WEBVTT 00:06.440 --> 00:09.790 Good morning military operations in 00:09.790 --> 00:12.410 Afghanistan continue with our primary 00:12.410 --> 00:15.280 focus on the safety and security of the 00:15.280 --> 00:18.820 troops who remain in Kabul . On 00:18.820 --> 00:21.150 sunday U . S . Military forces 00:21.540 --> 00:23.818 conducted an unmanned over the horizon . 00:23.818 --> 00:26.110 Air strike on a vehicle known to be an 00:26.110 --> 00:29.240 imminent ISIS K . Threat . This self 00:29.240 --> 00:31.240 defense strike successfully hit the 00:31.240 --> 00:35.130 target near Kabul airport . Significant 00:35.130 --> 00:37.297 secondary explosions from the targeted 00:37.297 --> 00:39.520 vehicle indicated the presence of a 00:39.520 --> 00:41.980 substantial amount of explosive 00:41.990 --> 00:45.920 material . We are aware of reports of 00:45.920 --> 00:48.031 civilian casualties and we take these 00:48.031 --> 00:50.550 reports very seriously and we are 00:50.550 --> 00:52.960 continuing to assess the situation . 00:53.340 --> 00:57.100 Mhm . Separately at approximately 11 00:57.100 --> 01:00.560 p.m. Eastern time last night as many as 01:00.560 --> 01:03.300 five rockets were fired at the Kabul 01:03.300 --> 01:06.580 airport . U . S . Military forces 01:06.580 --> 01:09.440 successfully employed are force 01:09.440 --> 01:11.670 protection measures to thwart that 01:11.670 --> 01:14.410 attack . U . S . Forces retain the 01:14.410 --> 01:16.577 inherent right of self defense and are 01:16.577 --> 01:19.800 authorized to meet threats with a swift 01:19.890 --> 01:22.670 and forceful response . Force 01:22.670 --> 01:25.230 protection is paramount in this phase 01:25.230 --> 01:28.160 of the operation over the weekend and 01:28.160 --> 01:30.320 in today evacuation operations 01:30.320 --> 01:33.900 continued Yesterday . U.S . 01:33.900 --> 01:37.630 military aircraft all see 17s departed 01:37.630 --> 01:40.960 with approximately 1200 evacuees . 01:41.540 --> 01:43.762 In total , there were 28 flights out of 01:43.762 --> 01:46.370 Kabul Airport in the last 24 hours 01:46.370 --> 01:49.040 which included the remaining coalition 01:49.050 --> 01:52.950 departures . As 01:52.950 --> 01:54.720 of today . More than 01:54.720 --> 01:58.260 122,000 including 01:58.270 --> 02:00.780 5000 foreign Americans have been 02:00.780 --> 02:04.120 evacuated from Afghanistan . U . S . 02:04.120 --> 02:06.231 Military troops have shown tremendous 02:06.231 --> 02:08.176 bravery and compassion as they put 02:08.176 --> 02:10.990 themselves in harm's way to evacuate . 02:11.000 --> 02:13.890 As many american citizens and afghans 02:13.900 --> 02:16.450 as possible . During this operation 02:17.540 --> 02:19.700 that work by U . S . Service members 02:19.700 --> 02:22.420 continues across the globe at a number 02:22.420 --> 02:24.790 of intermediate staging bases and D . O . 02:24.790 --> 02:27.610 D . Installations in centcom more than 02:27.610 --> 02:30.520 27,000 passengers await follow on 02:30.520 --> 02:34.090 movement from six active locations In 02:34.090 --> 02:36.800 um three active locations currently 02:36.800 --> 02:39.200 have more than 22,000 passengers and 02:39.200 --> 02:42.910 today 17 flights will transport about 02:42.910 --> 02:46.180 3700 passengers to both Dulles 02:46.300 --> 02:47.800 International Airport with 02:47.800 --> 02:49.430 approximately 11 flights and 02:49.430 --> 02:51.990 Philadelphia International Airport . 02:52.010 --> 02:55.140 With six flights in North com there are 02:55.140 --> 02:58.710 nearly 13,000 passengers that remain at 02:58.710 --> 03:01.260 five different U . S . Installations . 03:01.840 --> 03:04.180 These numbers are a snapshot in time 03:04.320 --> 03:06.653 and movement of personnel is very fluid . 03:06.653 --> 03:09.270 We do not expect these passenger totals 03:09.320 --> 03:11.780 to match the total number of evacuees 03:11.780 --> 03:14.340 from Afghanistan nor will they match 03:14.350 --> 03:16.330 the total afghans arriving to the 03:16.330 --> 03:18.930 United States . The mission of the 03:18.930 --> 03:21.860 evacuation operation was to help as 03:21.860 --> 03:24.450 many people as possible leave 03:24.450 --> 03:27.270 Afghanistan . Some of these evacuees 03:27.270 --> 03:29.690 include included american citizens . 03:30.140 --> 03:32.140 Third country nationals are afghans 03:32.140 --> 03:34.140 whose credentials permitted them to 03:34.140 --> 03:37.030 otherwise depart without processing at 03:37.030 --> 03:40.580 a military installation . Military 03:40.580 --> 03:42.810 civilian contract personnel continue to 03:42.810 --> 03:45.340 work closely with both government and 03:45.340 --> 03:47.229 non governmental agencies to meet 03:47.229 --> 03:49.229 requirements and provide additional 03:49.229 --> 03:51.220 capabilities for families as they 03:51.220 --> 03:54.080 continue their transition . While 03:54.080 --> 03:56.302 operations in Afghanistan will conclude 03:56.302 --> 03:58.780 soon . The diode effort to support the 03:58.780 --> 04:01.730 inter agency is ongoing . Additionally , 04:01.740 --> 04:03.907 the Department of Defense continues to 04:03.907 --> 04:06.073 support humanitarian relief operations 04:06.073 --> 04:08.320 in response to national disasters here 04:08.320 --> 04:11.110 closer to home . In Haiti . The US 04:11.110 --> 04:14.320 military assets have flown 560 sorties 04:14.580 --> 04:17.030 providing rapid logistical and airlift 04:17.030 --> 04:19.560 support including delivery of more than 04:19.570 --> 04:23.260 348,000 pounds of eight 04:24.240 --> 04:26.296 on the golf course on the gulf coast 04:26.296 --> 04:28.650 with Hurricane IDa North com . As of 04:28.650 --> 04:30.650 this morning , in coordination with 04:30.650 --> 04:32.428 fema and our National Guard has 04:32.428 --> 04:34.950 activated more than 5200 personnel in 04:34.950 --> 04:38.030 Louisiana , Mississippi texas and 04:38.030 --> 04:40.460 Alabama . In response to the hurricane . 04:41.440 --> 04:43.162 They bring a variety of assets 04:43.162 --> 04:45.500 including high water vehicles , rotary 04:45.500 --> 04:47.260 lift and other transportation 04:47.270 --> 04:50.030 transportation capability to support 04:50.040 --> 04:52.740 recovery efforts . The U . S . Army 04:52.740 --> 04:54.796 Corps of Engineers is operational in 04:54.796 --> 04:56.629 New Orleans and is assessing the 04:56.629 --> 04:58.970 storm's impact . D . O . D . Stands 04:58.970 --> 05:02.100 ready to assist as requested by fema . 05:02.110 --> 05:03.110 Thank you . 05:08.340 --> 05:11.760 Mhm . Okay , I don't have anything to 05:11.760 --> 05:13.927 add . So we'll go to questions lead to 05:13.940 --> 05:16.530 uh general one quick follow up and then 05:16.530 --> 05:19.320 a question the Iran's , did they strike 05:19.320 --> 05:21.730 and hit all of the five rockets or did 05:21.730 --> 05:23.841 some land in areas where there's just 05:23.841 --> 05:26.990 no casualties . We assess the reporting 05:26.990 --> 05:29.420 from last night's uh rocket attack 05:29.420 --> 05:32.680 recess that five rockets were in the 05:32.680 --> 05:36.220 air and went three landed off the 05:36.220 --> 05:40.040 airfield were no effect and see RAM was 05:40.040 --> 05:42.970 able to effect and thwart the attack of 05:42.970 --> 05:46.020 one and the other rocket landed with no 05:46.020 --> 05:48.187 effect to the mission or any danger to 05:48.187 --> 05:51.370 our personnel . And then secondly on 05:51.370 --> 05:55.150 evacuees are , does the U . S . And the 05:55.150 --> 05:58.440 U . S . Military assess that the number 05:58.440 --> 06:01.060 of americans still in the country are 06:01.740 --> 06:03.796 only the ones that no longer want to 06:03.796 --> 06:05.962 leave are the ones who want to leave . 