WEBVTT 00:01.040 --> 00:03.210 okay . Admiral tape is rolling up . We 00:03.210 --> 00:05.266 can begin with what you talked about 00:05.266 --> 00:07.377 earlier today . The arrest of the one 00:07.377 --> 00:08.988 of the administrators at the 00:08.988 --> 00:11.210 psychiatric hospital and how that might 00:11.210 --> 00:13.210 be tied to the market bombings from 00:13.210 --> 00:13.150 earlier this month . Can you tell us a 00:13.150 --> 00:15.372 little bit about that investigation and 00:15.372 --> 00:17.428 uh , and the arrest as well ? Yeah . 00:17.428 --> 00:19.750 His actual detention was conducted a 00:19.750 --> 00:22.080 couple of days ago by both Iraqi and 00:22.090 --> 00:24.090 coalition forces . He's linked , we 00:24.090 --> 00:26.368 believed to an Al Qaeda ring that's uh , 00:26.368 --> 00:28.880 looking to try to obtain information on 00:28.890 --> 00:31.070 mainly challenge in this case women , 00:31.080 --> 00:33.136 uh , this administrator , we believe 00:33.136 --> 00:35.170 had access to records and files and 00:35.180 --> 00:37.402 potentially is linked to that . He's in 00:37.402 --> 00:39.624 detention . He's being questioned . And 00:39.624 --> 00:41.624 uh , right now this as far as we're 00:41.624 --> 00:43.624 going to take this subject until we 00:43.624 --> 00:45.791 learn more information from him and be 00:45.791 --> 00:45.650 able to link it back to the topic of 00:45.650 --> 00:49.230 women . Is there any indication that 00:49.230 --> 00:51.560 this is a new way that I might be going 00:51.560 --> 00:53.727 about things always in a lot more with 00:53.727 --> 00:55.893 using the female suicide bombers ? And 00:55.893 --> 00:58.360 is there any sense that this could be 00:58.360 --> 01:00.582 another front that they're opening up ? 01:01.040 --> 01:03.260 Well , we have no , since 2000 and 01:03.260 --> 01:05.371 three , there have been roughly 20 to 01:05.371 --> 01:07.649 25 different events across the country , 01:07.649 --> 01:09.649 but in the last four or five months 01:09.649 --> 01:11.482 there's been seven or eight . So 01:11.482 --> 01:13.704 there's certainly been an uptick in the 01:13.704 --> 01:15.871 use of women as suicide bombers . Uh , 01:15.871 --> 01:18.038 not all those were mentally challenged 01:18.038 --> 01:20.316 or handicapped women . There were some , 01:20.316 --> 01:22.482 we believe they have been unwitting as 01:22.482 --> 01:24.593 well , but in many cases perhaps knew 01:24.593 --> 01:24.470 exactly what they were doing . So it's 01:24.470 --> 01:27.040 unclear what Al Qaeda's motivations are 01:27.040 --> 01:28.984 long term , but certainly last few 01:28.984 --> 01:32.210 months they have used women to uh , 01:32.220 --> 01:34.540 specifically to go against . Some of 01:34.540 --> 01:36.707 the security measures have been put in 01:36.707 --> 01:39.710 place if we can talk a little more 01:39.710 --> 01:42.260 broadly about security Admiral , the 01:42.260 --> 01:44.316 overall sense that we've gotten over 01:44.316 --> 01:46.371 the last few weeks , we haven't seen 01:46.371 --> 01:48.427 any of those six spectacular attacks 01:48.427 --> 01:50.649 and those that market bombings , if you 01:50.649 --> 01:52.816 can give us a break up their operation 01:52.816 --> 01:54.704 phoenix and just how the security 01:54.704 --> 01:56.816 situation has been uh , in the recent 01:56.816 --> 01:58.871 weeks . Yeah , well , really , since 01:58.871 --> 02:01.370 october , we've had a really study , uh , 02:01.380 --> 02:03.820 level of violence , still very high , 02:03.820 --> 02:06.630 but essentially studying and we have 02:06.630 --> 02:08.463 not seen the tremendous peaks or 02:08.463 --> 02:10.741 valleys in that that level of violence . 