WEBVTT 00:00.760 --> 00:03.220 Good afternoon . As you know , this is 00:03.220 --> 00:07.180 my final NATO ministerial and I really 00:07.180 --> 00:10.260 do mean it this time . Um 00:11.840 --> 00:12.840 Okay , 00:15.240 --> 00:17.650 Ebola . Um 00:19.340 --> 00:21.340 as you know , this is my final NATO 00:21.340 --> 00:23.350 ministerial . I've always placed 00:23.350 --> 00:25.572 particular importance on these sessions 00:25.572 --> 00:27.517 because the transatlantic security 00:27.517 --> 00:29.461 relationship and the key role this 00:29.461 --> 00:31.628 alliance has played in protecting this 00:31.628 --> 00:33.850 continent Has been the central interest 00:33.850 --> 00:35.906 of my professional life beginning 45 00:35.906 --> 00:38.128 years ago this summer . Tomorrow , I'll 00:38.128 --> 00:40.239 have the opportunity in a speech here 00:40.239 --> 00:42.406 in brussels to reflect on the state of 00:42.406 --> 00:44.628 that security relationship and to offer 00:44.628 --> 00:46.683 some thoughts on its future course . 00:47.460 --> 00:49.627 The session that just ended focused on 00:49.627 --> 00:51.627 NATO's most important mission . Our 00:51.627 --> 00:53.850 effort underway in Afghanistan Having 00:53.850 --> 00:55.906 arrived in Brussels directly from my 00:55.906 --> 00:58.017 12th and last visit to Afghanistan as 00:58.017 --> 01:00.510 Secretary of Defense , I shared my view 01:00.510 --> 01:02.677 that we're making substantial military 01:02.677 --> 01:05.010 progress on the ground . I also 01:05.010 --> 01:07.380 reiterated my belief that these gains 01:07.380 --> 01:09.213 could be threatened if we do not 01:09.213 --> 01:11.324 proceed with the transition to Afghan 01:11.324 --> 01:13.570 security lead in a deliberate organized 01:13.570 --> 01:16.190 and coordinated manner . Even as the 01:16.190 --> 01:18.357 United States begins to draw down next 01:18.357 --> 01:20.550 month , I assured my fellow ministers 01:20.550 --> 01:22.661 there will be no rush to the exits on 01:22.661 --> 01:24.770 our part and we expect the same from 01:24.770 --> 01:27.570 our allies . Another focus of this 01:27.570 --> 01:29.681 ministerial is the effort underway in 01:29.681 --> 01:31.848 Libya , We affirm the recent agreement 01:31.848 --> 01:34.014 to extend the NATO mission for another 01:34.014 --> 01:36.181 90 days . As NATO strikes are becoming 01:36.181 --> 01:38.237 more and more effective at degrading 01:38.237 --> 01:39.903 the Gaddafi regime's military 01:39.903 --> 01:42.014 capability , although we will keep up 01:42.014 --> 01:44.070 this operations tempo for as long as 01:44.070 --> 01:46.014 necessary . I did call for several 01:46.014 --> 01:48.237 alliance members to contribute military 01:48.237 --> 01:50.292 capabilities so that the burdens are 01:50.292 --> 01:52.514 more evenly shared and thus more easily 01:52.514 --> 01:56.020 sustained over time . We also discuss 01:56.020 --> 01:58.187 potential supporting roles for NATO in 01:58.187 --> 02:00.409 a post conflict Libya . Although no one 02:00.409 --> 02:02.742 envisions that NATO will be in the lead . 02:03.940 --> 02:06.210 Let me turn to the sessions focused on 02:06.210 --> 02:09.140 NATO's relationship with Russia . I was 02:09.140 --> 02:11.196 pleased that the NATO Russia Council 02:11.196 --> 02:13.430 Defense ministers met after a three 02:13.430 --> 02:16.020 year hiatus reflecting the commitment 02:16.020 --> 02:18.187 to the strategic partnership at Lisbon 02:18.187 --> 02:20.187 announced by our heads of state and 02:20.187 --> 02:22.450 government . One of the key issues in 02:22.450 --> 02:25.010 the NATO Russia relationship is missile 02:25.010 --> 02:27.240 defense and in a separate bilateral 02:27.240 --> 02:29.073 meeting with Russian Minister of 02:29.073 --> 02:31.184 Defense . Sir Jakov , we reviewed the 02:31.184 --> 02:33.351 active efforts of our defense teams to 02:33.351 --> 02:35.184 lay the practical groundwork for 02:35.184 --> 02:37.073 cooperation on missile defense in 02:37.073 --> 02:39.240 europe . I had hoped we would be ready 02:39.240 --> 02:41.462 to move ahead on this subject . And the 02:41.462 --> 02:43.684 NATO Russia Council , it is clear we'll 02:43.684 --> 02:45.629 need more time . The Department of 02:45.629 --> 02:47.684 Defense remains committed to working 02:47.684 --> 02:49.907 with the Russian Ministry of Defense in 02:49.907 --> 02:52.129 support of our President's instructions 02:52.129 --> 02:54.296 at Dove Il . And it was encouraging to 02:54.296 --> 02:56.351 hear the strong consensus support at 02:56.351 --> 02:58.462 the NATO Russia Council for practical 02:58.462 --> 03:00.684 cooperation on missile defense directed 03:00.684 --> 03:02.684 against threats from outside europe 03:02.684 --> 03:05.018 such as Iran and not against each other . 