 00:14:42,880
partner in Iraq and yet there's another 

399
00:14:42,890 --> 00:14:45,580
commander part of the , according to 

400
00:14:45,590 --> 00:14:48,210
Iraq's PM F that's been , who's been 

401
00:14:48,219 --> 00:14:50,729
assassinated in Baghdad and you're not 

402
00:14:50,739 --> 00:14:52,739
sharing enough information to prove 

403
00:14:52,739 --> 00:14:55,799
that he's involved in anything that uh 

404
00:14:56,070 --> 00:14:59,349
related to attacking us forces . There 

405
00:14:59,359 --> 00:15:01,248
was literally no question in that 

406
00:15:01,248 --> 00:15:03,415
statement . I'm saying why there was a 

407
00:15:03,659 --> 00:15:06,099
question . You even in your statement , 

408
00:15:06,109 --> 00:15:08,070
you didn't mention his name was 

409
00:15:08,530 --> 00:15:12,450
Mohammad Sabir Al SA was a K Katab 

410
00:15:12,599 --> 00:15:14,821
Hezbollah commander who was responsible 

411
00:15:14,821 --> 00:15:17,043
for directly planning and participating 

412
00:15:17,043 --> 00:15:19,266
in attacks on us forces in the region . 

413
00:15:19,580 --> 00:15:21,802
Uh He's not a member of the PM F . He's 

414
00:15:21,802 --> 00:15:24,080
a Katab Hezbollah commander and we're 

415
00:15:24,090 --> 00:15:27,789
very confident uh in the um process 

416
00:15:27,799 --> 00:15:30,419
that we took in order to identify and 

417
00:15:30,429 --> 00:15:32,040
again , hold this individual 

418
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,151
accountable . And then you said you , 

419
00:15:34,151 --> 00:15:36,096
you respect the sovereignty of the 

420
00:15:36,096 --> 00:15:38,318
Iraqi government . The Iraqi government 

421
00:15:38,318 --> 00:15:40,373
disagrees with that statement and it 

422
00:15:40,373 --> 00:15:43,210
seems your action uh run uh opposite to 

423
00:15:43,219 --> 00:15:45,770
that statement when you uh take 

424
00:15:45,780 --> 00:15:48,440
military actions in a , in a sovereign 

425
00:15:48,450 --> 00:15:50,739
nation . Isn't that a violation of its 

426
00:15:50,750 --> 00:15:53,609
sovereignty ? Well , Fadi uh so first 

427
00:15:53,619 --> 00:15:55,730
of all , again , we're in Iraq at the 

428
00:15:55,730 --> 00:15:58,070
invitation of the government of Iraq to 

429
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:00,136
fight Isis . And , and again , I , I 

430
00:16:00,136 --> 00:16:02,080
know you know , this , but for the 

431
00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:04,080
benefit of , of those listening and 

432
00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,080
watching , you'll recall uh when we 

433
00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,070
returned to Iraq uh with significant 

434
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,830
numbers in 2014 , it was to help them 

435
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,820
fight Isis . Um Again , those forces 

436
00:16:15,830 --> 00:16:17,941
are there to help train and advise in 

437
00:16:17,941 --> 00:16:20,130
their fight against Isis and help save 

438
00:16:20,140 --> 00:16:23,840
Iraqi lives . We , the US 

439
00:16:23,849 --> 00:16:26,080
military have an inherent right to 

440
00:16:26,090 --> 00:16:28,559
defend ourselves if attacked and again 

441
00:16:28,570 --> 00:16:30,681
publicly and privately , we've been , 

442
00:16:30,681 --> 00:16:32,681
we've made it very clear to Ira our 

443
00:16:32,681 --> 00:16:34,681
Iraqi partners uh that we will take 

444
00:16:34,690 --> 00:16:37,219
necessary action to defend those forces 

445
00:16:37,580 --> 00:16:40,059
again . Uh I've served in Iraq . I've 

446
00:16:40,070 --> 00:16:42,119
been there many times . Um We have 

447
00:16:42,130 --> 00:16:44,289
fought and died alongside Iraqis for 

448
00:16:44,299 --> 00:16:46,355
many years to help them defend their 

449
00:16:46,355 --> 00:16:48,466
nation . Uh And the reason that we're 

450
00:16:48,466 --> 00:16:50,799
there is again to help them to protect 

451
00:16:50,890 --> 00:16:53,390
their country against Isis . But if 

452
00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:55,011
we're attacked and we have a 

453
00:16:55,011 --> 00:16:57,233
responsibility to defend our forces and 

454
00:16:57,233 --> 00:16:59,456
that's , that's what we did . Let me go 

455
00:16:59,456 --> 00:17:01,567
back over here to warn and then we'll 

456
00:17:01,567 --> 00:17:03,733
go to Carl two questions . First , was 

457
00:17:03,733 --> 00:17:03,570
it by design that no Iranians were 

458
00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:05,839
killed as the US seeks to avoid open 

459
00:17:05,849 --> 00:17:08,430
conflict with Iran . I'm not going to 

460
00:17:08,439 --> 00:17:10,869
have anything to provide or beyond what 

461
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,530
I've already made in my statement . And 

462
00:17:13,540 --> 00:17:15,818
then second question , General Mazloum , 

463
00:17:15,818 --> 00:17:18,040
the SDF commander briefed reporters and 

464
00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,096
said Isis has taken advantage of the 

465
00:17:20,096 --> 00:17:22,290
situation frankly , the chaos in the 

466
00:17:22,300 --> 00:17:24,369
region and they have seen a spike in 

467
00:17:24,380 --> 00:17:26,530
their activity . Has the US seen that 

468
00:17:26,540 --> 00:17:28,800
same spike ? Does that , does that mean 

469
00:17:28,810 --> 00:17:31,099
more ISIS attacks ? What is that ? Does 

470
00:17:31,109 --> 00:17:33,349
that mean that the ISIS coalition has , 

471
00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:37,109
has effectively been busier ? Uh Well , 

472
00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:39,420
look , I mean , you know , part of this 

473
00:17:39,430 --> 00:17:41,729
is uh relative uh when you want to 

474
00:17:41,739 --> 00:17:43,572
start talking about ISIS and its 

475
00:17:43,572 --> 00:17:45,572
presence around the world and , and 

476
00:17:45,572 --> 00:17:47,683
around the region in terms of spike , 

477
00:17:47,683 --> 00:17:50,520
certainly , as we've seen before , you 

478
00:17:50,530 --> 00:17:52,729
know , ISIS is insidious and will take 

479
00:17:52,739 --> 00:17:56,170
advantage of ungoverned spaces and uh 

480
00:17:56,180 --> 00:17:59,119
opportunities to , you know , to 

481
00:17:59,130 --> 00:18:02,119
exploit uh tensions and fissures is 

482
00:18:02,130 --> 00:18:04,530
what you see in places like , you know , 

483
00:18:04,540 --> 00:18:06,651
just yesterday , I think there was an 

484
00:18:06,651 --> 00:18:08,829
attack in Baluchistan by Isis K , you 

485
00:18:08,839 --> 00:18:11,006
see them in Afghanistan , you see them 

486
00:18:11,099 --> 00:18:14,239
on the African continent . So uh in 

487
00:18:14,250 --> 00:18:16,959
Iraq and Syria , uh they are down but 

488
00:18:16,969 --> 00:18:19,949
they're not out . And so again , this 

489
00:18:19,959 --> 00:18:22,170
work by an international coalition 

490
00:18:22,180 --> 00:18:24,160
continues to try to prevent a 

491
00:18:24,170 --> 00:18:26,369
resurgence of ISIS . And so again , 

492
00:18:26,380 --> 00:18:28,436
we're , we're very focused on that , 

493
00:18:28,436 --> 00:18:30,869
but it's obviously not helpful when you 

494
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:32,900
have things like Iranian proxies 

