WEBVTT 00:02.509 --> 00:04.509 All right . Well , good afternoon , 00:04.509 --> 00:06.565 everyone . Just a few things here at 00:06.565 --> 00:08.731 the top and then I'll be happy to take 00:08.731 --> 00:10.898 your questions first . This week marks 00:10.898 --> 00:13.065 the three year anniversary of August . 00:13.065 --> 00:15.009 The historical trilateral security 00:15.009 --> 00:17.231 partnership between the United States , 00:17.231 --> 00:19.500 Australia and the United Kingdom aimed 00:19.510 --> 00:21.621 at bolstering each country's security 00:21.621 --> 00:23.732 and defense interests and promoting a 00:23.732 --> 00:26.590 free and open Indo Pacific region . In 00:26.600 --> 00:28.711 the past year , our nations have made 00:28.711 --> 00:30.767 significant strides towards ensuring 00:30.767 --> 00:32.900 Australia possesses conventionally 00:32.909 --> 00:34.790 armed nuclear powered submarine 00:34.799 --> 00:37.549 capability . Notably last month , over 00:37.560 --> 00:39.630 30 royal Australian Navy sailors 00:39.639 --> 00:41.909 performed maintenance on the US S 00:41.919 --> 00:44.909 Hawaii , a US nuclear powered submarine 00:44.919 --> 00:47.141 for the first time in Australian waters 00:47.830 --> 00:49.552 and beyond submarines . Aus is 00:49.552 --> 00:51.799 advancing next generation technologies 00:51.810 --> 00:54.349 from un crude maritime systems to A I 00:54.669 --> 00:57.299 enabled sensing systems that enhance 00:57.310 --> 00:59.369 our ability to detect , decide and 00:59.380 --> 01:01.491 respond to threats more effectively . 01:01.860 --> 01:03.860 We in the Department of Defense are 01:03.860 --> 01:05.860 excited about the progress that has 01:05.860 --> 01:07.860 been made to date regarding Aus and 01:07.860 --> 01:09.527 we'll keep you updated on new 01:09.527 --> 01:11.582 developments as we move forward . In 01:11.582 --> 01:13.804 shifting gears . Secretary Austin spoke 01:13.804 --> 01:15.582 by phone today with his Israeli 01:15.582 --> 01:17.582 counterpart to touch base regarding 01:17.582 --> 01:19.693 ongoing tensions in the Middle East . 01:19.693 --> 01:21.527 And the threats facing Israel to 01:21.527 --> 01:21.230 include the Houthi missile attack . 01:21.239 --> 01:23.260 Over the weekend , the secretary 01:23.269 --> 01:25.325 reiterated the need for a cease fire 01:25.325 --> 01:27.491 and hostage deal and the importance of 01:27.491 --> 01:29.658 reducing tensions through diplomacy to 01:29.658 --> 01:31.547 prevent the potential for a wider 01:31.547 --> 01:34.080 regional conflict . Secretary Austin 01:34.089 --> 01:36.033 also spoke by phone today with his 01:36.033 --> 01:38.033 Ukrainian counterpart , Minister of 01:38.033 --> 01:40.250 Defense Rustam Umarov to discuss 01:40.260 --> 01:42.204 Ukraine's battlefield dynamics and 01:42.204 --> 01:44.038 security assistance priorities . 01:44.279 --> 01:46.480 Minister Umarov provided an update on 01:46.489 --> 01:48.489 Ukraine's operations and capability 01:48.489 --> 01:50.489 needs and the leaders discussed the 01:50.489 --> 01:53.029 successful 24th Ukraine defense contact 01:53.040 --> 01:55.230 group group meeting held at Ramstein 01:55.239 --> 01:57.389 air Base , Germany on September 6th , 01:58.019 --> 02:00.040 Secretary Austin reaffirmed the US 02:00.050 --> 02:02.161 commitment to working with allies and 02:02.161 --> 02:04.106 partners to ensure Ukraine has the 02:04.106 --> 02:06.272 tools it needs to prevail in its fight 02:06.272 --> 02:08.328 against Russian aggression . The two 02:08.328 --> 02:10.272 leaders pledged to remain in close 02:10.272 --> 02:12.217 contact and I'll conclude with two 02:12.217 --> 02:14.383 important items for recognition . This 02:14.383 --> 02:16.272 month , the Department of Defense 02:16.272 --> 02:18.383 celebrates national Hispanic heritage 02:18.383 --> 02:20.383 by recognizing the contributions of 02:20.383 --> 02:22.383 Americans who trace their origin or 02:22.383 --> 02:24.661 descent to Mexico , Puerto Rico , Cuba , 02:24.661 --> 02:26.661 Central and South America and other 02:26.661 --> 02:28.717 Spanish cultures . As we honor their 02:28.717 --> 02:30.772 heritage and contributions . We also 02:30.772 --> 02:32.606 recognize the vital impact these 02:32.606 --> 02:34.717 teammates have made to the safety and 02:34.717 --> 02:36.883 security of our nation . And finally , 02:36.883 --> 02:39.161 on behalf of the Department of Defense , 02:39.161 --> 02:41.217 I want to wish the United States Air 02:41.217 --> 02:43.439 Force a early happy birthday tomorrow , 02:43.439 --> 02:45.661 September 18th , the Air Force turns 77 02:45.661 --> 02:47.717 and that's 77 years of delivering on 02:47.717 --> 02:49.717 our mission in defense of our great 02:49.717 --> 02:51.717 nation to fly . Fight win air power 02:51.717 --> 02:53.772 anytime , anywhere . So to my fellow 02:53.772 --> 02:55.717 airmen , congratulations and happy 02:55.717 --> 02:58.050 birthday . And finally , before I close , 02:58.050 --> 03:00.217 I wanna welcome the marine cohort from 03:00.217 --> 03:02.328 the defense information school . I've 03:02.328 --> 03:04.328 asked them to be here today to help 03:04.328 --> 03:06.272 provide backup in case you ask any 03:06.272 --> 03:08.383 really tough questions . So that will 03:08.383 --> 03:10.720 uh start with A P Thank you General 03:10.729 --> 03:12.896 Ryder . So a little privilege from the 03:12.896 --> 03:15.062 podium uh shout out to the Air Force . 03:15.062 --> 03:18.919 All right . Um So the pager attack , 03:18.929 --> 03:21.270 has the defense department reached out 03:21.279 --> 03:24.000 at all to Israel ? Has Israel let you 03:24.009 --> 03:26.176 know at all if they had a role in this 03:26.176 --> 03:28.750 attack and given that this pager attack 03:28.759 --> 03:31.199 is kind of exposing a vulnerability . 03:31.210 --> 03:33.266 Are there any members of the defense 03:33.266 --> 03:36.419 department still using pagers ? Yeah . 03:37.110 --> 03:40.889 Um Last question , I , I don't think so . 03:41.020 --> 03:44.470 Um uh in terms of the , the reports on 03:44.479 --> 03:46.535 the attacks , Tara , you know , I've 03:46.535 --> 03:48.590 certainly seen that I , I just don't 03:48.590 --> 03:50.923 have anything to provide in that regard , 03:50.923 --> 03:50.630 obviously , something that we're 03:50.639 --> 03:52.806 continuing to monitor , but don't have 03:52.806 --> 03:55.028 any information to provide separately . 03:55.028 --> 03:56.806 There's been , I think up to 28 03:56.806 --> 03:58.830 different incursions by Russian and 03:58.839 --> 04:01.889 Chinese aircraft around Alaska in the 04:01.899 --> 04:04.149 last several weeks . Um Kind of an 04:04.160 --> 04:07.089 uptick and just wondering uh are you 04:07.100 --> 04:09.322 concerned about this ? Uh what is going 04:09.322 --> 04:12.029 on from your point of view ? Um Well , 04:12.039 --> 04:14.389 a as I , I think you heard uh my 04:14.399 --> 04:16.621 colleague Sabrina mentioned yesterday . 04:16.621 --> 04:18.899 I mean , we're certainly aware of that . 04:18.899 --> 04:21.121 Uh to my knowledge , those aircraft did 04:21.121 --> 04:23.799 not enter into us airspace . Uh And 04:23.809 --> 04:26.031 it's not the first time that we've seen 04:26.031 --> 04:28.142 the Russians and the Chinese flying , 04:28.142 --> 04:30.600 uh you know , in , in the vicinity . Uh 04:30.609 --> 04:32.776 And that's something that we obviously 04:32.776 --> 04:34.998 closely monitor and it's also something 04:34.998 --> 04:37.220 that we're prepared to respond to , but 04:37.220 --> 04:39.276 in this particular case , it did not 04:39.276 --> 04:39.239 pose a threat to , to us national 04:39.250 --> 04:41.250 security . And I'd refer you to the 04:41.250 --> 04:43.194 Russians in terms of why they feel 04:43.194 --> 04:45.417 compelled to want to look at the United 04:45.417 --> 04:47.472 States a little bit closer . But the 04:47.472 --> 04:47.269 numbers are certainly on the rise . 04:47.279 --> 04:49.559 There's been many more incursions than 04:49.570 --> 04:52.399 over pastures . Yeah . Again , look , I , 04:52.410 --> 04:54.521 you know , I'm not going to speak for 04:54.521 --> 04:56.466 the Russians . Um You , you know , 04:56.466 --> 04:58.577 they've had an exercise uh recently , 04:58.577 --> 05:00.743 uh we've talked about that . Um But in 05:00.743 --> 05:02.743 terms of why those numbers are what 05:02.743 --> 05:04.799 they are , again , I'd refer to them 05:04.799 --> 05:07.077 other than to say again over the years , 05:07.077 --> 05:06.799 you know , you see those numbers 05:06.809 --> 05:08.642 fluctuate something that we will 05:08.642 --> 05:10.809 continue to keep an eye on but doesn't 05:10.809 --> 05:12.865 pose a threat from our perspective . 05:12.865 --> 05:15.031 Laura , thank you . I'm just following 05:15.031 --> 05:17.142 up on the pager's question . Does dod 05:17.142 --> 05:19.031 assess that this was an attack by 05:19.031 --> 05:21.179 Israel ? And do you consider this an 05:21.190 --> 05:23.079 escalation of the tensions on the 05:23.079 --> 05:26.079 northern border as far as what it is ? 