WEBVTT 00:01.840 --> 00:04.310 afternoon everybody uh I know we gave 00:04.310 --> 00:06.620 you an update this morning . Um So I 00:06.620 --> 00:09.040 brought a couple of uh additional 00:09.050 --> 00:11.680 briefers with me this afternoon to uh 00:11.690 --> 00:14.360 to flesh out some more detail from the 00:14.360 --> 00:16.416 kinds of things that we talked about 00:16.416 --> 00:19.010 earlier today . So with me is Major 00:19.010 --> 00:21.288 General hank taylor of the joint staff . 00:21.288 --> 00:23.510 He's the Director of current Operations 00:23.510 --> 00:25.788 and Gary Reid who I think you all know . 00:25.788 --> 00:27.899 He is the director of our Afghanistan 00:27.899 --> 00:29.899 Crisis action Group . I'm gonna ask 00:29.899 --> 00:32.066 each gentleman to come up and say just 00:32.066 --> 00:31.960 a few words to give you some updates 00:31.960 --> 00:34.110 from their perspectives operations in 00:34.110 --> 00:36.443 the general's case and on the S . I . V . 00:36.443 --> 00:38.610 Process and what D . O . D . Is trying 00:38.610 --> 00:40.721 to help along with that from mr reach 00:40.721 --> 00:42.721 perspective . And then we'll get to 00:42.721 --> 00:44.832 some Q . And A . For a little bit . I 00:44.832 --> 00:44.700 will moderate that Q . And A . So I'll 00:44.700 --> 00:46.867 still be up here calling on you uh and 00:46.867 --> 00:49.089 we'll try to get through as many of you 00:49.089 --> 00:51.256 as you can in a limited amount of time 00:51.256 --> 00:53.422 that we have . So that with time being 00:53.422 --> 00:55.644 a constraint I'm gonna stop talking and 00:55.644 --> 00:58.280 bring up the general general . Good 00:58.280 --> 01:01.220 afternoon . Thank you . Mr Kirby . I 01:01.220 --> 01:03.920 want to reinforce what has already been 01:03.920 --> 01:06.850 said today a little bit earlier . The U . 01:06.850 --> 01:09.660 S . Military remains focused on the 01:09.660 --> 01:12.480 present mission to facilitate the safe 01:12.480 --> 01:15.130 evacuation of U . S . Citizens S . I . 01:15.130 --> 01:17.590 V . S . And afghans at risk to get 01:17.590 --> 01:19.790 these personnel out of Afghanistan as 01:19.790 --> 01:23.270 quickly and as safely as possible when 01:23.270 --> 01:25.048 this plan was put in place . We 01:25.048 --> 01:27.214 prepared for a number of contingencies 01:27.214 --> 01:30.440 and recognize that events unfolding at 01:30.440 --> 01:33.730 HK area has drawn concern and attention 01:33.740 --> 01:36.120 throughout the world . We're actively 01:36.130 --> 01:38.450 monitoring the situation what's 01:38.450 --> 01:40.450 happening on the ground and we will 01:40.450 --> 01:42.561 continue to support the commander and 01:42.561 --> 01:45.130 adjust forces as necessary to allow the 01:45.130 --> 01:48.740 mission to be successful . Our troops 01:48.750 --> 01:51.200 are trained professionals , they 01:51.200 --> 01:53.970 understand the complexity , the urgency 01:54.300 --> 01:56.411 and the importance of their mission . 01:56.840 --> 01:59.760 They remain agile . Our mission was and 01:59.760 --> 02:03.130 still is today to secure the airport so 02:03.130 --> 02:05.463 that we can evacuate . Said earlier , U . 02:05.463 --> 02:08.650 S . Citizens S . I . V . S . Afghans 02:08.650 --> 02:11.590 are risk out of the country . We have 02:11.590 --> 02:14.910 approximately 2500 troops that have 02:14.910 --> 02:17.290 moved into Kabul within the last 72 02:17.290 --> 02:20.460 hours and more will arrive soon . By 02:20.460 --> 02:23.080 the end of the day . We expect nearly 02:23.090 --> 02:26.560 3,030 500 troops on the ground . 