06:05.962 --> 06:08.184 Are they largely out now ? And it's our 06:08.184 --> 06:10.240 understanding that the evacuation of 06:10.240 --> 06:13.130 afghans is largely complete also . So 06:13.130 --> 06:16.160 are you now solely concentrating on 06:16.160 --> 06:18.150 just getting US troops out and 06:18.160 --> 06:20.720 equipment ? So just going back total , 06:20.730 --> 06:23.700 you know , 122,000 were evacuated 06:23.700 --> 06:27.420 approximately 5400 Americans . Um 06:27.430 --> 06:30.880 we continue to have the capability to 06:30.880 --> 06:33.640 evacuate and fly out those until the 06:33.640 --> 06:36.110 very end . But as you talk about active 06:36.120 --> 06:37.953 peace will continue to work with 06:37.953 --> 06:40.180 Department of State uh on that and 06:40.190 --> 06:42.270 continue evacuation and military 06:42.270 --> 06:44.790 operations . Yeah . To the State 06:44.790 --> 06:47.490 Department on on the numbers of 06:47.490 --> 06:49.823 americans they're still in contact with . 06:49.823 --> 06:51.823 That's that's something for them to 06:51.823 --> 06:54.046 speak to Tara . Um Could you both speak 06:54.046 --> 06:56.212 to the continuing rocket threat to the 06:56.212 --> 06:58.323 final planes that are leaving and the 06:58.323 --> 07:00.546 role of the serum is playing well . The 07:00.546 --> 07:02.546 serum be left behind ? Or is I mean 07:02.546 --> 07:04.657 since it's so vital to protecting the 07:04.657 --> 07:06.657 planes as they're leaving what will 07:06.657 --> 07:08.823 happen to the sea room after it goes . 07:08.823 --> 07:11.046 We certainly assess as the general said 07:11.046 --> 07:13.212 that there's a there's still an active 07:13.212 --> 07:16.970 threat uh various ways that we have to 07:16.970 --> 07:19.150 be prepared for and what I will tell 07:19.150 --> 07:21.250 you without getting into specific 07:21.840 --> 07:25.510 systems and uh and their 07:25.510 --> 07:27.454 availability which I think you can 07:27.454 --> 07:29.310 understand why we wouldn't uh we 07:29.310 --> 07:31.477 continue to have and will maintain the 07:31.477 --> 07:34.540 capability to uh protect ourselves and 07:34.540 --> 07:36.484 defend ourselves as we continue to 07:36.484 --> 07:38.596 complete the retrograde . And I think 07:38.596 --> 07:40.707 that's probably the best place to put 07:40.707 --> 07:42.818 it . Just one follow up please . Um , 07:42.818 --> 07:44.929 you know , a number of us have gotten 07:44.929 --> 07:47.040 reports from either american citizens 07:47.040 --> 07:49.262 or vulnerable afghans that are still on 07:49.262 --> 07:51.318 the ground and can't get through the 07:51.318 --> 07:53.373 gates anymore . They've been getting 07:53.373 --> 07:55.484 notices that the evacuation is over . 07:55.484 --> 07:57.596 Um , what happens next for those that 07:57.596 --> 07:59.596 are left behind ? Will there be any 07:59.596 --> 08:01.762 sort of military operation to help get 08:01.762 --> 08:03.873 them out of the country ? I think you 08:03.873 --> 08:06.096 heard Secretary Blinken talk about this 08:06.096 --> 08:09.160 that for uh , for americans uh 08:09.740 --> 08:12.220 and and other individuals 08:12.220 --> 08:15.760 that want to be able to leave 08:15.770 --> 08:18.910 Afghanistan after our withdrawal is 08:18.910 --> 08:21.132 complete . That the State Department is 08:21.132 --> 08:24.430 going to continue to work across many 08:24.430 --> 08:26.820 different levers uh , to facilitate 08:26.820 --> 08:29.190 that transportation and as I say , I 08:29.190 --> 08:32.090 say , as I said earlier right now , we 08:32.090 --> 08:34.146 do not anticipate a military role in 08:34.146 --> 08:38.080 that effort , john General taylor , 08:38.080 --> 08:40.760 you just said that one rocket landed 08:41.140 --> 08:43.140 with no effect to the mission . You 08:43.140 --> 08:45.029 mean it landed inside the airport 08:45.029 --> 08:46.918 perimeter , It did not affect the 08:46.918 --> 08:48.640 mission . It landed inside the 08:48.640 --> 08:50.918 perimeter and had no effect whatsoever . 08:50.918 --> 08:54.170 These ISIS K fighters or planners that 08:54.170 --> 08:56.392 you have targeted with drone strikes in 08:56.392 --> 08:58.760 the last few days . Are any of them , 08:59.240 --> 09:01.184 were they released from the bagram 09:01.184 --> 09:03.296 prison or from police charki prison , 09:03.296 --> 09:05.296 were they known combatants who were 09:05.296 --> 09:07.518 inside those prisons ? I don't think we 09:07.518 --> 09:09.740 have that information . And lastly , if 09:09.740 --> 09:13.380 50,800 Americans were left in 09:13.380 --> 09:15.324 Afghanistan when you pulled out of 09:15.324 --> 09:17.970 bagram at the end of july , why did the 09:17.970 --> 09:20.137 U . S . Military not begin evacuations 09:20.137 --> 09:22.303 of americans before pulling out of the 09:22.303 --> 09:24.526 country , jen , we've talked about this 09:24.526 --> 09:26.940 quite some quite some time ago . I'm 09:26.940 --> 09:29.510 happy to revisit it . Uh , we were 09:29.520 --> 09:32.690 already baked into the retrograde plan 09:32.690 --> 09:34.600 way back in the spring was the 09:34.600 --> 09:36.211 possibility for noncombatant 09:36.211 --> 09:39.990 evacuations and helping people get out . 09:40.000 --> 09:42.830 And we were in constant uh 09:42.840 --> 09:45.062 conversations with the Ghana government 09:45.062 --> 09:47.118 as well as our colleagues across the 09:47.118 --> 09:49.340 inter agency about what that would look 09:49.340 --> 09:51.507 like . And and when would be the right 09:51.507 --> 09:53.810 time to do that . And in anticipation 09:53.810 --> 09:57.510 of it . Well before the 09:57.520 --> 09:59.520 provincial capital started toppling 09:59.520 --> 10:01.850 their towards the middle of august 10:01.860 --> 10:04.090 secretary austin prepositioned forces 10:04.100 --> 10:06.130 closer into the region to degree of 10:06.130 --> 10:10.080 taking an entire marine battalion off 10:10.090 --> 10:12.420 of the USs , Iwo Jima and moving them a 10:12.420 --> 10:14.753 short equate so that they will be ready . 10:14.753 --> 10:16.753 So , this was something that we had 10:16.753 --> 10:18.976 been planning for and preparing for the 10:18.976 --> 10:21.087 timing of these things is always very 10:21.087 --> 10:22.920 delicate . As you , as you might 10:22.920 --> 10:22.590 imagine , you were essentially stopped 10:22.600 --> 10:24.767 by the state department from beginning 10:24.767 --> 10:26.989 those evacuations , I wouldn't say that 10:26.989 --> 10:29.156 and I don't think it's important right 10:29.156 --> 10:31.433 now to get into internal deliberations . 