WEBVTT 00:02.752 --> 00:03.998 - Good morning, everyone. 00:03.998 --> 00:06.024 Today we're joined by Colonel Ryan Dillon. 00:06.024 --> 00:07.117 Colonel Dillon is the spokesman 00:07.117 --> 00:09.834 for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve 00:09.834 --> 00:11.989 and he comes to us from Baghdad, Iraq. 00:11.989 --> 00:12.997 Before we get started, 00:12.997 --> 00:14.777 we'll quickly check our communications. 00:14.777 --> 00:17.694 Colonel Dillon, how do you hear us? 00:19.761 --> 00:21.303 - Adrian, I hear you very well. 00:21.303 --> 00:22.386 How about me? 00:22.601 --> 00:24.061 - Sir, we hear you very well. 00:24.061 --> 00:26.286 If you have any opening words for us, 00:26.286 --> 00:27.953 please take it away. 00:30.681 --> 00:32.181 - Certainly, okay. 00:32.231 --> 00:33.277 Good morning, everyone. 00:33.277 --> 00:35.766 I'll first discuss the overall campaign 00:35.766 --> 00:38.766 and then focus in on Syria and Iraq. 00:39.319 --> 00:41.551 Today marks the third anniversary 00:41.551 --> 00:43.214 of the start of our mission 00:43.214 --> 00:46.988 as Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. 00:46.988 --> 00:48.568 In these last three years, 00:48.568 --> 00:51.891 our multinational coalition has made great progress 00:51.891 --> 00:54.566 against the ISIS terrorist organization 00:54.566 --> 00:57.143 and their self-declared caliphate. 00:57.143 --> 01:00.475 Now in ISIS' so-called capital in Raqqa, 01:00.475 --> 01:02.152 we see the terrorist group on the verge 01:02.152 --> 01:04.317 of a devastating defeat at the hands 01:04.317 --> 01:07.117 of our Syrian Democratic Force partners. 01:07.117 --> 01:09.673 And more on those details in a moment. 01:09.673 --> 01:12.348 But let me first review why this moment 01:12.348 --> 01:15.956 on the verge of the liberation of Raqqa is so momentous. 01:15.956 --> 01:20.123 In 2014, ISIS held as much as 104,000 square kilometers, 01:21.070 --> 01:23.653 including major cities in Iraq, 01:26.017 --> 01:30.184 forcing their fanatical views on their captive populations. 01:30.212 --> 01:32.936 At the time they operated with impunity 01:32.936 --> 01:34.351 and stunned the civilized world 01:34.351 --> 01:37.518 by televising torture, mass executions 01:37.776 --> 01:41.390 and other unspeakable crimes against humanity. 01:41.390 --> 01:43.222 From the territories they held, 01:43.222 --> 01:45.030 ISIS became a global threat 01:45.030 --> 01:47.754 as they planned, funded and inspired 01:47.754 --> 01:50.544 terrorist attacks around the world. 01:50.544 --> 01:52.211 The world responded. 01:52.332 --> 01:54.530 We organized a global coalition 01:54.530 --> 01:56.444 which has grown to 69 nations 01:56.444 --> 01:59.085 and four international organizations. 01:59.085 --> 02:01.529 And Operation Inherent Resolve was established 02:01.529 --> 02:04.446 to defeat ISIS by, with and through 02:04.762 --> 02:08.929 our capable partner forces on the ground in Iraq and Syria. 02:10.031 --> 02:12.433 In the ensuing three years of fighting, 02:12.433 --> 02:15.760 we halted ISIS' advance and have beaten them back 02:15.760 --> 02:16.927 on all fronts. 02:17.517 --> 02:19.499 Our partners have removed ISIS 02:19.499 --> 02:22.839 from 87% of territory they once held, 02:22.839 --> 02:26.172 liberating more than 6.5 million people. 02:26.375 --> 02:28.532 And this July with coalition support, 02:28.532 --> 02:31.255 our Iraqi Security Force partners 02:31.255 --> 02:35.242 achieved a hard-fought victory liberating Mosul, 02:35.242 --> 02:37.761 the largest city ISIS has held. 02:37.761 --> 02:40.685 Overall, ISIS is losing in every way. 02:40.685 --> 02:42.842 We've devastated their networks, 02:42.842 --> 02:46.133 targeted and eliminated their leaders at all levels. 02:46.133 --> 02:49.302 We've degraded their ability to finance their operations, 02:49.302 --> 02:52.052 cutting oil revenues by 90%. 02:52.190 --> 02:54.386 Their flow of foreign recruits has gone 02:54.386 --> 02:57.136 from about 1,500 fighters a month 02:57.744 --> 02:59.744 down to near zero today. 03:00.243 --> 03:03.172 Their story of leading a holy cause has proved 03:03.172 --> 03:07.339 to be a cesspool of brutal lies, torture and oppression. 03:07.935 --> 03:10.861 ISIS in Iraq and Syria are all but isolated 03:10.861 --> 03:13.944 in their quickly-shrinking territory. 03:14.483 --> 03:17.611 Today in Syria, ISIS is losing its grip. 03:17.611 --> 03:19.683 After more than four months of operations, 03:19.683 --> 03:22.683 Raqqa is more than 90% cleared. 03:22.976 --> 03:25.092 We are aware of the reports 03:25.092 --> 03:27.085 that ISIS has been defeated in Raqqa. 03:27.085 --> 03:29.731 However, clearance operations continue, 03:29.731 --> 03:32.656 and we expect our Syrian Democratic Force partners 03:32.656 --> 03:34.566 to hit pockets of resistance 03:34.566 --> 03:38.066 as the final parts of the city is cleared. 03:38.184 --> 03:40.718 Over the past 96 hours, we have seen 03:40.718 --> 03:44.885 about 1,300 civilians assisted to safety by the SDF, 03:45.140 --> 03:49.307 and just about 3,000 civilians rescued in the last week. 03:49.449 --> 03:52.782 In the last few days, about 350 fighters 03:52.823 --> 03:55.490 surrendered to the SDF in Raqqa, 03:55.504 --> 03:57.506 with several confirmed foreign fighters 03:57.506 --> 04:00.756 taken into custody after SDF screening. 04:01.566 --> 04:04.734 After ensuring the safety of the civilians, 04:04.734 --> 04:06.253 clearance of the remaining portion 04:06.253 --> 04:09.170 of the city center has accelerated. 04:09.206 --> 04:12.666 The SDF have moved on the national hospital complex 04:12.666 --> 04:14.583 and the soccer stadium. 04:14.732 --> 04:18.115 The SDF also fully cleared the Al-Naim Traffic Circle, 04:18.115 --> 04:21.007 once an ISIS symbol of fear and terror, 04:21.007 --> 04:23.840 where they held public executions. 04:23.978 --> 04:26.495 In Raqqa and elsewhere across Syria, 04:26.495 --> 04:29.417 our focus remains on reducing risk to civilians, 04:29.417 --> 04:30.772 while continuing to pursue 04:30.772 --> 04:33.851 and defeat ISIS terrorists at every opportunity 04:33.851 --> 04:36.573 as they retreat into the remaining held areas 04:36.573 --> 04:39.656 in the Middle Euphrates River Valley. 04:39.823 --> 04:42.916 Meanwhile in Iraq, coalition forces remain focused 04:42.916 --> 04:45.804 on supporting the Iraqi Security Force offensive 04:45.804 --> 04:49.304 against ISIS holdouts in Rawa and Al-Qa'im 04:49.306 --> 04:51.473 in western Anbar province. 04:51.504 --> 04:52.927 In the past week, the coalition 04:52.927 --> 04:54.725 has conducted more than 30 strikes 04:54.725 --> 04:57.366 against ISIS military targets in the area, 04:57.366 --> 04:59.886 including command-and-control facilities, 04:59.886 --> 05:04.053 car bomb factories, weapons caches and a training camp. 05:04.814 --> 05:07.132 Back-clearance operations are ongoing 05:07.132 --> 05:10.632 in areas already recently freed from ISIS. 05:10.918 --> 05:13.979 In the Tal Afar area, since the beginning of this month, 05:13.979 --> 05:17.638 the ISF have found and removed large caches of weapons 05:17.638 --> 05:20.555 and explosives left behind by ISIS. 05:21.015 --> 05:22.768 These caches contain a total of 05:22.768 --> 05:25.518 550 improvised explosive devices, 05:26.300 --> 05:28.717 1,800 mortars, 25 land mines, 05:29.764 --> 05:32.181 101 suicide vests, 16 tunnels 05:33.427 --> 05:36.177 and 11 factories for making IEDs. 05:37.983 --> 05:40.384 Regarding the tensions in Kirkuk, 05:40.384 --> 05:43.108 aside from the incident from early morning hours 05:43.108 --> 05:45.525 on 16 October south of Kirkuk 05:45.674 --> 05:47.506 that we assess as a miscommunication 05:47.506 --> 05:51.447 between Iraqi Security Forces and a Kurdish checkpoint, 05:51.447 --> 05:53.750 there have been no further reports 05:53.750 --> 05:57.795 of armed conflict or contact between the two groups. 05:57.795 --> 06:00.159 We continue to monitor the situation, 06:00.159 --> 06:02.545 and our leaders, talking with counterparts 06:02.545 --> 06:04.592 in both the Iraqi Security Forces 06:04.592 --> 06:08.759 and the Peshmerga, urged all sides to avoid escalation. 06:09.270 --> 06:12.891 These tensions distract from our unified fight against ISIS 06:12.891 --> 06:16.720 which remains a very real threat here in Iraq. 06:16.720 --> 06:20.016 And with that, I'll now take your questions. 06:20.016 --> 06:21.433 - Bob Burns, A.P. 06:21.679 --> 06:23.545 - Thank you, Colonel Dillon, 06:23.545 --> 06:25.295 a couple questions on 06:26.753 --> 06:29.041 how many ISIS fighters do you estimate 06:29.041 --> 06:31.708 are left in both Syria and Iraq? 06:33.027 --> 06:37.194 And with regard to the recent developments in Raqqa, 06:37.701 --> 06:39.618 is he still hearing me? 06:40.100 --> 06:40.933 Oh, okay. 06:40.995 --> 06:42.745 With regard to Raqqa, 06:43.513 --> 06:47.362 so you describe ISIS as being on the verge of defeat. 06:47.362 --> 06:50.029 What happens next, both in Raqqa 06:50.694 --> 06:52.861 and more broadly in Syria, 06:53.130 --> 06:56.297 as far as the U.S. military role goes? 06:59.148 --> 07:00.731 - Okay thanks, sir. 07:00.777 --> 07:01.860 So first off, 07:02.650 --> 07:06.270 across the board in the combined joint operations area, 07:06.270 --> 07:08.687 so in both Iraq and in Syria, 07:09.517 --> 07:12.684 we estimate the number of enemy forces 07:13.342 --> 07:16.259 that still remain to be about 6,500 07:19.179 --> 07:21.346 enemy forces, ISIS forces. 