05:26.089 --> 05:28.200 Again , I just don't have anything to 05:28.200 --> 05:30.311 provide . Um you know , and as far as 05:30.311 --> 05:32.429 escalation , broadly speaking in the 05:32.440 --> 05:34.162 Middle East , I mean , this is 05:34.162 --> 05:35.996 something that we've been paying 05:35.996 --> 05:38.218 attention to for more than , you know , 05:38.218 --> 05:40.384 almost a year now since Hamas's attack 05:40.384 --> 05:42.607 on Israel on October 7th . And so we've 05:42.607 --> 05:44.329 been very , very focused . The 05:44.329 --> 05:46.496 secretary has been very , very focused 05:46.496 --> 05:49.309 on ensuring that this does not that the 05:49.320 --> 05:51.487 tensions in the region do not escalate 05:51.487 --> 05:53.709 into a wider regional conflict . And as 05:53.709 --> 05:55.598 I highlighted at the top , that's 05:55.598 --> 05:57.820 something that continues to stay top of 05:57.820 --> 05:59.987 mind . The rhetoric coming from Israel 05:59.987 --> 06:01.987 in the last couple of days does dod 06:01.987 --> 06:04.920 assess that some kind of incursion 06:04.929 --> 06:07.390 invasion by Israel into Lebanon is more 06:07.399 --> 06:10.100 likely now or is imminent . Well again , 06:10.109 --> 06:12.331 as I highlighted , I mean , we strongly 06:12.331 --> 06:14.553 believe that the best way to reduce the 06:14.553 --> 06:16.442 tensions along the Israel Lebanon 06:16.442 --> 06:18.498 border is through diplomacy . Uh and 06:18.498 --> 06:20.665 that will continue to be our focus . I 06:20.665 --> 06:22.887 know , you know , beyond the Department 06:22.887 --> 06:24.998 of Defense , uh the US government has 06:24.998 --> 06:27.053 most recently uh sent delegations to 06:27.053 --> 06:29.109 include uh Ambassador Hochstein over 06:29.109 --> 06:31.579 there to discuss ways to resolve these 06:31.589 --> 06:33.811 tensions . And so that will continue to 06:33.811 --> 06:35.867 be our focus as far as any potential 06:35.867 --> 06:37.978 Israeli military operations . I'm not 06:37.978 --> 06:40.519 tracking anything in terms of ground 06:40.529 --> 06:42.489 incursions at the moment , but I'd 06:42.500 --> 06:44.444 refer you to the IDF to talk about 06:44.444 --> 06:46.667 their operations . Let me go to Carla . 06:46.667 --> 06:49.380 Thank you Pat reaction to Russia's 06:49.390 --> 06:51.549 announcement about trying to scale up 06:51.559 --> 06:55.209 to 1.5 million members of their armed 06:55.220 --> 06:58.119 forces . What are the concerns at the 06:58.130 --> 07:00.369 Pentagon ? Is that a realistic 07:00.380 --> 07:02.339 possibility ? And just kind of in 07:02.350 --> 07:06.260 general , has Russia improved or 07:06.269 --> 07:08.899 has the war in Ukraine ? Um , 07:10.079 --> 07:13.570 giving them AAA lot of blows , um , as 07:13.579 --> 07:16.529 a military writ large . Yeah . Well , 07:16.540 --> 07:18.651 you know , without , again , speaking 07:18.651 --> 07:20.873 for the Russian Ministry of Defense , I 07:20.873 --> 07:22.929 mean , we certainly have to take the 07:22.929 --> 07:24.984 rhetoric seriously , I think . And , 07:24.984 --> 07:27.207 and you've heard many throughout the US 07:27.207 --> 07:29.151 to include Secretary a Austin talk 07:29.151 --> 07:31.959 about the incredible uh negative impact 07:31.970 --> 07:34.299 that Russia's war in Ukraine has had on 07:34.309 --> 07:36.420 the Russian military . I mean , the , 07:36.420 --> 07:38.476 the rates of casualties that they're 07:38.476 --> 07:40.820 experiencing are staggering . You know , 07:40.829 --> 07:42.940 the , the estimate earlier this month 07:42.940 --> 07:45.051 that the secretary provided was , you 07:45.051 --> 07:47.149 know , over 350,000 casualties . So 07:47.160 --> 07:49.570 certainly , uh in that regard , it's 07:49.579 --> 07:51.746 not surprising that the Russians would 07:51.746 --> 07:54.790 be looking at ways to uh augment their 07:54.799 --> 07:56.750 force going forward whether or not 07:56.760 --> 07:59.269 that's sustainable from an economic 07:59.279 --> 08:00.946 standpoint , from a readiness 08:00.946 --> 08:02.980 standpoint . Um Those are all good 08:02.989 --> 08:04.989 questions but best addressed by the 08:04.989 --> 08:06.989 Russian military itself . Let me go 08:06.989 --> 08:09.880 over here or did the pager attack 08:09.890 --> 08:12.057 regardless of who was responsible come 08:12.057 --> 08:14.279 up in the call between Secretary Austin 08:14.279 --> 08:16.446 and his Israeli counterpart ? Yeah , I 08:16.446 --> 08:18.668 appreciate the question or I just don't 08:18.668 --> 08:17.899 have anything to provide beyond what I 08:17.910 --> 08:20.132 gave you at the top . When was the call 08:20.132 --> 08:22.354 scheduled ? Was it scheduled in advance 08:22.354 --> 08:24.521 of the attack ? Or only afterwards . I 08:24.521 --> 08:26.743 don't provide details on when calls are 08:26.743 --> 08:28.966 scheduled or , or when they happen . Um 08:28.966 --> 08:30.910 I've given you information here in 08:30.910 --> 08:33.077 terms of the , the nature of that call 08:33.077 --> 08:32.400 and that's all I'm going to be able to 08:32.409 --> 08:34.742 provide . Has there been a change to us ? 