495
00:18:32,910 --> 00:18:34,966
attacking your forces that are there 

496
00:18:34,966 --> 00:18:37,021
for that mission . But have you seen 

497
00:18:37,021 --> 00:18:39,021
them , have you seen an increase in 

498
00:18:39,021 --> 00:18:41,077
their activity in Iraq and Syria ? I 

499
00:18:41,077 --> 00:18:42,743
mean , they certainly conduct 

500
00:18:42,743 --> 00:18:44,854
activities . I don't have any data in 

501
00:18:44,854 --> 00:18:46,966
front of me right now to , to show um 

502
00:18:46,966 --> 00:18:49,077
But again , yeah , so I'll just leave 

503
00:18:49,077 --> 00:18:51,243
it at that Carl , thank you , Pat . Um 

504
00:18:51,243 --> 00:18:53,577
Just to follow up and then one question , 

505
00:18:53,577 --> 00:18:55,743
but to follow up , you mentioned about 

506
00:18:55,743 --> 00:18:57,799
how us forces have been working with 

507
00:18:57,799 --> 00:18:59,966
Iraqis for years . This was the second 

508
00:18:59,966 --> 00:19:02,188
time that the US is struck inside of ra 

509
00:19:02,188 --> 00:19:04,410
of Iraq without letting the Iraqis know 

510
00:19:04,410 --> 00:19:06,632
until after the strikes that occurred . 

511
00:19:06,632 --> 00:19:08,577
Has there been some level of trust 

512
00:19:08,577 --> 00:19:10,577
that's been lost between the United 

513
00:19:10,577 --> 00:19:12,743
States and Iraq ? Look , we again view 

514
00:19:12,743 --> 00:19:14,743
Iraq as a very valued and important 

515
00:19:14,743 --> 00:19:16,799
partner . Uh And we will continue to 

516
00:19:16,799 --> 00:19:18,910
work and consult closely with them on 

517
00:19:18,979 --> 00:19:21,339
regional security issues supporting 

518
00:19:21,349 --> 00:19:23,349
them because again , we're there at 

519
00:19:23,349 --> 00:19:25,810
their invitation um in terms of 

520
00:19:25,819 --> 00:19:28,469
notification uh processes , you know , 

521
00:19:28,479 --> 00:19:30,423
look , we're , we're going to take 

522
00:19:30,423 --> 00:19:32,646
operation security and force protection 

523
00:19:32,646 --> 00:19:34,757
into account into any operation . But 

524
00:19:34,757 --> 00:19:36,757
again , I just go back to what I've 

525
00:19:36,757 --> 00:19:38,535
said that we've been very clear 

526
00:19:38,535 --> 00:19:40,701
publicly and privately that we'll take 

527
00:19:40,701 --> 00:19:42,923
appropriate action to defend our forces 

528
00:19:42,923 --> 00:19:44,701
on Ukraine if I may . Ukraine's 

529
00:19:44,701 --> 00:19:46,939
Alexander Sy has taken over from Zalu 

530
00:19:47,430 --> 00:19:49,660
as head of Ukraine's Armed Forces . Has 

531
00:19:49,670 --> 00:19:52,540
Secretary Austin or General Brown 

532
00:19:52,550 --> 00:19:55,589
spoken to SSK yet and does the Pentagon 

533
00:19:55,599 --> 00:19:57,819
anticipate any changes in Ukraine's 

534
00:19:57,829 --> 00:20:00,219
military strategy after this reshuffle ? 

535
00:20:00,569 --> 00:20:03,510
Uh I , I can't speak for General Brown 

536
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,229
um to my knowledge . Uh Yeah , so I'd 

537
00:20:06,239 --> 00:20:08,406
refer you to joint staff for that . Um 

538
00:20:08,406 --> 00:20:10,517
General Austin , General Austin going 

539
00:20:10,517 --> 00:20:13,640
back in time there . Uh Secretary 

540
00:20:13,650 --> 00:20:17,560
Austin uh has not spoken to uh the , 

541
00:20:17,569 --> 00:20:20,400
the , you know , to that individual . 

542
00:20:20,410 --> 00:20:22,479
Um You know , obviously a lot of 

543
00:20:22,489 --> 00:20:24,656
questions that , that we've received , 

544
00:20:24,656 --> 00:20:26,767
um , we're , we're aware of course of 

545
00:20:26,767 --> 00:20:29,079
the reports , uh about , um , changes 

546
00:20:29,089 --> 00:20:31,367
in the , in the Ukrainian armed Forces . 

547
00:20:31,367 --> 00:20:33,422
That's really something that I would 

548
00:20:33,422 --> 00:20:35,478
have to refer you back to Ukraine to 

549
00:20:35,478 --> 00:20:37,890
discuss their internal uh discussions 

550
00:20:37,900 --> 00:20:40,810
and decisions . Um I can tell you the 

551
00:20:40,819 --> 00:20:43,041
one thing that it won't change and that 

552
00:20:43,041 --> 00:20:45,097
is our continued support for Ukraine 

553
00:20:45,097 --> 00:20:47,263
and their efforts to defend themselves 

554
00:20:47,263 --> 00:20:49,319
against Russian aggression . So just 

555
00:20:49,319 --> 00:20:51,597
leave it at that , Laura , one on Iraq , 

556
00:20:51,597 --> 00:20:53,597
Syria and one on Ukraine is there , 

557
00:20:53,597 --> 00:20:55,597
have there been an increased threat 

558
00:20:55,597 --> 00:20:57,541
since these attacks started to the 

559
00:20:57,541 --> 00:20:59,869
detention centers in Syria where , as 

560
00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:02,047
you know , there's many ISIS prisoners 

561
00:21:02,047 --> 00:21:04,324
that are at risk of this . Laura , I'm , 

562
00:21:04,324 --> 00:21:06,609
I'm not aware of anything . 

563
00:21:09,219 --> 00:21:11,750
Well , attacks against the detention , 

564
00:21:12,369 --> 00:21:15,150
an increased risk of some kind of 

565
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:19,150
breach or the SDF guards . Yeah , I'd 

566
00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,271
have to refer you to s come on that . 

567
00:21:21,271 --> 00:21:23,049
I'm , I'm not aware of anything 

568
00:21:23,049 --> 00:21:25,216
specifically . Uh as you highlight , I 

569
00:21:25,216 --> 00:21:27,216
mean , this is sort of a , a US SDF 

570
00:21:27,216 --> 00:21:30,439
joint effort to , um to essentially 

571
00:21:30,469 --> 00:21:32,890
ensure that all ha continues to , to 

572
00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:36,030
contain uh ISIS prisoners , but I'd 

573
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,262
have to refer you to come on that . And 

574
00:21:38,262 --> 00:21:40,373
then on Ukraine , we talked about how 

575
00:21:40,373 --> 00:21:42,469
they , the PDPDAS have are on pause 

576
00:21:42,479 --> 00:21:45,530
right now . USA I uh contracts continue 

577
00:21:45,540 --> 00:21:48,170
to flow . How much longer will the US 

578
00:21:48,180 --> 00:21:51,260
be providing flowing air defense 

579
00:21:51,270 --> 00:21:54,550
missiles to Ukraine . Um So I don't , I 

580
00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:56,838
don't have a number to provide for you . 