07:22.683 --> 07:24.516 Specifically in Raqqa, 07:25.492 --> 07:29.593 with the number of those that have recently surrendered, 07:29.593 --> 07:33.760 we estimate there to be perhaps about 100 ISIS fighters 07:34.569 --> 07:36.819 that could remain in Raqqa. 07:37.376 --> 07:41.209 We have not seen much or heard of much reports 07:41.449 --> 07:45.282 of contact since the SDF resumed their advance 07:46.385 --> 07:49.968 into the city after the civilians came out. 07:50.200 --> 07:52.642 But we still expect there to be remnants 07:52.642 --> 07:54.309 of ISIS in the city, 07:54.469 --> 07:58.619 and we expect there to be pockets of ISIS fighters there. 07:58.619 --> 08:01.202 As far as what happens in Raqqa 08:01.221 --> 08:05.388 after ISIS has been cleared and Raqqa is liberated, 08:06.667 --> 08:10.159 the Raqqa Civil Council is already established, 08:10.159 --> 08:13.335 and they're already eager to begin work 08:13.335 --> 08:15.835 to restore essential services. 08:16.961 --> 08:20.961 But also a very important note is that you must, 08:21.010 --> 08:25.010 we must clear the remnants of all the explosives 08:25.010 --> 08:29.177 that have been left in Raqqa throughout this battle. 08:29.249 --> 08:32.289 One of the SDF commanders earlier in the campaign, 08:32.289 --> 08:35.039 maybe a month ago, said that the fight in Raqqa 08:35.039 --> 08:38.509 is more about a fight against IEDs and explosives 08:38.509 --> 08:40.424 than it is against ISIS, 08:40.424 --> 08:43.962 because that's what the nature of the fight normally was. 08:43.962 --> 08:44.795 And in a 08:45.770 --> 08:48.270 just to really highlight that, 08:48.764 --> 08:52.347 the Raqqa Internal Security Force commander 08:52.630 --> 08:56.797 who is in charge of securing Raqqa after the liberation, 08:57.385 --> 09:00.688 unfortunately and sadly was killed yesterday 09:00.688 --> 09:04.470 when he was walking through Raqqa and triggered an IED 09:04.470 --> 09:07.446 and he had two of his colleagues that were with him. 09:07.446 --> 09:11.446 So that goes to show the work that must go into, 09:11.718 --> 09:14.446 first off, clearing all of these explosives 09:14.446 --> 09:16.031 and booby traps and mines 09:16.031 --> 09:18.274 that have been left behind by ISIS. 09:18.274 --> 09:22.024 And the Raqqa Civil Council is also trying to 09:23.518 --> 09:25.149 let people know this. 09:25.149 --> 09:26.657 In the course of the last month, 09:26.657 --> 09:30.066 we know that there have also been about 10 families, 09:30.066 --> 09:32.464 while trying to go back to their homes, 09:32.464 --> 09:35.970 have also triggered these mines and these explosives. 09:35.970 --> 09:38.810 So that is the very real threat that is 09:38.810 --> 09:42.551 what needs to happen first before the civil council 09:42.551 --> 09:44.605 comes in and restores essential services of 09:44.605 --> 09:47.382 electricity, water, sewage, et cetera. 09:47.382 --> 09:50.012 I hope that answers your question, I was pretty long. 09:50.012 --> 09:52.110 - Thanks, just a quick follow-up. 09:52.110 --> 09:54.429 I was thinking more in terms of what you foresee 09:54.429 --> 09:57.322 as the U.S. military's role going forward 09:57.322 --> 10:00.289 once Raqqa has been fully liberated. 10:00.289 --> 10:03.014 Will the U.S. continue to train and operate 10:03.014 --> 10:05.490 with local forces in that area 10:05.490 --> 10:07.563 or elsewhere in Syria indefinitely? 10:07.563 --> 10:09.146 Or what's the plan? 10:12.565 --> 10:14.264 - Well I think, you know, 10:14.264 --> 10:16.552 I'm certainly not going to say indefinitely. 10:16.552 --> 10:19.039 There still is fighting that is left to be done 10:19.039 --> 10:21.455 in the Middle Euphrates River Valley. 10:21.455 --> 10:24.788 As you know the SDF have made an advance 10:24.845 --> 10:28.387 and are on the east side of the Euphrates River 10:28.387 --> 10:31.680 about parallel with the city of Deir ez-Zor. 10:31.680 --> 10:34.763 And you know, once Raqqa is complete, 10:34.813 --> 10:36.399 it will be up to, this is part of 10:36.399 --> 10:38.108 the "by, with and through" strategy, 10:38.108 --> 10:41.108 it will be up to the commander, General Mazlum, 10:41.108 --> 10:44.108 whether or not he reallocates forces 10:44.286 --> 10:45.628 to continue to push down 10:45.628 --> 10:47.741 into the Middle Euphrates River Valley 10:47.741 --> 10:50.590 where there still is ISIS-held territory. 10:50.590 --> 10:53.640 So there still is fighting left there, 10:53.640 --> 10:55.835 but there's also training that continues 10:55.835 --> 10:58.197 with the Raqqa Internal Security Force. 10:58.197 --> 11:01.076 Some of that training also includes, 11:01.076 --> 11:04.493 very, very aptly the counter-IED training 11:05.596 --> 11:08.612 which is allowing them to help remove 11:08.612 --> 11:11.945 some of these explosive remnants of war. 11:12.635 --> 11:14.470 - Next to Tom Bowman, NPR. 11:14.470 --> 11:16.414 - Hey, Colonel, I wanted to get back to Kirkuk. 11:16.414 --> 11:18.772 And you said it appears to be a miscommunication, 11:18.772 --> 11:21.590 but from all indications, it's more than that. 11:21.590 --> 11:24.195 You have some Peshmerga commanders, 11:24.195 --> 11:26.271 some political leaders, basically saying 11:26.271 --> 11:27.975 they're going to continue to fight. 11:27.975 --> 11:30.010 It could lead to a full-scale war. 11:30.010 --> 11:32.593 Could you just talk about that? 11:35.992 --> 11:37.943 - What I can talk about, Tom, 11:37.943 --> 11:40.171 is what we have seen and the reporting 11:40.171 --> 11:42.710 that we have received from our counterparts 11:42.710 --> 11:44.637 in both the Iraqi Security Force 11:44.637 --> 11:48.137 and through the Kurdish security elements. 11:49.293 --> 11:52.876 So what we have seen is a peaceful handover 11:54.539 --> 11:57.872 of areas around Kirkuk and specifically, 11:59.136 --> 12:01.742 I can talk about the K-1 Air Field. 12:01.742 --> 12:03.488 We did have troops there 12:03.488 --> 12:07.554 and what happened was the Counter-Terrorism Service 12:07.554 --> 12:09.788 showed up and it was a coordinated effort 12:09.788 --> 12:11.904 between the Iraqi Security Forces 12:11.904 --> 12:14.219 and the Kurdish Security Forces that were there. 12:14.219 --> 12:17.027 And they handed over the keys, if you will, 12:17.027 --> 12:21.175 to that installation and it was the Iraqi Security Forces 12:21.175 --> 12:24.470 who began to take security of that area again. 12:24.470 --> 12:27.553 And throughout other areas of Kirkuk, 12:27.558 --> 12:29.391 we saw the same thing. 12:29.425 --> 12:31.824 We've seen a lot of rhetoric and we've seen a lot 12:31.824 --> 12:34.666 of things that have come out of social media 12:34.666 --> 12:37.227 and in traditional media that we have not seen 12:37.227 --> 12:39.284 through official reporting. 12:39.284 --> 12:41.058 So I can tell you what we have received 12:41.058 --> 12:43.657 through our reporting and through some of 12:43.657 --> 12:47.157 the capabilities that we have in the area. 12:47.193 --> 12:48.943 That one incident that I had mentioned 12:48.943 --> 12:50.815 was in our press release yesterday, 12:50.815 --> 12:53.827 was the only altercation, armed conflict 12:53.827 --> 12:56.346 and exchange of fire that we know about 12:56.346 --> 12:59.513 and that has been reported officially. 13:00.570 --> 13:01.751 - People have been killed on both sides, 13:01.751 --> 13:03.168 isn't that right? 13:06.911 --> 13:08.973 - Ah, you got cut off at the beginning, Tom. 13:08.973 --> 13:10.697 - People were killed on both sides, 13:10.697 --> 13:12.280 isn't that correct? 13:16.381 --> 13:18.206 - I do understand that that is correct. 13:18.206 --> 13:19.312 As a part of that, 13:19.312 --> 13:22.812 one particular engagement that did happen. 13:23.370 --> 13:25.703 - Was it a miscommunication? 13:29.139 --> 13:33.287 - That was what we again assess as a miscommunication. 13:33.287 --> 13:35.037 It was a coordinated, 13:35.366 --> 13:37.403 it was a supposed to be a coordinated movement 13:37.403 --> 13:38.665 through a checkpoint. 13:38.665 --> 13:41.792 This happened at about three o'clock in the morning, 13:41.792 --> 13:43.495 tensions were already high 13:43.495 --> 13:47.662 and that is how we assess that particular incident, 13:48.920 --> 13:50.587 what happened there. 13:50.733 --> 13:53.817 Again and that is the only incident that we know about. 13:53.817 --> 13:55.900 And you know things have, 13:56.092 --> 13:57.600 that was 3 o'clock in the morning 13:57.600 --> 14:00.523 and then throughout the rest of the morning yesterday, 14:00.523 --> 14:03.695 the Iraqi Security Forces moved into areas 14:03.695 --> 14:07.195 and peacefully took over some of the areas 14:07.277 --> 14:09.027 in and around Kirkuk. 14:09.543 --> 14:11.543 - [Adrian] Mike Goolsby. 