10:31.433 --> 10:33.270 We were obviously still in close 10:33.270 --> 10:35.270 contact with the Ghana government , 10:35.270 --> 10:37.492 which was still you know , he was still 10:37.492 --> 10:40.030 the president of the country . And you 10:40.030 --> 10:42.141 know you you have to have you have to 10:42.141 --> 10:44.308 be able to have those conversations to 10:44.308 --> 10:46.363 because our expectation was that the 10:46.363 --> 10:48.530 Ghana government would stay in place . 10:48.530 --> 10:51.260 Nobody could have imagined how quickly 10:51.270 --> 10:53.860 that government would have literally 10:53.860 --> 10:55.940 just dissipated almost overnight . 10:55.940 --> 10:58.250 There was simply no way to predict that 10:58.340 --> 11:00.760 Greece . A couple of questions on the 11:00.770 --> 11:03.110 gates , are any of the gates still open 11:03.110 --> 11:05.221 and or any of the gates under Taliban 11:05.221 --> 11:07.388 control ? I think it's right now as we 11:07.388 --> 11:10.360 get into the this has always been a 11:10.360 --> 11:12.304 dangerous operation but we're in a 11:12.304 --> 11:14.416 particularly dangerous time right now 11:14.416 --> 11:16.360 is I think you can understand that 11:16.360 --> 11:18.360 we're not going to be detailing the 11:18.360 --> 11:20.693 status of any particular gate right now , 11:20.693 --> 11:22.916 as the general said , we still have the 11:22.916 --> 11:25.027 ability and the capability to conduct 11:25.027 --> 11:27.249 evacuation operations even while we are 11:27.249 --> 11:29.490 completing and working to complete the 11:29.500 --> 11:31.860 retrograde of U . S . Forces follow up . 11:31.870 --> 11:33.981 You've now had two incidents , one on 11:33.981 --> 11:36.760 thursday and one on sunday where there 11:36.760 --> 11:38.760 may have been civilian casualties , 11:38.760 --> 11:41.160 reports of it beyond investigating . Do 11:41.160 --> 11:43.580 you have any indications that those 11:43.580 --> 11:46.530 reports may be accurate ? We are not in 11:46.530 --> 11:49.380 a position to dispute it right now , 11:49.390 --> 11:51.630 IDris and as the general said , we're 11:51.630 --> 11:53.630 assessing and we're investigating , 11:53.840 --> 11:57.260 look um make no mistake , 11:57.740 --> 12:00.870 no military on the face of the earth 12:00.880 --> 12:03.230 works harder to avoid civilian 12:03.230 --> 12:05.119 casualties than the United States 12:05.119 --> 12:08.930 military . And nobody wants to 12:08.930 --> 12:11.560 see innocent life taken . We take it 12:11.570 --> 12:15.240 very , very seriously . And uh and 12:15.250 --> 12:17.460 when we know that we have caused 12:17.840 --> 12:20.062 innocent life to be lost in the conduct 12:20.062 --> 12:22.007 of our operations were transparent 12:22.007 --> 12:24.007 about it . Uh , we're investigating 12:24.007 --> 12:26.340 this . I'm not going to get ahead of it . 12:26.340 --> 12:29.150 But if we have , you know , verifiable 12:29.150 --> 12:31.206 information that we did in fact take 12:31.206 --> 12:33.460 innocent life here , then then we will 12:33.470 --> 12:35.526 will be transparent about that too . 12:35.526 --> 12:37.637 Nobody wants to see that happen . But 12:37.637 --> 12:39.692 you know what else we didn't want to 12:39.692 --> 12:41.637 see happen . We didn't want to see 12:41.637 --> 12:43.748 happen . What we believe to be a very 12:43.748 --> 12:45.637 real , a very specific and a very 12:45.637 --> 12:49.080 imminent threat to the Hamid Karzai 12:49.080 --> 12:51.302 International airport and to our troops 12:51.302 --> 12:53.358 operating at that airport as well as 12:53.358 --> 12:55.760 civilians around it . And in it . And 12:55.760 --> 12:57.760 that was another thing that we were 12:57.760 --> 12:59.982 very , very concerned about over here . 12:59.982 --> 13:02.800 David , The president had said that the 13:02.810 --> 13:05.032 likelihood of an attack within the next 13:05.032 --> 13:07.660 24-36 hours was highly what , I could . 13:08.440 --> 13:10.440 he'd been told that by his military 13:10.440 --> 13:12.607 commanders . Then after that there was 13:12.607 --> 13:15.260 the strike on this vehicle . 13:16.440 --> 13:20.430 After that strike is is 13:20.430 --> 13:22.910 another attack still considered highly 13:22.910 --> 13:26.610 likely . We are operating under the 13:26.610 --> 13:28.777 assumption that we need to be prepared 13:28.777 --> 13:32.110 for future potential threats . 13:32.120 --> 13:34.930 And as the general detailed for you in 13:34.930 --> 13:36.986 his opening statement , there was in 13:36.986 --> 13:38.986 fact , after we took this airstrike 13:38.986 --> 13:42.530 against this vehicle , there were 13:42.530 --> 13:44.641 rocket attacks , indirect fire rocket 13:44.641 --> 13:46.900 attacks on the airport . So the threat 13:46.900 --> 13:48.789 stream is still real . It's still 13:48.789 --> 13:50.789 active and in many cases it's still 13:50.789 --> 13:52.678 specific and we're taking it very 13:52.678 --> 13:54.733 seriously and we will right up until 13:54.733 --> 13:56.950 the end you didn't specifically answer 13:56.960 --> 13:59.016 a question about whether the taliban 14:00.140 --> 14:02.084 you said you weren't going to talk 14:02.084 --> 14:04.307 about who is that what gate look on the 14:04.307 --> 14:06.820 taliban on the airport . Not to my 14:06.820 --> 14:09.680 knowledge . They are no . Yeah thank 14:09.680 --> 14:12.680 you . Have a few today sorry . 14:13.540 --> 14:16.510 You mentioned 122,000 have been 14:16.510 --> 14:18.843 evacuated . How many of those R . S . I . 14:18.843 --> 14:20.899 V . S . And their families ? I don't 14:20.899 --> 14:22.954 have a good breakdown of how many in 14:22.954 --> 14:25.066 122,000 R . S . I . V . S . And their 14:25.066 --> 14:26.954 families . That's really a better 14:26.954 --> 14:29.121 question for the State Department . We 14:29.121 --> 14:32.410 know that roughly 5400 of the 122,000 14:32.410 --> 14:35.590 are american citizens and uh and the 14:35.600 --> 14:37.767 vast majority of course are afghan and 14:37.767 --> 14:39.989 I just don't have a breakdown of that . 14:39.989 --> 14:42.100 We are reporting is saying that there 14:42.100 --> 14:45.940 are about 7000 of the 88,000 . So that 14:45.950 --> 14:48.172 leaves more than 80,000 S . I . V . S . 14:48.172 --> 14:50.339 And their family members left behind . 14:50.339 --> 14:52.561 Does the pentagon see that as a success 14:52.561 --> 14:55.160 Leaving 80 people ? S lives who worked 14:55.160 --> 14:57.216 alongside our troops behind Carl . I 14:57.216 --> 14:59.327 can't verify that number the math you 14:59.327 --> 15:01.493 just gave me and I can't tell you what 15:01.493 --> 15:03.604 the breakdown is right now between Um 15:03.604 --> 15:06.410 the the more than 100 and what 15:06.420 --> 15:10.080 12,000 maybe more Afghans that were 15:10.080 --> 15:12.250 able to evacuate in the course of less 15:12.250 --> 15:14.361 than a couple of weeks . I can't give 15:14.361 --> 15:16.528 you the breakdown right now . I just I 15:16.528 --> 15:19.050 honestly can't um and uh what I will 15:19.050 --> 15:23.030 tell you is that uh . obviously we 15:23.030 --> 15:25.800 wanted to get as many people out uh as 15:25.800 --> 15:27.856 we could and in the course of a very 15:27.856 --> 15:30.180 short order of time 100 and 22,000 the 15:30.180 --> 15:32.013 largest airlift that the U . S . 