1 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:05,240 All right . Well , good afternoon , 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,296 everyone . Thanks very much for your 3 00:00:07,296 --> 00:00:09,407 patience today . Uh Just a few things 4 00:00:09,407 --> 00:00:11,629 to talk about at the top and then we'll 5 00:00:11,629 --> 00:00:13,684 get right to your questions . Uh Per 6 00:00:13,684 --> 00:00:15,907 our announcement earlier this morning , 7 00:00:15,907 --> 00:00:15,640 Secretary Austin returned to work at 8 00:00:15,649 --> 00:00:17,871 the Pentagon today following his recent 9 00:00:17,871 --> 00:00:20,038 hospitalization . Secretary is glad to 10 00:00:20,038 --> 00:00:21,816 be back in the building and has 11 00:00:21,816 --> 00:00:23,760 expressed his appreciation for the 12 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:25,982 great medical care he received while at 13 00:00:25,982 --> 00:00:28,205 Walter Reed and for all the well wishes 14 00:00:28,205 --> 00:00:30,427 as his doctors highlighted on Tuesday , 15 00:00:30,427 --> 00:00:32,538 he's anticipated to continue his full 16 00:00:32,538 --> 00:00:34,482 recovery and the secretary remains 17 00:00:34,482 --> 00:00:36,371 squarely focused on executing his 18 00:00:36,371 --> 00:00:38,093 duties as Secretary of Defense 19 00:00:38,093 --> 00:00:39,927 Secretary Austin also released a 20 00:00:39,927 --> 00:00:42,038 statement earlier today following the 21 00:00:42,038 --> 00:00:43,760 conclusion of the NATO defense 22 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,093 Ministerial meeting in Brussels . In it , 23 00:00:46,093 --> 00:00:47,982 the secretary reaffirmed that the 24 00:00:47,982 --> 00:00:50,038 United States will continue to stand 25 00:00:50,038 --> 00:00:52,038 with our NATO allies and defend the 26 00:00:52,038 --> 00:00:54,205 sovereignty and the territory of every 27 00:00:54,205 --> 00:00:56,316 alliance member stating quote , every 28 00:00:56,316 --> 00:00:58,482 inch of it . Our commitment to article 29 00:00:58,482 --> 00:01:00,580 five remains ironclad end quote . 30 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,247 Secretary Austin also underscored that 31 00:01:03,250 --> 00:01:05,361 NATO remains the greatest alliance in 32 00:01:05,361 --> 00:01:07,694 history and that NATO today is stronger , 33 00:01:07,694 --> 00:01:09,583 more united and more vital to our 34 00:01:09,583 --> 00:01:11,528 shared future than ever . The full 35 00:01:11,528 --> 00:01:13,750 statement can be found on dod S website 36 00:01:13,750 --> 00:01:15,750 switching gears earlier today , the 37 00:01:15,750 --> 00:01:17,750 dear uh the department released its 38 00:01:17,750 --> 00:01:19,583 first ever resilient and healthy 39 00:01:19,583 --> 00:01:21,417 defense community strategy . The 40 00:01:21,417 --> 00:01:23,528 strategy will guide the dod s actions 41 00:01:23,528 --> 00:01:23,519 in the coming years to improve both 42 00:01:23,529 --> 00:01:25,696 constructed facilities and the natural 43 00:01:25,696 --> 00:01:27,418 environment across our defense 44 00:01:27,418 --> 00:01:29,418 installations . More than 2 million 45 00:01:29,418 --> 00:01:31,585 military and civilian personnel live , 46 00:01:31,585 --> 00:01:33,807 work , train , raise Children and spend 47 00:01:33,807 --> 00:01:35,585 time with their families on the 48 00:01:35,585 --> 00:01:37,800 department's 538 installations which 49 00:01:37,809 --> 00:01:40,319 include more than 280,000 buildings and 50 00:01:40,330 --> 00:01:43,239 30 million acres of land . These spaces 51 00:01:43,250 --> 00:01:45,306 are critical to carrying out our dod 52 00:01:45,309 --> 00:01:47,253 missions . It's therefore both the 53 00:01:47,253 --> 00:01:49,198 national security imperative and a 54 00:01:49,198 --> 00:01:51,031 moral obligation to ensure these 55 00:01:51,031 --> 00:01:53,087 communities are healthy , functional 56 00:01:53,087 --> 00:01:55,309 and resilient and that we're working to 57 00:01:55,309 --> 00:01:57,420 ensure a good quality of life for our 58 00:01:57,420 --> 00:01:59,531 entire force . Additional information 59 00:01:59,531 --> 00:02:01,587 to include a copy of the strategy is 60 00:02:01,587 --> 00:02:03,753 available on defense.gov . And finally 61 00:02:03,753 --> 00:02:05,642 yesterday afternoon , the missile 62 00:02:05,642 --> 00:02:07,698 defense agency and Space Development 63 00:02:07,698 --> 00:02:09,809 Agency launched six satellites to low 64 00:02:09,809 --> 00:02:11,920 earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space 65 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:13,642 Force Station in Florida . The 66 00:02:13,642 --> 00:02:15,865 satellites which include two satellites 67 00:02:15,865 --> 00:02:17,865 for MD A S hypersonic and ballistic 68 00:02:17,865 --> 00:02:20,087 tracking space sensor and the four SD A 69 00:02:20,087 --> 00:02:21,753 tracking layer satellites are 70 00:02:21,753 --> 00:02:23,976 conducting initial testing . The launch 71 00:02:23,976 --> 00:02:26,031 of the two prototype systems will be 72 00:02:26,031 --> 00:02:27,920 followed by two years of on orbit 73 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:30,031 testing and over the next few weeks , 74 00:02:30,031 --> 00:02:31,976 MD A and SD A engineers will run a 75 00:02:31,976 --> 00:02:33,642 series of tests and check out 76 00:02:33,642 --> 00:02:35,865 procedures to ensure the satellites are 77 00:02:35,865 --> 00:02:35,699 operating and communicating with the 78 00:02:35,710 --> 00:02:38,029 other systems . As expected . For more 79 00:02:38,039 --> 00:02:39,872 information , I'd refer you to a 80 00:02:39,872 --> 00:02:42,206 missile defense agency , Public Affairs . 