14:11.710 --> 14:13.540 - Thanks Colonel, appreciate you're doing this by the way. 14:13.540 --> 14:15.565 Just to switch back to the Raqqa campaign, 14:15.565 --> 14:16.981 I'm hoping you can talk a little bit about 14:16.981 --> 14:18.077 what it's been like to work 14:18.077 --> 14:20.079 with the Syrian Democratic Forces, 14:20.079 --> 14:21.910 what they've been able to effectively do 14:21.910 --> 14:23.983 in terms of taking back parts of Raqqa, 14:23.983 --> 14:25.852 what it's been like to work with them. 14:25.852 --> 14:27.682 And then just to follow-up then on the earlier question 14:27.682 --> 14:29.675 about them what happens in the aftermath of Raqqa, 14:29.675 --> 14:33.252 does the SDF essentially act as police then? 14:33.252 --> 14:34.593 I mean, you said you have a council 14:34.593 --> 14:35.731 in place that would govern, 14:35.731 --> 14:38.298 but essentially then the Syrian Democratic Forces 14:38.298 --> 14:42.381 stay around for the long-term to police the area? 14:45.740 --> 14:46.573 - Okay. 14:47.008 --> 14:49.758 So to answer your first question, 14:50.975 --> 14:54.392 the Syrian Democratic Forces have proven, 14:55.019 --> 14:58.105 not just in Raqqa, but throughout the campaign 14:58.105 --> 15:00.105 to defeat ISIS in Syria, 15:00.586 --> 15:04.163 to be a very effective and capable partner. 15:04.163 --> 15:07.010 They have proven that by defeating ISIS 15:07.010 --> 15:11.177 in other places like Manbij and in Tabqa, and now in Raqqa. 15:12.091 --> 15:14.488 And they have done so also further on down 15:14.488 --> 15:16.821 in the Deir ez-Zor province. 15:17.533 --> 15:21.283 They have shown, despite not being a military 15:21.477 --> 15:24.894 that is a traditional military with armor 15:27.486 --> 15:29.933 and like the Iraqi Security Forces, 15:29.933 --> 15:31.179 the one thing that they have been able 15:31.179 --> 15:33.599 to show is very good leadership. 15:33.599 --> 15:34.905 And they have also been able to show 15:34.905 --> 15:38.441 that they are willing and committed to this fight. 15:38.441 --> 15:42.608 And it has proven that in this Raqqa campaign particularly, 15:43.317 --> 15:46.567 they have have sacrificed and have lost 15:46.848 --> 15:48.599 several of their fighters, 15:48.599 --> 15:50.924 both those who have been killed 15:50.924 --> 15:52.876 and those who have been wounded, 15:52.876 --> 15:55.126 to be able to reclaim Raqqa 15:55.193 --> 15:58.451 and to restore some sort of local governance 15:58.451 --> 16:00.892 for the local population there. 16:00.892 --> 16:03.170 One thing I would also like to highlight is that 16:03.170 --> 16:07.075 while the overall makeup of the Syrian Democratic Forces 16:07.075 --> 16:11.242 is about 50/50, but more predominately Kurd, 16:11.278 --> 16:13.195 inside of the SDF ranks 16:15.653 --> 16:17.653 to defeat ISIS in Raqqa, 16:17.971 --> 16:20.005 it is predominantly Arab. 16:20.005 --> 16:23.505 And it was those that are from these areas 16:23.786 --> 16:27.536 that have not just led, but also participated 16:28.100 --> 16:31.350 in the final assault into this victory. 16:32.409 --> 16:34.037 And I think you had another question. 16:34.037 --> 16:35.515 Can you please ask that again? 16:35.515 --> 16:36.840 - Just a follow-up, you were talking about 16:36.840 --> 16:38.472 how the Syrian Democratic Forces 16:38.472 --> 16:39.611 are going to be working to clear 16:39.611 --> 16:41.275 those booby traps, the IEDs. 16:41.275 --> 16:43.261 So then essentially, do they stay in the city 16:43.261 --> 16:47.261 for the long haul in terms of policing the city? 16:50.511 --> 16:51.344 - Yeah, 16:52.152 --> 16:53.152 they do not. 16:53.710 --> 16:55.996 So that is that commander that I told you, 16:55.996 --> 16:57.989 unfortunately, who was killed yesterday, 16:57.989 --> 17:00.065 he is a leader of, right now 17:00.065 --> 17:02.224 or was a leader of a force called 17:02.224 --> 17:04.621 the Raqqa Internal Security Force. 17:04.621 --> 17:08.288 And that is right now made up of about 1,600 17:09.738 --> 17:10.988 local recruits. 17:11.569 --> 17:15.402 And they have been trained by coalition forces 17:15.718 --> 17:18.813 and are the ones who are going to remain in the city 17:18.813 --> 17:21.813 and provide the security afterwards. 17:23.195 --> 17:26.639 I would also say that the Syrian Democratic Forces, 17:26.639 --> 17:29.076 as I alluded to in my previous question, 17:29.076 --> 17:31.764 is that it's up to General Mazloum, 17:31.764 --> 17:33.798 who is the commander of the SDF, 17:33.798 --> 17:37.411 whether or not he reallocates and takes the forces 17:37.411 --> 17:40.744 that participated in the battle in Raqqa 17:41.158 --> 17:44.075 and redistributes them and has them 17:44.733 --> 17:47.400 in the offensive further on down 17:47.591 --> 17:49.793 the Middle Euphrates River Valley right now, 17:49.793 --> 17:51.793 in Deir ez-Zor Province. 17:52.355 --> 17:53.614 - Thank you sir. 17:53.614 --> 17:56.129 - Next to Kasim Ileri with Anadolu. 17:56.129 --> 17:58.610 - My questions have been covered, Colonel, 17:58.610 --> 18:00.488 but I would just make follow-ups. 18:00.488 --> 18:02.300 At the beginning of the Raqqa operation, 18:02.300 --> 18:06.175 you said there were 2,500 ISIS fighters in the city, 18:06.175 --> 18:08.374 and now remain just about 100. 18:08.374 --> 18:09.716 Can you tell us how many of them 18:09.716 --> 18:11.302 have been captured by the SDF? 18:11.302 --> 18:13.335 Do you have an idea about the number 18:13.335 --> 18:15.585 of those captured fighters? 18:15.654 --> 18:16.873 And what happened to the rest of them? 18:16.873 --> 18:18.984 And did they flee from the city, 18:18.984 --> 18:21.651 or have all of them been killed? 18:25.530 --> 18:27.280 - Okay, so first off, 18:28.194 --> 18:31.832 whenever we provide these, the numbers that we have, 18:31.832 --> 18:34.465 they are estimates and I try to make sure 18:34.465 --> 18:36.632 that I put that out there. 18:36.950 --> 18:38.783 But what I would say is that 18:38.783 --> 18:42.030 particularly in the course of the last week, 18:42.030 --> 18:44.447 we saw about 350 SDF fighters 18:45.900 --> 18:49.400 that came out of Raqqa and into SDF lines. 18:51.480 --> 18:55.464 What we have also seen is, prior to this past week 18:55.464 --> 18:57.656 and those that have surrendered, 18:57.656 --> 19:00.739 there were obviously fewer than that. 19:00.742 --> 19:04.492 But we saw over the course of the last month, 19:04.692 --> 19:08.442 prior to this event, about four ISIS fighters 19:08.675 --> 19:10.508 that were either turning themselves in 19:10.508 --> 19:13.487 or those that were being captured or caught 19:13.487 --> 19:15.987 by SDF as they tried to escape 19:17.114 --> 19:20.447 with IDPs going out of Raqqa, excuse me. 19:21.993 --> 19:25.493 So the others that came out of that 2,500, 19:27.721 --> 19:29.515 many of them have been killed 19:29.515 --> 19:31.339 and have been assessed to have been killed 19:31.339 --> 19:34.256 inside of Raqqa during this battle. 19:34.472 --> 19:37.555 So what I would come right back at is 19:38.213 --> 19:41.273 about that 400 number is what we know of recently 19:41.273 --> 19:43.815 of ISIS fighters that have surrendered. 19:43.815 --> 19:47.565 We have seen also that prior to these battles 19:48.381 --> 19:51.131 is that once the area is isolated 19:51.350 --> 19:53.669 and before offensive operations begin, 19:53.669 --> 19:57.836 many of the leaders will often high-tail and leave 19:58.671 --> 20:00.463 and you know, go elsewhere. 20:00.463 --> 20:03.518 And so we have clearly seen that we have 20:03.518 --> 20:07.220 been able to strike and go after high-value targets, 20:07.220 --> 20:11.387 particularly those in the Mayadin and Abu Kamal area. 20:11.892 --> 20:13.728 Over the course of the last year, 20:13.728 --> 20:17.014 we're sitting at about 150 high-value targets 20:17.014 --> 20:18.726 that we've been able to strike. 20:18.726 --> 20:20.226 And most recently, 20:20.389 --> 20:22.461 since I've been here in the last five months, 20:22.461 --> 20:25.390 the majority of those have come from Mayadin. 20:25.390 --> 20:27.542 - So just to make something clear, 20:27.542 --> 20:31.542 you have 350 fighters that surrendered last week 20:31.814 --> 20:35.231 and then during the last month course of, 20:35.485 --> 20:37.508 before that, also 400 others. 20:37.508 --> 20:41.675 So it means 750 ISIS fighters have surrendered to SDF. 20:42.750 --> 20:43.583 Is that correct? 20:43.583 --> 20:45.916 Or just in total, is it 400? 20:47.021 --> 20:47.854 - No, no. 20:48.891 --> 20:52.974 Yeah and if, I'm sorry if that came out that way. 20:52.977 --> 20:54.894 What I said was in the, 20:55.984 --> 20:58.977 about a month prior to, leading up to this point, 20:58.977 --> 21:01.215 there was about four ISIS fighters 21:01.215 --> 21:03.328 that were turning themselves in 21:03.328 --> 21:07.495 or being captured about four a week for the last month, 21:08.111 --> 21:11.261 leading up to this past week when we saw so many. 21:11.261 --> 21:14.428 So I said about 400 is what we've seen 21:15.980 --> 21:18.093 over the course of the last month or so. 21:18.093 --> 21:20.044 I don't have numbers for you on other 21:20.044 --> 21:23.588 ISIS fighters in Syria that have been captured, 21:23.588 --> 21:26.154 or those that have surrendered. 21:26.154 --> 21:27.781 - Another follow-up to Kirkuk. 21:27.781 --> 21:29.083 You said it's a miscommunication, 21:29.083 --> 21:31.852 but there are currently Peshmerga elements 21:31.852 --> 21:36.019 captured or arrested by the Iraqi Security Forces. 21:38.770 --> 21:41.846 Do you have anything on the Peshmergas 21:41.846 --> 21:45.929 that have been captured by Iraqi Security Forces? 