15:32.013 --> 15:35.890 Military has conducted . Uh got 122,000 15:35.890 --> 15:38.250 people to safety . Now there will be a 15:38.250 --> 15:41.710 time when this is complete that the 15:41.710 --> 15:44.040 State Department can do the math and 15:44.050 --> 15:46.860 and and figure this out . But I think 15:46.860 --> 15:48.930 we're all focused right now on 15:48.940 --> 15:51.162 continuing the mission that the general 15:51.162 --> 15:53.384 described us doing and making sure that 15:53.384 --> 15:55.650 right up until the end that we can get 15:55.650 --> 15:58.470 people out safely including evacuees . 15:58.670 --> 16:00.990 And then secondly we have sources that 16:00.990 --> 16:02.823 say marines guarding the airport 16:02.823 --> 16:04.934 allowed relatives and extended family 16:04.934 --> 16:06.990 members of Kabul embassy local staff 16:06.990 --> 16:09.212 despite having not having documentation 16:09.300 --> 16:11.411 but meanwhile spouses and Children of 16:11.411 --> 16:13.522 afghans who hold american citizenship 16:13.522 --> 16:15.522 and legal permanent resident status 16:15.522 --> 16:17.744 were turned away in some cases have you 16:17.744 --> 16:19.578 heard this as well ? And can you 16:19.578 --> 16:19.410 confirm that ? I have not heard those 16:19.410 --> 16:21.466 reports and I cannot verify them . I 16:21.466 --> 16:24.010 will tell you that without speaking to 16:24.010 --> 16:26.480 these reports . The marines and the 16:26.480 --> 16:29.600 soldiers that have for the last couple 16:29.600 --> 16:32.440 of weeks been helping consular officers 16:32.450 --> 16:34.990 man these gates and help process people 16:34.990 --> 16:38.190 in have been did heroic work . Um and 16:38.190 --> 16:40.860 they had to make decisions in real time 16:41.240 --> 16:43.740 Um about trying to help people get out 16:43.750 --> 16:46.070 and the numbers speak for themselves . 16:46.070 --> 16:50.020 122,000 plus . Is that that is 16:50.030 --> 16:52.940 that is significant and a lot of lives 16:52.950 --> 16:56.200 um were saved and a lot of lives are 16:56.200 --> 16:58.422 now in a better place and they're gonna 16:58.422 --> 17:00.533 have opportunities they couldn't have 17:00.533 --> 17:02.589 had before . Thanks to the work that 17:02.589 --> 17:04.756 these troops did in concert with their 17:04.756 --> 17:04.260 state Department colleagues at these 17:04.260 --> 17:06.316 very dangerous gates . One more if I 17:06.316 --> 17:08.880 may on not on Afghanistan , Beijing has 17:08.880 --> 17:10.991 come out with the new south china sea 17:10.991 --> 17:13.110 policy which forces people to self 17:13.110 --> 17:15.221 identify while approaching their self 17:15.221 --> 17:17.221 claimed maritime territories . This 17:17.221 --> 17:19.332 policy reportedly goes into effect on 17:19.332 --> 17:21.277 Wednesday . Does D . O . D plan on 17:21.277 --> 17:23.443 following that policy ? I haven't seen 17:23.443 --> 17:23.320 this report Carlos . So I'm not gonna 17:23.320 --> 17:25.431 take it from the podium right now . I 17:25.431 --> 17:27.542 will do is take the question back and 17:27.542 --> 17:27.510 we'll try to get you a better answer . 17:27.510 --> 17:29.390 But you're hitting me up with a 17:29.390 --> 17:31.557 statement from the chinese that I have 17:31.557 --> 17:33.779 not seen and I'm not going to speculate 17:33.779 --> 17:35.723 at this time . Zero thank you john 17:35.723 --> 17:37.946 there is a question that many of afghan 17:37.946 --> 17:40.640 asked me to want me to ask you , they 17:40.640 --> 17:43.120 said why President biden not warning 17:43.120 --> 17:46.250 the taliban that if any of us citizen , 17:46.250 --> 17:48.640 our afghan allies are hurt or killed 17:48.650 --> 17:51.150 after our departure from Afghanistan . 17:51.210 --> 17:54.610 Their leadership will be targeted just 17:54.620 --> 17:57.360 like IsIS was targeted recently . 17:58.540 --> 18:01.400 Nazeer . I uh thanks for the question . 18:01.410 --> 18:04.310 I think the president has been very 18:04.310 --> 18:07.270 clear that what our expectations are 18:07.640 --> 18:10.200 um , once this retrograde is complete 18:10.200 --> 18:12.730 with respect to the safety and security 18:12.730 --> 18:14.841 of american citizens , I mean I think 18:14.841 --> 18:17.008 we've been very clear about that . And 18:17.008 --> 18:19.230 uh , and as you heard Secretary Blinken 18:19.230 --> 18:21.452 say , we're going to continue to pursue 18:21.452 --> 18:23.690 a variety of means to help those 18:23.690 --> 18:25.857 americans who want to get out after we 18:25.857 --> 18:29.800 are gone , get out . Yeah tom uh you 18:29.800 --> 18:31.967 talked about flights heading to Dulles 18:31.967 --> 18:34.189 and affiliate . Can you give us a sense 18:34.189 --> 18:36.411 of how many people are on those flights 18:36.411 --> 18:36.320 and the breakdown of afghans in the U . 18:36.320 --> 18:36.610 S . 18:40.420 --> 18:43.260 I can't give you the by manifest . 18:43.830 --> 18:47.660 So What we think is of today 17 18:47.660 --> 18:50.580 flights 3700 . The majority of those 18:50.590 --> 18:53.890 are Afghans . Now as a priority at 18:53.890 --> 18:56.040 these lily pads that are done are 18:56.130 --> 18:57.908 immediately to get the American 18:57.908 --> 19:00.410 citizens there first and then you know , 19:00.410 --> 19:02.688 other green card holder in those peace . 19:02.688 --> 19:04.799 But the majority Of the flights today 19:04.799 --> 19:08.400 of those 17 are afghans . I understand 19:08.400 --> 19:10.344 the congressional people are being 19:10.344 --> 19:12.840 briefed that you're starting to destroy 19:12.850 --> 19:15.520 munitions as well as equipment . Can 19:15.520 --> 19:18.760 you give us a sense of that effort 19:19.340 --> 19:23.320 at home . You know what I go back 19:23.320 --> 19:25.320 to is is commanders on the ground 19:25.320 --> 19:27.940 retain that authority and the 19:27.940 --> 19:31.420 capability to remove or destroy 19:31.460 --> 19:33.850 equipment and weapons to ensure that 19:33.850 --> 19:36.010 those don't fall into the hands of 19:36.010 --> 19:38.066 anybody else ? Well , we're going to 19:38.066 --> 19:40.010 get an accounting of what has been 19:40.010 --> 19:42.010 destroyed , let's say Blackhawks or 19:42.010 --> 19:44.232 other equipment . I think when the time 19:44.232 --> 19:46.454 is right , we'll be able to try to help 19:46.454 --> 19:48.454 better flush that out . Time is not 19:48.454 --> 19:50.621 right for that right now . Tom for two 19:50.621 --> 19:53.380 quick questions . If I may on the 19:53.390 --> 19:55.070 strike against the vehicle , 19:57.440 --> 20:00.710 do you ? The Central Command talked 20:00.710 --> 20:02.766 about secondary explosions , I think 20:02.766 --> 20:05.610 and that , but you actually have visual 20:05.620 --> 20:07.564 evidence that there were secondary 20:07.564 --> 20:10.550 explosions . Are you convinced uh , 20:10.560 --> 20:12.782 that there were ? Because that seems to 20:12.782 --> 20:15.110 be one of the potential contributing 20:15.110 --> 20:17.860 factors to civilian casualties . So do 20:17.860 --> 20:20.550 you , are you , are you certain that 20:20.550 --> 20:23.220 were secondary explosions ? Yes . Can 20:23.220 --> 20:24.942 you just have a follow up on a 20:24.942 --> 20:26.998 different part of this ? Can you say 20:26.998 --> 20:29.120 how you're sure ? No . My other 20:29.120 --> 20:30.787 question then , is this as we 20:30.787 --> 20:33.310 inevitably come down to the final hours , 20:33.740 --> 20:36.830 What advice or thoughts for american 20:36.840 --> 20:39.350 passport holders or green card holders 20:39.740 --> 20:42.450 who might be trying to get to the 20:42.460 --> 20:45.260 airport and get through ? Is there 20:45.260 --> 20:48.210 still time for them ? There is still 20:48.210 --> 20:50.700 time And the State Department is in 20:50.700 --> 20:54.360 touch , we know with with 20:54.370 --> 20:57.560 additional american citizens again , 20:57.650 --> 21:01.360 given the tense security environment 21:01.360 --> 21:03.471 that we're dealing with ? I think I'm 21:03.471 --> 21:05.693 just , I think it be better to just not 21:05.693 --> 21:07.916 talk about it much more than that . But 21:07.916 --> 21:10.150 they are they're in contact . There is 21:10.150 --> 21:12.261 still time that flights will continue 21:12.261 --> 21:14.261 tomorrow on the 31st time . I'm not 21:14.261 --> 21:16.094 going to get ahead of the actual 21:16.094 --> 21:18.206 operational schedule . Courtney , I'm 21:18.206 --> 21:20.317 not gonna do that . And then a little 21:20.317 --> 21:22.428 bit more on the the continuing strike 21:22.428 --> 21:24.372 from IsIS K . After the U . S . Is 21:24.372 --> 21:26.483 completely out on the 31st . Will you 21:26.483 --> 21:28.483 coordinate with the taliban or give 21:28.483 --> 21:30.706 them notice if you plan to conduct more 21:30.706 --> 21:32.761 strikes against ISIS ? I don't think 21:32.761 --> 21:34.817 it's useful to get into hypothetical 21:34.817 --> 21:36.983 operations , future operations one way 21:36.983 --> 21:39.094 or the other . The only thing I would 21:39.094 --> 21:41.317 tell you is that the president has made 21:41.317 --> 21:41.150 it very clear That we will maintain 21:41.150 --> 21:43.372 robust over the rising counterterrorism 21:43.372 --> 21:45.539 capability , the kinds of capabilities 21:45.539 --> 21:47.539 that you've seen us use in just the 21:47.539 --> 21:49.539 last 24 36 hours and we'll have the 21:49.539 --> 21:53.320 ability to uh act in ways that are in 21:53.320 --> 21:55.264 keeping with our national security 21:55.264 --> 21:57.320 interest and help prevent attacks on 21:57.320 --> 21:59.209 the homeland . We still have that 21:59.209 --> 22:00.876 capability . We will use that 22:00.876 --> 22:02.876 capability hypothetical is the fact 22:02.876 --> 22:02.430 that the U . S . Military has been 22:02.430 --> 22:04.486 coordinating with the taliban on the 22:04.486 --> 22:06.597 ground for the last two weeks or so . 22:06.597 --> 22:08.763 So it's so to ask if you were going to 22:08.763 --> 22:11.630 continue coordinating with them in this 22:11.630 --> 22:13.820 case against ISIS K . Isn't 22:13.820 --> 22:16.160 hypothetical , will you continue to 22:16.160 --> 22:18.049 coordinate with the taliban after 22:18.049 --> 22:19.938 august 31st . I beg to differ . I 22:19.938 --> 22:21.716 actually think your question is 22:21.716 --> 22:23.827 entirely hypothetical about something 22:23.827 --> 22:25.882 that is entirely different than what 22:25.882 --> 22:25.010 we've been coordinating with the 22:25.010 --> 22:27.066 taliban on over the last two weeks , 22:27.066 --> 22:29.177 which has been to help help us get as 22:29.177 --> 22:31.066 many people on to that airport as 22:31.066 --> 22:33.288 possible . I do appreciate the sense of 22:33.288 --> 22:35.621 the question . I'm not trying to market , 22:35.621 --> 22:37.510 it's just that I don't think it's 22:37.510 --> 22:39.677 helpful for us to talk about what over 22:39.677 --> 22:41.899 the horizon counterterrorism capability 22:41.899 --> 22:41.510 is going to look like going forward and 22:41.510 --> 22:43.732 how we're going to execute it . Suffice 22:43.732 --> 22:45.677 it to say we have the capability , 22:45.677 --> 22:47.788 we've demonstrated that over just the 22:47.788 --> 22:49.843 last couple of days and strikes that 22:49.843 --> 22:51.954 were not coordinated with the taliban 22:51.954 --> 22:54.232 and we have that ability to go forward . 22:54.232 --> 22:53.340 And then does the U . S . There's a 22:53.340 --> 22:55.562 pentagon or ST common whomever it would 22:55.562 --> 22:58.990 be , Have the authority to continue to 22:58.990 --> 23:00.934 conduct strikes against ISIS after 23:00.934 --> 23:03.157 August 31 or do those decisions have to 23:03.157 --> 23:05.268 go to the president on a case by case 23:05.268 --> 23:07.379 basis . The commander , the commander 23:07.379 --> 23:07.110 on the ground has the authorities he 23:07.110 --> 23:09.332 needs right now . I'm not going to talk 23:09.332 --> 23:11.332 about authorities going forward . I 23:11.332 --> 23:13.499 will say this , not in terms of I know 23:13.499 --> 23:15.277 what you're asking , you know , 23:15.277 --> 23:17.332 specific approval authority for each 23:17.332 --> 23:19.554 and every strike . I I won't talk about 23:19.554 --> 23:22.300 policy decisions going forward except 23:22.300 --> 23:24.356 to say that the entire interagency ? 23:24.356 --> 23:26.522 Certainly the entire military chain of 23:26.522 --> 23:29.400 command understands the the the 23:29.410 --> 23:31.480 existence of this threat uh and the 23:31.480 --> 23:33.350 possibility of this threat uh to 23:33.350 --> 23:35.670 continue to exist over time and we have 23:35.670 --> 23:38.570 the capability to deal with it louis um 23:38.580 --> 23:40.413 in talking following up on these 23:40.413 --> 23:42.580 contacts with the Taliban , have there 23:42.580 --> 23:44.636 been contacts with the Taliban about 23:44.636 --> 23:46.691 the US withdrawal ? It's going to be 23:46.691 --> 23:48.691 taking place right now and over the 23:48.691 --> 23:50.913 coming days to ensure that there are no 23:50.913 --> 23:53.136 misinterpretations of what's going on . 23:53.136 --> 23:55.191 The short answer to your question is 23:55.191 --> 23:57.413 yes . Without getting into detail , our 23:57.413 --> 23:59.358 commanders on the ground remain in 23:59.358 --> 24:01.302 communication with Taliban leaders 24:01.302 --> 24:03.720 around the airfield to deconflict and 24:03.720 --> 24:05.730 to prevent miscalculations and 24:05.730 --> 24:07.700 misunderstandings and so far that 24:07.700 --> 24:09.533 communication has been effective 24:09.540 --> 24:11.484 applies to the withdrawal . That's 24:11.484 --> 24:13.910 going on right now . It does nancy you 24:13.910 --> 24:15.632 about to follow to address his 24:15.632 --> 24:18.220 questions . In the initial readout from 24:18.220 --> 24:21.260 Centcom on the strike over the weekend 24:21.640 --> 24:24.470 on the car bomb and the suspects in the 24:24.480 --> 24:26.702 U . S . Said that initially the initial 24:26.702 --> 24:28.813 assessment was there were no civilian 24:28.813 --> 24:30.924 casualties . On what basis did the US 24:30.924 --> 24:33.036 make that assessment ? Uh The initial 24:33.036 --> 24:35.091 statement said that we are assessing 24:35.091 --> 24:37.313 and we have no indications at this