81 00:02:42,206 --> 00:02:42,009 And with that , I'd be glad to take 82 00:02:42,020 --> 00:02:44,020 your questions . Let me go first to 83 00:02:44,020 --> 00:02:45,909 associated press Tara Cop , who's 84 00:02:45,909 --> 00:02:49,240 calling in today ? Hi , General Ryder . 85 00:02:49,250 --> 00:02:51,490 Thanks for doing this . I wanted to ask 86 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:53,722 you about um , the White House briefing 87 00:02:53,722 --> 00:02:55,889 that just occurred on the Russian anti 88 00:02:55,889 --> 00:02:59,399 satellite capabilities . Uh has , do 89 00:02:59,410 --> 00:03:02,039 you been briefed on what I guess NSC 90 00:03:02,050 --> 00:03:04,106 and the intel communities know about 91 00:03:04,106 --> 00:03:06,880 this and has the Space Force and Space 92 00:03:06,889 --> 00:03:09,690 command taken any sort of um posture 93 00:03:09,699 --> 00:03:12,500 changes in order to secure us uh 94 00:03:12,509 --> 00:03:16,220 satellites ? Thanks . Thanks ta um 95 00:03:16,229 --> 00:03:19,009 Yes , I mean , we , we are uh tracking 96 00:03:19,020 --> 00:03:21,187 what this is . We have been briefed on 97 00:03:21,187 --> 00:03:23,409 it . The , the Secretary of course , is 98 00:03:23,409 --> 00:03:25,409 part of the , the National security 99 00:03:25,409 --> 00:03:27,242 team that's uh been briefing the 100 00:03:27,242 --> 00:03:29,131 president . Uh I'm not gonna have 101 00:03:29,131 --> 00:03:31,187 anything beyond uh to provide beyond 102 00:03:31,187 --> 00:03:33,409 what Mr Kirby briefed over at the White 103 00:03:33,409 --> 00:03:35,979 House . Uh and , and as it relates to 104 00:03:35,990 --> 00:03:37,823 Space command , I , I don't have 105 00:03:37,823 --> 00:03:40,740 anything specific uh in regards to any 106 00:03:40,750 --> 00:03:43,300 changes other than to say that as you 107 00:03:43,309 --> 00:03:45,910 know , as space has become more 108 00:03:46,050 --> 00:03:49,020 congested and contested uh and in light 109 00:03:49,029 --> 00:03:50,807 of growing threats by strategic 110 00:03:50,807 --> 00:03:53,229 competitors and space uh US , Space 111 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,779 Command and the US Space Force uh were 112 00:03:55,789 --> 00:03:57,622 established several years ago to 113 00:03:57,622 --> 00:03:59,699 maintain a dedicated focus on this 114 00:03:59,710 --> 00:04:01,932 vital domain and to ensure that we have 115 00:04:01,932 --> 00:04:05,149 trained and uh prepared military space 116 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,410 professionals whose mission it is to 117 00:04:07,419 --> 00:04:09,586 protect and defend America's interests 118 00:04:09,586 --> 00:04:11,641 in space . Thank you . You go to the 119 00:04:11,641 --> 00:04:13,697 room here or uh the White House said 120 00:04:13,697 --> 00:04:15,808 there was ongoing outreach efforts to 121 00:04:15,808 --> 00:04:17,808 Russia regarding the anti satellite 122 00:04:17,808 --> 00:04:20,141 capability is the Pentagon part of that . 123 00:04:20,141 --> 00:04:22,252 And has there been any any attempt to 124 00:04:22,252 --> 00:04:22,160 set up a call between Secretary Austin 125 00:04:22,220 --> 00:04:24,498 and his Russian counterpart about this ? 126 00:04:24,498 --> 00:04:26,664 Yeah , I don't , I don't have anything 127 00:04:26,664 --> 00:04:28,831 to announce in terms of , of calls and 128 00:04:28,831 --> 00:04:28,109 I just refer you back to the White 129 00:04:28,119 --> 00:04:32,109 House on that was um so 130 00:04:32,119 --> 00:04:34,779 uh the acting deputy , the acting under 131 00:04:34,790 --> 00:04:37,299 Secretary of Defense for policy went um 132 00:04:37,489 --> 00:04:39,545 is that in place of Secretary Austin 133 00:04:39,545 --> 00:04:43,000 going to brief on the hill today ? She 134 00:04:43,010 --> 00:04:45,350 was planning to go what hadn't been 135 00:04:45,359 --> 00:04:47,415 recovering ? She was would have gone 136 00:04:47,415 --> 00:04:50,390 anyway . Um she was requested to go 137 00:04:50,399 --> 00:04:52,890 over there and she's part of the , the 138 00:04:52,899 --> 00:04:55,970 sitting in on the briefing . Thanks um 139 00:04:55,980 --> 00:04:58,679 on , on the , the Russian anti 140 00:04:58,779 --> 00:05:01,190 satellite weapon . Um Can can you say 141 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,720 whether this was a new capability ? Was 142 00:05:03,730 --> 00:05:05,730 there some sort of triggering event 143 00:05:05,730 --> 00:05:07,829 that this was put into the public 144 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,006 discourse that that Congressman Turner 145 00:05:10,006 --> 00:05:12,006 picked up on ? Was there , is there 146 00:05:12,006 --> 00:05:14,172 anything new here or is this something 147 00:05:14,172 --> 00:05:13,799 that has been Russia has been 148 00:05:13,809 --> 00:05:16,087 developing for a while ? Yeah , thanks . 149 00:05:16,087 --> 00:05:17,865 I again , I'm not going to have 150 00:05:17,865 --> 00:05:19,809 anything to provide beyond what Mr 151 00:05:19,809 --> 00:05:22,031 Kirby highlighted . Uh you know , and I 152 00:05:22,031 --> 00:05:24,031 underscore the key points he made , 153 00:05:24,031 --> 00:05:23,910 it's , it's not an immediate threat , 154 00:05:24,459 --> 00:05:26,626 it's not an active capability , it has 155 00:05:26,626 --> 00:05:28,709 not been deployed . Uh And as you 156 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:30,664 highlighted , it's related to anti 157 00:05:30,664 --> 00:05:32,887 satellite capability . So just leave it 158 00:05:32,887 --> 00:05:35,209 there and then separately , you , there 159 00:05:35,220 --> 00:05:37,260 were some reports that uh there was 160 00:05:37,269 --> 00:05:40,079 another Houthi attack this morning in 161 00:05:40,089 --> 00:05:42,200 the Red Sea . Can you confirm that or 162 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,145 tell us whether or tell us whether 163 00:05:44,145 --> 00:05:46,145 there was an incident today ? I , I 164 00:05:46,145 --> 00:05:48,256 cannot , I know that as you've seen , 165 00:05:48,256 --> 00:05:50,256 uh , Centcom has been issuing daily 166 00:05:50,256 --> 00:05:52,367 press releases on any activity in the 167 00:05:52,367 --> 00:05:54,589 Red Sea . So , uh , if there has been , 168 00:05:54,589 --> 00:05:56,811 then I would keep an eye out for that . 