21:49.715 --> 21:51.215 - Kasim, I do not. 21:51.996 --> 21:53.331 That is the first I've heard of that 21:53.331 --> 21:54.831 and we don't have, 21:55.206 --> 21:59.373 first off, we don't have advisers and people on the ground 21:59.389 --> 22:03.211 with the Iraqi Security Force or the Peshmerga elements 22:03.211 --> 22:06.014 that are in and around Kirkuk right now. 22:06.014 --> 22:08.780 So most of the stuff that we have received 22:08.780 --> 22:12.561 is through reporting and through those dialogues 22:12.561 --> 22:15.478 with our leaders from the Peshmerga 22:16.179 --> 22:19.147 and the ISF who are either participating 22:19.147 --> 22:23.314 or those commanders of those units and our leaders. 22:23.962 --> 22:25.786 - Sir at the back, give your name and affiliation please. 22:25.786 --> 22:28.203 - Sure, Rebaz Ali from Rudaw. 22:28.216 --> 22:29.274 Thank you, Colonel. 22:29.274 --> 22:31.857 I have a question about Kirkuk. 22:32.278 --> 22:34.552 You said that it was a coordinated movement. 22:34.552 --> 22:37.385 What was the level of coordination 22:38.604 --> 22:40.268 from the side of the coalition 22:40.268 --> 22:42.868 prior to what happened yesterday? 22:42.868 --> 22:45.035 And my second question is, 22:45.546 --> 22:48.022 the Peshmerga general command released a statement 22:48.022 --> 22:52.189 that there was a huge presence of Iranian IRGC elements 22:55.604 --> 22:59.771 you know with the forces that attacked the Kirkuk area. 23:00.001 --> 23:01.031 Are you aware of that? 23:01.031 --> 23:03.531 What is your reaction to that? 23:06.466 --> 23:10.049 - Okay, so first off as far as coalition on 23:11.369 --> 23:14.943 you know, we are focused on the fight against ISIS. 23:14.943 --> 23:17.374 And after the battle in Hawija, 23:17.374 --> 23:20.171 our advisers that were with the Iraqi Security 23:20.171 --> 23:23.902 Force elements throughout that part of the battle, 23:23.902 --> 23:25.646 once that battle was over, 23:25.646 --> 23:29.813 we started to transition many of the different outposts 23:30.225 --> 23:32.900 and locations that were established 23:32.900 --> 23:35.485 to support the operations in Hawija. 23:35.485 --> 23:38.568 Those were closed and we consolidated 23:38.984 --> 23:42.401 in some of our larger bases to transition 23:42.876 --> 23:46.459 to move outwards towards Al-Qa'im and Rawa. 23:46.897 --> 23:49.897 So we did not have any participation 23:50.230 --> 23:52.783 with the Iraqi Security Forces as they moved 23:52.783 --> 23:56.785 into the Kirkuk area over the course of the last few days. 23:56.785 --> 23:58.868 And as far as the Iranian 23:59.426 --> 24:03.093 or the IGRC units that you are referring to, 24:04.732 --> 24:07.732 again through our official reporting 24:07.735 --> 24:10.485 from those elements that are participating 24:10.485 --> 24:14.652 and have reestablished security in and around Kirkuk area, 24:14.786 --> 24:18.119 those are Iraqi Security Force elements, 24:18.754 --> 24:22.544 like the Counter-Terrorism Service, the federal police, 24:22.544 --> 24:25.794 and we do not have reports of PMF units 24:27.883 --> 24:31.550 or the types of units that you had mentioned 24:32.138 --> 24:33.654 that we have received. 24:33.654 --> 24:37.101 So, we don't have any reporting or any indications 24:37.101 --> 24:40.355 that there are units in and around Kirkuk 24:40.355 --> 24:43.522 of the elements that you've mentioned. 24:43.785 --> 24:46.702 - Now to Lucas Tomlinson, Fox News. 24:46.824 --> 24:49.789 - Colonel, top Kurdish officials have said 24:49.789 --> 24:53.206 that about 200 Peshmerga have been killed 24:53.779 --> 24:55.853 in the fighting in and around Kirkuk. 24:55.853 --> 24:57.235 Can you confirm those numbers 24:57.235 --> 25:01.269 and that homes have been looted and families displaced, 25:01.269 --> 25:03.852 Kurdish families inside Kirkuk? 25:07.330 --> 25:08.247 - I cannot. 25:08.915 --> 25:11.760 We have not received those reporting. 25:11.760 --> 25:15.481 Again, the only reports that we have received 25:15.481 --> 25:18.564 that have had any kind of credence is 25:18.710 --> 25:22.877 the incident that happened south of Kirkuk, Lucas. 25:23.674 --> 25:26.841 - Who owns Kirkuk ultimately, Colonel? 25:33.639 --> 25:34.777 - I don't know if that was a question, 25:34.777 --> 25:37.113 you came in, it was only like a couple of words. 25:37.113 --> 25:38.568 Can you ask it again, please? 25:38.568 --> 25:41.485 - Sure, who ultimately owns Kirkuk? 25:46.451 --> 25:47.368 - I'll let, 25:47.984 --> 25:51.817 I will let someone from the government of Iraq 25:52.478 --> 25:55.145 to answer that question for you. 25:55.284 --> 25:56.774 We're here to fight ISIS 25:56.774 --> 25:59.844 and I told you we're not participating 25:59.844 --> 26:01.794 in or with any of the units 26:01.794 --> 26:04.564 that are in or around Kirkuk right now. 26:04.564 --> 26:07.207 - And that not taking a side in this conflict 26:07.207 --> 26:08.879 is in effect taking a side. 26:08.879 --> 26:11.379 What is your reaction to that? 26:14.577 --> 26:17.345 - I've already said what we are here for 26:17.345 --> 26:19.428 and that is to transition 26:19.493 --> 26:22.410 and look further west towards ISIS. 26:23.447 --> 26:24.845 That is with the Combined Joint 26:24.845 --> 26:26.990 Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, 26:26.990 --> 26:29.552 the coalition and our mission is 26:29.552 --> 26:32.239 and that's where we will focus our efforts 26:32.239 --> 26:35.212 is to defeat ISIS just as we have from the beginning. 26:35.212 --> 26:36.965 - Finally, there are some photos and video 26:36.965 --> 26:39.729 of U.S.-sanctioned terrorists taking part 26:39.729 --> 26:42.812 in the flag-raising of the Iraqi flag 26:43.266 --> 26:46.016 at the Kirkuk provincial capital. 26:46.636 --> 26:47.853 What is your reaction to that? 26:47.853 --> 26:51.686 Because some of these men do have ties to Iran 26:51.719 --> 26:53.719 and to terrorist groups. 26:57.279 --> 26:58.784 - Lucas, I don't know. 26:58.784 --> 27:01.738 I have not seen the photos that you are referring to 27:01.738 --> 27:03.988 so I can't comment on that. 27:04.317 --> 27:07.008 - Now to (faint speaking). 27:07.008 --> 27:08.425 - Hello, Colonel. 27:08.637 --> 27:10.554 The operation in Kirkuk 27:13.493 --> 27:16.243 showed revival of the Iraqi Army. 27:19.097 --> 27:22.014 I wanted to know if, how you would, 27:22.840 --> 27:24.995 if you consider now the Iraqi Army 27:24.995 --> 27:27.745 as a legitimate armed forces with 27:30.853 --> 27:31.686 all the, 27:34.940 --> 27:36.847 all the skills required? 27:36.847 --> 27:40.764 And also how many troops the U.S. have trained? 27:46.311 --> 27:49.311 - Okay, so first off I will say that 27:49.731 --> 27:52.247 the Iraqi Security Force and the Iraqi Army, 27:52.247 --> 27:53.994 so I'm not just going to say the Iraqi Army, 27:53.994 --> 27:57.038 I'm going to include the Counter-Terrorism Service, 27:57.038 --> 28:00.411 the federal police, because they ultimately 28:00.411 --> 28:04.161 all have played a part in the defeat of ISIS, 28:04.363 --> 28:06.196 particularly in Mosul. 28:06.517 --> 28:08.684 So what I will say is that 28:08.896 --> 28:10.270 and we have said this before 28:10.270 --> 28:12.288 and commander of Combined Joint 28:12.288 --> 28:14.442 Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve 28:14.442 --> 28:16.064 has said this before himself 28:16.064 --> 28:17.986 is that first off, Mosul, 28:17.986 --> 28:21.502 the growing nine-month campaign to defeat ISIS there 28:21.502 --> 28:24.752 was going to be difficult for any army. 28:25.380 --> 28:28.752 And it's some of the most difficult combat fighting 28:28.752 --> 28:31.002 that we've seen in decades. 28:31.743 --> 28:35.660 So they have come out of that particular battle 28:36.352 --> 28:40.519 and that fight and we have seen them dominate ISIS 28:41.067 --> 28:45.234 in places like Tal Afar and Hawija and in western Anbar. 28:45.262 --> 28:48.345 So I will say and we have said before 28:48.596 --> 28:52.763 that they are a legitimate and very capable fighting force. 28:54.211 --> 28:57.294 And some have even said that they are 28:58.442 --> 29:02.609 one of the premier security forces now in the region. 29:03.883 --> 29:06.077 As far as your second question about 29:06.077 --> 29:08.597 number of Iraqi security forces 29:08.597 --> 29:11.043 that have been trained by the coalition, 29:11.043 --> 29:14.626 that number sits right now at about 119,000 29:15.703 --> 29:17.953 and it includes Iraqi army, 29:18.678 --> 29:20.110 includes Peshmerga, 29:20.110 --> 29:23.193 it includes counterterrorism service, 29:23.254 --> 29:27.062 federal police, police, tribal mobilization forces 29:27.062 --> 29:29.479 and also border guard forces. 29:30.322 --> 29:31.863 I hope that answers your question. 29:31.863 --> 29:33.124 If you want to know specifics, 29:33.124 --> 29:34.711 I can follow up with you after this 29:34.711 --> 29:37.794 as far as numbers of trained by unit. 29:38.498 --> 29:42.038 - Yes, because I am interested especially in the army, 29:42.038 --> 29:43.288 the Iraqi army. 29:43.500 --> 29:44.333 Thank you. 29:46.920 --> 29:48.420 - Okay, all right. 29:48.464 --> 29:51.464 So in the Iraqi army we have trained 29:52.239 --> 29:55.322 just shy of 44,000 Iraqi army forces. 29:57.404 --> 29:58.404 - Thank you. 29:58.540 --> 29:59.962 - Ben Kesling, Wall Street Journal. 29:59.962 --> 30:02.270 - Hi, Colonel, a quick question about 30:02.270 --> 30:04.187 some more Kirkuk stuff. 30:04.490 --> 30:06.725 Has the U.S. discussed in any way 30:06.725 --> 30:10.058 what trigger would cause it to move away 30:10.329 --> 30:14.217 from this avowed neutrality and pick a side on things? 