time 24:37.313 --> 24:39.480 of civilian casualties . If I remember 24:39.480 --> 24:39.260 the statement exactly . And that was 24:39.260 --> 24:41.870 true . When it was said , we also put 24:41.870 --> 24:44.037 in there the centcom put in there that 24:44.037 --> 24:46.320 we are assessing and and we continue to 24:46.320 --> 24:48.500 assess . I'm trying to understand on 24:48.500 --> 24:51.070 what basis and then over horizon 24:51.070 --> 24:53.181 capability are you making assessments 24:53.181 --> 24:55.237 on civilian casualties ? How is that 24:55.237 --> 24:57.237 being done ? Because , well , we're 24:57.237 --> 24:59.403 certainly , we're looking at a variety 24:59.403 --> 25:02.360 of means of information . Um , and uh , 25:02.840 --> 25:04.940 and uh , we're obviously collecting 25:04.950 --> 25:07.006 open press reporting and we're doing 25:07.006 --> 25:09.120 the best we can , uh , to try to 25:09.120 --> 25:12.770 understand uh , the situation uh , 25:12.780 --> 25:16.110 locally as best we can . Um , and uh , 25:16.110 --> 25:18.332 and that would include discussions with 25:18.332 --> 25:20.554 the Taliban about about what they might 25:20.554 --> 25:22.554 be seeing . So there's a variety of 25:22.554 --> 25:24.499 ways that we are trying to do this 25:24.499 --> 25:26.990 assessment , get more clarity on why we 25:26.990 --> 25:29.670 can't know the names of the ISIS K 25:29.670 --> 25:31.726 suspects that were hit on thursday . 25:31.880 --> 25:33.991 I'm having a hard time . I understand 25:33.991 --> 25:35.991 they were described as high profile 25:35.991 --> 25:38.213 planners , facilitators . The president 25:38.213 --> 25:40.324 has said that we will hunt you down . 25:40.324 --> 25:42.547 Why can't we know who the is ? Probably 25:42.547 --> 25:42.490 a time when we can talk to you about 25:42.490 --> 25:44.712 the names ? That's not the time . Right 25:44.712 --> 25:46.934 now . We are still dealing with , as we 25:46.934 --> 25:49.101 saw from last night's rocket attacks , 25:49.101 --> 25:51.480 very real ongoing threats . And uh , I 25:51.490 --> 25:53.712 think we're doing what we believe to be 25:53.712 --> 25:55.823 the prudent thing with respect to the 25:55.823 --> 25:58.046 release of information we're giving you 25:58.046 --> 26:00.212 as much as we can and as close to real 26:00.212 --> 26:02.434 time as we can . But we're not gonna be 26:02.434 --> 26:01.570 able to give you everything . And we 26:01.570 --> 26:03.737 talked about that a couple of days ago 26:03.737 --> 26:05.910 when uh , when we talked about the 26:05.910 --> 26:07.910 retrograde beginning that there was 26:07.910 --> 26:11.760 going to be , um , uh , more judicious 26:11.760 --> 26:13.982 approach about information release ? So 26:13.982 --> 26:16.149 there will probably become a time when 26:16.149 --> 26:18.371 we can be more forthcoming . Now , it's 26:18.371 --> 26:20.593 not that time . Let me go to the phones 26:20.593 --> 26:22.704 here . Haven't done this at all yet , 26:22.704 --> 26:23.704 Alex Horton . 26:31.540 --> 26:33.700 Okay , we'll come back to you Alex , 26:33.710 --> 26:36.560 Jeff struggle . Thanks . I have a 26:36.560 --> 26:38.890 question and it's difficult but I hope 26:38.890 --> 26:40.970 you can entertain it according to 26:40.970 --> 26:44.620 politico , the US knew where the 26:44.630 --> 26:46.880 attack would roughly where the attack 26:46.880 --> 26:48.991 would take place on thursday and when 26:48.991 --> 26:51.047 it would attack , when it would take 26:51.047 --> 26:53.158 place . Why were there U . S . Troops 26:53.158 --> 26:56.180 at that gate at that time , Jeff , What 26:56.180 --> 26:58.790 I can tell you is that we have been 26:58.790 --> 27:00.480 monitoring as close as we can 27:00.490 --> 27:03.050 intelligence . That led us to believe 27:03.440 --> 27:05.551 that we were in a very dynamic and in 27:05.551 --> 27:08.360 some cases specific threat environment . 27:08.740 --> 27:12.550 Uh Number one , number two . Uh as 27:12.550 --> 27:14.772 General Mackenzie said , we're going to 27:14.772 --> 27:16.717 we're going to investigate , we're 27:16.717 --> 27:18.661 going to get to the bottom of what 27:18.661 --> 27:21.850 happened last thursday . Uh 13 precious 27:21.850 --> 27:23.961 lives were lost . We're going to take 27:23.961 --> 27:25.906 that seriously and we're gonna and 27:25.906 --> 27:27.961 we're not going to investigate it in 27:27.961 --> 27:30.183 public . Number three . I am absolutely 27:30.183 --> 27:34.080 not going to speak uh to a 27:34.090 --> 27:37.910 press story that was informed by the 27:37.920 --> 27:40.460 unlawful disclosure of classified 27:40.460 --> 27:43.170 information , insensitive deliberations 27:43.170 --> 27:45.281 here at the pentagon . Just not going 27:45.281 --> 27:48.360 to do it . Yeah . Give him 27:48.940 --> 27:52.190 being conducted at a residential area , 27:52.200 --> 27:54.270 this strike drone strike , where the 27:54.280 --> 27:56.280 collateral damage of the strike was 27:56.280 --> 27:58.336 almost a certainty . So was that the 27:58.336 --> 28:00.502 only option ? You guys used a question 28:00.502 --> 28:02.558 to both of you , Was there any other 28:02.558 --> 28:06.160 option to stop that bomb laden vehicle ? 28:06.840 --> 28:09.620 I'll let the general , I'll ask the 28:09.620 --> 28:13.470 general too provide context . The only 28:13.470 --> 28:15.360 thing I would say is that 28:17.240 --> 28:19.860 we've used the word dynamic a lot and 28:19.870 --> 28:21.926 and I know that sounds like pentagon 28:21.926 --> 28:24.960 speak and uh but that's really how you 28:25.730 --> 28:27.786 the best way to describe the threats 28:27.786 --> 28:29.730 were facing dynamic , moving fluid 28:29.730 --> 28:33.580 quick . Uh and because that's how ISIS 28:33.580 --> 28:37.560 K . Operates and we have to try to be 28:37.940 --> 28:40.850 as quick and as nimble as they are . Um 28:40.860 --> 28:43.560 And when you have what we believe to be 28:43.560 --> 28:45.727 an imminent threat and we believe this 28:45.727 --> 28:48.430 to be an imminent threat . We took the 28:48.430 --> 28:51.210 action that we believe was was the most 28:51.210 --> 28:53.640 necessary at the best opportunity to 28:53.640 --> 28:56.670 thwart that attack . Mhm 28:58.640 --> 29:01.700 commanders will always 29:02.340 --> 29:04.790 minimize collateral damage . That is 29:05.050 --> 29:07.880 one of the key tenets of of what we are , 29:07.890 --> 29:10.520 how we operate in this case . Just like 29:10.530 --> 29:14.450 Mr Kirby said that this strike 29:14.840 --> 29:17.920 prevented a high profile attack 29:17.930 --> 29:21.300 against both , you know , coalition and 29:21.300 --> 29:24.720 U . S . Forces and other afghan 29:24.720 --> 29:27.500 civilians . And so as we looked at the 29:27.500 --> 29:30.060 information that we had during the time 29:30.060 --> 29:32.140 of the strike , we took all those 29:32.140 --> 29:34.307 measures in place and the decision was 29:34.307 --> 29:37.670 made to strike and thwart that attack 29:38.140 --> 29:41.210 And also only on the five rockets . So 29:41.210 --> 29:44.730 the US . Force protection measures 29:44.740 --> 29:47.940 engaged those rockets and apparently 29:47.940 --> 29:49.890 they hit one of them or you didn't 29:49.890 --> 29:52.480 engage the other ones you just wanted 29:52.480 --> 29:54.990 to engage that specific 4th 1 as we 29:54.990 --> 29:57.460 look at just going back the force 29:57.460 --> 29:59.516 protection see RAM did work . It did 29:59.516 --> 30:03.000 engage and had effect on the one and 30:03.000 --> 30:06.180 then one did land in a in an area and 30:06.180 --> 30:10.100 it was not effective . So it didn't it 30:10.110 --> 30:12.610 didn't it didn't intercepted that one . 