03:05.018 --> 03:07.240 The existence of this consensus and the 03:07.240 --> 03:09.407 practical cooperation with Russia on a 03:09.407 --> 03:11.629 range of defense issues as testimony to 03:11.629 --> 03:13.740 how far the alliance has come since I 03:13.740 --> 03:16.250 entered government , NATO is far from 03:16.250 --> 03:18.361 the static defence alliance that used 03:18.361 --> 03:20.700 to be masked on the folder gap . And 03:20.700 --> 03:22.811 even though operations in Afghanistan 03:22.811 --> 03:24.978 and Libya have exposed some challenges 03:24.978 --> 03:26.922 and shortcomings in the alliance , 03:26.922 --> 03:28.922 which I'll discuss in greater depth 03:28.922 --> 03:30.867 tomorrow . I also believe there is 03:30.867 --> 03:32.978 greater recognition that other allies 03:32.978 --> 03:35.144 need to take on more of the burden and 03:35.144 --> 03:37.367 acquire greater military capabilities . 03:37.540 --> 03:39.707 As I conclude this final ministerial , 03:39.707 --> 03:41.762 I'm deeply heartened by the progress 03:41.762 --> 03:43.596 made last night on one of my key 03:43.596 --> 03:45.540 priorities here in brussels , NATO 03:45.540 --> 03:48.000 reform , I started talking about 03:48.000 --> 03:50.167 overhauling NATO command structure and 03:50.167 --> 03:52.222 headquarters bureaucracy three years 03:52.222 --> 03:54.530 ago and have been pushing these reforms 03:54.530 --> 03:56.900 ever since . Under the leadership of 03:56.900 --> 03:59.200 Secretary General Rasmussen and with 03:59.200 --> 04:01.422 the support of my fellow ministers , we 04:01.422 --> 04:03.533 have laid the groundwork for the most 04:03.533 --> 04:05.478 fundamental structural changes the 04:05.478 --> 04:07.700 alliance has seen in decades , although 04:07.700 --> 04:09.589 there is still hard work ahead to 04:09.589 --> 04:11.589 implement these changes , the tough 04:11.589 --> 04:13.644 political decisions have been made . 04:13.644 --> 04:15.700 But when they are finally realized , 04:15.700 --> 04:18.150 hopefully sooner rather than later , We 04:18.150 --> 04:20.206 will have modernized and streamlined 04:20.206 --> 04:22.870 NATO to address 21st century challenges . 04:23.840 --> 04:26.062 Finally , I told my colleagues that has 04:26.062 --> 04:28.173 been an honor and a privilege to work 04:28.173 --> 04:30.062 so closely with them and with the 04:30.062 --> 04:32.007 Secretary General , I concluded by 04:32.007 --> 04:34.062 saying , I leave confident that this 04:34.062 --> 04:36.960 nearly 65 year old alliance will endure 04:36.960 --> 04:39.030 and prosper , the oldest , most 04:39.030 --> 04:41.260 powerful and most collaborative joint 04:41.260 --> 04:43.460 endeavor of democratic peoples and 04:43.460 --> 04:45.571 governments in all of human history . 04:45.571 --> 04:48.660 Thank you , wow . 04:50.740 --> 04:54.430 Mhm . Uh huh Mr 04:54.430 --> 04:56.652 Secretary bob Burns of Associated Press 05:03.740 --> 05:07.280 down plan and the prospects for getting 05:07.280 --> 05:09.280 the taliban leadership into serious 05:09.280 --> 05:11.350 reconciliation talks um 05:13.140 --> 05:16.140 is a drawdown at this stage this year 05:16.150 --> 05:18.500 consistent with efforts to improve 05:18.500 --> 05:21.820 chances for reconciliation ? Well , I 05:21.820 --> 05:24.440 think that the key in terms of 05:24.450 --> 05:28.340 potential for reconciliation is is not 05:28.810 --> 05:31.060 merely in the numbers of troops , it is 05:31.060 --> 05:33.350 in the progress that we have made And 05:33.350 --> 05:35.640 we have made a great deal