30:14.217 --> 30:17.023 Has there been any discussion as to what might happen 30:17.023 --> 30:21.190 if Iraqi Security Forces move past disputed territories? 30:25.691 --> 30:27.526 - Yeah Ben, on something like that, 30:27.526 --> 30:31.609 I would defer you to the Pentagon and colleagues. 30:32.221 --> 30:34.884 They're standing right there, closer to you 30:34.884 --> 30:36.551 on what we would do. 30:36.712 --> 30:38.953 What I can tell you, as a coalition, 30:38.953 --> 30:41.634 and what we're doing now is focused on ISIS. 30:41.634 --> 30:44.217 We're not participating in the, 30:45.517 --> 30:47.948 in what's going on in and around Kirkuk right now, 30:47.948 --> 30:52.115 besides engaging in dialogue with our counterparts. 30:52.744 --> 30:53.768 - [Adrian] And we'll be happy to take 30:53.768 --> 30:54.999 the question for you. - Thank you. 30:54.999 --> 30:57.509 - Next to Nancy Youssef. - Thank you. 30:57.509 --> 30:59.040 First, just a point of clarification. 30:59.040 --> 31:02.765 When you refer referred repeatedly to official reporting 31:02.765 --> 31:04.938 as sort of the source for information 31:04.938 --> 31:07.580 to dispute some of the reports that we've seen. 31:07.580 --> 31:09.041 What constitutes official reporting? 31:09.041 --> 31:11.194 Is that based exclusively on information 31:11.194 --> 31:12.655 from the Iraqi Security Forces? 31:12.655 --> 31:14.084 Is it based on intel? 31:14.084 --> 31:17.917 Can you give us a sense of what that makes up? 31:20.797 --> 31:24.053 - Sure, so that's all three of what you had just said. 31:24.053 --> 31:26.901 So number one, we do have reporting 31:26.901 --> 31:28.973 from Iraqi Security Forces. 31:28.973 --> 31:31.131 We do have reporting from, you know 31:31.131 --> 31:33.775 some of our forces that I had mentioned earlier 31:33.775 --> 31:35.525 that was in the area. 31:36.460 --> 31:37.965 We also have reporting that comes 31:37.965 --> 31:40.548 from Kurdish security officials 31:40.675 --> 31:42.276 that we are in dialog with. 31:42.276 --> 31:44.187 And we have other platforms in the area 31:44.187 --> 31:47.187 and other ways to gather information 31:47.529 --> 31:49.529 to verify those reports. 31:51.662 --> 31:54.301 - You said earlier that U.S. forces were not 31:54.301 --> 31:57.554 with the Iraqi Security Forces or the Pesh in Kirkuk. 31:57.554 --> 32:01.721 So those U.S. forces are not actually witnessing directly 32:01.986 --> 32:05.236 the situation in Kirkuk, is that right? 32:07.395 --> 32:08.497 - That is correct. 32:08.497 --> 32:09.530 You know we are not, 32:09.530 --> 32:11.754 we do not have elements on the ground, 32:11.754 --> 32:15.171 and not U.S., not coalition on the ground 32:15.475 --> 32:19.642 in or around Kirkuk with any of the units that are nearby. 32:20.672 --> 32:22.664 - And we had seen reports that Qassem Solimani 32:22.664 --> 32:25.227 was in Sulaymaniyah and there were suggestions 32:25.227 --> 32:28.810 that he was directing operations in Kirkuk. 32:29.051 --> 32:31.707 Is there any evidence from the U.S. perspective 32:31.707 --> 32:33.212 that in fact was happening? 32:33.212 --> 32:34.356 And to clarify earlier, 32:34.356 --> 32:37.749 is your position that PMU are not in Kirkuk at all? 32:37.749 --> 32:39.524 Are they in they in the rear? 32:39.524 --> 32:41.249 Can you give us a better sense of 32:41.249 --> 32:45.416 where PMU positions are vis-a-vis the Iraqi Security Forces? 32:48.882 --> 32:52.957 - Yes, so we have also seen the open-source reporting 32:52.957 --> 32:56.707 on that gentleman being in and around Kirkuk, 32:58.441 --> 32:59.858 but I don't have, 33:00.385 --> 33:04.088 I can't tell you whether or not that was verified. 33:04.088 --> 33:06.766 Number two, as far as the Popular 33:06.766 --> 33:09.349 Mobilization Units in the area, 33:09.510 --> 33:12.593 we have not seen in and around Kirkuk 33:13.203 --> 33:17.254 any of these units going in to reestablish security 33:17.254 --> 33:20.754 and/or inside of Kirkuk itself. 33:20.872 --> 33:24.955 - No presence at all or are they in the vicinity? 33:26.847 --> 33:31.014 - Again, what I will say is that units we have not seen. 33:32.360 --> 33:35.263 And again, we don't have forces on the ground 33:35.263 --> 33:38.838 and what we have received is that information through 33:38.838 --> 33:40.833 Iraqi Security Force personnel 33:40.833 --> 33:44.166 and also from the other collection means 33:44.502 --> 33:46.065 that I'd already mentioned earlier. 33:46.065 --> 33:48.019 - Any indication of leaders from some 33:48.019 --> 33:51.686 of the premier PMUs on the ground in Kirkuk? 33:56.623 --> 33:57.684 - I don't have a, 33:57.684 --> 33:59.841 I don't have a clear answer for you on that. 33:59.841 --> 34:02.924 I can't tell you who and what leaders 34:03.753 --> 34:05.420 may be in that area. 34:06.004 --> 34:07.592 So I don't have an answer for you on that. 34:07.592 --> 34:09.989 - In Sinjar, we've seen reports that 34:09.989 --> 34:12.271 Kurdish forces have moved out of there as well. 34:12.271 --> 34:14.432 Can you give us the U.S. assessment 34:14.432 --> 34:17.849 of what is happening in Sinjar right now? 34:20.959 --> 34:21.876 - I cannot. 34:22.230 --> 34:25.980 I came in with some information about Kirkuk. 34:26.469 --> 34:29.136 And again, we do not have forces 34:29.637 --> 34:33.304 that are up in or around Sinjar area either. 34:33.791 --> 34:36.049 And I don't have an answer for you on 34:36.049 --> 34:39.966 the presence of any forces in or around Sinjar. 34:40.265 --> 34:42.806 - We go to Jack Detsch with Al-Monitor. 34:42.806 --> 34:44.002 - Thank you, Colonel. 34:44.002 --> 34:45.676 With ISIS on the back foot in Raqqa, 34:45.676 --> 34:47.755 has Russia or Syria indicated to the coalition 34:47.755 --> 34:49.300 how long they'd be willing to accept 34:49.300 --> 34:50.888 the U.S. presence potentially in the country 34:50.888 --> 34:52.551 or whether they'd allow U.S. troops 34:52.551 --> 34:54.041 to stay in the region indefinitely 34:54.041 --> 34:56.374 without offering resistance? 35:00.179 --> 35:03.596 - We certainly have not received anything 35:03.962 --> 35:06.379 from our Russian counterparts 35:06.512 --> 35:08.307 through the deconfliction line. 35:08.307 --> 35:09.816 And I don't think that that would be a discussion 35:09.816 --> 35:12.617 that would happen between the coalition 35:12.617 --> 35:14.200 and those elements. 35:14.408 --> 35:17.135 It would probably be risen at higher levels. 35:17.135 --> 35:18.359 So I hope that, 35:18.359 --> 35:19.862 I mean, I know that doesn't answer your question, 35:19.862 --> 35:22.695 but that's not something I can say 35:23.235 --> 35:25.011 from the coalition's perspective. 35:25.011 --> 35:26.044 - Understood. 35:26.044 --> 35:27.347 And you said sort of, the continuance 35:27.347 --> 35:29.568 of counter-ISIS operations through the MERV 35:29.568 --> 35:32.258 might be dependent on the SDF buy-in. 35:32.258 --> 35:33.843 So does that mean the U.S, would be prepared 35:33.843 --> 35:36.811 to support operations all the way to the Iraqi border 35:36.811 --> 35:38.811 if the SDF desires that? 35:43.245 --> 35:47.412 - So, I guess what I had said is that the SDF will, 35:47.823 --> 35:48.837 they have been our partners 35:48.837 --> 35:51.946 and I think there is a desire on their part. 35:51.946 --> 35:54.279 And there are those fighters 35:55.471 --> 35:59.638 and folks from with inside of the SDF who are from areas 36:00.815 --> 36:03.540 further down in the Middle Euphrates River Valley. 36:03.540 --> 36:06.540 So you know, that is yet to be seen. 36:06.590 --> 36:08.704 Again, that's a commander's decision. 36:08.704 --> 36:12.794 On the ground, in our strategy of by, with and through 36:12.794 --> 36:16.740 allows that commander on the ground to make those decisions. 36:16.740 --> 36:20.907 So I will say that we must wait and see as things develop. 36:22.108 --> 36:25.441 And we'll see how far down into the MERV 36:25.567 --> 36:28.984 we'll be able to go to pursue ISIS there. 36:29.267 --> 36:31.289 (faint speaking) 36:31.289 --> 36:32.539 - Hey, Colonel. 36:32.681 --> 36:34.837 After the referendum a couple weeks ago, 36:34.837 --> 36:38.670 you had talked about it could be a distraction 36:39.482 --> 36:40.982 in the ISIS fight. 36:42.747 --> 36:44.830 These tensions in Kirkuk, 36:45.559 --> 36:46.899 what kind of distraction might they be? 36:46.899 --> 36:50.036 And have they taken anything away militarily 36:50.036 --> 36:52.786 from operations in western Anbar? 36:57.146 --> 36:59.979 - So as I had answered previously, 37:00.150 --> 37:03.483 you know clearly at levels that have to, 37:04.004 --> 37:06.297 that have to do with the planning 37:06.297 --> 37:09.797 and looking forward to the defeat of ISIS, 37:09.914 --> 37:13.081 that it certainly has been distracted. 37:13.936 --> 37:16.740 The other thing is that as we look forward 37:16.740 --> 37:19.020 towards even after the defeat, 37:19.020 --> 37:23.046 the military defeat of ISIS in Rawa and Al-Qa'im, 37:23.046 --> 37:25.080 there's still going to be work to be done. 37:25.080 --> 37:28.247 Yes, ISIS will be defeated militarily, 37:28.455 --> 37:31.585 but we know that there still is going to be 37:31.585 --> 37:35.668 the ideology and the continued insurgent activity 37:36.948 --> 37:38.493 as they devolve into that. 37:38.493 --> 37:42.160 So the transition of the training of kinetic 37:43.001 --> 37:45.918 and forces to fight a military army 37:47.119 --> 37:50.973 are already being changed in the training realm 37:50.973 --> 37:54.998 to focus on policing activities, and counter-terrorism, 37:54.998 --> 37:56.705 and understanding the threat 37:56.705 --> 37:58.535 and being able to go after that threat 37:58.535 --> 38:02.452 prior to any attacks on either the Iraqi forces 38:03.823 --> 38:06.183 or civilians throughout Iraq. 38:06.183 --> 38:08.433 So that still has to happen 38:08.867 --> 38:11.016 and the focus still must be there. 