08:34.742 --> 08:36.576 Force posture after the attack ? 08:36.576 --> 08:38.631 There's been no change to us . Force 08:38.631 --> 08:40.742 posture , Tom ? Thank you , General . 08:40.742 --> 08:43.919 Um The uh the supposedly hypersonic 08:43.929 --> 08:46.150 missile attack on Israel on Sunday . 08:46.210 --> 08:48.432 Has the Pentagon come to any assessment 08:48.432 --> 08:50.710 about what exactly that projectile was ? 08:50.710 --> 08:52.710 Um , what I would tell you , Tom is 08:52.710 --> 08:55.140 that we've seen uh the houthis employ 08:55.150 --> 08:57.150 cruise missiles , be missiles , but 08:57.150 --> 08:59.261 we've not seen anything to this stage 08:59.261 --> 09:02.380 which we would term as a hypersonic 09:02.390 --> 09:04.429 missile . So you categorize it as a 09:04.489 --> 09:06.822 cruise missile , I believe in this case , 09:06.822 --> 09:08.656 it was a ballistic missile . But 09:08.656 --> 09:11.020 separately Prime Minister Al Sidani of 09:11.030 --> 09:12.974 Iraq yesterday told Bloomberg that 09:13.380 --> 09:15.380 there's going to be an announcement 09:15.380 --> 09:17.960 soon of us troop withdrawals from Iraq . 09:18.090 --> 09:20.090 Is there any update you can give us 09:20.090 --> 09:22.034 from the podium about the state of 09:22.034 --> 09:24.257 those talks or when we might be able to 09:24.257 --> 09:26.368 expect an announcement ? Yeah , I , I 09:26.368 --> 09:28.590 certainly don't have an announcement to 09:28.590 --> 09:30.701 make today and , and not gonna uh get 09:30.701 --> 09:32.868 in the business of providing timelines 09:32.868 --> 09:34.812 from the podium here as , as we've 09:34.812 --> 09:36.701 talked about in the past , uh the 09:36.701 --> 09:38.812 United States and Iraq uh at , at the 09:38.812 --> 09:40.701 most senior levels from the Prime 09:40.701 --> 09:42.479 Minister and the president have 09:42.479 --> 09:42.289 highlighted the fact that we are in 09:42.299 --> 09:43.966 discussions to look at how we 09:43.966 --> 09:46.559 transition from the global coalition to 09:46.570 --> 09:48.890 an enduring us , Iraq bilateral 09:48.900 --> 09:51.178 security cooper operation relationship . 09:51.178 --> 09:53.344 And so don't have anything to announce 09:53.344 --> 09:55.289 today , but certainly when we do , 09:55.289 --> 09:57.456 we'll make sure to keep you informed . 09:57.456 --> 09:59.567 Yes , sir . Uh Thank you general . So 09:59.567 --> 10:01.678 Hamas leaders are going to open their 10:01.678 --> 10:05.289 offices in Baghdad being projected by 10:05.479 --> 10:08.609 Iraqi Hezbollah fighters . How does 10:09.030 --> 10:11.359 strengthen the Islamic resistance in 10:11.369 --> 10:14.169 Iraq and in the region ? Um Let me , 10:14.179 --> 10:16.346 let me make sure I understand . Um how 10:16.346 --> 10:19.289 does opening a Hamas office affect Isis 10:19.299 --> 10:22.640 who open their offices in Baghdad that 10:22.650 --> 10:25.030 are protected by Iraqi Hezbollah 10:25.039 --> 10:27.080 fighters ? Do you think it will 10:27.489 --> 10:29.359 escalate the region and further 10:29.369 --> 10:32.080 strengthen the Islamic resistance ? Um 10:32.609 --> 10:35.969 You know what I would say is um the , 10:35.979 --> 10:38.049 the commonality here is the common 10:38.059 --> 10:40.281 denominator is Hamas , of course , is a 10:40.281 --> 10:42.640 terrorist organization as is ISIS . Um 10:42.650 --> 10:45.159 I'll refer you to the Iraqi government 10:45.169 --> 10:48.090 to address the issue of Hamas opening 10:48.099 --> 10:51.840 up an office in Iraq . Our 10:51.849 --> 10:54.219 focus as it relates to our relationship 10:54.229 --> 10:57.599 with Iraq and on the regional security 10:57.609 --> 10:59.940 situation is on the enduring defeat of 10:59.950 --> 11:02.117 ISIS . That's why we have forces there 11:02.117 --> 11:04.283 at the invitation of the government of 11:04.283 --> 11:06.979 Iraq to help advise and train Iraqi 11:06.989 --> 11:09.109 forces . But as I just mentioned to 11:09.119 --> 11:11.008 your colleague , you know , we're 11:11.008 --> 11:13.230 having those discussions about what the 11:13.230 --> 11:15.230 transition looks like . Recognizing 11:15.230 --> 11:17.341 that ISIS remains a persistent threat 11:17.341 --> 11:19.890 broadly speaking , particularly in 11:20.039 --> 11:22.169 Syria . And so we'll continue to stay 11:22.179 --> 11:24.130 focused on working with our Iraqi 11:24.140 --> 11:26.299 partners to ensure regional security 11:26.309 --> 11:28.253 and stability . Oh , by the way of 11:28.253 --> 11:30.420 which Iraq plays a very prominent role 11:30.420 --> 11:32.476 in the region in that regard . Thank 11:32.476 --> 11:34.587 you , Joseph . Got one on the Houthis 11:34.587 --> 11:36.642 and one on the Lebanon Israel border 11:37.080 --> 11:39.479 yesterday . They said they've shot down , 11:39.489 --> 11:42.590 I think three us drones over the past 11:42.599 --> 11:45.400 week or so , bringing what they claim 11:45.409 --> 11:48.580 total to be 10 . Uh Since I think 11:48.590 --> 11:50.812 around October , you guys have referred 11:50.812 --> 11:54.179 us to Centcom S referred to me . Sorry , 11:54.250 --> 11:56.417 they referred you to me . Uh No , they 11:56.417 --> 11:58.417 just haven't had any , they've been 11:58.417 --> 12:00.694 aware of reporting and that's about it . 12:00.694 --> 12:02.917 So can you confirm anything in terms of 12:02.917 --> 12:02.849 any details in terms of the number of 12:02.859 --> 12:05.081 drones that have been taken down if any 12:05.081 --> 12:07.359 have been shot down over the last week ? 12:07.359 --> 12:09.470 Yeah . What , what I would tell you , 12:09.470 --> 12:11.581 Joseph broadly speaking for operation 12:11.581 --> 12:13.581 security reasons . I'm not gonna be 12:13.581 --> 12:15.692 able to provide a specific number . I 12:15.692 --> 12:15.539 can tell you that that number is not 12:15.549 --> 12:18.000 accurate , it's too high . Um I will 12:18.010 --> 12:20.440 say that we can confirm that yesterday 12:20.450 --> 12:22.672 an MQ nine did crash in the vicinity of 12:22.672 --> 12:25.219 Yemen that that is being investigated , 12:25.400 --> 12:27.622 but I don't have any additional details 12:27.622 --> 12:30.510 to share the second one does the 12:31.210 --> 12:32.877 because the secretary or this 12:32.877 --> 12:34.877 department believed that an Israeli 12:34.877 --> 12:37.109 military campaign would help achieve 12:37.119 --> 12:38.890 their stated goal of returning 12:39.000 --> 12:40.944 displaced Israelis to the northern 12:40.944 --> 12:43.111 border . Um , you know , I'm not gonna 12:43.111 --> 12:45.167 stand up here and , and provide a uh 12:45.167 --> 12:48.950 analysis or , um , you know , 12:48.960 --> 12:52.140 my perspectives on Israeli operations . 12:52.150 --> 12:54.429 Um We've been very clear on several 12:54.440 --> 12:56.607 things . One we support Israel's right 12:56.607 --> 12:59.830 to self defense . Uh We believe that uh 12:59.840 --> 13:01.869 they have , you know , they face a 13:01.880 --> 13:03.936 significant number of threats in the 13:03.936 --> 13:06.102 region to include Lebanese Hezbollah , 13:06.102 --> 13:08.950 uh who started rocket attacks on 13:08.960 --> 13:11.330 October 8th after Hamas attacked . So 13:11.340 --> 13:13.562 we're committed to ensuring that Israel 13:13.562 --> 13:15.618 has what it needs to defend itself . 13:15.618 --> 13:17.729 But we also have been very clear that 13:17.729 --> 13:19.673 we do not want to see the conflict 13:19.673 --> 13:21.840 between Israel and Hamas escalate into 13:21.840 --> 13:24.062 a wider regional conflict . And so that 13:24.062 --> 13:26.062 continues to be a key focus of this 13:26.062 --> 13:27.729 department and the broader US 13:27.729 --> 13:29.729 government . Let me go to the phone 13:29.729 --> 13:29.380 here real quick . Uh Phil Stewart 13:29.390 --> 13:32.669 Reuters . Hey , thank you . Um Just a 13:32.679 --> 13:34.640 couple of questions on the Lebanon 13:34.650 --> 13:36.872 pager blast . First of all , um was the 13:36.880 --> 13:38.936 United States involved in any way in 13:38.936 --> 13:41.190 those blasts ? Secondly , do you 13:41.200 --> 13:43.679 believe that uh it's had an impact , 13:43.690 --> 13:45.840 material impact on Hezbollah and its 13:45.849 --> 13:48.630 capabilities ? And lastly does do the 13:48.640 --> 13:52.469 pager blast fit into uh the US goals of 13:52.479 --> 13:56.250 de escalation and uh and seeking uh a 13:56.260 --> 13:58.038 resolution with Lebanon through 13:58.038 --> 14:00.200 diplomacy ? Thanks . Yeah , thanks , 14:00.210 --> 14:02.559 Phil . Um Again , I I don't have any 14:02.570 --> 14:05.159 details to provide on the the reports 14:05.169 --> 14:07.820 of the the pager blast . I can tell you , 14:07.919 --> 14:10.141 you know , to my knowledge , there's no 14:10.141 --> 14:12.650 us involvement uh in , in this at all . 