of progress 05:35.660 --> 05:38.530 in the last 18 months in terms of 05:38.530 --> 05:40.363 driving the Taliban out of their 05:40.363 --> 05:42.520 homeland and their strongholds in 05:42.520 --> 05:45.070 Kandahar and Helmand , we've made a 05:45.070 --> 05:47.292 great deal of progress in improving the 05:47.292 --> 05:50.330 capabilities of the NATO of the Afghan 05:50.330 --> 05:52.430 national Security forces , uh 05:52.440 --> 05:55.030 particularly the army , both in numbers 05:55.040 --> 05:58.370 and in quality . So one of the 05:58.370 --> 06:00.037 fundamental objectives of the 06:00.037 --> 06:02.203 president's strategy , which I've been 06:02.203 --> 06:04.259 working to execute since December of 06:04.259 --> 06:08.220 2009 . was that the components were to 06:08.230 --> 06:10.580 deny the Taliban control of populated 06:10.580 --> 06:13.480 areas uh and to degrade their 06:13.480 --> 06:15.369 capability to the point where the 06:15.369 --> 06:17.810 Afghan national Security forces uh 06:17.820 --> 06:20.290 could protect their own country against 06:20.290 --> 06:22.340 the Taliban and against other 06:22.340 --> 06:24.700 insurgents . We've made a lot of 06:24.700 --> 06:26.811 headway in both of those . So I think 06:26.811 --> 06:29.750 that the decisions in terms of troop 06:29.750 --> 06:31.583 numbers and so on , as Secretary 06:31.583 --> 06:33.806 General said , and as the President has 06:33.806 --> 06:36.240 said consistently in terms of pace and 06:36.240 --> 06:38.240 uh numbers will be dependent on the 06:38.240 --> 06:40.407 conditions on the ground . By the same 06:40.407 --> 06:42.518 token , we have to realize that there 06:42.518 --> 06:44.240 has been an improvement in the 06:44.240 --> 06:46.296 situation on the ground . The key is 06:46.296 --> 06:48.351 what kind of pressure do the Taliban 06:48.351 --> 06:50.430 feel under ? I am I have always 06:50.430 --> 06:53.050 believed that only when they are under 06:53.050 --> 06:55.260 significant pressure and begin to 06:55.260 --> 06:57.690 contemplate that they can't win . Do 06:57.690 --> 07:01.670 they then are they then motivated uh to 07:01.680 --> 07:04.160 enter into serious reconciliation talks ? 07:04.640 --> 07:08.230 I see no change is likely in the next 07:08.230 --> 07:10.900 six months or so uh that are going to 07:10.900 --> 07:13.011 relieve the pressure on the taliban . 07:14.740 --> 07:18.380 Yeah . Yeah . Mr Secretary 07:18.380 --> 07:20.610 Viola anger from Bloomberg News . You 07:20.610 --> 07:23.270 mentioned um NATO Russia Council 07:23.270 --> 07:25.492 Defense Ministers meeting today in your 07:25.492 --> 07:27.548 meeting with uh with Russian Defense 07:27.548 --> 07:29.659 Minister Serdyukov . Um you said that 07:29.659 --> 07:31.600 the U . S . Is still committed to 07:31.610 --> 07:33.950 finding a way of cooperating on missile 07:33.950 --> 07:37.930 defense with Russia . Do you feel that 07:37.940 --> 07:40.060 the Russians are as committed as the 07:40.060 --> 07:43.330 United States ? I think that the 07:43.340 --> 07:46.970 Russians have uh questions about 07:46.980 --> 07:49.920 uh particularly the longer term nature 07:49.920 --> 07:52.660 of the missile defense capability . 07:53.440 --> 07:56.470 I do think they're serious . I have 07:56.480 --> 07:58.591 from the very first meetings I had in 07:58.591 --> 08:00.758 Russia with president , then President 08:00.758 --> 08:03.850 Putin in 2007 . Through my meetings 08:03.850 --> 08:06.900 with President Medvedev earlier this 08:06.900 --> 08:09.270 year and my meetings with the Minister , 08:09.270 --> 08:13.090 Sir Jakov . Uh I think that they have 08:13.090 --> 08:16.760 responded with interest in our 08:16.770 --> 08:18.650 suggestions , in terms of how 08:18.660 --> 08:20.882 information sharing might work , how we 08:20.882 --> 08:23.250 might work together on this ? I still 08:23.250 --> 08:25.472 think there are those in Russia who are 08:25.472 --> 08:27.510 skeptical of our motives . And so I 08:27.510 --> 08:29.870 think that we just need to keep working 08:29.870 --> 08:32.290 at this . I think that the proposals 08:32.290 --> 08:35.010 for the data centers that were first 08:35.010 --> 