02:27.240 --> 02:30.590 First for a real time update . Uh as of 02:30.590 --> 02:34.450 1535 local eastern data time here . 02:34.510 --> 02:37.290 The airfield at HK I was open for 02:37.290 --> 02:40.510 operations shortly thereafter . The 02:40.520 --> 02:44.020 first C 17 landed with US marines on 02:44.020 --> 02:47.900 board And the next C17 is preparing to 02:47.900 --> 02:51.720 land as we speak With members of the 02:51.720 --> 02:54.790 82nd Airborne Division . I'd also like 02:54.790 --> 02:56.568 to offer a couple of additional 02:56.568 --> 02:59.870 operational details . More than 02:59.880 --> 03:02.360 700 s ivy applicants have departed 03:02.360 --> 03:05.790 Afghanistan in the past 48 hours by a 03:05.790 --> 03:08.330 combination of contract and commercial 03:08.330 --> 03:11.120 air Bring the total to date to nearly 03:11.130 --> 03:13.810 2000 Mr . Reid here , I will have more 03:13.810 --> 03:16.650 details on that . The U . S . Military 03:16.650 --> 03:18.890 continues to support or supported the 03:18.890 --> 03:21.190 State Department with the closing of 03:21.190 --> 03:23.790 the U . S . Embassy in Kabul . Moving 03:23.800 --> 03:26.200 hunt several 100 personnel by 03:26.200 --> 03:28.920 helicopter to HK to those personnel 03:28.920 --> 03:31.090 remains safe and are preparing to 03:31.090 --> 03:34.370 depart . Forces continue to conduct 03:34.370 --> 03:36.690 operations , security operations at HK 03:36.690 --> 03:39.000 area . And as I said earlier we are in 03:39.000 --> 03:41.640 charge of air traffic control and that 03:41.640 --> 03:44.180 includes with commercial contracted 03:44.180 --> 03:47.520 military air . We expect to maximize 03:47.520 --> 03:50.100 our throughput of all means of 03:50.100 --> 03:52.100 transportation over the next coming 03:52.100 --> 03:55.950 days . Again , our focus right now 03:56.040 --> 03:59.700 is to maintain security at HK area to 03:59.700 --> 04:02.080 continue to expedite flight operations 04:02.080 --> 04:04.500 while safeguarding americans and afghan 04:04.500 --> 04:06.500 civilians . We're proud of the 04:06.500 --> 04:08.830 professionalism and the skill of the 04:08.830 --> 04:11.170 soldiers , sailors , airmen and marines 04:11.170 --> 04:12.948 are showing under extraordinary 04:12.948 --> 04:15.510 circumstances . H . Kaaya and they are 04:15.520 --> 04:18.480 absolutely prepared to to respond and 04:18.480 --> 04:21.940 self defend if necessary . Many of us 04:21.940 --> 04:24.162 have spent time in Afghanistan over the 04:24.162 --> 04:25.884 years and feel a deep sense of 04:25.884 --> 04:28.030 connection to the current events . We 04:28.030 --> 04:30.470 are focused on the safest evacuation of 04:30.470 --> 04:32.660 americans and afghans . Thank you 04:33.540 --> 04:34.540 that's true . 04:39.740 --> 04:41.684 Thank you general . Thank you john 04:41.684 --> 04:43.740 ladies and gentlemen , thank you for 04:43.740 --> 04:45.962 taking time today . I'm Gary Reed . I'm 04:45.962 --> 04:45.830 the lead for the D . O . D . Crisis 04:45.830 --> 04:47.750 action group for Afghanistan for 04:47.750 --> 04:49.972 matters pertaining to the relocation of 04:49.972 --> 04:51.917 refugees and transportation of our 04:51.917 --> 04:54.000 embassy staff americans allies and 04:54.000 --> 04:55.944 other partners from Kabul to their 04:55.944 --> 04:58.140 onward destinations . Secretary 04:58.140 --> 05:00.307 established the Crisis action group in 05:00.307 --> 05:02.770 early july and we've been working