581
00:21:56,838 --> 00:21:58,616
Um You know , there are certain 

582
00:21:58,616 --> 00:22:00,393
capabilities that were contract 

583
00:22:00,393 --> 00:22:02,282
contracted under USA I which will 

584
00:22:02,282 --> 00:22:04,393
continue , uh which does include some 

585
00:22:04,393 --> 00:22:06,504
air defense capabilities . We'll also 

586
00:22:06,504 --> 00:22:08,449
continue to work very closely with 

587
00:22:08,449 --> 00:22:10,227
allies and partners in terms of 

588
00:22:10,227 --> 00:22:12,282
identifying Ukraine's needs and then 

589
00:22:12,282 --> 00:22:14,004
working with them to , to help 

590
00:22:14,004 --> 00:22:15,782
facilitate that process . We're 

591
00:22:15,782 --> 00:22:17,949
currently still flowing us air defense 

592
00:22:17,949 --> 00:22:20,229
missiles to Ukraine right now a 

593
00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:23,140
contract uh to my knowledge uh that and , 

594
00:22:23,150 --> 00:22:25,039
and other capabilities that we've 

595
00:22:25,039 --> 00:22:27,261
announced as it relates to , to USA , I 

596
00:22:27,261 --> 00:22:30,459
just a follow up pat you say that the 

597
00:22:30,469 --> 00:22:32,636
person killed in Baghdad , the head of 

598
00:22:32,636 --> 00:22:34,858
Katab Hezbollah was not a member of the 

599
00:22:34,858 --> 00:22:37,025
PM F but the Iraqi leaders say that he 

600
00:22:37,030 --> 00:22:39,420
was . So how can you say he wasn't a 

601
00:22:39,430 --> 00:22:41,890
member of the PM F if they say he was ? 

602
00:22:41,989 --> 00:22:45,250
And if you have targeted the head of 

603
00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:47,579
Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq , does that 

604
00:22:47,589 --> 00:22:49,700
mean you've determined that the drone 

605
00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:51,756
that killed Americans in Jordan came 

606
00:22:51,756 --> 00:22:54,189
from Iraq ? Um I don't have any updates 

607
00:22:54,199 --> 00:22:56,199
to provide in terms of the point of 

608
00:22:56,199 --> 00:22:58,199
origin for the drone uh that , that 

609
00:22:58,199 --> 00:23:01,239
struck tower 22 . Uh And again , we're 

610
00:23:01,250 --> 00:23:04,119
confident uh that this individual was a 

611
00:23:04,130 --> 00:23:06,329
Katab , he was a Kataib Hezbollah 

612
00:23:06,339 --> 00:23:08,339
commander and I'll just leave it at 

613
00:23:08,339 --> 00:23:10,339
that . I won't speak for the Iraqis 

614
00:23:10,339 --> 00:23:12,450
last week . We heard from the defense 

615
00:23:12,450 --> 00:23:14,283
secretary who said that Iran was 

616
00:23:14,283 --> 00:23:16,506
ultimately to blame because they , they 

617
00:23:16,506 --> 00:23:18,450
pay for these groups , these proxy 

618
00:23:18,450 --> 00:23:20,506
groups , they bankroll these , these 

619
00:23:20,506 --> 00:23:22,672
missiles and these uh drones . So , is 

620
00:23:22,672 --> 00:23:24,895
it in his estimation that Iran has been 

621
00:23:24,895 --> 00:23:27,061
held responsible for the attack at the 

622
00:23:27,061 --> 00:23:29,859
tower 22 ? Is it the secretary's 

623
00:23:29,869 --> 00:23:32,420
estimation ? Um Again , look , we , 

624
00:23:32,430 --> 00:23:35,979
we've said is that um we will take 

625
00:23:35,989 --> 00:23:37,979
necessary action to hold those 

626
00:23:37,989 --> 00:23:40,530
accountable , those responsible for 

627
00:23:40,540 --> 00:23:42,579
these attacks against our forces 

628
00:23:42,589 --> 00:23:45,949
accountable . Um , I'm not going to , 

629
00:23:45,959 --> 00:23:48,181
uh , bound it other than to say that we 

630
00:23:48,181 --> 00:23:50,237
will continue to stay focused on our 

631
00:23:50,237 --> 00:23:52,292
mission in Iraq and Syria as well as 

632
00:23:52,292 --> 00:23:54,515
doing what we need to do to protect our 

633
00:23:54,515 --> 00:23:56,737
forces . And I'll just leave it at that 

634
00:23:56,737 --> 00:23:58,848
Gordon . Uh , just to go back to this 

635
00:23:58,848 --> 00:24:00,737
review thing with the secretary's 

636
00:24:00,737 --> 00:24:02,681
answer on how much would be , uh , 

637
00:24:02,681 --> 00:24:05,020
revealed or whatever was a bit shaky . 

638
00:24:05,339 --> 00:24:07,920
The idea of , you know , who knew what , 

639
00:24:07,930 --> 00:24:10,180
when and who was supposed to say and do 

640
00:24:10,189 --> 00:24:12,739
all that cannot be possibly classified . 

641
00:24:12,750 --> 00:24:16,060
So I'm trying to get a cleaner answer 

642
00:24:16,069 --> 00:24:19,160
to how transparent the building will be 

643
00:24:19,189 --> 00:24:21,300
on the results of this review because 

644
00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:23,522
the idea that a lot of it is classified 

645
00:24:23,522 --> 00:24:25,979
seems , uh , 

646
00:24:27,589 --> 00:24:31,530
not true . I'm going 

647
00:24:31,540 --> 00:24:34,050
to , uh , take a deep breath there , 

648
00:24:34,060 --> 00:24:36,227
Gordon . I , I know , I understand and 

649
00:24:36,227 --> 00:24:38,449
appreciate your skepticism there . Um , 

650
00:24:38,449 --> 00:24:40,393
I'm telling you the truth and that 

651
00:24:40,393 --> 00:24:42,504
there will be portions of that report 

652
00:24:42,504 --> 00:24:44,560
that are classified and then we will 

653
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:46,671
work hard to provide you with as much 

654
00:24:46,671 --> 00:24:48,782
information as we can and you'll just 

655
00:24:48,782 --> 00:24:48,709
have to take my word for it . Thank you , 

656
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,979
sir . Um Just on the quickly on the 

657
00:24:52,989 --> 00:24:55,369
Iraq strike , can you talk about any 

658
00:24:55,380 --> 00:24:57,102
timeline on when the president 

659
00:24:57,102 --> 00:24:59,680
authorized the strike ? Um , at a time ? 

660
00:25:00,060 --> 00:25:02,020
Um How long after this , this took 

661
00:25:02,030 --> 00:25:04,510
place ? And then can you talk about at 

662
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,631
what levels of discussions took place 

663
00:25:06,631 --> 00:25:08,687
following the strike ? You got , you 

664
00:25:08,687 --> 00:25:10,660
said you informed Iraq ? Um Thanks 

665
00:25:10,670 --> 00:25:12,892
Joseph . Um So I , you know , I'd refer 

666
00:25:12,892 --> 00:25:14,614
you to the White House for any 

667
00:25:14,614 --> 00:25:16,726
discussion on , on the President . Um 

668
00:25:16,726 --> 00:25:19,059
Not because I'm sure you can appreciate , 

669
00:25:19,059 --> 00:25:21,392
I'm not gonna get into discussions that , 

670
00:25:21,392 --> 00:25:20,670
that the secretary has with the 

671
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:22,791
president in terms of timelines other 