14:12.719 --> 14:14.608 Again , it's something that we're 14:14.608 --> 14:16.859 monitoring . Uh and in terms of uh 14:16.869 --> 14:19.036 potential escalation , you know , I go 14:19.036 --> 14:21.840 back to what I said earlier in terms of 14:21.849 --> 14:24.071 a key focus for this department and the 14:24.071 --> 14:27.150 US government writ large is on working 14:27.159 --> 14:29.750 with partners in the region to include 14:29.760 --> 14:33.539 Israel to prevent the conflict between 14:33.599 --> 14:36.840 Israel and Hamas from spiraling into a 14:36.849 --> 14:38.627 wider conflict . And , and that 14:38.627 --> 14:40.793 includes the tensions along the Israel 14:40.793 --> 14:42.960 Lebanon border . And so we'll continue 14:43.000 --> 14:45.169 to strongly advocate for a cease fire 14:45.469 --> 14:47.479 and the release of the hostages and 14:47.489 --> 14:49.711 we'll continue to strongly advocate for 14:49.711 --> 14:52.059 a diplomatic resolution to the tensions 14:52.070 --> 14:54.880 that we're seeing along the Israel 14:54.890 --> 14:58.159 Lebanon border . Um Were there any us 14:58.169 --> 15:00.630 raids or strikes against Isis over the 15:00.640 --> 15:04.549 weekend ? Um Ellie , what I'm tracking 15:04.559 --> 15:08.059 that there was uh an operation , a 15:08.070 --> 15:11.150 partnered operation in Syria 15:11.210 --> 15:14.880 to go after ISIS targets . We'll have 15:14.890 --> 15:17.057 more information to provide on that in 15:17.057 --> 15:19.369 the near future . Injuries to us . 15:19.469 --> 15:21.580 Service members not to my knowledge . 15:21.580 --> 15:23.691 No , no , Joe . Thank you . Could you 15:23.691 --> 15:27.049 confirm if Secretary Austin is going to 15:27.059 --> 15:29.630 the region next week and mainly to 15:29.640 --> 15:31.890 Israel ? Yeah , I don't have anything 15:31.900 --> 15:35.289 to announce uh today Joe on in terms of 15:35.299 --> 15:37.659 future travel , uh when and if we do , 15:37.669 --> 15:39.558 we'll certainly let you know , uh 15:39.558 --> 15:41.780 another thing , uh if you could confirm 15:41.780 --> 15:44.400 as well . Uh Do you know if , if this 15:44.409 --> 15:48.210 building is conducting kind of 15:48.219 --> 15:51.169 direct or indirect communications with 15:51.179 --> 15:53.960 the Houthis . Um I , I don't have 15:53.969 --> 15:56.136 anything to provide from the podium in 15:56.136 --> 15:58.136 terms of dod communication with the 15:58.136 --> 15:59.802 houthis . Certainly there are 15:59.802 --> 16:01.858 interlocutors that the United States 16:01.858 --> 16:03.747 works with uh to communicate with 16:03.747 --> 16:05.969 various actors in the region to include 16:05.969 --> 16:08.025 Iran . Um I'll just leave it there . 16:08.669 --> 16:10.891 Yes , sir . Thank you , General . Um uh 16:10.891 --> 16:13.359 regarding to the uh recently call 16:13.369 --> 16:15.409 between Austin and his Israeli 16:15.419 --> 16:19.080 counterpart , Austin reaffirmed that 16:19.090 --> 16:21.130 Israel should give diplomatic 16:21.140 --> 16:24.849 negotiations time to succeed . So , um 16:24.859 --> 16:27.650 do you have concerns that Israel may 16:27.659 --> 16:30.729 take steps that could lead to a wider 16:30.739 --> 16:33.890 war and what does that mean ? Well , I 16:33.900 --> 16:35.956 think the concerns are that uh the , 16:35.956 --> 16:39.109 the tensions in the region could spiral 16:39.119 --> 16:41.450 into a wider war and of course , that 16:41.460 --> 16:44.609 involves all parties , uh you know , so , 16:44.859 --> 16:46.929 so as we see Israel continue to be 16:46.940 --> 16:49.179 threatened by groups like Lebanese 16:49.190 --> 16:51.570 Hezbollah . Um as we highlighted in 16:51.580 --> 16:53.440 that readout , uh the secretary 16:53.450 --> 16:55.530 believes that that Israel needs to 16:55.539 --> 16:58.409 allow time for uh the , the 16:58.419 --> 17:00.419 negotiations and the and the public 17:00.419 --> 17:02.530 diplomacy uh excuse me , diplomacy to 17:02.530 --> 17:05.060 work uh in order to ease those tensions . 17:05.170 --> 17:07.380 So , again , taking a step back here , 17:07.469 --> 17:10.130 um We , we again fully recognize that 17:10.140 --> 17:12.196 there are significant tensions right 17:12.196 --> 17:14.418 now in the region and we're going to do 17:14.418 --> 17:16.640 everything we can both from a deterrent 17:16.640 --> 17:18.807 standpoint , but also from a diplomacy 17:18.807 --> 17:20.918 standpoint to try to ensure that that 17:20.918 --> 17:22.751 does not become a wider regional 17:22.751 --> 17:24.729 conflict . Um Going back to Tara's 17:24.739 --> 17:26.683 question , I , I apologize . I , I 17:26.683 --> 17:28.850 wasn't focusing on something else so I 17:28.850 --> 17:32.800 wasn't quite sure hashtag 17:32.810 --> 17:36.770 77 all the way . Um Can I get rights to 17:36.780 --> 17:40.229 that ? By the way , I got it . Um When 17:40.239 --> 17:42.406 she asked whether this is a capability 17:42.406 --> 17:44.683 that the US has , what was your answer ? 