38:11.016 --> 38:14.599 Still the greatest threat to Iraqis is ISIS 38:15.828 --> 38:19.287 and what comes after their military defeat. 38:19.287 --> 38:21.562 So I know that was a long-winded question, 38:21.562 --> 38:24.479 but you know the focus is not there 38:24.509 --> 38:28.676 on that problem set as it was prior to the referendum. 38:29.837 --> 38:32.661 - And then do you have the numbers 38:32.661 --> 38:35.494 for the amount of Peshmerga forces 38:35.505 --> 38:39.505 that the U.S. or that the coalition has trained? 38:39.550 --> 38:42.300 (faint speaking) 38:43.787 --> 38:45.954 - Yes that is just shy of, 38:46.027 --> 38:47.855 well it's not U.S., it's coalition. 38:47.855 --> 38:51.272 So coalition forces have trained just shy 38:51.375 --> 38:54.458 of 23,000 Peshmerga forces throughout 38:54.687 --> 38:58.854 the three years that we have started this campaign. 38:59.408 --> 39:01.040 - And then just one last quick one. 39:01.040 --> 39:03.915 Has there been any additional face-to-face meetings 39:03.915 --> 39:07.165 between Russian and coalition officials 39:08.184 --> 39:12.351 on the deconfliction in the Middle Euphrates River valley? 39:17.367 --> 39:18.750 - I believe that there was, 39:18.750 --> 39:21.814 well not believe I know that there was a second meeting 39:21.814 --> 39:24.685 that did occur at about the same level, 39:24.685 --> 39:27.089 again outside of Iraq and Syria. 39:27.089 --> 39:31.256 And that happened about a, I'd say over a week ago. 39:32.997 --> 39:34.914 - [Adrian] Kevin Baron. 39:34.990 --> 39:36.900 - Hi, Colonel, on the Pesh training, 39:36.900 --> 39:39.019 I wonder if you could tell more 39:39.019 --> 39:41.335 about what lies for their future. 39:41.335 --> 39:43.772 And about a year ago, I was told out there that, 39:43.772 --> 39:46.034 that it would shift as fight shifted 39:46.034 --> 39:48.534 from counter-terrorism assault 39:48.537 --> 39:50.740 more towards counter-insurgency, hold forces. 39:50.740 --> 39:52.730 Is that still happening? 39:52.730 --> 39:55.283 And can you talk a little bit about 39:55.283 --> 39:56.751 the morale and the mood? 39:56.751 --> 39:58.300 I mean your commanders who have been training 39:58.300 --> 40:00.523 these guys up to this point. 40:00.523 --> 40:02.559 As we're all trying to say here. 40:02.559 --> 40:04.423 The Kurds think that they're getting 40:04.423 --> 40:05.876 a little bit of the shaft. 40:05.876 --> 40:08.793 And what's it like for you to still 40:09.013 --> 40:10.669 have to train with them, 40:10.669 --> 40:12.953 what is the message your commanders 40:12.953 --> 40:16.025 are sending to them directly about not just Kirkuk, 40:16.025 --> 40:20.147 but about the future of the U.S. sticking with them 40:20.147 --> 40:24.147 as a security assistance partner, going forward? 40:26.756 --> 40:28.771 - Okay, thanks for the question. 40:28.771 --> 40:31.938 And that the training crosses a myriad 40:32.264 --> 40:34.681 and I can try to find and get 40:34.708 --> 40:38.784 a more detailed breakdown of what that is for you. 40:38.784 --> 40:41.201 But I know that that training 40:41.256 --> 40:44.339 is from all elements of the coalition 40:45.374 --> 40:49.541 that provide the training in multiple different locations. 40:49.604 --> 40:52.012 What happened as a part of the referendum, 40:52.012 --> 40:55.262 there was no decision that was yet made 40:55.276 --> 40:59.020 on whether or not there was going to be any discontinuation 40:59.020 --> 41:02.363 of any of that training as a result of the referendum. 41:02.363 --> 41:04.286 But as I know right now, 41:04.286 --> 41:06.453 or prior to recent events, 41:07.122 --> 41:09.705 is that training has continued. 41:10.536 --> 41:14.036 So I think, as far as any kind of feedback 41:14.754 --> 41:18.917 of what's been said, I am not privy to any of those. 41:18.917 --> 41:21.317 I don't know what kind of discussions 41:21.317 --> 41:24.286 have been had at the face-to-face level, 41:24.286 --> 41:26.606 particularly in places like Erbil, 41:26.606 --> 41:30.106 where we do have forces that are currently 41:30.421 --> 41:32.754 with Peshmerga forces there. 41:33.391 --> 41:35.463 So I don't have an answer on what 41:35.463 --> 41:38.880 those discussions have been face-to-face. 41:39.231 --> 41:40.375 - [Adrian] Phil Stewart from Reuters. 41:40.375 --> 41:42.828 - Hi, just a few clarifications. 41:42.828 --> 41:44.615 Yesterday we were trying to find out 41:44.615 --> 41:46.361 whether or not there were any restrictions 41:46.361 --> 41:50.194 on U.S. weapons or arms supplied to the Iraqis 41:50.803 --> 41:54.133 and to the Kurds that would prohibit them 41:54.133 --> 41:56.535 from using them against each other. 41:56.535 --> 41:58.785 Do such restrictions exist? 42:03.072 --> 42:05.322 - What I understand is that 42:06.734 --> 42:09.804 the weapons that and the training and the weapons 42:09.804 --> 42:13.794 that we provide to Iraqi Security Force elements, 42:13.794 --> 42:16.127 to include Peshmerga forces, 42:16.719 --> 42:17.993 they have to pass, 42:17.993 --> 42:21.489 anyone who will receive them must be vetted 42:21.489 --> 42:24.650 before they are provided these weapons. 42:24.650 --> 42:27.400 And then secondly, there is a way 42:27.781 --> 42:31.948 to track and to continue to identify these weapons. 42:32.897 --> 42:34.814 As far as what happens 42:36.247 --> 42:38.914 on whether or not they are used, 42:39.419 --> 42:43.586 I don't have an answer for you on what would happen 42:45.295 --> 42:49.462 in an event that would have us take any kind of weapons 42:49.519 --> 42:52.491 or take measures to ask for them back. 42:52.491 --> 42:53.911 I don't have an answer for you on that. 42:53.911 --> 42:55.781 I can find out, though. 42:55.781 --> 42:57.258 - Whether or not you know, 42:57.258 --> 42:59.278 are there ramifications for the clash, 42:59.278 --> 43:01.348 for those involved with the clash yesterday. 43:01.348 --> 43:02.515 Are there any, 43:03.058 --> 43:05.947 is there any guidance being given to either side 43:05.947 --> 43:08.500 that if they use U.S. arms against each other 43:08.500 --> 43:11.583 that U.S. assistance will be cut off? 43:14.781 --> 43:17.185 - Yeah, I don't have an answer for you on that 43:17.185 --> 43:19.518 as far as overall U.S. arms. 43:19.984 --> 43:23.401 If an event happened and what it would be 43:23.442 --> 43:27.025 that would preclude any further divestment. 43:29.336 --> 43:31.753 I'll have to either defer to, 43:31.936 --> 43:34.618 well not defer, but I can either find out from 43:34.618 --> 43:36.648 the Office of Security Cooperation 43:36.648 --> 43:39.865 or through our policy to find out an answer on that. 43:39.865 --> 43:41.939 I don't have, I do not know. 43:41.939 --> 43:45.439 - After you acknowledged a death toll in yesterday's clash, 43:45.439 --> 43:47.779 we were told by the KRG folks yesterday 43:47.779 --> 43:51.612 that it was in the tens, maybe a hundred more, 43:51.709 --> 43:54.474 they don't know, they weren't sure on the numbers. 43:54.474 --> 43:56.831 But they were citing quite high numbers. 43:56.831 --> 43:58.771 Do you have a number and would you acknowledge 43:58.771 --> 44:01.795 if there's a difference in opinion about the degree 44:01.795 --> 44:04.045 of the bloodshed yesterday, 44:04.478 --> 44:05.978 yesterday's clash? 44:09.757 --> 44:12.090 - I will say, we do not have 44:13.973 --> 44:15.789 a firm number on them, 44:15.789 --> 44:18.877 but I have said, I have seen differences 44:18.877 --> 44:21.891 between the low of three and high to 11 44:21.891 --> 44:26.058 as being the span of reporting on what has come in. 44:27.713 --> 44:28.691 - And that's for both sides, 44:28.691 --> 44:30.535 from the Iraqi and the Kurdish? 44:30.535 --> 44:31.368 Okay. 44:34.083 --> 44:35.528 - [Ryan] That's correct. 44:35.528 --> 44:39.695 - The positions in where these events are taking place, 44:39.896 --> 44:41.238 with the exception of K-1, 44:41.238 --> 44:44.088 where I'm not so sure if you're still there or not. 44:44.088 --> 44:47.421 How confident are you in the information 44:47.468 --> 44:49.301 that you're receiving? 44:54.100 --> 44:55.683 - Well like I said, 44:55.984 --> 44:57.761 the information that we're receiving, 44:57.761 --> 45:00.344 we also have other capabilities 45:00.611 --> 45:03.659 that allow us to verify those reports. 45:03.659 --> 45:07.242 So granted, it is not someone on the ground 45:07.648 --> 45:09.898 that is a coalition member, 45:10.052 --> 45:12.825 and we're hearing from them firsthand. 45:12.825 --> 45:14.325 I understand that. 45:14.979 --> 45:18.146 But there are multiple ways to look at 45:18.683 --> 45:20.918 and receive reports and to verify it. 45:20.918 --> 45:24.266 And so that's where as the question came in earlier, 45:24.266 --> 45:28.433 that's where and how we are receiving our information. 45:29.228 --> 45:31.151 - Next to Elizabeth McLaughlin of ABC. 45:31.151 --> 45:32.310 - Hi, Colonel, two questions for you 45:32.310 --> 45:35.773 Just to clarify on Phil's point about the equipment. 