very 05:02.770 --> 05:04.992 closely with the Department of State as 05:04.992 --> 05:07.050 elite agency since that time uh 05:07.440 --> 05:09.273 partnered with the Department of 05:09.273 --> 05:11.470 Homeland Security . Our initial focus 05:11.470 --> 05:14.660 was to relocate the S . I . V . S . Uh 05:15.040 --> 05:17.400 finalize their visas and resettle them 05:17.410 --> 05:19.632 into the United States with the help of 05:19.632 --> 05:21.577 our non governmental organizations 05:21.640 --> 05:23.862 Today . Nearly 2000 afghans have passed 05:23.862 --> 05:26.029 through this process joining more than 05:26.029 --> 05:28.460 70,000 that have participated in the S . 05:28.460 --> 05:30.682 I . V . Program . Since 2000 and five . 05:31.540 --> 05:33.596 Our military has done an outstanding 05:33.596 --> 05:36.050 job supporting this effort . Us North 05:36.050 --> 05:38.410 Calm and US army North operating 05:38.420 --> 05:40.476 predominantly from Fort lee Virginia 05:40.476 --> 05:43.760 have provided housing , food , medical 05:43.760 --> 05:46.090 treatment , medical screening and other 05:46.090 --> 05:48.700 services to these afghans . Our 05:48.700 --> 05:50.700 military embrace the opportunity to 05:50.700 --> 05:52.533 recognize their contributions to 05:52.533 --> 05:54.644 combined operations in Afghanistan by 05:54.644 --> 05:57.100 welcome welcoming them in the U . S . 05:58.840 --> 06:01.660 As we prepare for even more arrivals . 06:02.040 --> 06:04.207 Us North Calm and the U . S . Army are 06:04.207 --> 06:06.318 working to create additional capacity 06:06.450 --> 06:08.730 to support refugee relocation in the U . 06:08.730 --> 06:11.990 S . Including temporary sites under 06:11.990 --> 06:14.740 assessment at Fort Bliss texas and Camp 06:14.740 --> 06:17.340 McCoy . Wisconsin . There may be other 06:17.340 --> 06:21.090 sites identified if services are needed . 06:21.100 --> 06:23.820 Additional capacity is needed At this 06:23.820 --> 06:25.740 point we're looking to establish 06:25.750 --> 06:29.750 2,022,000 spaces . We can expand if we 06:29.750 --> 06:32.800 need to as with the operation we've 06:32.800 --> 06:35.600 been supporting at Fort lee persons 06:35.600 --> 06:37.767 that come to these locations will have 06:37.767 --> 06:39.933 been pre screened by the Department of 06:39.933 --> 06:42.156 Homeland Security to enter on condition 06:42.156 --> 06:44.156 of full immigration processing once 06:44.156 --> 06:47.760 they arrived with this operation 06:47.760 --> 06:49.982 underway . But given the urgency of the 06:49.982 --> 06:51.927 situation in Kabul , our focus has 06:51.927 --> 06:54.038 shifted to supporting movement of our 06:54.038 --> 06:56.220 embassy staff , american citizens 06:56.230 --> 06:58.508 allies and other partners out of Kabul . 06:59.640 --> 07:02.090 Starting on the August on August 14 we 07:02.090 --> 07:04.034 began movement of these persons on 07:04.040 --> 07:05.762 Department of Defense aircraft 07:05.762 --> 07:08.130 providing them transportation that had 07:08.140 --> 07:11.290 flown into Kabul delivering our troops 07:11.610 --> 07:13.332 and hauling cargo . This is an 07:13.332 --> 07:16.550 important point . Um the numbers today 07:16.560 --> 07:18.782 are in the hundreds . We certainly have 07:18.782 --> 07:21.020 a much greater requirement . We are 07:21.020 --> 07:23.060 still in the process of bringing in 07:23.070 --> 07:25.790 forces . These aircraft as space is 07:25.790 --> 07:27.970 available on the outbound have been 07:27.970 --> 07:30.026 taking passengers and of course this 07:30.026 --> 07:32.248 has been somewhat disrupted in the last 07:32.248 --> 07:34.192 24 hours . But nonetheless we have 07:34.200 --> 07:36.330 transported several 102 countries in 07:36.330 --> 07:38.900 the region and align them again with 07:38.900 --> 07:41.122 our State Department DHS colleagues for 07:41.122 --> 07:44.320 their onward transportation . Yeah , we 07:44.320 --> 07:47.020 anticipate picking up the pace provided 07:47.020 --> 07:49.187 we can stabilize conditions at Kabul . 