17:44.683 --> 17:44.650 I wasn't quite sure what your response , 17:44.660 --> 17:46.938 which capability she was talking about . 17:46.938 --> 17:49.420 Uh pager . Uh Yeah , I just don't have 17:49.430 --> 17:52.170 anything on the pager explosions . Is 17:52.180 --> 17:54.069 this a capability that the United 17:54.069 --> 17:56.013 States has ? I , I just don't have 17:56.013 --> 17:57.902 anything on that . Ok . There's a 17:57.902 --> 18:00.124 follow on independent of all of this um 18:00.124 --> 18:02.189 ethically speaking , as a military 18:02.199 --> 18:05.239 officer , is this a capability that 18:05.250 --> 18:08.560 falls within the ethical conduct of a 18:08.569 --> 18:11.969 war ? I'm not a lawyer . I'm not again 18:11.979 --> 18:13.829 going to do a spot analysis on 18:14.030 --> 18:15.974 something that we've seen in press 18:15.974 --> 18:17.752 reports . I just don't have any 18:17.752 --> 18:20.030 information to provide on that . Sorry , 18:20.030 --> 18:22.086 let me go over here to Constantine . 18:22.086 --> 18:24.439 Thanks following up on the MQ nine that 18:24.449 --> 18:26.780 crashed . Are you able to say how many 18:26.790 --> 18:29.060 MQ nine drones the US has lost over 18:29.069 --> 18:33.069 Yemen to date . I am not again for 18:33.079 --> 18:35.190 operation security reasons . I'm just 18:35.190 --> 18:37.190 not gonna be able to , to provide a 18:37.190 --> 18:39.190 number um and just have to leave it 18:39.190 --> 18:41.301 there . Thanks time for a couple more 18:41.301 --> 18:43.468 to go to Mike and then J sorry , sorry 18:43.468 --> 18:45.635 for that . Um The uh chairman and vice 18:45.635 --> 18:47.857 chair of the Commission on the National 18:47.857 --> 18:49.746 Defense Strategy , Representative 18:49.746 --> 18:51.912 Harman and Ambassador Hay are gonna be 18:51.912 --> 18:53.968 testifying about their report that's 18:53.968 --> 18:56.301 just coming out before the hak tomorrow . 18:56.301 --> 18:58.246 It's pretty , it makes pretty grim 18:58.246 --> 18:58.040 reading . I've been going through it 18:58.050 --> 19:00.349 today . It says one of the things to 19:00.359 --> 19:02.581 say is that the military lacks both the 19:02.581 --> 19:04.780 capabilities and the capacity required 19:04.790 --> 19:06.660 to be confident it can deter and 19:06.670 --> 19:09.599 prevail in combat uh , among the other 19:09.609 --> 19:11.831 variety of happy news from that . But I 19:11.831 --> 19:14.053 was wondering if the secretary aware of 19:14.053 --> 19:16.220 this report and is the department have 19:16.220 --> 19:18.220 a statement during all about this ? 19:18.220 --> 19:20.331 Yeah , thanks Mike . I , I don't have 19:20.331 --> 19:20.329 anything to provide from the secretary 19:20.339 --> 19:22.506 on the report itself other than to say 19:22.506 --> 19:24.228 that , you know , as should be 19:24.228 --> 19:26.395 abundantly clear . Uh He comes to work 19:26.395 --> 19:28.890 every day focused on uh the nation's 19:28.900 --> 19:30.719 defense and on implementing the 19:30.729 --> 19:32.689 national defense strategy and that 19:32.699 --> 19:34.477 includes working with important 19:34.477 --> 19:36.588 partners like Congress to ensure that 19:36.588 --> 19:38.699 we have the funding and the resources 19:38.699 --> 19:38.689 and the personnel that we need to 19:38.699 --> 19:41.650 defend our country and deter uh attacks 19:41.660 --> 19:43.910 against the homeland . And , and I , 19:44.119 --> 19:46.175 you know , would go back to comments 19:46.175 --> 19:48.230 that he's made that we have the most 19:48.230 --> 19:50.063 combat credible , experienced uh 19:50.063 --> 19:52.230 military in the history of the world . 19:52.230 --> 19:54.341 Uh and every single day , the men and 19:54.341 --> 19:56.563 women uh who put on our uniform and our 19:56.563 --> 19:58.675 dod civilians come to work focused on 19:58.675 --> 20:00.897 making sure uh that our nation's safe . 20:00.897 --> 20:03.008 And so certainly we always welcome uh 20:03.008 --> 20:04.786 feedback from a variety of , of 20:04.786 --> 20:07.008 stakeholders and parties and how we can 20:07.008 --> 20:08.841 do things better . Um But in the 20:08.841 --> 20:11.008 meantime , we're gonna stay focused on 20:11.008 --> 20:10.430 defending the nation . Thanks J 20:12.579 --> 20:14.635 yesterday , the secretary encouraged 20:14.635 --> 20:16.857 the Israeli Defense Minister , go on to 20:16.857 --> 20:19.079 give more time for diplomacy . I mean , 20:19.079 --> 20:21.301 since the incident today in Lebanon , I 20:21.301 --> 20:20.869 know you don't have any details on it 20:20.880 --> 20:22.949 itself . But is the secretary more 20:22.959 --> 20:25.181 concerned or is he less