672
00:25:22,791 --> 00:25:24,847
than , um you know , central command 

673
00:25:24,847 --> 00:25:27,069
and the authorities that they needed uh 

674
00:25:27,069 --> 00:25:29,124
to conduct this strike on the call , 

675
00:25:29,124 --> 00:25:31,680
the level of call from this building to 

676
00:25:31,689 --> 00:25:34,260
the Iraqis after the strike . Um I , 

677
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,689
I'd refer you to central command . I , 

678
00:25:36,699 --> 00:25:38,810
I don't have anything to read out . I 

679
00:25:38,810 --> 00:25:40,699
mean , as you know , we , we have 

680
00:25:40,699 --> 00:25:43,680
forces in Iraq as well as a US embassy 

681
00:25:43,689 --> 00:25:45,290
presence . And so uh we're 

682
00:25:45,300 --> 00:25:47,356
communicating at multiple echelons , 

683
00:25:47,356 --> 00:25:49,578
but I'd refer you to central command on 

684
00:25:49,578 --> 00:25:51,900
the will . Is , is , you know , there's 

685
00:25:51,910 --> 00:25:54,077
been talk about the Israelis have said 

686
00:25:54,077 --> 00:25:56,132
they conduct a military operation in 

687
00:25:56,469 --> 00:25:58,449
Tarafa . Um Does this department , 

688
00:25:58,459 --> 00:26:00,570
would this department support such an 

689
00:26:00,570 --> 00:26:02,792
operation ? And then secondly , on , on 

690
00:26:02,792 --> 00:26:04,737
that , um , at least two , maybe a 

691
00:26:04,737 --> 00:26:07,000
third American have been detained by 

692
00:26:07,010 --> 00:26:09,719
the Israeli military . Um , there's 

693
00:26:09,729 --> 00:26:12,739
civilians that continue to be killed in 

694
00:26:12,750 --> 00:26:15,459
Palestine , the department has verbally 

695
00:26:15,469 --> 00:26:17,636
said and warned that there needs to be 

696
00:26:17,636 --> 00:26:20,050
a reduction in sp casualties . Um , 

697
00:26:20,060 --> 00:26:22,171
when or is the department prepared to 

698
00:26:22,171 --> 00:26:24,504
do more than just issue verbal warnings ? 

699
00:26:25,479 --> 00:26:27,423
There's a lot of questions there , 

700
00:26:27,423 --> 00:26:31,069
Joseph . Um , so in terms of , of 

701
00:26:31,079 --> 00:26:33,135
Rafa , I , I don't have anything for 

702
00:26:33,135 --> 00:26:35,079
you on that . I , I'd , you know , 

703
00:26:35,079 --> 00:26:37,135
refer you to the Israeli mod to talk 

704
00:26:37,135 --> 00:26:39,250
about their operations . Um I think , 

705
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:43,310
you know , um NSC has talked about this 

706
00:26:43,319 --> 00:26:45,859
a bit . Um Clearly , you know , we 

707
00:26:45,869 --> 00:26:48,569
continue to remain focused on ensuring 

708
00:26:48,579 --> 00:26:50,746
that humanitarian assistance gets into 

709
00:26:50,746 --> 00:26:54,630
Gaza . Um And uh there are concerns 

710
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,660
about making sure that uh civilian 

711
00:26:57,670 --> 00:27:00,400
safety is taken into account um if 

712
00:27:00,410 --> 00:27:02,188
there were any operations to be 

713
00:27:02,188 --> 00:27:04,299
considered in that in that area . But 

714
00:27:04,299 --> 00:27:06,521
again , I don't , I don't have anything 

715
00:27:06,521 --> 00:27:08,688
to provide on Israeli operations as it 

716
00:27:08,688 --> 00:27:10,688
relates to the detainment of any us 

717
00:27:10,688 --> 00:27:12,799
citizens . Again , I I'd refer you to 

718
00:27:12,799 --> 00:27:12,719
State Department on that . I , I just 

719
00:27:12,729 --> 00:27:14,840
don't have anything to provide . Ok , 

720
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:17,400
sir . Yeah , thank you . Uh When it 

721
00:27:17,410 --> 00:27:19,577
comes to addressing the threats of the 

722
00:27:19,577 --> 00:27:21,969
Iranian backed groups in Iraq and Syria 

723
00:27:22,010 --> 00:27:24,849
has your policy changed or shifted from 

724
00:27:24,859 --> 00:27:27,030
deterrent to degrading these groups ? 

725
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,050
Because one hour ago , the State 

726
00:27:29,060 --> 00:27:31,171
Department , the BT spokesperson said 

727
00:27:31,171 --> 00:27:33,338
that the focus continues to be on both 

728
00:27:33,338 --> 00:27:35,500
on deterrents and also on degrading 

729
00:27:35,510 --> 00:27:39,290
these groups has anything changed . So 

730
00:27:39,300 --> 00:27:41,300
I , I think you , you got to take a 

731
00:27:41,300 --> 00:27:43,411
step back a little bit more from that 

732
00:27:43,411 --> 00:27:45,467
and say , you know , the focus is on 

733
00:27:45,467 --> 00:27:47,689
conducting the mission that we're there 

734
00:27:47,689 --> 00:27:49,856
to do . And if we're attacked , taking 

735
00:27:49,856 --> 00:27:51,800
appropriate action to deter future 

736
00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:53,911
attacks , as well as safeguarding our 

737
00:27:53,911 --> 00:27:56,579
forces uh to include holding those 

738
00:27:56,589 --> 00:27:58,645
accountable who have been conducting 

739
00:27:58,645 --> 00:28:01,119
these attacks . Part of that would 

740
00:28:01,130 --> 00:28:03,890
include degrading the capabilities that 

741
00:28:03,900 --> 00:28:06,122
they've been using to conduct attacks . 

742
00:28:06,122 --> 00:28:08,011
Right ? So that's what you saw on 

743
00:28:08,011 --> 00:28:10,067
Friday was uh efforts to degrade the 

744
00:28:10,067 --> 00:28:12,122
capabilities that they have but also 

745
00:28:12,122 --> 00:28:14,890
send a clear message that we will take 

746
00:28:15,099 --> 00:28:17,780
action if our forces are attacked or 

747
00:28:17,790 --> 00:28:19,920
threatened . So I totally understand 

748
00:28:19,930 --> 00:28:22,097
that you are in Iraq invitation of the 

749
00:28:22,097 --> 00:28:24,208
Iraqi government and we spoke on that 

750
00:28:24,208 --> 00:28:26,780
at different times . But when it comes 

751
00:28:26,790 --> 00:28:28,790
to that , the Iraqi government says 

752
00:28:28,790 --> 00:28:31,012
it's totally different than what we are 

753
00:28:31,012 --> 00:28:30,849
believing when it comes to the 

754
00:28:30,859 --> 00:28:33,050
sovereignty . You say that we respect 

755
00:28:33,060 --> 00:28:35,060
the Iraqi sovereignty and the Iraqi 

756
00:28:35,060 --> 00:28:37,171
government . The spokesperson for the 

757
00:28:37,171 --> 00:28:40,130
Iraqi government says that the US is 

758
00:28:40,140 --> 00:28:42,930
violating the Iraqi sovereignty . And 

759
00:28:42,939 --> 00:28:45,050
also today , what they announced that 

760
00:28:45,050 --> 00:28:46,828
these attacks compels the Iraqi 

761
00:28:46,828 --> 00:28:48,995
government more than ever to terminate 

762
00:28:48,995 --> 00:28:50,995
the mission of the coalition . Does 

763
00:28:50,995 --> 00:28:53,161
that concern you at all these comments 

764
00:28:53,161 --> 00:28:55,383
that coming from the Iraqi government ? 