169 00:05:56,811 --> 00:05:58,922 Iris . I think one of the things , uh 170 00:05:58,922 --> 00:05:58,790 Kirby said with some of the intel is 171 00:05:58,799 --> 00:06:01,021 months and potentially years old . When 172 00:06:01,021 --> 00:06:03,243 did the secretary , when was he briefed 173 00:06:03,243 --> 00:06:05,243 on it ? Yeah . So I don't , I'm not 174 00:06:05,243 --> 00:06:07,355 gonna provide a specific date . I can 175 00:06:07,355 --> 00:06:09,521 tell you he's tracking this particular 176 00:06:09,521 --> 00:06:11,688 issue , an unrelated note . Uh I think 177 00:06:11,688 --> 00:06:11,679 the last attack against us troops in 178 00:06:11,690 --> 00:06:14,399 Iraq and Syria was February 4th . Um , 179 00:06:14,410 --> 00:06:16,959 do you believe this sort of tit for tat , 180 00:06:16,970 --> 00:06:20,190 the , the current , um , uh , sort of , 181 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,630 uh round of tit for tat attacks is now 182 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,700 over ? Um , you're right , we have not 183 00:06:25,709 --> 00:06:28,220 seen an attack against us forces in 184 00:06:28,230 --> 00:06:31,459 Iraq and Syria since uh February 4th , 185 00:06:31,470 --> 00:06:33,581 but we'll see . Right . I mean , as , 186 00:06:33,581 --> 00:06:35,748 as we have been , we will maintain our 187 00:06:35,748 --> 00:06:37,859 focus on the mission that we're there 188 00:06:37,859 --> 00:06:40,220 to do , which is the enduring defeat of 189 00:06:40,230 --> 00:06:42,339 ISIS . But again , if our forces are 190 00:06:42,350 --> 00:06:44,440 threatened or attacked , we maintain 191 00:06:44,450 --> 00:06:46,617 the inherent right of self defense and 192 00:06:46,617 --> 00:06:48,839 we'll take appropriate action ended the 193 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:51,172 retaliation for the January 28th attack . 194 00:06:51,172 --> 00:06:53,283 Or is that an indefinite ? Again , as 195 00:06:53,283 --> 00:06:55,283 we've talked about before , I'm not 196 00:06:55,283 --> 00:06:57,394 going to speculate or , or talk about 197 00:06:57,394 --> 00:06:59,394 potential future operations . Other 198 00:06:59,394 --> 00:07:01,561 than , again , we reserve the right to 199 00:07:01,561 --> 00:07:01,470 protect our forces and we'll take 200 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,480 appropriate action , Joseph , the 201 00:07:04,649 --> 00:07:07,619 question , does the department assess 202 00:07:07,630 --> 00:07:10,040 that um you know , the US response , 203 00:07:10,049 --> 00:07:12,869 there's 22 rounds of responses to these 204 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,209 attacks led to this . I mean , what 205 00:07:15,220 --> 00:07:17,387 seems to be one of the longest periods 206 00:07:17,387 --> 00:07:19,442 that US forces haven't been attacked 207 00:07:19,442 --> 00:07:21,609 since October ? I mean , that's really 208 00:07:21,609 --> 00:07:23,831 a question for the Iranian proxy groups 209 00:07:23,831 --> 00:07:25,942 to answer again . We'll see , I don't 210 00:07:25,942 --> 00:07:27,998 want to predict the future . We're , 211 00:07:27,998 --> 00:07:30,053 we're staying focused on the mission 212 00:07:30,053 --> 00:07:29,760 that we were sent there to do , uh 213 00:07:29,769 --> 00:07:32,760 which is again to uh participate in the 214 00:07:32,769 --> 00:07:34,936 international coalition to defeat ISIS 215 00:07:34,936 --> 00:07:38,519 just a second one . US officials told 216 00:07:38,529 --> 00:07:40,751 the Wall Street Journal uh yesterday or 217 00:07:40,751 --> 00:07:42,862 the day before that the US is probing 218 00:07:42,862 --> 00:07:45,029 Israeli strikes in Gaza and the use of 219 00:07:45,029 --> 00:07:47,279 white phosphorus in Lebanon from I 220 00:07:47,290 --> 00:07:49,589 think October attacks , including one 221 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,260 of uh an Israeli attack on the Jabaliya 222 00:07:52,269 --> 00:07:54,549 refugee camp that killed more than 100 223 00:07:54,559 --> 00:07:57,269 and 25 . Uh people . Do you have any 224 00:07:57,279 --> 00:07:59,390 comment on that . Is the department , 225 00:07:59,390 --> 00:08:01,223 does the department have anybody 226 00:08:01,223 --> 00:08:03,690 looking into any Israeli attacks using 227 00:08:03,700 --> 00:08:05,950 us weapons ? Yeah , I'm not aware of 228 00:08:05,959 --> 00:08:08,350 any Joseph a as far as the , the white 229 00:08:08,359 --> 00:08:10,303 phosphorus , I've seen those press 230 00:08:10,303 --> 00:08:12,359 reports . Uh , and , and you've seen 231 00:08:12,359 --> 00:08:14,581 that the State Department , uh , has an 232 00:08:14,581 --> 00:08:16,692 effort underway . So I'd refer you to 233 00:08:16,692 --> 00:08:18,915 them for any questions about that . You 234 00:08:18,915 --> 00:08:18,059 mentioned the white phosphorous about 235 00:08:18,070 --> 00:08:21,049 the attacks in Gaza . Uh I'm not 236 00:08:21,059 --> 00:08:23,329 tracking the US Department of Defense 237 00:08:23,339 --> 00:08:26,170 conducting any investigations into Gaza 238 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,790 Tom . Thanks General . Uh Mr Kirby said 239 00:08:29,799 --> 