45:35.773 --> 45:37.492 Yesterday, the Pentagon had said that 45:37.492 --> 45:38.721 they had received agreements that 45:38.721 --> 45:40.586 there would be no misuse of military equipment. 45:40.586 --> 45:43.175 So can you, like, you don't know yet what that would, 45:43.175 --> 45:45.925 what is misuse of that equipment? 45:49.869 --> 45:51.369 - That is correct. 45:51.537 --> 45:54.306 I don't know, I don't know if there's someone 45:54.306 --> 45:56.473 that is watching for that. 45:56.623 --> 46:00.369 But I can look that up and try to find an answer for you. 46:00.369 --> 46:02.117 I don't know. - That would great, thank you. 46:02.117 --> 46:03.369 And then my second question is you talked about 46:03.369 --> 46:05.522 how the planning, looking forward to defeat of ISIS, 46:05.522 --> 46:08.080 that that has been distracted by what's going on in Kirkuk. 46:08.080 --> 46:09.217 Can you better parse that out? 46:09.217 --> 46:10.884 What does that mean, 46:11.001 --> 46:15.001 planning has been distracted by what's going on? 46:18.351 --> 46:21.684 - So what I would say is I alluded to it 46:22.253 --> 46:24.551 a little bit earlier on today. 46:24.551 --> 46:25.968 And you had also, 46:26.735 --> 46:30.152 I would also say that there are elements, 46:30.369 --> 46:34.284 whether it be Iraqi army or counter-terrorism service, 46:34.284 --> 46:37.877 or any of these units that are also looking at 46:37.877 --> 46:40.540 potentials for what could happen. 46:40.540 --> 46:44.707 Clearly, we are trying to dialogue at multiple levels 46:45.524 --> 46:48.339 with groups on all sides to keep tensions down 46:48.339 --> 46:50.945 and to refocus our efforts on ISIS. 46:50.945 --> 46:53.028 But as military planners, 46:53.345 --> 46:55.495 we are always looking at the what-ifs. 46:55.495 --> 46:56.995 So that is clearly 46:58.512 --> 47:01.429 what I would be doing as a planner, 47:01.858 --> 47:04.469 is looking at all the different ways 47:04.469 --> 47:08.469 that things could play out and prepare for that. 47:08.794 --> 47:10.294 So clearly there's 47:12.494 --> 47:15.994 a focus and without a question with every, 47:16.947 --> 47:19.067 the last two days and all the emphasis 47:19.067 --> 47:21.734 and the questions I've received, 47:22.325 --> 47:25.242 nary has been on Al-Qa'im and Rawa, 47:26.212 --> 47:28.072 it has all been focused on Kirkuk. 47:28.072 --> 47:31.572 So I think that shows a very clear picture 47:31.877 --> 47:33.800 of where the attention is. 47:33.800 --> 47:36.177 - Have you gotten any indication from the Iraqis 47:36.177 --> 47:40.344 or the Peshmerga forces that they are less willing to 47:40.601 --> 47:43.244 or reallocating their resources to not fight ISIS 47:43.244 --> 47:45.021 and to maybe be more concerned 47:45.021 --> 47:47.688 about what's going on in Kirkuk? 47:51.060 --> 47:51.893 - We are, 47:52.267 --> 47:55.409 we are still working with the Iraqi Security Forces 47:55.409 --> 47:59.326 and we are still in the middle of a transition. 47:59.587 --> 48:02.254 So we have not seen all elements 48:03.142 --> 48:07.142 that have transitioned out towards western Anbar 48:07.243 --> 48:11.076 and that's where we want to be prepared to go. 48:12.259 --> 48:13.792 - Next to Tony Capaccio with Bloomberg. 48:13.792 --> 48:15.341 - [Tony] Hi, a couple questions, Sir. 48:15.341 --> 48:18.033 At some point will you be able to say definitively 48:18.033 --> 48:21.283 that ISIS has been defeated militarily? 48:21.975 --> 48:25.892 Will you be able to declare that at some point? 48:30.241 --> 48:32.811 - I think you know, obviously we're going to have 48:32.811 --> 48:35.144 to wait and see until after. 48:35.622 --> 48:38.062 But I would say that the first thing is that 48:38.062 --> 48:41.562 if we've taken away all of their territory 48:41.577 --> 48:44.762 is the first step and we still have to do that. 48:44.762 --> 48:48.345 In Iraq that is about just over two percent 48:49.213 --> 48:52.182 or just under three percent of territory 48:52.182 --> 48:55.201 that is left in Iraq that must be cleared 48:55.201 --> 48:57.846 and that's in that pocket in Western Anbar. 48:57.846 --> 49:01.429 So that first must happen before we can say 49:02.390 --> 49:05.223 ISIS has been defeated militarily. 49:05.838 --> 49:08.857 - The lay person seeing what's going on in Kirkuk, 49:08.857 --> 49:10.992 scratching their heads in the United States 49:10.992 --> 49:13.100 and the subtext of a lot of the coverage is 49:13.100 --> 49:16.433 this could be foreshadowing a civil war. 49:16.868 --> 49:20.090 Has any of the official reporting you've seen to date 49:20.090 --> 49:23.007 hinted at or laid out concerns that 49:24.061 --> 49:26.294 this could be the start of a civil war 49:26.294 --> 49:29.877 between the Iraqi government and the Kurds? 49:31.837 --> 49:34.687 Are those words being used, civil war? 49:34.687 --> 49:35.770 - We have not 49:38.353 --> 49:40.603 outside of press reporting, 49:41.434 --> 49:43.794 we have not seen that at the coalition level 49:43.794 --> 49:47.211 through the interaction with our leaders. 49:47.512 --> 49:49.954 - Final: What is the status of the negotiations 49:49.954 --> 49:51.856 or talks with the Iraqi government 49:51.856 --> 49:54.954 about an enduring U.S. presence in Iraq 49:54.954 --> 49:57.787 after ISIS is militarily defeated? 50:02.114 --> 50:06.004 - That is at levels that would be at the diplomatic levels. 50:06.004 --> 50:09.004 But clearly, we have had discussions 50:09.185 --> 50:11.791 both with our commander and the prime minister 50:11.791 --> 50:15.506 and with the chief of defense, minister of defense 50:15.506 --> 50:18.984 on first off, the continuation of training, 50:18.984 --> 50:21.794 as I'd mentioned earlier about the transition 50:21.794 --> 50:24.377 to training police-like efforts 50:24.855 --> 50:26.964 and to continue the training efforts 50:26.964 --> 50:30.297 to build their capacity to keep threats, 50:30.519 --> 50:34.352 counter-insurgent type threat from rebuilding. 50:35.978 --> 50:39.895 So we have certainly looked at it from our end. 50:39.913 --> 50:41.730 And last week when General, 50:41.730 --> 50:44.795 the same question was asked of Major General White, 50:44.795 --> 50:46.240 he said that we will have discussions, 50:46.240 --> 50:49.384 we will give recommendations to the government of Iraq, 50:49.384 --> 50:51.206 but ultimately it will be the government of Iraq 50:51.206 --> 50:54.123 that decides and takes any of those 50:54.430 --> 50:56.869 recommendations and implements them 50:56.869 --> 50:59.683 for any kind of future presence of U.S. 50:59.683 --> 51:03.016 or coalition forces in Iraq. - Thank you. 51:03.262 --> 51:05.255 - Wesley Morgan at Politico. 51:05.255 --> 51:06.213 - Hi, Colonel Dillon. 51:06.213 --> 51:08.314 If I can get you to flesh out a little bit 51:08.314 --> 51:09.721 what you mean by the disruption 51:09.721 --> 51:11.373 of the Western Anbar operations. 51:11.373 --> 51:14.227 Have there been specific instances of Iraq Army 51:14.227 --> 51:16.417 or CTS units that you were expecting 51:16.417 --> 51:18.777 to already have showed up in Western Anbar 51:18.777 --> 51:21.527 that have instead gone to Kirkuk? 51:26.005 --> 51:27.095 - We have not, 51:27.095 --> 51:30.845 but we are still not done with the transition 51:31.388 --> 51:35.055 and the movement of forces to Western Anbar. 51:37.044 --> 51:38.794 - And also on Kirkuk, 51:39.053 --> 51:43.220 could you tell us when the coalition first learned 51:43.313 --> 51:44.827 that Iraqi Security Forces 51:44.827 --> 51:46.318 would be entering the city of Kirkuk, 51:46.318 --> 51:48.927 whether there was any advanced warning or notice 51:48.927 --> 51:50.594 and if so, how long? 51:54.805 --> 51:57.035 - I don't know that question. 51:57.035 --> 52:00.952 I know that we certainly knew of it the morning 52:01.046 --> 52:03.153 of yesterday morning, early in the hours 52:03.153 --> 52:06.320 of the morning of the 16th of October. 52:07.496 --> 52:09.111 - Thank you and just one more. 52:09.111 --> 52:11.135 You mentioned the RISF commander 52:11.135 --> 52:13.119 who was killed yesterday in Raqqa. 52:13.119 --> 52:14.775 Can you tell us his name or anything else 52:14.775 --> 52:16.928 about the circumstances under which he was killed, 52:16.928 --> 52:18.790 whether there were any coalition advisers 52:18.790 --> 52:22.207 with him at the time, anything like that? 52:24.650 --> 52:27.584 - I will follow up after with his name. 52:27.584 --> 52:29.695 But there were not coalition advisers 52:29.695 --> 52:31.012 that were with him. 52:31.012 --> 52:34.095 He was walking through a neighborhood 52:35.229 --> 52:37.062 in and around in Raqqa 52:38.125 --> 52:41.208 when he triggered an explosive device 52:42.028 --> 52:44.098 that blew up and killed both him 52:44.098 --> 52:47.501 and two of his colleagues that were with him. 52:47.501 --> 52:50.541 And I can find out that location and where it is 52:50.541 --> 52:52.874 and the name following this. 52:54.253 --> 52:56.348 - [Adrian] Back to Kevin Baron with a follow-up. 52:56.348 --> 52:57.515 - Hi, Colonel. 52:57.744 --> 52:59.303 This is a bit of a phone of a friend, 52:59.303 --> 53:01.101 I'm relaying a question from Voice of America's 53:01.101 --> 53:03.623 Carla Babb, who's at a baby doc appointment. 