765
00:28:55,383 --> 00:28:57,550
I understand that you are not speaking 

766
00:28:57,550 --> 00:28:57,369
for the Iraqi government , but does 

767
00:28:57,380 --> 00:28:59,760
that are you taking these statements 

768
00:28:59,770 --> 00:29:02,310
seriously ? Well , look , we take our 

769
00:29:02,319 --> 00:29:04,900
relationship with Iraq seriously and we 

770
00:29:04,910 --> 00:29:06,799
value them as a partner and we do 

771
00:29:06,799 --> 00:29:09,021
respect their sovereignty . But again , 

772
00:29:09,021 --> 00:29:10,799
when our forces are attacked or 

773
00:29:10,799 --> 00:29:12,854
threatened , it's incumbent on us to 

774
00:29:12,854 --> 00:29:15,021
take necessary action to protect those 

775
00:29:15,021 --> 00:29:17,243
forces . Uh And so , um I'll just leave 

776
00:29:17,243 --> 00:29:19,660
it at that . The last one . 

777
00:29:21,189 --> 00:29:23,356
Is there any agreement between you and 

778
00:29:23,356 --> 00:29:25,411
the Iraqi government ? Have you told 

779
00:29:25,411 --> 00:29:27,578
the Iraqi government if you like it or 

780
00:29:27,578 --> 00:29:29,745
don't , if our force has been attacked 

781
00:29:29,745 --> 00:29:31,745
by any groups inside Iraq , we will 

782
00:29:31,745 --> 00:29:33,356
respond them without not pre 

783
00:29:33,356 --> 00:29:35,890
notification to your government . So as 

784
00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:38,515
I mentioned , uh we have been and have 

785
00:29:38,525 --> 00:29:40,364
had conversations with our Iraqi 

786
00:29:40,375 --> 00:29:44,074
partners uh that we uh both 

787
00:29:44,084 --> 00:29:46,964
publicly and privately uh that we will 

788
00:29:46,974 --> 00:29:49,714
respond to any attacks against our 

789
00:29:49,724 --> 00:29:51,891
forces . And of course , part of those 

790
00:29:51,891 --> 00:29:54,057
conversations include working with the 

791
00:29:54,057 --> 00:29:55,946
Iraqi government to request their 

792
00:29:55,946 --> 00:29:58,002
assistance and protecting our forces 

793
00:29:58,002 --> 00:30:00,224
that are there at their invitation . Uh 

794
00:30:00,224 --> 00:30:02,391
And so again , in , in some cases , we 

795
00:30:02,391 --> 00:30:04,446
have seen Isf forces doing that . Uh 

796
00:30:04,446 --> 00:30:06,557
But , you know , as you , as you have 

797
00:30:06,557 --> 00:30:08,780
all highlighted as we've discussed , um 

798
00:30:08,780 --> 00:30:10,502
you know , when our forces are 

799
00:30:10,502 --> 00:30:12,880
threatened over 100 and 60 times and 

800
00:30:13,069 --> 00:30:15,069
you know , after three US , service 

801
00:30:15,069 --> 00:30:17,291
members are killed , multiple wounded , 

802
00:30:17,359 --> 00:30:19,081
um you know , we're gonna take 

803
00:30:19,081 --> 00:30:21,192
appropriate action . Let me go to the 

804
00:30:21,192 --> 00:30:23,530
phone here , Idris from Reuters . Hey 

805
00:30:23,569 --> 00:30:25,791
there , Pat . Um when did the secretary 

806
00:30:25,791 --> 00:30:27,569
last speak with the Iraqi Prime 

807
00:30:27,569 --> 00:30:29,513
Minister . I think it's been a few 

808
00:30:29,513 --> 00:30:31,625
months at least and is the lack of uh 

809
00:30:31,625 --> 00:30:33,569
sort of uh conversations and phone 

810
00:30:33,569 --> 00:30:35,458
calls with them assigned that the 

811
00:30:35,458 --> 00:30:37,680
secretary feels that the Prime Minister 

812
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:39,847
is uh sort of helpless in stopping the 

813
00:30:39,847 --> 00:30:41,625
attacks against us troops . And 

814
00:30:41,625 --> 00:30:43,847
secondly , you mentioned that about 100 

815
00:30:43,847 --> 00:30:45,958
missile launchers have been destroyed 

816
00:30:45,958 --> 00:30:45,599
or degraded . What do you mean by 

817
00:30:45,609 --> 00:30:47,776
degraded ? Does that mean that there's 

818
00:30:47,776 --> 00:30:49,998
sort of damage beyond use or , or could 

819
00:30:49,998 --> 00:30:52,150
you describe that phrase ? Yeah , 

820
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:54,271
thanks , Idris . Um I'll have to take 

821
00:30:54,271 --> 00:30:56,549
the question on when the last call was . 

822
00:30:56,549 --> 00:30:58,839
I want to say it was December time 

823
00:30:58,849 --> 00:31:02,239
frame um with um the , the Prime 

824
00:31:02,250 --> 00:31:05,390
Minister . But um and then , you know , 

825
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,900
I , I'm not going to speak for him . Uh 

826
00:31:07,910 --> 00:31:11,310
And , and you know how he feels about 

827
00:31:11,319 --> 00:31:13,097
things uh finally , in terms of 

828
00:31:13,097 --> 00:31:14,819
degraded . Uh Yes , you know , 

829
00:31:14,819 --> 00:31:17,290
functionally uh incapable of , of 

830
00:31:17,300 --> 00:31:20,729
operating or being employed as intended . 

831
00:31:20,930 --> 00:31:23,208
Thank you . Come back to the room here , 

832
00:31:23,208 --> 00:31:26,099
sir . Uh Thank you , General . Uh I'm 

833
00:31:26,109 --> 00:31:28,900
gonna come back to the H MC discussions 

834
00:31:29,209 --> 00:31:31,459
today . Uh The spokesperson for Iraqi 

835
00:31:31,469 --> 00:31:34,099
Armed Forces said this Sunday , the 

836
00:31:34,109 --> 00:31:37,209
negotiations will start again and he 

837
00:31:37,219 --> 00:31:41,140
said , uh one of the topics is to face 

838
00:31:41,150 --> 00:31:43,189
out withdrawal of us and alliance 

839
00:31:43,199 --> 00:31:45,900
forces . Does this contradict what you 

840
00:31:45,910 --> 00:31:48,719
have said before ? Uh Look , first of 

841
00:31:48,729 --> 00:31:50,785
all , I'm not gonna hold the meeting 

842
00:31:50,785 --> 00:31:52,951
here . Uh That's what we have meetings 

843
00:31:52,951 --> 00:31:55,118
and discussions for . And as you heard 

844
00:31:55,118 --> 00:31:54,680
us talk about the , the purpose of the 

845
00:31:54,689 --> 00:31:56,745
Higher Military Commission which was 

846
00:31:56,745 --> 00:31:58,633
agreed upon back in August was to 

847
00:31:58,633 --> 00:32:02,560
discuss uh the phasing of the uh the 

848
00:32:02,569 --> 00:32:05,359
transition of the military forces as 

849
00:32:05,369 --> 00:32:08,790
part of the coalition uh to a longer 

850
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,719
term , bilateral us Iraq security 

851
00:32:11,729 --> 00:32:14,030
cooper operation . Uh So , you know , 

852
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,329
again what that looks like uh is 

853
00:32:16,339 --> 00:32:18,599
exactly what those meetings will be all 

854
00:32:18,609 --> 00:32:21,290
about and , and discuss the important 

855
00:32:21,300 --> 00:32:23,356
thing here is , I think we all agree 

856
00:32:23,390 --> 00:32:25,650
that a secure and stable Iraq is 

857
00:32:25,660 --> 00:32:27,716
important to the region . And so the 

858
00:32:27,716 --> 00:32:29,827
United States is committed to working 

859
00:32:29,827 --> 00:32:31,938
with our Iraqi partners to that end . 