00:08:32,450 the um the new space capability , space 240 00:08:32,460 --> 00:08:34,516 based capability was troubling , how 241 00:08:34,516 --> 00:08:36,659 troubled or how concerned is the 242 00:08:36,669 --> 00:08:39,330 Pentagon ? Well , again , I'm not gonna 243 00:08:39,340 --> 00:08:41,340 be able to get into any specifics 244 00:08:41,349 --> 00:08:43,571 regarding this particular threat due to 245 00:08:43,571 --> 00:08:46,179 the classification . Um you know , on 246 00:08:46,190 --> 00:08:48,412 any given day , the , the Department of 247 00:08:48,412 --> 00:08:50,468 Defense monitors threats from around 248 00:08:50,468 --> 00:08:52,523 the world . We work hard to mitigate 249 00:08:52,523 --> 00:08:54,412 those threats . Uh And we'll take 250 00:08:54,412 --> 00:08:56,468 appropriate action in defense of the 251 00:08:56,468 --> 00:08:58,579 nation . And so today is no different 252 00:08:58,579 --> 00:09:00,690 separately . Um Could you please give 253 00:09:00,690 --> 00:09:02,801 an assessment of how effective the US 254 00:09:02,801 --> 00:09:05,309 led um campaign has been at degrading 255 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:09,070 houthi capabilities ? Um in 256 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,739 terms of like , well , we're still 257 00:09:11,750 --> 00:09:13,972 seeing , you know , numerous , numerous 258 00:09:13,972 --> 00:09:16,194 attacks and then self defense strikes . 259 00:09:16,194 --> 00:09:18,760 Um The idea of this was to obviously 260 00:09:18,770 --> 00:09:20,937 act as a deterrent and also to degrade 261 00:09:20,937 --> 00:09:24,530 the capabilities . So the idea was to 262 00:09:24,539 --> 00:09:27,710 respond to a threat uh that the Houthis 263 00:09:27,770 --> 00:09:31,020 have been presenting since mid November , 264 00:09:31,030 --> 00:09:32,919 right when they started to attack 265 00:09:32,919 --> 00:09:34,919 international shipping . And so the 266 00:09:34,919 --> 00:09:37,030 United States in concert with over 20 267 00:09:37,030 --> 00:09:39,252 different nations have come together to 268 00:09:39,252 --> 00:09:41,252 help protect international shipping 269 00:09:41,252 --> 00:09:44,150 through the Red Sea . Uh as well as 270 00:09:44,159 --> 00:09:46,429 work with international partners to 271 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:48,162 conduct strikes against houthi 272 00:09:48,162 --> 00:09:49,773 capability and degrade those 273 00:09:49,773 --> 00:09:51,996 capabilities . And so we do assess that 274 00:09:51,996 --> 00:09:53,909 we have degraded uh some of their 275 00:09:53,919 --> 00:09:56,200 capability . Uh And again , we will 276 00:09:56,210 --> 00:09:58,400 continue to take appropriate action to 277 00:09:58,409 --> 00:10:00,919 prevent uh attacks against 278 00:10:00,929 --> 00:10:03,640 international shipping . Um as you've 279 00:10:03,650 --> 00:10:05,761 seen , and as you've highlighted , uh 280 00:10:05,761 --> 00:10:07,928 we continue to see those attacks occur 281 00:10:07,928 --> 00:10:10,094 and we'll continue to take appropriate 282 00:10:10,094 --> 00:10:12,206 action . Our focus here though is not 283 00:10:12,206 --> 00:10:14,719 on fighting the Houthis . It's on two 284 00:10:14,729 --> 00:10:16,719 things . One , ensuring that uh 285 00:10:16,729 --> 00:10:18,951 international shipping and Mariners are 286 00:10:18,951 --> 00:10:21,007 able to transit this uh this Red Sea 287 00:10:21,007 --> 00:10:23,409 safely and securely and two as 288 00:10:23,419 --> 00:10:25,586 necessary , degrading their capability 289 00:10:25,586 --> 00:10:27,752 to mitigate and prevent these kinds of 290 00:10:27,752 --> 00:10:30,559 attacks from happening , an assessment 291 00:10:30,570 --> 00:10:32,792 of the extent to which that degradation 292 00:10:32,792 --> 00:10:34,737 has occurred because the attack is 293 00:10:34,737 --> 00:10:36,626 still , we're , we're continually 294 00:10:36,626 --> 00:10:40,140 assessing . Well , I I 295 00:10:40,150 --> 00:10:43,409 mean , uh again , we're gonna continue 296 00:10:43,419 --> 00:10:45,586 working closely with the international 297 00:10:45,586 --> 00:10:47,808 community to , to , to help degrade and 298 00:10:47,808 --> 00:10:49,975 disrupt their ability to conduct these 299 00:10:49,975 --> 00:10:52,086 attacks . And ultimately , again , as 300 00:10:52,086 --> 00:10:54,197 I've highlighted before , the Houthis 301 00:10:54,197 --> 00:10:56,252 have to ask themselves , what , what 302 00:10:56,252 --> 00:10:55,979 price are they willing to pay to take 303 00:10:55,989 --> 00:10:58,169 on the international community uh and 304 00:10:58,179 --> 00:11:01,179 have these capabilities degraded uh and 305 00:11:01,190 --> 00:11:03,301 ultimately put their own people in in 306 00:11:03,301 --> 00:11:05,468 danger . Thank you , general . So , in 307 00:11:05,468 --> 00:11:07,468 the last 24 hours , there's been um 308 00:11:07,468 --> 00:11:10,210 escalation and , and series of attacks 309 00:11:10,219 --> 00:11:12,330 by Israel and Lebanon that led to the 310 00:11:12,330 --> 00:11:14,386 death of in one incident , family of 311 00:11:14,386 --> 00:11:16,330 seven , including two Children and 312 00:11:16,330 --> 00:11:19,809 another one mother and her two Children . 