08:37.820 made by the Russians some months ago 08:37.840 --> 08:39.840 and that we've since elaborated and 08:39.840 --> 08:42.720 that I conveyed back to them in more 08:42.720 --> 08:46.450 concrete terms when I was in Moscow . I 08:46.460 --> 08:48.682 think there is genuine interest in that 08:48.682 --> 08:50.793 and I think there is genuine interest 08:50.793 --> 08:52.849 in the joint analysis of the missile 08:52.849 --> 08:55.016 threat that we've that we've agreed to 08:55.016 --> 08:57.182 do . So , I think we just have to take 08:57.182 --> 08:59.182 this a step at a step , a step at a 08:59.182 --> 09:01.404 time . I think that the Russians have a 09:01.404 --> 09:05.070 long history of of hostility and uh 09:05.080 --> 09:07.247 wearing us about missile defense . And 09:07.247 --> 09:09.302 so I just think we have to keep keep 09:09.302 --> 09:11.460 working at it with them . Yes , Sir 09:13.740 --> 09:16.200 Stone in Dili East Ebola pretension . 09:16.640 --> 09:19.280 My question is , how would you estimate 09:19.290 --> 09:23.040 the readiness of Afghanistan E national 09:23.040 --> 09:25.730 security forces ? Well , I think the 09:25.730 --> 09:27.786 way General Petraeus briefed it this 09:27.786 --> 09:31.030 morning is that uh , it's obviously a 09:31.030 --> 09:33.570 mixed picture but a very positive 09:33.570 --> 09:36.500 trajectory . The reality is uh , you 09:36.500 --> 09:38.830 know , night raids have been uh in the 09:38.840 --> 09:41.620 in the news a lot , Particularly in 09:41.620 --> 09:44.810 Afghanistan . And the reality is there 09:44.810 --> 09:47.420 are now some 11,000 Afghan special 09:47.420 --> 09:49.670 operations forces and about a quarter 09:49.720 --> 09:51.831 of the night raids are carried out by 09:51.831 --> 09:55.460 the Afghans alone And the remaining 75% 09:55.460 --> 09:57.730 are carried out in partnership with 09:57.730 --> 10:01.160 coalition forces . So they have some 10:01.160 --> 10:04.240 very high quality forces , they clearly 10:04.240 --> 10:06.560 still need partnering and mentoring , 10:06.940 --> 10:08.940 but they are making a great deal of 10:08.940 --> 10:10.996 headway . One of the statistics just 10:10.996 --> 10:13.162 over the last year that surprised me . 10:13.640 --> 10:17.550 We've gone from uh in terms 10:17.550 --> 10:21.150 of qualifying marksmanship From about 10:21.150 --> 10:24.130 35% of the graduates of basic training , 10:24.510 --> 10:27.910 getting passing marks on marksmanship 10:27.920 --> 10:30.740 to over 95% . So there's been some real 10:30.740 --> 10:32.740 change in the quality of the people 10:32.740 --> 10:35.220 that are coming out of the training . 10:35.220 --> 10:37.164 And we're and we're doing a lot of 10:37.164 --> 10:39.790 specialized training is General 10:39.790 --> 10:42.280 Petraeus made clear we now have a 10:42.280 --> 10:44.336 variety of schools for N . C . O . S 10:44.336 --> 10:46.590 for junior officers , for specialties 10:46.590 --> 10:50.590 such as logistics and so on . And 10:50.600 --> 10:52.710 I think right now there's something 10:52.710 --> 10:56.030 like 30 some 1000 afghans in school in 10:56.030 --> 10:58.800 training . So , Uh , I think we made a 10:58.800 --> 11:01.640 lot of progress with the Afghan 11:01.640 --> 11:04.030 security forces over the last year to 11:04.030 --> 11:06.860 18 months and and I see that trajectory 11:06.860 --> 11:07.860 continuing . 11:11.640 --> 11:13.862 Yes , Brooke signal jane's defence uh , 11:13.870 --> 11:16.000 two part question on reform , um , 11:16.010 --> 11:18.010 could you give us some sense of the 11:18.010 --> 11:20.121 scale of impact in financial terms of 11:20.121 --> 11:21.954 the reform in your view , are we 11:21.954 --> 11:24.177 looking at tens or hundreds of millions 11:24.177 --> 11:26.530 of euros or more ? And what guarantee 11:26.530 --> 11:28.641 is there that certain european allies 11:28.641 --> 11:31.290 won't use this as a good excuse to 11:31.290 --> 11:33.457 continue cutting their defense budgets 11:33.457 --> 11:35.457 since NATO won't need as much money 11:35.457 --> 11:37.679 because it is much more efficient under 11:37.679 --> 11:37.640 this reform . Thank you . Well , I 