concerned about 20:25.181 --> 20:27.237 the potential for tensions spiraling 20:27.237 --> 20:29.292 into water conflict ? Well , again , 20:29.292 --> 20:31.459 you know , this is something that he's 20:31.459 --> 20:33.681 been focused on since Hamas's attack on 20:33.681 --> 20:35.681 October 7th . And so it's something 20:35.681 --> 20:35.439 that he's going to continue to stay 20:35.449 --> 20:38.145 focused on as well as the broader us 20:38.155 --> 20:40.185 government . Thanks . No , and then 20:40.194 --> 20:42.250 we'll close it out with a cool , I'm 20:42.250 --> 20:44.416 sorry if I missed this . But could you 20:44.416 --> 20:46.472 give us an update on where the tr is 20:46.472 --> 20:48.361 and where its destination is also 20:48.361 --> 20:50.416 secondarily on whether a two carrier 20:50.416 --> 20:52.694 posture is again going to be necessary ? 20:53.574 --> 20:55.630 I don't have anything to announce in 20:55.630 --> 20:57.744 terms of , you know , broader carrier 20:57.755 --> 21:00.084 movements . Uh The tr is in the Indo 21:00.145 --> 21:02.312 Pacific Theater . I'd refer you to the 21:02.312 --> 21:04.478 Navy for any details on that front and 21:04.478 --> 21:06.534 close this out . Well , sir , I have 21:06.534 --> 21:09.709 two questions , please . 12 plus two 21:09.719 --> 21:11.939 meetings or summit going on in India , 21:11.949 --> 21:15.109 just finished between U and India , two 21:15.119 --> 21:18.599 plus two from here to from India . 21:18.890 --> 21:20.890 So any comments on those meetings . 21:20.890 --> 21:23.329 What fruits will be for the future at 21:23.339 --> 21:25.395 the highest level meetings will take 21:25.395 --> 21:27.339 place maybe here in Washington and 21:27.339 --> 21:30.709 second sir . Uh second , also quad 21:30.719 --> 21:32.869 meeting , quad summit is coming up uh 21:32.939 --> 21:36.150 in Delaware between the four countries 21:36.160 --> 21:38.819 squad under the leadership of President 21:38.829 --> 21:41.280 Biden and Prime Minister Modi . Of 21:41.290 --> 21:43.234 course . Yeah , I I appreciate the 21:43.234 --> 21:45.401 question . I don't have any updates to 21:45.401 --> 21:47.568 provide in terms of the , the two plus 21:47.568 --> 21:49.679 two agenda . And I'd refer you to the 21:49.679 --> 21:51.901 White House for any questions regarding 21:51.901 --> 21:54.012 uh the quad meeting other than to say 21:54.012 --> 21:56.068 as we've talked about before . Uh we 21:56.068 --> 21:58.179 very much appreciate the relationship 21:58.179 --> 22:00.179 that we have with India and we look 22:00.179 --> 22:02.401 forward to continuing to look for other 22:02.401 --> 22:02.364 opportunities to work together . Ok . 22:02.584 --> 22:04.695 So my question is sir , as far as the 22:04.695 --> 22:07.005 squad meeting , as well as this squad 22:07.145 --> 22:09.312 meeting is going on because there is a 22:09.312 --> 22:11.367 threat , threats are going on around 22:11.367 --> 22:13.534 the globe including in the Middle East 22:13.534 --> 22:15.724 and war between Russia and Ukraine and 22:15.734 --> 22:18.364 also tensions by China in the South 22:18.375 --> 22:20.805 China Sea among others . And are we 22:20.814 --> 22:24.145 expecting or maybe there is a peace in , 22:24.574 --> 22:27.964 in these nations from quad meetings or 22:27.984 --> 22:30.949 are we going for a bigger war or world 22:30.959 --> 22:34.550 War ? I um Wow , that's a big question . 22:34.689 --> 22:36.911 Um Well , certainly no one wants to see 22:36.920 --> 22:39.087 World War Three and I'd point you back 22:39.087 --> 22:41.309 to my earlier comments . That's why the 22:41.309 --> 22:43.476 department remains very , very focused 22:43.476 --> 22:46.030 on deterring aggression . Whether it be 22:46.040 --> 22:48.869 from the Iranians or the Russians or 22:48.880 --> 22:51.670 the Chinese . Um but also importantly , 22:51.680 --> 22:54.300 trying to prevent uh a wider conflict 22:54.310 --> 22:56.366 particularly in the Middle East from 22:56.366 --> 22:58.532 happening . Uh There is a lot going on 22:58.532 --> 23:00.532 in the world right now . Uh And the 23:00.532 --> 23:02.643 United States works very closely with 23:02.643 --> 23:04.588 our allies and partners to include 23:04.588 --> 23:06.532 India uh to try to ensure regional 23:06.532 --> 23:08.643 security and stability and peace . Uh 23:08.643 --> 23:10.366 And India of course , plays an 23:10.366 --> 23:12.588 important role in that in the community 23:12.588 --> 23:14.754 of nations . So we'll continue to work 23:14.754 --> 23:16.754 closely with our Indian partners in 23:16.754 --> 23:18.754 that regard . Thank you very much . 23:18.754 --> 23:17.790 Everybody appreciate it .