313 00:11:19,820 --> 00:11:21,969 First of all , is , is the department 314 00:11:22,059 --> 00:11:24,760 concerned about this escalation going 315 00:11:24,770 --> 00:11:26,881 beyond what we've seen so far between 316 00:11:26,881 --> 00:11:29,400 Lebanon and Israel . And my question is , 317 00:11:29,409 --> 00:11:31,409 despite everything we hear from you 318 00:11:31,409 --> 00:11:33,076 from the secretary , from the 319 00:11:33,076 --> 00:11:35,131 department about the need to protect 320 00:11:35,131 --> 00:11:37,353 civilians , the toll keeps on growing , 321 00:11:37,353 --> 00:11:39,729 whether in Gaza , the West Bank and or 322 00:11:39,739 --> 00:11:42,799 Lebanon , does the secretary think he 323 00:11:42,809 --> 00:11:44,920 needs to have a different approach to 324 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:46,865 his Israeli counterparts to make , 325 00:11:46,865 --> 00:11:49,031 maybe make his message clearer on this 326 00:11:49,031 --> 00:11:52,520 issue ? Yeah , thanks Fadi . Um So on 327 00:11:52,530 --> 00:11:54,586 your first question , I mean , we've 328 00:11:54,586 --> 00:11:57,030 been concerned about escalation along 329 00:11:57,039 --> 00:12:00,049 the Israel Lebanon border since Hamas 330 00:12:00,059 --> 00:12:02,960 attacked Israel on October 7th , as you 331 00:12:02,969 --> 00:12:06,210 know . Uh And so we have uh continued 332 00:12:06,219 --> 00:12:09,000 to uh maintain a very um 333 00:12:10,349 --> 00:12:12,071 focused effort to prevent that 334 00:12:12,071 --> 00:12:14,071 escalation from happening as you've 335 00:12:14,071 --> 00:12:15,960 seen in many of the readouts that 336 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:17,849 Secretary Austin has had with his 337 00:12:17,849 --> 00:12:19,960 Israeli counterpart . This has been a 338 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,182 topic of discussion and you've heard uh 339 00:12:22,182 --> 00:12:24,238 others like uh the National Security 340 00:12:24,238 --> 00:12:26,349 adviser just yesterday talk about the 341 00:12:26,349 --> 00:12:28,293 efforts that are underway to uh to 342 00:12:28,293 --> 00:12:30,516 deescalated that situation . So again , 343 00:12:30,516 --> 00:12:32,682 we'll continue to stay focused on that 344 00:12:32,682 --> 00:12:34,849 as it relates to civilian casualties . 345 00:12:34,849 --> 00:12:36,900 Uh as we've said , the loss of any 346 00:12:36,909 --> 00:12:39,070 innocent lives or is tragic , uh , 347 00:12:39,090 --> 00:12:42,349 whether it's Palestinian or Israeli , 348 00:12:42,700 --> 00:12:44,799 uh at the end of the day , this is 349 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,250 Israel's campaign . It's Israel's 350 00:12:47,260 --> 00:12:49,427 operations . So I'm not going to speak 351 00:12:49,427 --> 00:12:51,760 to their operations . Other than to say , 352 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:53,871 we can't be any more clear that we do 353 00:12:53,871 --> 00:12:55,927 not want to see the loss of innocent 354 00:12:55,927 --> 00:12:58,149 lives . We also recognize the fact that 355 00:12:58,149 --> 00:13:00,316 Israel has an inherent right to defend 356 00:13:00,316 --> 00:13:02,538 itself against future terrorist attacks 357 00:13:02,538 --> 00:13:04,704 and that they're fighting an adversary 358 00:13:04,704 --> 00:13:06,649 that has embedded itself among the 359 00:13:06,649 --> 00:13:08,871 civilian population . So we're going to 360 00:13:08,871 --> 00:13:11,093 continue to encourage them and continue 361 00:13:11,093 --> 00:13:13,204 to expect them to abide by the law of 362 00:13:13,204 --> 00:13:15,260 armed conflict and the international 363 00:13:15,260 --> 00:13:17,038 humanitarian law . Uh And we'll 364 00:13:17,038 --> 00:13:19,204 continue to , uh you know , again , as 365 00:13:19,204 --> 00:13:18,510 you saw in the read out last night that 366 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,580 the secretary had with his counterpart , 367 00:13:21,590 --> 00:13:23,534 uh talking about the importance of 368 00:13:23,534 --> 00:13:25,760 taking civilian safety into account uh 369 00:13:25,770 --> 00:13:27,770 in , in advance of any operations , 370 00:13:28,159 --> 00:13:30,179 excuse me . But when , when the 371 00:13:30,190 --> 00:13:32,340 department provides advice , 372 00:13:32,349 --> 00:13:35,479 intelligence weapons and support like 373 00:13:35,489 --> 00:13:38,010 this , and you talk about an enemy that 374 00:13:38,020 --> 00:13:40,131 is embedded among civilians , I guess 375 00:13:40,131 --> 00:13:42,242 you're referring to Gaza , what about 376 00:13:42,242 --> 00:13:44,298 the West Bank ? What about Lebanon ? 377 00:13:44,298 --> 00:13:46,464 And then to say that it's up to Israel 378 00:13:46,464 --> 00:13:48,929 to decide what to do . Isn't this 379 00:13:48,940 --> 00:13:52,119 department taking actually an important 380 00:13:52,130 --> 00:13:54,419 role in enabling Israel's actions ? 381 00:13:54,669 --> 00:13:56,700 We're taking an important role in 382 00:13:56,710 --> 00:13:59,530 helping Israel defend itself but also 383 00:13:59,539 --> 00:14:02,530 encouraging and helping to facilitate 384 00:14:02,539 --> 00:14:04,261 humanitarian assistance to the 385 00:14:04,261 --> 00:14:06,428 Palestinian people again at the end of 386 00:14:06,428 --> 00:14:09,169 the day , the goal here is that Hamas 387 00:14:09,179 --> 00:14:11,530 is defeated and so that peace and 388 00:14:11,539 --> 00:14:13,595 security can return to this region . 