30:12.710 --> 30:14.932 That's correct . We intercepted one and 30:14.932 --> 30:17.266 it was effective . See RAM was affected . 30:19.640 --> 30:22.990 Uhh Therese I just need to clarify the 30:22.990 --> 30:26.560 numbers you stated earlier of the 122 0 30:27.040 --> 30:29.600 is the 5400 . A part of that number of 30:29.600 --> 30:31.690 americans evacuate er or is that a 30:31.690 --> 30:34.500 separate number from the 122,000 plus 30:34.500 --> 30:36.850 evacuated over the course of this 30:37.240 --> 30:40.380 operation . Going back to late july 30:40.380 --> 30:42.700 when we started moving s ivy applicants 30:42.700 --> 30:44.756 back home . And then when you add in 30:44.756 --> 30:47.600 the That since then yes 50 400 is 30:47.600 --> 30:51.360 included in the 122,000 . Uh huh . 30:52.040 --> 30:54.262 Of course I understand . You can't give 30:54.262 --> 30:56.484 us an update on the number of troops on 30:56.484 --> 30:58.651 the ground but are you still confident 30:58.651 --> 31:00.818 that all the troops will be out by the 31:00.818 --> 31:02.984 deadline ? And also if you can clarify 31:03.440 --> 31:07.200 when the deadline will come into effect 31:07.210 --> 31:10.720 like kabul time august 31:10.730 --> 31:14.490 it's a little bit no no affair for 31:14.500 --> 31:16.670 uh answer your first question is yes . 31:16.710 --> 31:18.877 And the answer your second question is 31:18.877 --> 31:21.043 I'm not going to get into it , jenny , 31:21.043 --> 31:24.490 thank you john if I s . 31:24.490 --> 31:27.730 K terrorists , continuous terrorism in 31:27.740 --> 31:30.800 Afghanistan , Even after the withdrawal 31:30.810 --> 31:34.810 of us troops on the 31st with the 31:34.810 --> 31:38.790 United States get involved in the war 31:38.800 --> 31:40.460 on terror again ? 31:44.140 --> 31:47.560 Well , I think I'd like to go back to 31:47.560 --> 31:51.280 what I said before uh to Courtney , uh , 31:51.290 --> 31:54.860 the president's made it clear are 31:55.640 --> 31:58.310 our combat mission , are the war we 31:58.310 --> 32:00.477 have been fighting in Afghanistan that 32:00.477 --> 32:02.920 that's going to end and it's going to 32:02.920 --> 32:05.600 end very soon here . But what's not 32:05.600 --> 32:07.600 going to end is our commitment , 32:07.610 --> 32:09.332 especially here at the Defense 32:09.332 --> 32:11.277 Department to protect the american 32:11.277 --> 32:14.000 people uh from from threats and 32:14.000 --> 32:16.167 particularly from any terrorist threat 32:16.167 --> 32:18.167 that could emanate from Afghanistan 32:18.167 --> 32:20.620 again . And as I said to to my previous 32:20.620 --> 32:22.731 answer , you can see in just the last 32:23.340 --> 32:27.300 24 , hours that we do have an effective 32:27.300 --> 32:29.189 over the horizon counterterrorism 32:29.189 --> 32:31.450 capability . We've employed it now 32:31.460 --> 32:35.240 twice . And that capability will will 32:35.240 --> 32:37.184 remain . And obviously , we're not 32:37.184 --> 32:39.351 gonna detail what it looks like on any 32:39.351 --> 32:41.684 given day against any particular threat . 32:41.684 --> 32:43.518 But we're going to maintain that 32:43.518 --> 32:45.462 capability to protect the american 32:45.462 --> 32:45.020 people from threats that could emanate 32:45.020 --> 32:47.187 from Afghanistan . It's also important 32:47.187 --> 32:49.131 to remember that counter terrorism 32:49.131 --> 32:51.242 threat isn't just in Afghanistan , uh 32:51.242 --> 32:53.187 it's in the levant , it's in North 32:53.187 --> 32:55.298 Africa . I mean , and we and you guys 32:55.298 --> 32:57.464 have all seen that and we are going to 32:57.464 --> 32:59.520 still maintain uh that ability to to 32:59.520 --> 33:01.631 thwart those threats as best we can . 33:01.631 --> 33:03.420 And and over the horizon is not 33:03.420 --> 33:05.531 something new to us either . I mean , 33:05.531 --> 33:07.587 we're we've been doing it for a long 33:07.587 --> 33:09.642 time in places outside Afghanistan . 33:09.642 --> 33:12.660 Yeah , not over horizon ability for 33:12.660 --> 33:14.827 striking for its or is that still , is 33:14.827 --> 33:16.882 that still coming from gulf bases or 33:16.882 --> 33:18.993 are you making progress with regional 33:18.993 --> 33:21.160 partners for that ? Over horizon comes 33:21.160 --> 33:23.382 from over the horizon . Abraham and I'm 33:23.382 --> 33:23.320 not going to go into more detail and 33:23.330 --> 33:25.274 being made with those negotiations 33:25.274 --> 33:27.680 continue to have discussions with 33:27.690 --> 33:30.020 neighboring nations about , about 33:30.020 --> 33:32.131 possibilities . I don't have anything 33:32.131 --> 33:34.298 to announce today , Alex . Let me come 33:34.298 --> 33:36.720 back to you there . Yeah , here we go . 33:36.940 --> 33:40.470 I got you . Yeah . Going back to the 33:40.470 --> 33:42.910 strike , um , the drug strike on the 33:42.910 --> 33:45.560 vehicle . Uh , you know , uh , I want 33:45.560 --> 33:47.790 to revisit the evidence you used . Um 33:47.800 --> 33:49.911 you know , it seems like verification 33:49.911 --> 33:51.967 that it was a legitimate target came 33:51.967 --> 33:54.078 from the secondary explosion though . 33:54.078 --> 33:57.110 An ordinance expert in trainee od tech 33:57.120 --> 33:59.342 told me , you know , accessing the wire 33:59.342 --> 34:01.570 photos , publicly available photos of 34:01.570 --> 34:04.450 the scene show , you know , a lack of 34:04.450 --> 34:06.570 soot on the walls , uh , you know , 34:06.580 --> 34:08.747 relatively little amount of shrapnel . 34:08.747 --> 34:10.802 There's a tree that was knocked down 34:10.802 --> 34:13.136 that with the foil is still intact . So , 34:13.136 --> 34:15.358 you know , after viewing these things , 34:15.358 --> 34:17.358 you know , what is your , you still 34:17.358 --> 34:19.080 stand by with a high degree of 34:19.080 --> 34:21.302 confidence that there was a significant 34:21.302 --> 34:23.469 explosion and not something like a gas 34:23.469 --> 34:25.691 tank explosion or something like that . 34:25.691 --> 34:28.090 That may misdirect the the evidence of 34:28.090 --> 34:31.250 a big secondary explosion . No . Mhm . 34:32.440 --> 34:34.384 We know that , as I said earlier , 34:34.384 --> 34:36.570 there was a secondary explosion and 34:36.570 --> 34:39.550 that assessed that what was there 34:40.040 --> 34:43.540 was going to be used in a high profile 34:43.540 --> 34:46.600 attack . I don't have details on the 34:46.610 --> 34:48.666 you know the information that you're 34:48.666 --> 34:50.888 just saying that . But our intelligence 34:50.888 --> 34:52.999 experts and the centcom will continue 34:52.999 --> 34:56.760 to assess the post strike activities . 