07:49.187 --> 07:51.780 As described by the general . Our 07:51.780 --> 07:53.970 military team in Kabul is working side 07:53.970 --> 07:55.970 by side with the ambassador and his 07:55.970 --> 07:57.914 staff to coordinate future airlift 07:57.914 --> 08:00.850 operations in the coming days . The 08:00.850 --> 08:02.961 Department of State and Department of 08:02.961 --> 08:04.850 Homeland Security will facilitate 08:04.850 --> 08:07.017 initial processing at overseas transit 08:07.017 --> 08:09.183 points and prepare for onward movement 08:09.183 --> 08:11.183 for all of those transported by the 08:11.183 --> 08:13.517 Department of Defense . Thank you . Mhm . 08:13.540 --> 08:16.480 Okay we'll get the questions bob . 08:16.720 --> 08:19.370 Thanks question for General Taylor . 08:19.380 --> 08:23.170 Okay . Uh General 08:23.180 --> 08:25.110 has the US military conducted any 08:25.120 --> 08:27.810 airstrikes today or in the last 24 08:27.810 --> 08:29.940 hours or so ? And also there's been 08:29.940 --> 08:33.180 some reports of afghan pilots flying 08:33.180 --> 08:35.400 their aircraft into other countries . 08:35.940 --> 08:38.640 Um Is that happening ? And is the us 08:38.640 --> 08:40.529 taking any other sort of steps to 08:40.529 --> 08:43.080 prevent aircraft or other military 08:43.080 --> 08:45.191 equipment from falling into the hands 08:45.191 --> 08:47.302 of the taliban ? Yeah . First I'll be 08:47.302 --> 08:50.150 the first question on the strikes . Um 08:50.160 --> 08:52.216 No no strikes have been conducted in 08:52.216 --> 08:55.990 the last 24 hours but uh the commander 08:55.990 --> 08:58.420 on the ground continues to maintain 08:58.420 --> 09:01.460 that capability if required to do so . 09:01.940 --> 09:04.051 The commander has the assets that are 09:04.051 --> 09:07.120 available there at HQ and in support 09:07.160 --> 09:10.300 from other areas of the region . Um I 09:10.310 --> 09:12.740 don't have information on the second 09:12.740 --> 09:15.290 part of the question . Uh but we'll get 09:15.290 --> 09:17.680 back to them . So there's no no U . S . 09:17.680 --> 09:19.513 Action is being taken to prevent 09:19.513 --> 09:21.624 equipment from falling into the hands 09:21.624 --> 09:23.402 the Taliban by destroying it or 09:23.402 --> 09:25.180 anything else ? I don't have uh 09:25.180 --> 09:27.402 answered that question . You don't have 09:27.402 --> 09:31.170 any help jim General Taylor Was this a 09:31.180 --> 09:33.300 failure of intelligence or planning 09:33.310 --> 09:35.366 that led to the scenes we saw at the 09:35.366 --> 09:39.290 airport today when the scenes 09:39.290 --> 09:41.700 at the airport of the everybody coming 09:41.700 --> 09:45.340 out to be shut down . Yeah . What what 09:45.340 --> 09:47.460 we know what happened at the airport 09:47.840 --> 09:49.896 was that there were a lot of afghans 09:49.896 --> 09:52.940 that we're trying to report it get out 09:52.940 --> 09:55.107 of the country ? So I don't think that 09:55.107 --> 09:57.300 was a lack of planning as we look at 09:57.300 --> 09:59.980 the coordination with those that were 09:59.980 --> 10:03.930 responsible uh for securing that . Well 10:03.930 --> 10:06.097 look at our mission though as I talked 10:06.097 --> 10:08.263 earlier is now that the airfields open 10:08.330 --> 10:10.910 is to make sure that it remains open . 