389 00:14:13,595 --> 00:14:15,880 And as you've heard , not only uh the 390 00:14:15,890 --> 00:14:17,890 White House say , but us say , work 391 00:14:17,890 --> 00:14:19,890 toward a two state solution so that 392 00:14:19,890 --> 00:14:22,001 Israelis and Palestinians can live in 393 00:14:22,001 --> 00:14:24,789 this area uh with security guaranteed 394 00:14:24,799 --> 00:14:26,910 for both . Let me go on to some other 395 00:14:26,910 --> 00:14:29,789 questions here . Jeff General , thanks 396 00:14:29,799 --> 00:14:33,090 very much . Given the deals that Russia 397 00:14:33,099 --> 00:14:35,266 has made and the help that it's gotten 398 00:14:35,266 --> 00:14:38,440 from countries like North Korea , Iran 399 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:40,649 support from China . Is there any 400 00:14:40,649 --> 00:14:43,260 concern at the Pentagon that the new 401 00:14:43,700 --> 00:14:46,099 space based anti satellite capability 402 00:14:46,219 --> 00:14:48,419 it's developing is a result of 403 00:14:48,429 --> 00:14:50,207 collaboration with any other US 404 00:14:50,207 --> 00:14:52,262 adversaries . And is there a concern 405 00:14:52,262 --> 00:14:54,318 perhaps that Russia because of other 406 00:14:54,318 --> 00:14:56,429 deals to get help with the , with the 407 00:14:56,429 --> 00:14:58,651 war in Ukraine might have shared any of 408 00:14:58,651 --> 00:15:00,719 this technology with other US 409 00:15:00,729 --> 00:15:03,239 adversaries . Yeah , thanks Jeff again 410 00:15:03,250 --> 00:15:05,472 as it relates to this particular threat 411 00:15:05,472 --> 00:15:07,770 beyond what Mr Kirby provided in his 412 00:15:07,780 --> 00:15:09,780 briefing earlier . I'm I'm just not 413 00:15:09,780 --> 00:15:12,002 going to have any additional details to 414 00:15:12,002 --> 00:15:14,169 provide . Thanks , Chris on the Houthi 415 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,447 capabilities that have been degraded . 416 00:15:17,099 --> 00:15:19,409 S's interdicted vessels with weapons 417 00:15:19,419 --> 00:15:22,609 bound for Yemen . Um Are , are the 418 00:15:22,719 --> 00:15:24,608 Houthis regenerating any of these 419 00:15:24,608 --> 00:15:26,275 capabilities ? Are they being 420 00:15:26,275 --> 00:15:29,369 successfully resupplied ? Um Look , I'm 421 00:15:29,380 --> 00:15:30,991 not gonna go on any specific 422 00:15:30,991 --> 00:15:33,158 intelligence , but we do know that the 423 00:15:33,158 --> 00:15:36,049 Houthis are resourced um and supported 424 00:15:36,059 --> 00:15:39,799 by Iran And so , uh again , you 425 00:15:39,809 --> 00:15:42,031 know , that obviously is highlighted in 426 00:15:42,031 --> 00:15:44,330 the , the statements that , that Suncom 427 00:15:44,340 --> 00:15:47,929 has put out . Uh And so , uh again , um 428 00:15:48,710 --> 00:15:50,877 you know , that's something that we're 429 00:15:50,877 --> 00:15:53,099 gonna continue to take seriously uh and 430 00:15:53,099 --> 00:15:55,200 continue to attempt to uh mitigate . 431 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,293 Thank you . Let me go to the phone here . 432 00:15:58,293 --> 00:16:00,549 Uh Jeff Schole task and purpose . Thank 433 00:16:00,559 --> 00:16:03,010 you . I know this may be a question for 434 00:16:03,020 --> 00:16:05,390 Soviet Premier Putin , but the God 435 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:07,511 awful thing that the Russians want to 436 00:16:07,511 --> 00:16:09,929 put into space . Is it like Goldeneye ? 437 00:16:09,940 --> 00:16:12,890 The thing from the 1995 Bond movie ? 438 00:16:12,989 --> 00:16:15,390 And is the , is it time for all of us 439 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,400 from the ground to join Jed and the 440 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:18,400 Wolverines , 441 00:16:21,090 --> 00:16:23,201 Jeff , I'm not sure how to respond to 442 00:16:23,201 --> 00:16:27,099 that . Um I guess 443 00:16:27,109 --> 00:16:29,053 we just have to live and let die . 444 00:16:31,179 --> 00:16:34,330 All right , let me go on to uh JJ Green 445 00:16:34,340 --> 00:16:37,390 WTO P sorry . 446 00:16:38,150 --> 00:16:40,419 Um General , thank you for doing this . 447 00:16:40,429 --> 00:16:43,570 Um , back again on the Russian advance 448 00:16:43,820 --> 00:16:45,931 regarding space based weapons . I , I 449 00:16:45,931 --> 00:16:47,487 don't want to ask you about 450 00:16:47,487 --> 00:16:49,598 intelligence or , or you know details 451 00:16:49,598 --> 00:16:51,764 about what , what , what's known about 452 00:16:51,764 --> 00:16:53,487 it . I , I wanna ask something 453 00:16:53,487 --> 00:16:56,030 different but related . Russia has been 454 00:16:56,039 --> 00:16:58,489 pretty aggressive in space for a while 455 00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:00,979 now and you know , going back to 2020 456 00:17:00,989 --> 00:17:03,549 when Russian uh satellites were 457 00:17:03,559 --> 00:17:06,239 stalking us satellites in 2022 . A 458 00:17:06,260 --> 00:17:08,439 Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 459 00:17:08,650 --> 00:17:10,500 official said that commercial 460 00:17:10,510 --> 00:17:12,788 satellites might be legitimate targets . 461 00:17:12,788 --> 00:17:14,843 So my question is what approach does 462 00:17:14,843 --> 00:17:17,939 the Pentagon take routinely to , uh , 463 00:17:17,949 --> 00:17:21,640 one protecting us , us 464 00:17:21,650 --> 00:17:24,630 satellites and , and us military , uh , 465 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,119 I guess , assets , et cetera , but in 466 00:17:27,130 --> 00:17:29,352 general , it's just keeping an eye on , 467 00:17:29,352 --> 00:17:31,408 on what Russia is up to and in space 468 00:17:31,408 --> 00:17:33,574 because of its aggressive and somewhat 469 00:17:33,574 --> 00:17:35,741 reckless behavior in the past . Yeah , 470 00:17:35,741 --> 00:17:37,519 thanks JJ . It's , it's a great 471 00:17:37,519 --> 00:17:39,519 question and , uh , as I alluded to 472 00:17:39,519 --> 00:17:41,780 earlier , you know , there is a 473 00:17:41,790 --> 00:17:45,099 recognition , uh that space has 474 00:17:45,109 --> 00:17:48,630 continued to become more congested . Uh 475 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:50,751 as you highlight , you know , all all 476 00:17:50,751 --> 00:17:52,751 the capabilities that are there but 477 00:17:52,751 --> 00:17:54,918 also more contested in terms of seeing 478 00:17:54,918 --> 00:17:56,973 strategic competitors like China and 