11:37.640 --> 11:40.230 think first of all I'm not in a 11:40.230 --> 11:43.160 position to be able to 11:43.160 --> 11:46.810 forecast the dollar or the euro savings 11:46.820 --> 11:49.560 through the reforms . But just as an 11:49.560 --> 11:51.920 example , we're looking at a reduction 11:51.930 --> 11:55.380 of about 25 - 11:55.380 --> 11:58.810 30% of personnel . So that's pretty 11:58.810 --> 12:02.160 substantial . The key going forward on 12:02.160 --> 12:04.271 the reform of the defense agencies to 12:04.271 --> 12:07.490 go from 14 to 3 Is not to squeeze all 12:07.490 --> 12:09.657 the people from 14 agencies into three 12:09.657 --> 12:12.400 agencies . It's to it's to figure out 12:12.400 --> 12:14.460 how you can do this more efficiently 12:14.470 --> 12:17.030 and more cost effectively . And I would 12:17.030 --> 12:19.340 say that several of the allies , the 12:19.340 --> 12:22.960 french the british among others are 12:22.970 --> 12:25.090 really focused on this and have been 12:25.090 --> 12:28.070 with us in terms of reform . You put 12:28.070 --> 12:30.014 your finger on a worry that I have 12:30.014 --> 12:32.730 frankly that people will want to pocket 12:32.740 --> 12:36.050 whatever savings there there is . I 12:36.050 --> 12:38.106 think one of the challenges that the 12:38.106 --> 12:40.330 alliance faces is in fact in terms of 12:40.330 --> 12:43.390 military capabilities and with and I'll 12:43.390 --> 12:45.310 talk about this at greater length 12:45.310 --> 12:48.020 tomorrow in my speech . But the key 12:48.020 --> 12:51.260 then is how can we do more together 12:51.640 --> 12:54.920 through pooled efforts in the alliance 12:55.130 --> 12:57.850 for countries whose defense budgets are 12:57.850 --> 12:59.906 under great pressure . And I think a 12:59.906 --> 13:01.980 great example of that kind of pooled 13:01.980 --> 13:04.490 effort is the strategic air left Cape 13:04.500 --> 13:07.130 airlift capability where a number of 13:07.130 --> 13:09.430 nations in essence went together and 13:09.430 --> 13:11.530 bought three C seventeen's that are 13:11.540 --> 13:13.762 that are stationed in Hungary , we need 13:13.762 --> 13:15.818 to do more of that in the alliance . 13:15.818 --> 13:17.873 The the alliance ground surveillance 13:17.873 --> 13:19.860 system is another case of shared 13:20.240 --> 13:22.530 capability where the costs are shared 13:22.530 --> 13:24.474 among a number of countries . So I 13:24.500 --> 13:26.930 think it's important that these savings 13:26.940 --> 13:30.390 be translated into into capabilities 13:30.400 --> 13:33.450 uh and not just pocketed . Mhm . 13:36.940 --> 13:39.162 Thank you . Mr Secretary Sean moroney , 13:39.162 --> 13:41.051 Voice of America . My question is 13:41.051 --> 13:43.218 within the last month or so we've seen 13:43.218 --> 13:45.107 us relations with our two biggest 13:45.107 --> 13:46.773 allies in the war on terror , 13:46.773 --> 13:48.996 Afghanistan and Pakistan sort of sucker 13:48.996 --> 13:50.996 suffer setbacks . I mean between uh 13:50.996 --> 13:53.110 President Karzai's uh statements on 13:53.110 --> 13:55.570 civilian casualties as well as the raid 13:55.580 --> 13:57.630 on Osama bin laden's compound in 13:57.630 --> 13:59.630 Pakistan . I'm wondering how you 13:59.630 --> 14:01.540 foresee that affecting the fight 14:01.540 --> 14:03.651 against terror in the region and also 14:03.651 --> 14:05.707 as you leave your position , how you 14:05.707 --> 14:07.873 would rate the relationship the United 14:07.873 --> 14:10.096 States has , is it better or is it at a 14:10.096 --> 14:12.151 lower point than your tenure ? Thank 14:12.151 --> 14:14.262 you . Well , I think , first of all , 14:14.262 --> 14:18.170 with respect to Afghanistan , I 14:18.170 --> 14:21.910 have made the case often over the 14:21.920 --> 14:24.560 years that we don't listen carefully 14:24.560 --> 14:27.160 enough to President Karzai whether it's 14:27.160 --> 14:29.530 private security contractors or 14:29.530 --> 14:32.260 civilian casualties or parallel 14:32.260 --> 14:34.260 development structures that have no 14:34.260 --> 14:36.371 connection to the Afghan government . 