02:10.741 --> 02:12.686 What we have seen though in recent 02:12.686 --> 02:14.852 weeks is our activity by coalition and 02:14.852 --> 02:16.963 Iraqi special Forces . It's beginning 02:16.963 --> 02:19.130 to drive Al Qaeda out of the remaining 02:19.130 --> 02:21.352 cities and villages , especially in the 02:21.352 --> 02:23.519 Diyala area , Diyala province . And as 02:23.519 --> 02:25.574 you move up towards Mosul , the same 02:25.574 --> 02:27.574 thing can be said there , where the 02:27.574 --> 02:29.741 population centers are becoming less , 02:29.741 --> 02:31.963 the rest of the location of Al Qaeda to 02:31.963 --> 02:34.130 operate from . And they're moving more 02:34.130 --> 02:36.297 into the countryside and in some cases 02:36.297 --> 02:38.352 back out in the deserts , which is a 02:38.352 --> 02:40.352 good thing because as you know , Al 02:40.352 --> 02:42.352 Qaeda main targets are the civilian 02:42.352 --> 02:44.519 populations and population Security is 02:44.519 --> 02:46.574 the primary objective of our efforts 02:46.574 --> 02:49.420 here . Secretary gauge just wrapped up 02:49.420 --> 02:51.531 a visit , their meetings with General 02:51.531 --> 02:53.753 Petraeus and others . Is there any kind 02:53.753 --> 02:55.920 of readout that you can give us on the 02:55.920 --> 02:58.087 kinds of things that the Secretary saw 02:58.087 --> 02:57.760 and what some of the talks were about . 02:59.040 --> 03:01.207 He had the opportunity to sit down and 03:01.207 --> 03:03.510 discuss at length with multinational 03:03.510 --> 03:06.100 force leadership . Got extensive 03:06.100 --> 03:08.156 briefing on the Baghdad situation by 03:08.156 --> 03:10.156 commanders there on the ground . Uh 03:10.160 --> 03:12.510 great insights into the operations that 03:12.510 --> 03:14.454 have been taking place , how we're 03:14.454 --> 03:16.621 organized , how we're working with the 03:16.621 --> 03:18.720 Iraqi security forces and what work 03:18.720 --> 03:21.970 needs to be done yet to really bring uh 03:21.980 --> 03:24.091 security across all the neighborhoods 03:24.091 --> 03:26.202 in Baghdad . So that was the focus of 03:26.202 --> 03:28.313 course , the Secretary an opportunity 03:28.313 --> 03:30.369 to sit down with Iraqi leadership as 03:30.369 --> 03:32.480 well and have some good discussion on 03:32.480 --> 03:34.647 their responsibility and their role in 03:34.647 --> 03:36.813 providing security and partnering with 03:36.813 --> 03:38.980 the coalition to achieve that . So , I 03:38.980 --> 03:41.202 think it was a good baseline discussion 03:41.202 --> 03:40.540 for the Secretary . He's been here as 03:40.540 --> 03:42.620 you know , many , many times and his 03:42.620 --> 03:44.398 business are always uncertain , 03:44.398 --> 03:46.564 enlightening uh to him and allowed him 03:46.564 --> 03:48.453 to get up to speed on the current 03:48.453 --> 03:50.509 situation . Uh And that gives him an 03:50.509 --> 03:52.231 opportunity to make some solid 03:52.231 --> 03:54.342 decisions . We return to Washington . 03:54.740 --> 03:56.907 The Secretary mentioned that he is now 03:56.907 --> 03:59.018 leaning towards what General Petraeus 03:59.018 --> 04:01.018 had talked about before and perhaps 04:01.018 --> 04:03.129 having the pause as the search troops 04:03.129 --> 04:05.184 removed this summer . Can you talk a 04:05.184 --> 04:07.240 little bit about the same thing ? We 04:07.240 --> 04:09.462 talked about late summer and early fall 04:09.462 --> 04:09.360 about this decision process that 04:09.370 --> 04:11.426 General Petraeus will go through and 04:11.426 --> 04:13.037 kind of what goes into these 04:13.037 --> 04:15.259 recommendations that he'll be making to 04:15.259 --> 04:17.370 the President as we approached brings 04:17.370 --> 04:19.380 up Well , what 04:19.380 --> 04:23.250 the what 04:23.250 --> 04:25.472 the committee general has