860
00:32:31,938 --> 00:32:34,369
Do your forces in Iraq have any role in 

861
00:32:34,380 --> 00:32:37,760
conducting their strikes or only sent 

862
00:32:38,359 --> 00:32:41,719
as the forces in Iraq are there to 

863
00:32:41,729 --> 00:32:45,079
support the train and advise mission 

864
00:32:45,500 --> 00:32:47,579
or the defeat ISIS mission at the 

865
00:32:47,589 --> 00:32:49,756
invitation of the government of Iraq . 

866
00:32:50,069 --> 00:32:53,109
Jared , sir . I believe it was the 

867
00:32:53,119 --> 00:32:55,341
evening of February 4th . That could be 

868
00:32:55,341 --> 00:32:57,286
incorrect . But , uh , there was a 

869
00:32:57,286 --> 00:32:59,563
suspected militia drone attack on , uh , 

870
00:32:59,563 --> 00:33:01,786
near the Green Village base in Syria in 

871
00:33:01,786 --> 00:33:03,897
which , uh , Syrian Democratic forces 

872
00:33:03,897 --> 00:33:06,119
members were killed . Is that the first 

873
00:33:06,119 --> 00:33:08,119
time suspected Iran backed militias 

874
00:33:08,119 --> 00:33:10,341
have targeted the SDF with drones ? And 

875
00:33:10,341 --> 00:33:12,119
does the department see that as 

876
00:33:12,119 --> 00:33:14,175
potentially indicative of a shift in 

877
00:33:14,175 --> 00:33:16,397
tactics by these groups ? Uh So Jared , 

878
00:33:16,397 --> 00:33:18,397
I , I don't have the answer to that 

879
00:33:18,397 --> 00:33:18,030
question . You'd have to talk to the , 

880
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,750
the SDF uh as I , you know , my , my 

881
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:23,760
assessment based on , you know , my 

882
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:25,871
read , what I saw was that that drone 

883
00:33:25,871 --> 00:33:28,093
was probably intended for Green Village 

884
00:33:28,339 --> 00:33:30,910
uh and you know , landed several 

885
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,589
kilometers away from Green Village . So 

886
00:33:33,599 --> 00:33:35,766
whether or not they were intentionally 

887
00:33:35,766 --> 00:33:39,459
targeting SDF , I don't know . Um So I 

888
00:33:39,469 --> 00:33:41,636
just have to leave it there . Thanks , 

889
00:33:41,636 --> 00:33:44,739
man . Um Two questions . So first , uh 

890
00:33:44,750 --> 00:33:46,972
in terms of all the strikes against the 

891
00:33:46,972 --> 00:33:48,694
Houthis uh equipment and , and 

892
00:33:48,694 --> 00:33:50,806
different sites , have there been any 

893
00:33:50,806 --> 00:33:52,972
houthi casualties ? And then uh Arnold 

894
00:33:52,972 --> 00:33:55,083
Irving's call today , the mayor's CEO 

895
00:33:55,083 --> 00:33:56,861
has said that the US Navy can't 

896
00:33:56,861 --> 00:33:59,028
guarantee the safety of passage in the 

897
00:33:59,028 --> 00:34:01,194
Red Sea . Does the Pentagon agree with 

898
00:34:01,194 --> 00:34:02,972
that ? Is this Red Sea safe for 

899
00:34:02,972 --> 00:34:05,194
commercial shipping right now ? So , on 

900
00:34:05,194 --> 00:34:07,306
your first question , um I don't have 

901
00:34:07,306 --> 00:34:09,528
any uh I , I don't have any information 

902
00:34:09,528 --> 00:34:11,861
to provide in terms of specific numbers . 

903
00:34:11,861 --> 00:34:14,083
I think it is a safe bet to assume that 

904
00:34:14,083 --> 00:34:16,139
there are some houthi militants that 

905
00:34:16,139 --> 00:34:16,120
have been killed as a result of the 

906
00:34:16,129 --> 00:34:18,240
strikes that we've conducted . I just 

907
00:34:18,240 --> 00:34:20,351
don't have any numbers to provide for 

908
00:34:20,351 --> 00:34:22,185
you . Again , our focus is in on 

909
00:34:22,185 --> 00:34:24,296
eliminating capabilities that they've 

910
00:34:24,296 --> 00:34:26,959
been employing or using to uh conduct 

911
00:34:26,969 --> 00:34:29,429
these attacks . Um And then in terms of 

912
00:34:29,439 --> 00:34:31,661
the Red Sea , you know , look , this is 

913
00:34:31,661 --> 00:34:33,661
why you have a coalition of over 20 

914
00:34:33,661 --> 00:34:35,828
countries working to help safeguard uh 

915
00:34:35,828 --> 00:34:38,189
this vital waterway . It's a defensive 

916
00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:40,530
coalition uh that is conducting joint 

917
00:34:40,540 --> 00:34:42,550
patrols and providing capability to 

918
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,260
help vessels that transit . At the end 

919
00:34:45,270 --> 00:34:47,214
of the day , it's up to commercial 

920
00:34:47,214 --> 00:34:49,120
industry , whether they opt to go 

921
00:34:49,129 --> 00:34:51,240
through that route . Uh Obviously , I 

922
00:34:51,240 --> 00:34:53,018
think it's in the international 

923
00:34:53,018 --> 00:34:55,129
interest to ensure that it is safe uh 

924
00:34:55,129 --> 00:34:57,351
and secure and that's why we're working 

925
00:34:57,351 --> 00:34:59,351
so hard toward that end . Let me go 

926
00:34:59,351 --> 00:34:59,319
back out to the phone here , Jeff Shole 

927
00:34:59,458 --> 00:35:03,239
task and purpose . Thank you . 

928
00:35:03,250 --> 00:35:06,229
Um The Pentagon has provided an update 

929
00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:08,350
of how many service members have been 

930
00:35:08,350 --> 00:35:10,406
injured in Iraq and Syria . Could we 

931
00:35:10,406 --> 00:35:12,919
get the number of those um , diagnosed 

932
00:35:12,929 --> 00:35:14,985
with mild traumatic brain injury ? I 

933
00:35:14,985 --> 00:35:16,762
know it's been asked before and 

934
00:35:16,762 --> 00:35:18,596
understandably other things have 

935
00:35:18,596 --> 00:35:20,818
happened . But uh an update on the T BS 

936
00:35:20,818 --> 00:35:22,818
would be most welcome . Also , uh , 

937
00:35:22,818 --> 00:35:24,707
back in January , there were some 

938
00:35:24,707 --> 00:35:26,860
tweets that the houthis with their F 

939
00:35:26,870 --> 00:35:29,620
five fooled around and found out and 

940
00:35:29,629 --> 00:35:31,685
that their F five was shot down . Uh 

941
00:35:31,685 --> 00:35:34,000
Can the dod talk about that at all ? 

942
00:35:35,020 --> 00:35:37,076
Yeah , thanks Jeff on your , on your 

943
00:35:37,076 --> 00:35:39,187
first question . Uh We'll take that , 

944
00:35:39,187 --> 00:35:41,242
uh , as you know , tho those numbers 

945
00:35:41,242 --> 00:35:43,409
can fluctuate . Um But we'll take that 

946
00:35:43,409 --> 00:35:45,631
question on the , the latter question . 