14:36.840 --> 14:39.920 If we had listened better earlier on 14:39.920 --> 14:41.976 the private security contractors . I 14:41.976 --> 14:44.142 don't think there ever would have been 14:44.142 --> 14:46.198 a crisis . We would have developed a 14:46.198 --> 14:48.309 transition plan and work through it . 14:48.309 --> 14:50.364 Uh President Karzai the whole time . 14:50.364 --> 14:52.930 I've been Secretary of Defense has 14:52.930 --> 14:55.980 worried about civilian casualties . Uh 14:55.990 --> 14:59.370 and and the need for the coalition need 14:59.370 --> 15:02.500 for the coalition to have a far higher 15:02.500 --> 15:04.390 standard in terms of protecting 15:04.400 --> 15:06.430 civilians than the Taliban do who 15:06.430 --> 15:09.530 actually now and have for some time 15:09.530 --> 15:12.910 actually targets civilians . So this is 15:12.920 --> 15:15.510 this is not a new concern . I had 15:15.510 --> 15:17.566 dinner with President Karzai earlier 15:17.566 --> 15:19.232 this week . It's very cordial 15:19.232 --> 15:21.566 conversation . We had a private meeting . 15:21.566 --> 15:23.732 Uh , I think he is completely on board 15:23.732 --> 15:26.130 with the campaign strategy . Um , I 15:26.140 --> 15:28.251 think he has a good relationship with 15:28.251 --> 15:30.362 General Petraeus . He knows uh , Ryan 15:30.362 --> 15:32.473 Crocker , our new ambassador , should 15:32.473 --> 15:35.590 the senate confirm him . Uh , he knows 15:35.590 --> 15:38.060 Ryan from earlier in this decade . He 15:38.060 --> 15:41.350 knows john Allen . General Allen . So I 15:41.350 --> 15:43.461 think , I think that we will continue 15:43.461 --> 15:45.406 to be able to to work productively 15:45.406 --> 15:48.140 together . The Pakistani relationship 15:48.150 --> 15:50.317 has been complicated for a long time . 15:50.940 --> 15:53.890 The pakistanis in essence believe that 15:53.900 --> 15:56.067 we have betrayed them on at least four 15:56.067 --> 15:58.720 different occasions , Most recently in 15:58.730 --> 16:01.620 1989 . And then again in the early 90s 16:01.630 --> 16:03.741 with the Pressler Amendment , when we 16:03.741 --> 16:05.852 cut off all relations with the Afghan 16:05.852 --> 16:09.160 with the Pakistani military persuading 16:09.160 --> 16:11.271 them that this time we really mean it 16:11.540 --> 16:13.373 that we really are going to stay 16:13.373 --> 16:15.540 engaged , that we really are not going 16:15.540 --> 16:17.810 to abandon them to whatever might 16:17.810 --> 16:19.960 happen in Afghanistan and that their 16:19.960 --> 16:22.127 interests will be taken into account , 16:22.440 --> 16:24.500 has to be a work in progress and we 16:24.500 --> 16:26.778 have to just manage our way through it . 16:26.778 --> 16:29.580 The pakistanis refer to a trust deficit 16:29.610 --> 16:31.721 and I think that's absolutely right . 16:31.840 --> 16:34.690 And what I will say this administration 16:34.690 --> 16:37.770 has really worked hard at is in terms 16:37.770 --> 16:39.930 of trying to reduce that deficit or 16:39.930 --> 16:42.041 eliminate it altogether . And I can't 16:42.041 --> 16:44.041 think of any time in my career when 16:44.041 --> 16:46.263 senior officials of the government have 16:46.263 --> 16:48.430 spent more time engaged with Pakistani 16:48.430 --> 16:50.480 leaders and we'll just have to keep 16:50.490 --> 16:52.800 working our way through it . The truth 16:52.800 --> 16:54.600 is , we both need each other . 16:58.240 --> 17:00.760 Mr Gates Mr Gates can clash from german 17:00.760 --> 17:04.440 television zdF . Um does the death of 17:04.440 --> 17:06.218 Osama bin Laden has changed the 17:06.218 --> 17:08.540 situation for the Americans in 17:08.540 --> 17:12.500 Afghanistan and you pushed these 30,000 17:12.500 --> 17:14.667 troops that were sent around ? I think 17:14.667 --> 17:16.889 bratislava the defense minister meeting 17:16.889 --> 17:19.111 some months ago . And do you think it's 17:19.111 --> 17:22.020 now the appropriate moment to well to 17:22.020 --> 17:24.242 get them back to the United States ? Is 17:24.242 --> 17:26.464 that possible ? Let's say until the end 17:26.464 --> 17:30.110 of the year . And there were reports in 17:30.110 --> 17:32.054 