been asked to 04:25.472 --> 04:28.390 do is take a look at what the potential 04:28.400 --> 04:31.610 outcomes of of our efforts could be in 04:31.610 --> 04:33.666 the coming months if things improved 04:33.666 --> 04:35.832 dramatically , that perhaps will allow 04:35.832 --> 04:38.020 for continuing to draw down if the 04:38.020 --> 04:39.798 situation on the ground and the 04:39.798 --> 04:41.909 conditions weren't because it's based 04:41.909 --> 04:44.020 on an increased violence or levels of 04:44.020 --> 04:46.131 violence go up and you have to make a 04:46.131 --> 04:48.076 different adjustment in terms your 04:48.076 --> 04:50.076 force levels , but essentially what 04:50.076 --> 04:52.131 what we want to try to get to by the 04:52.131 --> 04:54.353 time we get to july is having the first 04:54.353 --> 04:56.464 five brigades being removed , that'll 04:56.464 --> 04:58.520 be 25% reduction of combat power and 04:58.520 --> 05:00.576 they really have a period of time to 05:00.576 --> 05:02.631 consolidate and assess the situation 05:02.631 --> 05:02.390 before making any further 05:02.390 --> 05:04.720 recommendations on drawing down forces . 05:04.730 --> 05:06.841 It's every expectation that the force 05:06.841 --> 05:08.841 levels will continue to draw down . 05:08.841 --> 05:11.063 It's just really a question of pace and 05:11.063 --> 05:13.840 timing as we talk about the search is 05:13.840 --> 05:16.062 coming home , Admiral , tomorrow is the 05:16.062 --> 05:18.284 first anniversary of what the Serbs did 05:18.284 --> 05:20.396 begin as we look back over the year . 05:20.396 --> 05:22.451 Can you talk about the effect it had 05:22.451 --> 05:24.673 and kind of what we see now in terms of 05:24.673 --> 05:26.507 what the Serbs have been able to 05:26.507 --> 05:28.720 accomplish if you look at a year ago , 05:28.720 --> 05:30.887 the levels of violence , not only here 05:30.887 --> 05:33.109 in Baghdad , which is the primary focus 05:33.109 --> 05:35.164 of the search troops , to five extra 05:35.164 --> 05:37.164 battalions or brigades rather , but 05:37.164 --> 05:39.220 what you saw across the country were 05:39.220 --> 05:41.442 extremely high levels of violence . And 05:41.442 --> 05:43.164 as the surge began in terms of 05:43.164 --> 05:46.810 operation back in june uh , it began to 05:46.820 --> 05:48.931 aggressively go after Al Qaeda in the 05:48.931 --> 05:50.764 areas for which they had virtual 05:50.764 --> 05:52.931 sanctuary to operate from . And by the 05:52.931 --> 05:55.080 fall , you saw a dramatic drop off in 05:55.080 --> 05:57.247 the levels of violence as Al Qaeda and 05:57.247 --> 06:00.010 many of its uh its operating areas have 06:00.010 --> 06:02.610 been dealt with by that surge . Uh , 06:02.620 --> 06:04.676 Since that time since october , as I 06:04.676 --> 06:06.787 mentioned , the level of violence has 06:06.787 --> 06:08.676 tapered off and it becomes fairly 06:08.676 --> 06:10.842 steady and so what we're seeing now is 06:10.842 --> 06:13.009 a level of effort that is needed to be 06:13.009 --> 06:15.176 maintained to continue working against 06:15.176 --> 06:17.064 both Al Qaeda and other extremist 06:17.064 --> 06:19.009 groups during the levels down even 06:19.009 --> 06:21.231 further . Uh because even today , while 06:21.231 --> 06:23.287 we made great progress , we're still 06:23.287 --> 06:25.453 very , very concerned about the levels 06:25.453 --> 06:27.453 of violence across the country . We 06:27.453 --> 06:29.640 talked a lot earlier about it being a 06:29.650 --> 06:31.594 two pronged approach , you had the 06:31.594 --> 06:33.539 military aspect of it and that the 06:33.539 --> 06:35.650 point was to allow the Iraqis to have 06:35.650 --> 06:37.706 that room for uh some more political 06:37.706 --> 06:39.928 progress . Three