947
00:35:45,631 --> 00:35:47,687
I don't have anything to provide for 

948
00:35:47,687 --> 00:35:47,179
you beyond what I've , what I've read 

949
00:35:47,189 --> 00:35:49,022
out in my topper and in , in the 

950
00:35:49,022 --> 00:35:51,639
previous uh briefings , in terms of BD 

951
00:35:51,649 --> 00:35:54,090
A at this stage . Thank you , Tom . 

952
00:35:54,729 --> 00:35:56,896
Thanks , Pat . Um Other than the first 

953
00:35:56,896 --> 00:35:58,673
time it was announced about the 

954
00:35:58,673 --> 00:36:00,673
Ukrainian contact group . And every 

955
00:36:00,673 --> 00:36:02,951
time you mentioned a new one coming up , 

956
00:36:03,060 --> 00:36:05,171
you've always said , and more than 50 

957
00:36:05,171 --> 00:36:07,199
nations will participate in your 

958
00:36:07,209 --> 00:36:09,810
opening remarks today . You said nearly 

959
00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:11,959
50 nations . Why the drop off in 

960
00:36:11,969 --> 00:36:14,199
support ? Uh , so I , I don't think 

961
00:36:14,209 --> 00:36:16,376
there's been a drop off in support and 

962
00:36:16,376 --> 00:36:18,487
I'd , I'd ask you to go back and look 

963
00:36:18,487 --> 00:36:20,709
at the various statements because I , I 

964
00:36:20,709 --> 00:36:20,070
would submit that . You know , 

965
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,649
sometimes it's nearly 50 sometimes it's 

966
00:36:22,659 --> 00:36:25,959
more than 50 I asked the court 

967
00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:29,360
so it was a setup . Excellent , good to 

968
00:36:29,370 --> 00:36:31,840
know . All right . Anything else I can 

969
00:36:31,850 --> 00:36:33,850
do to entertain you ? You've done a 

970
00:36:33,850 --> 00:36:36,128
great job so far ? Perfect . All right , 

971
00:36:36,128 --> 00:36:38,294
let me go to Howard Altman Poor Zone . 

972
00:36:40,629 --> 00:36:42,851
Hey , thanks , Pat . Um Can you provide 

973
00:36:42,851 --> 00:36:44,979
any more details about how the drone 

974
00:36:44,989 --> 00:36:48,090
that got through tower 22 in Jordan ? 

975
00:36:48,100 --> 00:36:50,156
How that happened ? Was it a lack of 

976
00:36:50,156 --> 00:36:52,459
air defenses ? Um Can you provide more 

977
00:36:52,469 --> 00:36:55,070
details ? Yeah , thanks , Howard . So , 

978
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,080
um what I can tell you right now is 

979
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:58,580
that us Central Command is 

980
00:36:58,580 --> 00:37:00,830
investigating the attack on tower 22 . 

981
00:37:01,290 --> 00:37:03,750
Uh And so at this stage , uh it would 

982
00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:05,871
be inappropriate for me to comment or 

983
00:37:05,871 --> 00:37:08,510
speculate on , on the specifics of that . 

984
00:37:08,770 --> 00:37:10,992
Uh Us army Central Command has the lead 

985
00:37:10,992 --> 00:37:13,600
for that investigation . Uh And so , um , 

986
00:37:13,610 --> 00:37:15,721
you know , they'll , they'll be doing 

987
00:37:15,721 --> 00:37:17,999
that work . Uh Certainly , uh you know , 

988
00:37:17,999 --> 00:37:20,110
once that investigation is complete , 

989
00:37:20,110 --> 00:37:22,443
we may have more information to provide . 

990
00:37:22,443 --> 00:37:24,666
Uh But right now , I'm just not able to 

991
00:37:24,666 --> 00:37:26,666
go into those details . Thank you . 

992
00:37:26,666 --> 00:37:29,250
Come back in the room , sir . Is there 

993
00:37:29,260 --> 00:37:31,593
any indication that North Korea prepare , 

994
00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:33,544
conducting military action against 

995
00:37:33,544 --> 00:37:35,600
South Korea that North Korea is 

996
00:37:35,610 --> 00:37:38,229
preparing to military action against 

997
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:40,760
South Korea ? I don't have any 

998
00:37:40,830 --> 00:37:43,649
intelligence to pass along , 

999
00:37:44,709 --> 00:37:47,139
you know . So basically , you know , 

1000
00:37:47,149 --> 00:37:49,093
again , we're going to continue to 

1001
00:37:49,093 --> 00:37:51,205
monitor the situation . I'm not aware 

1002
00:37:51,205 --> 00:37:53,489
of any imminent attacks . Um But we're 

1003
00:37:53,500 --> 00:37:55,667
going to continue to work closely with 

1004
00:37:55,667 --> 00:37:57,722
South Korea and Japan to monitor the 

1005
00:37:57,722 --> 00:37:59,778
the region and work towards security 

1006
00:37:59,778 --> 00:38:02,010
and stability . So do you know any 

1007
00:38:02,300 --> 00:38:04,244
information , what kind of we have 

1008
00:38:04,244 --> 00:38:06,244
found or those security people from 

1009
00:38:06,244 --> 00:38:08,022
Russia in the temple ? They are 

1010
00:38:08,022 --> 00:38:10,244
providing a munition and missile to the 

1011
00:38:10,244 --> 00:38:12,244
Russia ? I'm sorry , can you repeat 

1012
00:38:12,244 --> 00:38:14,189
that ? So what kind of a weapon or 

1013
00:38:14,189 --> 00:38:16,399
technology North Korea received from 

1014
00:38:16,409 --> 00:38:18,510
Russia in return for their providing 

1015
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,429
ammunition to missiles to Russia ? Um I 

1016
00:38:21,439 --> 00:38:23,383
I don't have any specifics to pass 

1017
00:38:23,383 --> 00:38:25,606
along as you highlight there , there is 

1018
00:38:25,606 --> 00:38:27,606
a relationship there . Um And we do 

1019
00:38:27,606 --> 00:38:29,828
know that that North Korea has provided 

1020
00:38:29,828 --> 00:38:32,830
uh capabilities to Russia . Uh you know , 

1021
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:35,530
hoping to , to build up a relationship 

1022
00:38:35,540 --> 00:38:37,550
to be able to capitalize on , on 

1023
00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:40,419
Russian capabilities . But I'll just 

1024
00:38:40,429 --> 00:38:42,540
leave it at that . We get a thought . 

1025
00:38:42,929 --> 00:38:46,379
So general after the attack on us 

1026
00:38:46,389 --> 00:38:48,445
forces in Jordan , the Pentagon said 

1027
00:38:48,445 --> 00:38:50,500
the response will be multi tiered so 

1028
00:38:50,500 --> 00:38:52,989
far we've seen twice two waves , at 

1029
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,222
least the one in Iraq and Syria and now 

1030
00:38:55,222 --> 00:38:59,000
with in Baghdad , is this 

1031
00:38:59,010 --> 00:39:02,879
approach uh is still valid or does the 

1032
00:39:02,889 --> 00:39:05,159
Pentagon think that the response to the 

1033
00:39:05,169 --> 00:39:07,280
attack in Jordan has played out ? And 

1034
00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:09,949
now it depends on whether attacks 

1035
00:39:09,959 --> 00:39:12,292
continue on us forces in Iraq and Syria . 