10:11.010 --> 10:14.120 So like as I said we can continue 10:14.190 --> 10:17.270 expediting flights in and out bound but 10:17.270 --> 10:19.370 the quick fall of Kabul was that a 10:19.370 --> 10:21.560 failure of intelligence ? I can't 10:21.560 --> 10:24.270 answer that . And mr Reid um you're in 10:24.270 --> 10:26.492 charge of the S . I . V . S . There are 10:26.492 --> 10:29.300 women who fought for the special forces . 10:29.310 --> 10:31.640 Um there are reports that the taliban 10:31.640 --> 10:33.696 are now knocking on doors going into 10:33.696 --> 10:35.751 the homes of those who served in the 10:35.751 --> 10:37.584 military . What are you doing to 10:37.584 --> 10:39.751 protect them to get them out ? Are you 10:39.751 --> 10:39.540 in touch with the taliban ? And do you 10:39.540 --> 10:41.707 have assurances that they'll be safe ? 10:42.940 --> 10:45.218 We recognize that beyond the S . I . V . 10:45.218 --> 10:47.384 S . There's additional afghans at risk 10:47.384 --> 10:49.551 and they are included within the group 10:49.551 --> 10:51.607 of people that uh and time as we get 10:51.607 --> 10:53.607 through the americans and initially 10:53.607 --> 10:55.718 immediate priority that we have plans 10:55.718 --> 10:58.380 in place to support lifting them 10:58.390 --> 11:00.612 removed uh transporting them out of the 11:00.612 --> 11:02.834 country . On the defense side . Again , 11:02.834 --> 11:04.834 it would be a Department of State , 11:04.834 --> 11:06.723 homeland Security questions about 11:06.723 --> 11:08.834 immigration processing . We recognize 11:08.834 --> 11:10.779 the risks that they face and we're 11:10.779 --> 11:12.779 doing everything we can to get this 11:12.779 --> 11:14.890 operation underway at scale so we can 11:14.890 --> 11:17.580 get through as many as possible under 11:17.590 --> 11:19.812 under these very difficult conditions , 11:19.812 --> 11:21.979 you communicating with the taliban you 11:21.979 --> 11:23.923 have a line of communication . I'm 11:23.923 --> 11:26.034 personally not communicating with the 11:26.034 --> 11:28.146 taliban but I would imagine there are 11:28.146 --> 11:30.201 communications within the diplomatic 11:30.201 --> 11:32.201 channels . As we said earlier , gen 11:32.201 --> 11:34.368 gentle Mackenzie did meet in Doha with 11:34.368 --> 11:36.257 taliban leaders were not going to 11:36.257 --> 11:38.201 detail that conversation as I said 11:38.201 --> 11:40.146 earlier , but the message was very 11:40.146 --> 11:42.350 clearly put to the taliban uh that 11:42.360 --> 11:44.416 these operations and our people were 11:44.416 --> 11:46.582 not to be attacked or there would be a 11:46.582 --> 11:48.804 response . And as you and I speak there 11:48.804 --> 11:51.180 has been no attack on our operation or 11:51.180 --> 11:53.347 on our people at the airport . To your 11:53.347 --> 11:55.480 other question uh would again like to 11:55.480 --> 11:57.424 just fill out the mission that the 11:57.424 --> 12:00.240 military has right now is to secure the 12:00.240 --> 12:02.780 airport to keep operations going uh and 12:02.780 --> 12:05.002 to help make sure that we can safeguard 12:05.002 --> 12:07.970 the movement of personnel people uh 12:07.980 --> 12:11.290 from Kabul to onward destinations . 