more laws passed today 06:39.928 --> 06:42.094 by the Iraqi government . Can you talk 06:42.094 --> 06:44.094 about where a year after the search 06:44.094 --> 06:45.928 began , the government stands in 06:45.928 --> 06:48.094 getting done some of those things that 06:48.094 --> 06:47.970 you were hoping the search would allow 06:47.970 --> 06:51.470 them to do If you consider what today 06:51.480 --> 06:53.591 represents . Uh certainly the passage 06:53.591 --> 06:56.320 of the 2008 budget . Very important uh 06:56.330 --> 06:58.330 law that will allow them to execute 06:58.330 --> 07:01.010 their budget in 2008 . Um but the 07:01.010 --> 07:03.730 provincial powers law really a Seminole 07:03.730 --> 07:05.786 law , when you consider that this is 07:05.786 --> 07:07.780 about how the country will divide 07:07.790 --> 07:10.350 responsibility and power across the 07:10.350 --> 07:12.920 provinces . Much the same way we did in 07:12.920 --> 07:14.809 our own country with the division 07:14.809 --> 07:16.976 between the federal government and the 07:16.976 --> 07:19.087 states and those responsibilities and 07:19.087 --> 07:21.309 their sharing of responsibility between 07:21.309 --> 07:23.476 this case , Governors of provinces and 07:23.476 --> 07:25.531 then and then the federal government 07:25.531 --> 07:25.330 here inside Baghdad very , very 07:25.330 --> 07:27.000 important law and to make the 07:27.000 --> 07:29.850 accommodations necessary to pass those 07:29.850 --> 07:32.330 key laws today really does demonstrate 07:32.330 --> 07:34.940 that the legislative body here in Iraq 07:34.950 --> 07:37.360 is beginning to mature and beginning to 07:37.360 --> 07:39.970 understand how to work through problems 07:39.970 --> 07:42.137 and work through issues really for the 07:42.137 --> 07:44.303 government of all of Iraq . And in the 07:44.303 --> 07:46.081 end there were compromises were 07:46.081 --> 07:48.248 certainly made to make these laws work 07:48.248 --> 07:50.470 and get them passed today . Now it will 07:50.470 --> 07:49.960 be a matter of execution and 07:49.960 --> 07:51.960 implementation which will watch the 07:51.960 --> 07:54.460 months to come . So Admiral in an 07:54.460 --> 07:56.627 overall sense and we combine those two 07:56.627 --> 07:58.627 parts of it , the military part and 07:58.627 --> 08:00.682 giving them that political breathing 08:00.682 --> 08:02.904 space as we look at it as a whole , has 08:02.904 --> 08:05.016 the surge a year later , accomplished 08:05.016 --> 08:07.016 what the U . S . Military had hoped 08:07.016 --> 08:09.238 they would . I think we can say it made 08:09.238 --> 08:11.850 significant progress towards the goals 08:11.850 --> 08:14.590 set over a year ago and again that was 08:14.590 --> 08:16.812 to really bring the level of violence . 08:16.812 --> 08:19.034 Sound , improve population , security , 08:19.034 --> 08:20.757 improve what people believe is 08:20.757 --> 08:22.646 important in terms of their lives 08:22.646 --> 08:24.701 getting back some normalcy . Whether 08:24.701 --> 08:26.812 it's the level of violence is reduced 08:26.812 --> 08:28.590 in some cases really it's about 08:28.590 --> 08:30.534 employment , it's about services , 08:30.534 --> 08:32.590 electricity , water , those kinds of 08:32.590 --> 08:34.646 things and what people want to see a 08:34.646 --> 08:36.590 return to . And I think we've made 08:36.590 --> 08:39.350 progress and all those dimensions . The 08:39.350 --> 08:41.572 Admiral . We got off to a bit of a late 08:41.572 --> 08:43.739 start with the financial problems . So 08:43.739 --> 08:43.550 I think my window is pretty much done . 08:43.550 --> 08:46.280 But I do appreciate the time sir . You 08:46.280 --> 08:48.710 got what's up next week ? Thank you sir . 08:48.770 --> 08:49.690 Take care .