1036
00:39:12,292 --> 00:39:14,570
Yeah , thanks Fadi . I mean , as again , 

1037
00:39:14,570 --> 00:39:17,159
just to emphasize what I said earlier 

1038
00:39:17,169 --> 00:39:19,058
that the strike on Friday and the 

1039
00:39:19,058 --> 00:39:21,429
strike yesterday was conducted in 

1040
00:39:21,439 --> 00:39:24,510
response to those attacks as well as 

1041
00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,770
the attacks on us forces uh and meant 

1042
00:39:27,780 --> 00:39:30,459
to hold those responsible accountable 

1043
00:39:30,570 --> 00:39:32,669
as for whether or not there will be 

1044
00:39:32,679 --> 00:39:34,901
future attacks . Again . I'm , I'm just 

1045
00:39:34,901 --> 00:39:36,957
not gonna uh speculate or talk about 

1046
00:39:36,957 --> 00:39:39,123
potential future operations other than 

1047
00:39:39,123 --> 00:39:41,123
to say again , we'll take necessary 

1048
00:39:41,123 --> 00:39:43,290
action to protect our forces and let's 

1049
00:39:43,290 --> 00:39:45,760
leave it there a couple more today . 

1050
00:39:45,770 --> 00:39:48,860
Gentlemen of the SDF accused Turkey of 

1051
00:39:48,870 --> 00:39:50,919
attacking civil , their civilian 

1052
00:39:50,929 --> 00:39:53,262
infrastructure including oil facilities . 

1053
00:39:53,399 --> 00:39:55,455
Uh Can you confirm if that's true or 

1054
00:39:55,455 --> 00:39:57,860
not ? And does that cause any , does it 

1055
00:39:57,870 --> 00:40:00,330
cause any problems for the campaign to 

1056
00:40:00,340 --> 00:40:02,340
have two allies fighting each other 

1057
00:40:02,340 --> 00:40:04,659
instead of ISIS ? Thanks , Mike . I , I 

1058
00:40:04,669 --> 00:40:06,725
don't have any information on that . 

1059
00:40:06,725 --> 00:40:09,002
Haven't , I haven't seen those reports , 

1060
00:40:09,002 --> 00:40:11,002
doesn't mean it hasn't happened . I 

1061
00:40:11,002 --> 00:40:13,113
just haven't seen anything on it . Um 

1062
00:40:13,113 --> 00:40:13,100
And as for political campaigns , uh 

1063
00:40:13,110 --> 00:40:15,221
that , that's just not something that 

1064
00:40:15,221 --> 00:40:18,659
I'm gonna comment on . Last question , 

1065
00:40:18,669 --> 00:40:21,250
sir . Thanks , sir . Two questions . Uh 

1066
00:40:21,260 --> 00:40:24,520
One China was in the news last week and 

1067
00:40:24,530 --> 00:40:26,697
this week in the media and also on the 

1068
00:40:26,697 --> 00:40:28,389
Capitol Hill that as well as 

1069
00:40:28,399 --> 00:40:31,830
cybersecurity or other concerns are uh 

1070
00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:34,419
Chinese have so many people here 

1071
00:40:34,429 --> 00:40:36,651
against the United States . My question 

1072
00:40:36,651 --> 00:40:39,360
is how much concern is from Pentagon 

1073
00:40:39,370 --> 00:40:42,370
here as far as Chinese cyber and 

1074
00:40:42,379 --> 00:40:45,030
military security is concerned within 

1075
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:47,399
the US ? Yeah . Well , without going 

1076
00:40:47,409 --> 00:40:49,310
into specific uh 

1077
00:40:50,399 --> 00:40:52,800
instances , uh what I would tell you is 

1078
00:40:52,810 --> 00:40:54,977
as we've highlighted many times before 

1079
00:40:54,977 --> 00:40:57,032
China continues to remain our pacing 

1080
00:40:57,032 --> 00:40:59,254
challenge . Uh And as we've highlighted 

1081
00:40:59,254 --> 00:41:01,421
in our national defense strategy , one 

1082
00:41:01,421 --> 00:41:03,366
aspect of that is uh operations in 

1083
00:41:03,366 --> 00:41:05,254
cyberspace . And so again , we'll 

1084
00:41:05,254 --> 00:41:07,421
continue to take that very seriously . 

1085
00:41:07,421 --> 00:41:09,199
Uh And it's something that will 

1086
00:41:09,199 --> 00:41:11,421
continue to work on closely with allies 

1087
00:41:11,421 --> 00:41:13,643
and partners as it relates to their own 

1088
00:41:13,643 --> 00:41:15,421
cybersecurity . And your second 

1089
00:41:15,421 --> 00:41:17,366
question as far as this war in the 

1090
00:41:17,366 --> 00:41:19,532
Middle East is concerned and terrorist 

1091
00:41:19,532 --> 00:41:21,588
activities against many countries in 

1092
00:41:21,588 --> 00:41:23,421
the Middle East , there are many 

1093
00:41:23,421 --> 00:41:25,643
terrorists in many countries there . My 

1094
00:41:25,643 --> 00:41:27,643
question is that they are digging , 

1095
00:41:27,643 --> 00:41:30,129
they have had 1300 or 1500 tunnels , 

1096
00:41:30,270 --> 00:41:32,649
they have arms , they have financing . 

1097
00:41:32,870 --> 00:41:34,870
My question is , are we going after 

1098
00:41:34,870 --> 00:41:37,100
those who are financing them millions 

1099
00:41:37,110 --> 00:41:39,332
and millions of dollars and giving them 

1100
00:41:39,332 --> 00:41:42,939
arms and supporting them ? I'm sorry , 

1101
00:41:42,949 --> 00:41:45,270
which terrorist group in the Middle 

1102
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:49,169
East like Hamas or Hezbollah and 

1103
00:41:49,179 --> 00:41:51,989
others ? Yeah . So , um 

1104
00:41:53,489 --> 00:41:55,267
without getting into a specific 

1105
00:41:55,267 --> 00:41:57,270
breakdown of , of various terrorist 

1106
00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:59,391
groups and , you know , happy to have 

1107
00:41:59,391 --> 00:42:01,669
an offline discussion with you on that . 

1108
00:42:01,669 --> 00:42:03,613
I I , as you know , as part of our 

1109
00:42:03,613 --> 00:42:05,336
national defense strategy , uh 

1110
00:42:05,336 --> 00:42:07,558
counterterrorism is an aspect of that , 

1111
00:42:07,558 --> 00:42:09,724
right ? We acknowledge that that there 

1112
00:42:09,724 --> 00:42:11,669
is a significant terrorist threats 

1113
00:42:11,669 --> 00:42:13,558
around the world . Um And we will 

1114
00:42:13,558 --> 00:42:15,613
continue to work with our allies and 

1115
00:42:15,613 --> 00:42:17,613
partners towards addressing that to 

1116
00:42:17,613 --> 00:42:19,613
include those that affect our , our 

1117
00:42:19,613 --> 00:42:22,229
homeland . Uh And so , um it's 

1118
00:42:22,239 --> 00:42:24,072
something we obviously take very 

1119
00:42:24,072 --> 00:42:26,239
seriously . It's something oh , by the 

1120
00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:28,350
way that we got very good at after 20 

1121
00:42:28,350 --> 00:42:30,406
years of conducting counterterrorism 

1122
00:42:30,406 --> 00:42:32,461
operations , um but also recognizing 

1123
00:42:32,461 --> 00:42:34,461
the fact that around the world , we 

1124
00:42:34,461 --> 00:42:36,239
have other interests to include 

1125
00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:38,239
addressing the threats that that uh 

1126
00:42:38,239 --> 00:42:40,810
countries like Russia pose in Europe , 

1127
00:42:40,820 --> 00:42:42,764
as well as the pacing challenge of 

1128
00:42:42,764 --> 00:42:44,876
China as I highlighted . So thank you 

1129
00:42:44,876 --> 00:42:45,270
very much , everybody . Appreciate it .