53:03.623 --> 53:05.730 But so she's actually asking about Iraq 53:05.730 --> 53:08.296 from a baby appointment, I think it's worth it. 53:08.296 --> 53:10.737 But it's a follow-on to the last question of 53:10.737 --> 53:12.017 if the U.S. was not involved, 53:12.017 --> 53:15.277 why was the U.S. not involved in the handover in Kirkuk? 53:15.277 --> 53:16.276 Who coordinated it? 53:16.276 --> 53:18.023 Was the U.S. involved at any level 53:18.023 --> 53:20.773 of coordinating it ahead of time? 53:20.907 --> 53:22.356 And when were these movements decided? 53:22.356 --> 53:25.356 I mean, are we completely out of it? 53:29.756 --> 53:32.489 - I don't have an answer on that. 53:32.489 --> 53:36.656 I know that the movements by the Iraqi Security Forces, 53:37.864 --> 53:39.447 it was coordinated. 53:40.141 --> 53:42.641 As far as U.S. being notified, 53:44.398 --> 53:47.258 like I had already provided that answer 53:47.258 --> 53:48.925 that I did not know, 53:49.819 --> 53:53.751 or I don't know if we knew prior to yesterday morning. 53:53.751 --> 53:55.944 So I don't have an answer to that. 53:55.944 --> 53:57.558 - Does he want to be involved in this, 53:57.558 --> 53:59.421 in previous discussions? 53:59.421 --> 54:03.588 I mean, it was known that that was on the horizon. 54:06.449 --> 54:10.543 - Well, so it was already announced by the prime minister. 54:10.543 --> 54:14.293 The prime minister had made some declarations 54:14.686 --> 54:17.936 and statements about reasserting Iraqi, 54:21.639 --> 54:24.639 Iraqi presence in and around Kirkuk. 54:25.825 --> 54:28.908 So I know that it was stated publicly 54:29.430 --> 54:31.430 by government officials. 54:31.455 --> 54:34.205 I don't know if we as a coalition 54:34.555 --> 54:38.638 were identified prior to the morning of the 16th. 54:39.643 --> 54:41.527 - Now to Liz McLaughlin, ABC. 54:41.527 --> 54:43.041 - Hi Colonel, sorry, you said there was a second 54:43.041 --> 54:44.525 face-to-face meeting with the Russians. 54:44.525 --> 54:46.158 Can you talk a little bit more about what triggered 54:46.158 --> 54:48.908 that meeting, when that happened? 54:52.984 --> 54:55.911 - I don't and so I know that it happened, 54:55.911 --> 54:58.437 and we said that it was likely that 54:58.437 --> 55:01.338 there was going to be a second meeting. 55:01.338 --> 55:02.993 There's one that did happen. 55:02.993 --> 55:05.138 I don't know where it was. 55:05.138 --> 55:07.987 I know it was not in Iraq or it was not in Syria. 55:07.987 --> 55:10.051 And it was at the same level, 55:10.051 --> 55:13.437 about the one-star level from the coalition. 55:13.437 --> 55:16.687 And it was the same line of discussions 55:17.078 --> 55:19.995 that talked about the deconfliction 55:20.592 --> 55:23.842 and where Russian and pro-regime forces 55:25.516 --> 55:28.040 and Syrian Democratic Forces would go, 55:28.040 --> 55:29.981 further on down the MERV, 55:29.981 --> 55:31.547 and what kind of deconfliction measures 55:31.547 --> 55:33.819 were going to be put in place. 55:33.819 --> 55:35.636 - Would you be able to get back to us 55:35.636 --> 55:38.489 about where that meeting took place? 55:38.489 --> 55:41.489 And that was a face-to-face meeting? 55:43.729 --> 55:46.012 - It was a face-to-face meeting 55:46.012 --> 55:50.179 and I don't think we're going to provide a location. 55:50.892 --> 55:52.630 What I can do is go back and find 55:52.630 --> 55:55.047 a better date to provide you. 55:55.811 --> 55:57.811 It was about a week ago. 55:58.499 --> 56:01.249 But there may be future meetings. 56:03.209 --> 56:04.283 And again, this is, 56:04.283 --> 56:05.938 I understand that there have been two meetings, 56:05.938 --> 56:07.425 the one that we've discussed 56:07.425 --> 56:09.907 the first time I did the Pentagon press conference 56:09.907 --> 56:11.065 and we discussed that. 56:11.065 --> 56:12.716 And then the second one that happened 56:12.716 --> 56:15.133 about a week ago. - Thank you. 56:15.280 --> 56:17.285 - Back to Lucas Tomlinson, Fox News. 56:17.285 --> 56:20.031 - [Lucas] Colonel, two U.S. senators have expressed concern 56:20.031 --> 56:22.080 that U.S. weapons and equipment 56:22.080 --> 56:24.308 was used by the Iraqi Security Forces 56:24.308 --> 56:26.377 in their movement on Kirkuk. 56:26.377 --> 56:28.710 Do you share those concerns? 56:31.749 --> 56:34.582 - I'll go back and a lot of those, 56:34.603 --> 56:37.084 your question looks about the same 56:37.084 --> 56:40.058 as some of the other ones about what is, 56:40.058 --> 56:42.808 what are we, the U.S. going to do 56:42.966 --> 56:47.133 about use of U.S. weapons and what we would do about it. 56:47.584 --> 56:50.667 So I will again defer to the Pentagon 56:51.344 --> 56:53.511 for clarification on that. 56:53.703 --> 56:55.521 - No, I'm was asking if there's any concern 56:55.521 --> 56:57.344 by you or members of the coalition 56:57.344 --> 57:00.927 about U.S. equipment or weapons being used? 57:04.701 --> 57:06.436 - What we are concerned about is any kind 57:06.436 --> 57:09.103 of rise in escalation in Kirkuk. 57:09.911 --> 57:14.078 And we want to have things go back down to a level 57:14.828 --> 57:18.756 where we can refocus our efforts on defeating ISIS. 57:18.756 --> 57:20.572 - Does Bagdad have a right to retake the land 57:20.572 --> 57:22.572 that they say is theirs? 57:27.854 --> 57:31.903 - All right, I'm not going to address that one, Lucas. 57:31.903 --> 57:33.782 You want to talk about defeating ISIS, 57:33.782 --> 57:37.199 I'm ready to field a question about that. 57:37.278 --> 57:40.007 So I'm not going to address that one. 57:40.007 --> 57:41.166 - We are at exactly one hour, 57:41.166 --> 57:42.776 so we're going to go to Kristina Wong 57:42.776 --> 57:44.512 and you'll get the last question. 57:44.512 --> 57:47.280 - Great, thank you for doing this, Colonel. 57:47.280 --> 57:49.302 Some of what's been said today 57:49.302 --> 57:51.585 directly conflicts with what 57:51.585 --> 57:54.312 Kurdish officials have been saying. 57:54.312 --> 57:57.249 The Kurdish regional government representative to the U.S. 57:57.249 --> 58:00.416 and the Kirkuk governor have both said 58:01.096 --> 58:03.826 that the clash with the Kurdish Peshmerga 58:03.826 --> 58:07.076 and the ISF was not a miscommunication. 58:07.837 --> 58:12.004 They say PMF are riding into Kirkuk in Abrams tanks. 58:12.137 --> 58:14.007 They described the peaceful handover 58:14.007 --> 58:16.174 at the airport as a trick. 58:16.643 --> 58:18.546 Do you think that they're misinformed? 58:18.546 --> 58:21.153 And is there any concern by the coalition 58:21.153 --> 58:25.320 that this will complicate the ISIS fight going forward? 58:29.305 --> 58:31.972 - So what I will say is that we, 58:33.243 --> 58:36.136 what I have provided you is the reporting 58:36.136 --> 58:38.206 and what we have seen on the ground, 58:38.206 --> 58:40.274 not seen on the ground, but received 58:40.274 --> 58:42.423 from multiple sources and from also 58:42.423 --> 58:44.286 from verifying through other means. 58:44.286 --> 58:47.549 So I can only tell you what we have seen 58:47.549 --> 58:49.247 and what we can report. 58:49.247 --> 58:52.247 But as far as how will this conflict 58:53.549 --> 58:56.216 any kind of future against ISIS, 58:57.483 --> 59:00.483 we clearly want to have the emphasis 59:02.057 --> 59:05.490 and the focus back on the largest threat in the area, 59:05.490 --> 59:08.823 and the threat to both Iraqis and Kurds. 59:09.711 --> 59:13.878 And they've come so far and they have worked together, 59:14.434 --> 59:15.601 unprecedented, 59:16.759 --> 59:19.592 especially prior to the liberation 59:20.225 --> 59:23.308 and the offensive to move into Mosul. 59:24.237 --> 59:28.404 So it was the Peshmerga that allowed Iraqi Security Forces, 59:29.289 --> 59:31.809 after several years of contention, 59:31.809 --> 59:34.642 to move in and through their lines 59:34.660 --> 59:37.327 to attack ISIS in eastern Mosul. 59:38.049 --> 59:40.406 And we've seen, again after Mosul 59:40.406 --> 59:43.824 with the Operation in Tal Afar and also in Hawija, 59:43.824 --> 59:46.080 how they can work together to defeat 59:46.080 --> 59:48.108 a common enemy, which is ISIS. 59:48.108 --> 59:51.290 And this has been proven over and over again. 59:51.290 --> 59:54.540 And the strength of Iraq has been shown 59:54.639 --> 59:58.607 so many different times when they can all work together. 59:58.607 --> 01:00:02.274 And it happens in these most recent battles. 01:00:03.031 --> 01:00:06.752 So we're so close again, with about three percent 01:00:06.752 --> 01:00:10.419 of territory left in defeating ISIS in Iraq. 01:00:11.471 --> 01:00:14.245 And that's where we want to continue to focus 01:00:14.245 --> 01:00:17.098 and we want to be able to defeat ISIS 01:00:17.098 --> 01:00:19.015 in Iraq for all Iraqis. 01:00:20.845 --> 01:00:22.044 - Thank you. - Sir, thank you very much. 01:00:22.044 --> 01:00:25.711 Do you have any closing words for the group? 01:00:27.354 --> 01:00:30.604 - No, thanks all and I think next week, 01:00:30.951 --> 01:00:33.684 you may see someone else up here. 01:00:33.684 --> 01:00:35.500 And I think you also have possibly 01:00:35.500 --> 01:00:37.833 a visit coming from CENTCOM. 01:00:37.856 --> 01:00:40.356 So you will likely not see me, 01:00:40.504 --> 01:00:42.696 but you know you can always give me a call 01:00:42.696 --> 01:00:44.863 and I will respond to you. 01:00:45.174 --> 01:00:46.674 All right, thanks. 01:00:46.784 --> 01:00:49.617 - Thank you very much. - Thank you.