the american news that there was a 17:32.054 --> 17:34.054 wasting my memory and being able to 17:34.054 --> 17:36.166 remember all these questions , Let me 17:36.166 --> 17:38.221 just last last remark , if you allow 17:38.221 --> 17:40.166 that there was a waste of money in 17:40.166 --> 17:42.277 Afghanistan , How how do you evaluate 17:42.277 --> 17:45.340 this ? That's a no brainer . Of course 17:45.340 --> 17:47.173 there's been a waste of money in 17:47.173 --> 17:49.650 Afghanistan . You tell you show me a 17:49.650 --> 17:51.817 war where there hasn't been a waste of 17:51.817 --> 17:54.390 money Now . I personally think that the 17:54.400 --> 17:56.590 the report was primarily focused on 17:56.590 --> 17:58.812 development projects . And I think that 17:58.812 --> 18:00.812 the leadership of A I . D . And the 18:00.812 --> 18:02.920 State Department push back on that 18:02.920 --> 18:05.142 yesterday and the fact that a number of 18:05.142 --> 18:07.253 the recommendations have already been 18:07.253 --> 18:09.476 taken in this administration to correct 18:09.476 --> 18:12.850 some of those problems . But you know 18:13.440 --> 18:16.320 we have three different oversight 18:16.320 --> 18:18.980 bodies just under ISAF in terms of 18:18.980 --> 18:21.830 monitoring contracts we wouldn't have 18:21.830 --> 18:23.663 those if we didn't know we had a 18:23.663 --> 18:26.550 problem in effectively administering 18:26.550 --> 18:30.530 contracts . And so I end I came 18:30.530 --> 18:33.000 one of the things that I that I benefit 18:33.000 --> 18:35.056 from . I'm digressing here a bit but 18:35.056 --> 18:37.760 this is a useful opportunity . One of 18:37.760 --> 18:39.982 the things that I do every time I visit 18:40.370 --> 18:43.710 our troops is to sit down and have 18:43.710 --> 18:46.270 lunch or a meal with junior officers 18:46.270 --> 18:49.610 and junior enlisted and my meeting with 18:49.620 --> 18:52.310 junior officers with captains , one of 18:52.310 --> 18:55.640 them talked about the desire to bring 18:55.640 --> 18:57.529 electricity to one of the forward 18:57.529 --> 19:00.980 operating bases And a contractor's 19:00.980 --> 19:04.960 bid was $240,000 to do that . They 19:04.960 --> 19:07.182 went out and Jerry rigged something for 19:07.182 --> 19:10.710 $1,000 . So what I've suggested what I 19:10.710 --> 19:12.877 suggested to General Rodriguez when we 19:12.877 --> 19:16.120 were in the helicopter together was one 19:16.120 --> 19:18.176 of these oversight bodies that I sat 19:18.176 --> 19:20.890 needs to establish a hotline that is 19:20.890 --> 19:23.240 made known to every american officer 19:23.240 --> 19:26.580 and NGO throughout Afghanistan because 19:26.580 --> 19:30.070 they see this stuff up close better and 19:30.070 --> 19:32.200 faster than almost anybody . And if 19:32.200 --> 19:34.090 they think the government or the 19:34.090 --> 19:37.010 military is getting ripped off then for 19:37.010 --> 19:39.121 them to have a number of one of these 19:39.121 --> 19:41.177 investigative groups to call to give 19:41.177 --> 19:43.343 them a tip . So they told me they were 19:43.343 --> 19:45.510 going to go ahead and that's basically 19:45.510 --> 19:47.760 a no cost way to get information to 19:47.770 --> 19:51.430 those who are supervising these , to 19:51.430 --> 19:53.930 those who can investigate contractors 19:53.930 --> 19:55.930 who aren't behaving themselves . In 19:55.930 --> 19:58.152 terms of the situation on the ground in 19:58.152 --> 20:01.210 Afghanistan . Uh our commanders tell me 20:01.210 --> 20:03.930 they have not seen any difference , but 20:03.930 --> 20:06.390 that doesn't mean there won't be . And 20:06.390 --> 20:09.790 my message when I was in Afghanistan is 20:09.800 --> 20:12.680 that perhaps the most significant 20:12.690 --> 20:15.250 impact of Bin laden's death in terms of 20:15.250 --> 20:18.600 Afghanistan is that he had a close 20:18.600 --> 20:21.230 personal relationship with mullah Omar 20:21.520 --> 20:25.010 of the Taliban . And if I were 20:25.020 --> 20:28.140 Taliban , I would say , what did al 20:28.140 --> 20:30.196 Qaeda ever do for me , except get me 20:30.196 --> 20:32.850 kicked out of