479 00:17:56,973 --> 00:17:59,170 Russia putting capabilities into space 480 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:01,470 that could threaten not only national 481 00:18:01,470 --> 00:18:03,192 security capabilities but also 482 00:18:03,192 --> 00:18:06,040 commercial uh and private capabilities 483 00:18:06,050 --> 00:18:08,540 that are , that are in space . Uh And 484 00:18:08,550 --> 00:18:11,959 so , um again , you have us space 485 00:18:11,969 --> 00:18:13,969 command uh which provides the 486 00:18:13,979 --> 00:18:17,109 operational capability to integrate uh 487 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:19,439 national uh or military space 488 00:18:19,449 --> 00:18:21,560 capabilities , national defense space 489 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,949 capabilities , uh which can include uh 490 00:18:24,959 --> 00:18:27,015 ensuring that we're able to maintain 491 00:18:27,015 --> 00:18:29,070 our operations , but also looking at 492 00:18:29,070 --> 00:18:31,181 protecting and defending capabilities 493 00:18:31,181 --> 00:18:33,329 in space , not gonna go into uh 494 00:18:33,339 --> 00:18:37,010 discussing any classified capabilities . 495 00:18:37,219 --> 00:18:39,800 Um But part of this includes looking at 496 00:18:39,810 --> 00:18:43,260 things like how we um present 497 00:18:43,270 --> 00:18:45,492 capabilities in space . And what I mean 498 00:18:45,492 --> 00:18:47,680 by that is uh disaggregated right 499 00:18:47,689 --> 00:18:50,959 previously , uh in a simpler time , you 500 00:18:50,969 --> 00:18:53,160 would put a large exquisite satellite 501 00:18:53,170 --> 00:18:54,837 in the space that had lots of 502 00:18:54,837 --> 00:18:57,059 capabilities , that's a single point of 503 00:18:57,059 --> 00:18:58,948 failure versus going to much more 504 00:18:58,948 --> 00:19:01,170 numerous smaller satellites that , that 505 00:19:01,170 --> 00:19:03,170 are uh less expensive , that can be 506 00:19:03,170 --> 00:19:05,599 replaced more quickly . Uh thus making 507 00:19:05,609 --> 00:19:08,319 it harder to , to take down a system , 508 00:19:08,329 --> 00:19:10,607 uh , you know , in , in one fell swoop . 509 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,862 So there's multiple different ways that 510 00:19:12,862 --> 00:19:14,918 we look at this . Uh But that's what 511 00:19:14,918 --> 00:19:17,084 the US space force comes to work every 512 00:19:17,084 --> 00:19:19,251 single day , looking at , uh to ensure 513 00:19:19,251 --> 00:19:21,029 that our national interests are 514 00:19:21,029 --> 00:19:23,251 protected in space . Uh A as well as uh 515 00:19:23,251 --> 00:19:25,251 working with allies and partners on 516 00:19:25,251 --> 00:19:27,307 that same issue . All right . Yeah , 517 00:19:27,307 --> 00:19:29,380 thank you . Uh According to us , 518 00:19:29,390 --> 00:19:31,557 ambassador to Turkey , Jeffrey Blake , 519 00:19:31,557 --> 00:19:33,668 the Department of Defense is building 520 00:19:33,668 --> 00:19:35,612 three munition lines in Texas . Uh 521 00:19:35,612 --> 00:19:37,779 Together with one of the Turkish state 522 00:19:37,779 --> 00:19:40,099 owned defense corporations . Uh the 523 00:19:40,109 --> 00:19:42,579 demands for especially 100 and 55 524 00:19:42,589 --> 00:19:44,700 millimeter rounds increased after the 525 00:19:44,700 --> 00:19:46,533 invasion of Ukraine . And uh the 526 00:19:46,533 --> 00:19:48,367 mechanical and chemical industry 527 00:19:48,367 --> 00:19:50,533 Corporation of Turkey produced them uh 528 00:19:50,533 --> 00:19:52,589 in some capacity in Turkey . Uh What 529 00:19:52,589 --> 00:19:54,650 are the details of the uh cooper 530 00:19:54,660 --> 00:19:57,979 operation ? And uh what is the expected 531 00:19:57,989 --> 00:20:00,180 monthly production capacity of this 532 00:20:00,189 --> 00:20:02,900 Texas compound ? And the last one is , 533 00:20:02,989 --> 00:20:05,156 do you have details such as chances uh 534 00:20:05,156 --> 00:20:08,199 for a US sale or delivery of this to 535 00:20:08,209 --> 00:20:11,239 Israel in the future ? I apologize . 536 00:20:11,250 --> 00:20:13,417 I'm not sure . I fully understand your 537 00:20:13,417 --> 00:20:15,528 question . There was a lot there . Uh 538 00:20:15,528 --> 00:20:17,361 Sorry . Yeah , the Department of 539 00:20:17,361 --> 00:20:19,306 Defense is building three munition 540 00:20:19,306 --> 00:20:21,472 lines in Texas uh with Turkish Defense 541 00:20:21,472 --> 00:20:24,260 Corporation . And what kind of cooper 542 00:20:24,459 --> 00:20:26,681 is there . Can you give us some details 543 00:20:26,681 --> 00:20:28,959 on that ? Yeah , I , I just don't know . 544 00:20:28,959 --> 00:20:31,181 Um I , I have to take that question for 545 00:20:31,181 --> 00:20:33,515 you . Thank you very much . Yes , ma'am . 546 00:20:33,515 --> 00:20:35,626 Thanks . This is Tina from Al Jazeera 547 00:20:35,626 --> 00:20:37,681 English . Uh I just wanted to see if 548 00:20:37,681 --> 00:20:37,449 you could give us anything further on 549 00:20:37,459 --> 00:20:40,300 Guiana and the urgent uh us military 550 00:20:40,310 --> 00:20:42,310 assistance that has been reportedly 551 00:20:42,310 --> 00:20:44,088 headed over there . Do you have 552 00:20:44,088 --> 00:20:46,310 anything further on us on that for us ? 