34:59.140 --> 35:00.970 Okay , a couple more back there 35:03.240 --> 35:05.110 and that's the coordination with 35:05.110 --> 35:08.050 Taliban applied to the final phases of 35:08.060 --> 35:11.180 the withdrawal . I mean will they take 35:11.190 --> 35:14.460 over the airport before you leave ? How 35:14.460 --> 35:16.650 will you ensure the protection of your 35:16.660 --> 35:18.990 troops ? Will you depend on your 35:19.000 --> 35:22.010 capabilities how the outcome would look 35:22.010 --> 35:24.850 like the last flight ? There's a lot 35:24.850 --> 35:28.330 there um as I said to 35:28.340 --> 35:31.060 louis um we have been in communication 35:31.060 --> 35:33.870 with the Taliban about about these 35:34.740 --> 35:38.340 final days um so that we can make sure 35:38.340 --> 35:40.340 that there's no miscalculation , no 35:40.340 --> 35:42.300 misunderstanding . Our goal is to 35:42.310 --> 35:45.440 complete this retrograde and to wrap up 35:45.440 --> 35:47.660 evacuation operations as safely and as 35:47.660 --> 35:49.771 orderly as we can . Obviously I'm not 35:49.771 --> 35:51.993 going to get into the details of either 35:51.993 --> 35:54.104 the conversations we're having or our 35:54.104 --> 35:56.280 processes and procedures as we have 35:56.290 --> 35:59.050 seen all too vividly in the last 36:00.130 --> 36:03.500 day , The the threat remains high and 36:03.500 --> 36:06.750 it remains real . So what I can assure 36:06.750 --> 36:09.180 you is that that General Mackenzie and 36:09.190 --> 36:12.100 I am obviously General Donahue there on 36:12.100 --> 36:14.790 the ground , they have worked out a 36:14.800 --> 36:18.750 very carefully coordinated uh method of 36:18.760 --> 36:21.720 of safely completing this retrograde 36:21.730 --> 36:24.290 and that's about as far as I think I 36:24.290 --> 36:27.370 can go as for the airport . Uh the 36:27.370 --> 36:31.050 airport will remain operational through 36:31.430 --> 36:35.190 are final flights . Um 36:35.200 --> 36:37.810 what it looks like after we are gone , 36:37.820 --> 36:39.830 I would just point you to what the 36:39.830 --> 36:41.663 Secretary of State said that the 36:41.663 --> 36:43.663 international community , there's a 36:43.663 --> 36:45.719 couple of countries that have talked 36:45.719 --> 36:49.080 about uh being able to come up with an 36:49.080 --> 36:51.510 arrangement to to keep it operational 36:51.510 --> 36:53.690 for commercial air traffic in 36:53.690 --> 36:55.746 coordination with the taliban . I'll 36:55.746 --> 36:57.746 let those countries speak for their 36:57.746 --> 36:59.857 efforts with the taliban . That would 36:59.857 --> 37:02.079 not be a U . S . Military function , it 37:02.079 --> 37:03.857 would not be a U . S . Military 37:03.857 --> 37:05.968 responsibility once we have completed 37:05.968 --> 37:08.190 the retrograde and and we are no longer 37:08.190 --> 37:10.470 there just a couple more Yeah ratio of 37:10.470 --> 37:12.470 flights to people getting out has 37:12.470 --> 37:14.359 gotten pretty high . Is that only 37:14.359 --> 37:16.581 indicative of fewer people coming on to 37:16.581 --> 37:18.637 the airport or is that also a mix of 37:18.637 --> 37:20.748 flights filling up with equipment and 37:20.748 --> 37:23.210 supplies heading out like ? So we're 37:23.210 --> 37:25.154 not gonna get into details of load 37:25.154 --> 37:27.650 plants , but obviously we are reaching 37:27.880 --> 37:30.880 the end of our prescribed mission . So 37:31.190 --> 37:33.210 commanders are in flowing and out 37:33.210 --> 37:35.810 flowing those requirements needed to 37:35.820 --> 37:37.876 complete the mission . And are there 37:37.876 --> 37:39.987 still strike aircraft flying overhead 37:39.987 --> 37:42.153 keeping out in case something is going 37:42.153 --> 37:44.209 on here the airport while everyone's 37:44.209 --> 37:46.431 getting on planes , assets as we talked 37:46.431 --> 37:48.542 about assets available . Not going to 37:48.542 --> 37:50.653 get into the details of what's flying 37:50.653 --> 37:53.070 and what there is ? But the commanders 37:53.070 --> 37:55.290 that are fulfilling this last part of 37:55.290 --> 37:57.860 this mission have all the assets they 37:57.860 --> 38:00.150 need uh in the air and underground 38:00.150 --> 38:01.983 where they're at to complete the 38:01.983 --> 38:05.020 mission safely . Non combatant 38:05.020 --> 38:07.020 evacuation operations are dangerous 38:07.020 --> 38:10.610 period . Um the end of them , 38:10.930 --> 38:12.810 particularly one in that in an 38:12.810 --> 38:15.330 environment that we can't uh consider 38:15.340 --> 38:18.190 clearly cannot consider permissive are 38:18.190 --> 38:21.640 particularly dangerous and the 38:21.640 --> 38:23.529 commanders on the ground have the 38:23.529 --> 38:25.470 resources they need to enact 38:25.480 --> 38:28.280 appropriate force protection . What is 38:28.280 --> 38:30.502 more dangerous now about saying they're 38:30.502 --> 38:32.502 F eighteens and reapers flying over 38:32.502 --> 38:34.669 there , There was two weeks ago . It's 38:34.669 --> 38:36.669 not it's not it's not it's not that 38:36.669 --> 38:38.669 it's not that we're not saying more 38:38.669 --> 38:41.870 specific because uh for one reason or 38:41.870 --> 38:44.700 another , it's that we are in a 38:44.700 --> 38:47.770 particularly dangerous time now , Megan . 38:47.780 --> 38:51.050 Uh , not that it hasn't always been 38:51.050 --> 38:52.994 dangerous , but it is particularly 38:52.994 --> 38:55.161 dangerous now and we're just not gonna 38:55.161 --> 38:57.460 detail every aspect of our force 38:57.460 --> 38:59.700 protection measures in public while we 38:59.700 --> 39:02.610 still have troops in harm's way and 39:02.610 --> 39:04.960 we're still trying to get people out of 39:04.960 --> 39:07.071 Afghanistan . There will be a time to 39:07.720 --> 39:10.750 talk about all that . It's just not 39:10.750 --> 39:14.710 today . Um , there's an american 39:14.710 --> 39:17.043 hostage still being held by the taliban ? 39:17.043 --> 39:20.270 Has the taliban agreed to release Mark 39:20.270 --> 39:22.790 free ricks before the US leaves . Does 39:22.790 --> 39:25.580 the US have any plans to leave without 39:25.590 --> 39:27.701 this american hostage without getting 39:27.701 --> 39:30.130 into specifics , jen ? I can tell you 39:30.130 --> 39:33.690 that we share the entire governments , 39:34.320 --> 39:38.200 uh concerns over mr Frerichs and our 39:38.210 --> 39:41.560 strong desire to see him returned home 39:41.570 --> 39:43.730 to his family where he belongs . Uh , 39:43.730 --> 39:45.841 and there has been a concerted effort 39:46.320 --> 39:48.960 over many , many months to try to 39:48.960 --> 39:52.270 achieve that outcome . And regardless 39:52.270 --> 39:56.080 of uh what we do 39:56.080 --> 39:59.320 over the next day or so , uh we will 39:59.320 --> 40:01.487 remain , all of us will remain focused 40:01.487 --> 40:03.709 on returning him safely to his family . 40:03.709 --> 40:05.598 That's not gonna that's not gonna 40:05.598 --> 40:07.653 change one way or the other . Okay , 40:07.653 --> 40:09.820 listen , I'm gonna wrap it up here . I 40:09.820 --> 40:12.042 appreciate it . Uh thanks very much and 40:12.042 --> 40:13.250 we'll talk to you soon . Mhm .