Afghanistan . And so the 20:32.850 --> 20:34.739 question is whether breaking that 20:34.739 --> 20:37.100 strong link between al Qaeda and the 20:37.100 --> 20:39.270 Taliban , which was a personal link , 20:39.840 --> 20:42.850 creates the opportunity potentially for 20:42.860 --> 20:45.470 a greater likelihood of reconciliation , 20:45.480 --> 20:47.647 because obviously one of the red lines 20:47.647 --> 20:49.702 for the coalition and for the Afghan 20:49.702 --> 20:52.580 government is a complete disavowal by 20:53.720 --> 20:56.000 the Taliban of any connection or 20:56.000 --> 20:59.210 supportive of Al Qaeda . So , I think 20:59.210 --> 21:00.932 that in terms of the political 21:00.932 --> 21:04.860 prospects , the potential of um 21:05.240 --> 21:07.390 the killing of Bin laden to be a game 21:07.390 --> 21:09.990 changer , is there in terms of the 21:09.990 --> 21:11.657 situation on the ground , the 21:11.657 --> 21:13.712 commanders tell me they haven't seen 21:13.712 --> 21:15.823 anything yet , I think it's too early 21:15.823 --> 21:17.990 to tell . It's only been about five or 21:17.990 --> 21:20.323 six weeks at this point 5.5 weeks since , 21:20.323 --> 21:23.120 since he was killed . Um , but I think 21:23.120 --> 21:25.342 there could be an impact and , but it's 21:25.342 --> 21:27.453 going to take several months to see , 21:27.453 --> 21:27.440 Yeah , 21:30.540 --> 21:33.280 Jonathan Marcus in BBC , I'm sure 21:33.280 --> 21:35.280 you'll probably have more to say on 21:35.280 --> 21:37.224 this tomorrow , but a brief answer 21:37.224 --> 21:39.336 please . Um , only nine out of the 28 21:39.336 --> 21:39.180 NATO members are involved in the 21:39.180 --> 21:41.790 current operation in Libya . How 21:41.790 --> 21:43.950 corrosive do you think is it for the 21:43.950 --> 21:46.170 alliance's future that increasingly 21:46.170 --> 21:47.892 military operations seem to be 21:47.892 --> 21:50.114 conducted by a coalition of the willing 21:50.114 --> 21:52.170 within the broader alliance . You're 21:52.170 --> 21:54.392 right , I will speak to that tomorrow . 21:55.240 --> 21:56.240 Mhm . 21:58.840 --> 22:01.240 Uh in training from the garden Mr Gates 22:01.240 --> 22:03.462 on a similar point , would you say that 22:03.462 --> 22:06.050 do you think that the 90 day extension 22:06.060 --> 22:08.320 of the strikes campaign in Libya is 22:08.320 --> 22:10.320 sustainable at the same level ? And 22:10.320 --> 22:12.720 temple , without the additional assets 22:12.720 --> 22:14.553 that you've been requesting here 22:14.553 --> 22:18.350 yesterday and today . I think that 22:18.360 --> 22:20.830 those who are bearing the brunt of the , 22:20.940 --> 22:23.460 of the strike burden 22:23.840 --> 22:27.040 are increasingly pressed and I'll speak 22:27.040 --> 22:29.151 to that tomorrow a little bit as well 22:29.151 --> 22:31.318 in terms of manifestation of a lack of 22:31.318 --> 22:33.560 investment in defense over many years , 22:34.240 --> 22:37.550 but I think they will be able to 22:37.550 --> 22:39.606 sustain this . I think there will be 22:39.606 --> 22:41.717 additional help . I can tell you that 22:41.717 --> 22:43.883 the United States is committed to this 22:43.883 --> 22:46.050 We are providing . I think I read this 22:46.050 --> 22:47.939 morning something on the order of 22:47.939 --> 22:50.650 75-85% of the tanker capacity . We are 22:50.650 --> 22:52.740 providing a very great deal of the 22:52.740 --> 22:54.518 intelligence , surveillance and 22:54.518 --> 22:56.670 reconnaissance . And I can tell you 22:57.040 --> 22:59.840 we're in this thing with our allies to 22:59.840 --> 23:02.920 the finish and I think they'll be able 23:02.920 --> 23:04.920 to sustain it . But the question is 23:04.920 --> 23:07.031 just how much more painful it becomes 23:07.031 --> 23:08.864 if other countries that have the 23:08.864 --> 23:11.390 capabilities that have the capacity 23:11.390 --> 23:14.230 don't step up to the degree that 23:14.230 --> 23:16.397 specific countries were named . It was 23:16.397 --> 23:18.563 because they're the big countries that 23:18.563 --> 23:21.530 have actual military capacity . Thank 23:21.530 --> 23:22.260 you all very much .