553 00:20:46,310 --> 00:20:49,099 Um I , I don't and I don't want to wing 554 00:20:49,109 --> 00:20:51,109 it from the podium here . So let me 555 00:20:51,109 --> 00:20:53,109 take that question . Um Yeah , I'll 556 00:20:53,109 --> 00:20:55,053 come back to you . Ok . Time for a 557 00:20:55,053 --> 00:20:57,276 couple more . Yes . Moving back to that 558 00:20:57,276 --> 00:20:59,220 uh anti satellite weapon Russia is 559 00:20:59,220 --> 00:21:01,170 developing um did releasing this 560 00:21:01,180 --> 00:21:03,069 national security threat publicly 561 00:21:03,069 --> 00:21:05,180 yesterday , hurt national security in 562 00:21:05,180 --> 00:21:07,609 any way or put anyone from the defense 563 00:21:07,619 --> 00:21:09,397 department at a disadvantage in 564 00:21:09,397 --> 00:21:10,952 speaking with their Russian 565 00:21:10,952 --> 00:21:13,175 counterparts . Um Well , look , I'm not 566 00:21:13,175 --> 00:21:15,286 going to characterize it . It , it is 567 00:21:15,286 --> 00:21:17,439 what it is . Mr Kirby addressed this 568 00:21:17,449 --> 00:21:19,671 from the podium today in terms of , you 569 00:21:19,671 --> 00:21:21,560 know , the , the declassification 570 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:23,969 processes and procedures . Uh So I will 571 00:21:23,979 --> 00:21:25,868 do my part in terms of protecting 572 00:21:25,868 --> 00:21:28,090 classified information and refrain from 573 00:21:28,090 --> 00:21:29,812 commenting any further on that 574 00:21:29,812 --> 00:21:31,979 particular topic . Is there a timeline 575 00:21:31,979 --> 00:21:33,939 for Secretary Austin to review the 576 00:21:33,949 --> 00:21:36,660 internal review on his hospitalization 577 00:21:36,670 --> 00:21:38,670 and how that was handled ? Yeah , I 578 00:21:38,670 --> 00:21:40,892 don't , I don't have a timeline . Um as 579 00:21:40,892 --> 00:21:43,059 you know , we've highlighted , he does 580 00:21:43,059 --> 00:21:45,170 have it for review . Um And certainly 581 00:21:45,170 --> 00:21:47,392 again , we're committed to providing as 582 00:21:47,392 --> 00:21:49,503 much information about that review uh 583 00:21:49,503 --> 00:21:51,559 as we can . And so we'll continue to 584 00:21:51,559 --> 00:21:53,726 keep you updated on that front . Thank 585 00:21:53,726 --> 00:21:55,892 you . And last question , go to Mike . 586 00:21:55,892 --> 00:21:57,892 Uh the uh thanks Pat , the Atlantic 587 00:21:57,892 --> 00:22:00,059 Resolve IG report that just came out . 588 00:22:00,059 --> 00:22:03,530 Uh The IG uh noted that Ukraine is 589 00:22:03,540 --> 00:22:05,429 still operating under basically a 590 00:22:05,429 --> 00:22:08,369 Soviet style doctrine in the field . 591 00:22:08,380 --> 00:22:11,750 Like I was wondering , so I was under 592 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:13,816 the impression over the last several 593 00:22:13,816 --> 00:22:15,839 months that uh we , the US has been 594 00:22:15,849 --> 00:22:19,079 trying to train them to operate under a 595 00:22:19,089 --> 00:22:22,869 more Western US style of war . Has that 596 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,729 been uh a success that they , they're 597 00:22:25,739 --> 00:22:27,795 still fighting the same way and have 598 00:22:27,795 --> 00:22:31,260 not moved in 78 months . Well , 599 00:22:31,290 --> 00:22:34,140 um there's a lot there in that question , 600 00:22:34,150 --> 00:22:36,479 obviously , um depending on how deep 601 00:22:36,489 --> 00:22:38,545 you want to go , I would say broadly 602 00:22:38,545 --> 00:22:40,545 speaking , I think the results that 603 00:22:40,545 --> 00:22:42,378 Ukraine demonstrated after being 604 00:22:42,378 --> 00:22:44,433 invaded almost two years ago , speak 605 00:22:44,433 --> 00:22:46,267 for themselves in terms of their 606 00:22:46,267 --> 00:22:48,430 ability to improvise , overcome and 607 00:22:48,439 --> 00:22:50,661 adapt on the battlefield . Had that not 608 00:22:50,661 --> 00:22:52,550 been the case , we'd be in a much 609 00:22:52,550 --> 00:22:54,883 different place right now . Um You know , 610 00:22:54,883 --> 00:22:56,939 instead of Ukraine having taken back 611 00:22:56,939 --> 00:22:59,050 50% of the territory that the Russian 612 00:22:59,050 --> 00:23:02,010 military uh occupied at one point that 613 00:23:02,020 --> 00:23:05,130 said , uh as you've seen today , uh it 614 00:23:05,140 --> 00:23:07,349 continues to be a tough fight and the 615 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:08,970 Russians continue to throw a 616 00:23:08,970 --> 00:23:11,081 significant amount of capability into 617 00:23:11,081 --> 00:23:13,248 the fight , um you know , consequences 618 00:23:13,248 --> 00:23:15,989 be damned . Uh And so we are going to 619 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,167 continue to support them . We're going 620 00:23:18,167 --> 00:23:20,750 to continue to advise as best we can . 621 00:23:20,979 --> 00:23:23,146 Uh But at the end of the day , it's up 622 00:23:23,146 --> 00:23:25,219 to Ukraine to plan and execute its 623 00:23:25,229 --> 00:23:28,270 operations . Um But what we will do and 624 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,502 what we are doing is continuing to work 625 00:23:30,502 --> 00:23:32,502 very closely with the international 626 00:23:32,502 --> 00:23:34,669 community . Uh We just had the Ukraine 627 00:23:34,669 --> 00:23:36,780 Defense contact group yesterday uh to 628 00:23:36,780 --> 00:23:38,836 ensure that we understand what their 629 00:23:38,836 --> 00:23:41,002 most urgent needs are , ensure that we 630 00:23:41,002 --> 00:23:43,113 can work together to get that to them 631 00:23:43,113 --> 00:23:45,280 as quickly as possible . But then also 632 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,391 importantly , work with the Ukrainian 633 00:23:47,391 --> 00:23:49,613 military on what its future force looks 634 00:23:49,613 --> 00:23:51,558 like so that they can deter future 635 00:23:51,558 --> 00:23:53,669 aggression from Russia uh and prevent 636 00:23:53,669 --> 00:23:55,724 uh another invasion from happening . 637 00:23:55,859 --> 00:23:58,081 Thanks very much , everybody appreciate 638 00:23:58,081 --> 00:23:57,560 it .