12:11.300 --> 12:13.560 That's the focus right now the State 12:13.560 --> 12:16.330 Department has methods of their own to 12:16.330 --> 12:18.552 reach out to people to communicate with 12:18.552 --> 12:21.110 them about uh about the process of 12:21.120 --> 12:23.176 getting into the queue . And I would 12:23.176 --> 12:25.453 let the State Department speak to that . 12:25.453 --> 12:27.231 But it's as I said before , the 12:27.231 --> 12:29.120 military mission is very narrowly 12:29.120 --> 12:31.120 focused around the airport , making 12:31.120 --> 12:33.453 sure we can secure operations there are , 12:33.453 --> 12:35.564 I'd like to follow up with you or the 12:35.564 --> 12:35.410 general but let me start with you 12:35.410 --> 12:37.750 please at the micro fine May to follow 12:37.750 --> 12:40.220 up on the previous question the U . S . 12:40.220 --> 12:42.276 Military , the Department of Defense 12:42.276 --> 12:45.920 always for decades says we plan for 12:45.920 --> 12:48.730 everything Clearly whatever you planned 12:48.730 --> 12:51.190 for did not get planned for at the 12:51.200 --> 12:54.800 airport . We've now seen a C17 with 12:54.800 --> 12:56.900 more than 600 people sitting on the 12:56.900 --> 12:59.650 floor with a pilot making the decision 12:59.950 --> 13:01.950 that he would fly them out anyhow . 13:01.950 --> 13:03.980 Even though that's an extraordinary 13:03.980 --> 13:06.091 number of people we've seen the world 13:06.100 --> 13:08.850 has seen all the scenes at the airport . 13:09.240 --> 13:13.100 So my two questions are what failed 13:13.110 --> 13:15.110 in your planning because you didn't 13:15.110 --> 13:17.054 plan for this . You would not have 13:17.054 --> 13:19.780 planned to fly in such dangerous 13:19.790 --> 13:23.560 circumstances . And how do you 13:23.560 --> 13:26.090 determine where the responsibility lies 13:26.090 --> 13:28.430 for this failure ? Well first of all 13:28.430 --> 13:32.370 Barbara I would take issue with your 13:32.380 --> 13:34.810 designation of this operation at the 13:34.810 --> 13:37.050 airport as a failure . But let's get 13:37.050 --> 13:39.630 back to that in a second . Uh let's get 13:39.630 --> 13:41.810 back to that in a second . Yes we do 13:41.810 --> 13:43.977 plan for all manner of contingencies . 13:43.977 --> 13:46.032 This is a planning organization . Um 13:46.032 --> 13:48.620 and we do that specifically to try to 13:48.620 --> 13:51.760 mitigate risk uh and to try to be ready 13:52.140 --> 13:55.400 for unforeseen circumstances . But it's 13:55.400 --> 13:58.130 not a perfect process . Plans are not 13:58.140 --> 14:01.420 always perfectly predictive and you uh 14:01.430 --> 14:04.000 and as is well known military maxim 14:04.000 --> 14:06.270 that plans don't often survive first 14:06.270 --> 14:08.680 contact . Uh and you have to adjust in 14:08.680 --> 14:11.670 real time and I think uh when you look 14:11.670 --> 14:14.310 at the images out of Kabul . Uh that 14:14.310 --> 14:16.421 would have been difficult for anybody 14:16.421 --> 14:19.370 to predict . Yes , we did plan on uh , 14:19.380 --> 14:21.491 noncombatant evacuation operations as 14:21.491 --> 14:24.010 far back as May . There were drills 14:24.010 --> 14:26.390 being done here at the pentagon to walk 14:26.390 --> 14:29.280 through what different non combatant 14:29.280 --> 14:31.502 evacuation operations might look like . 14:31.502 --> 14:33.502 There was another one recently done 14:33.502 --> 14:35.280 just two weeks ago , a tabletop 14:35.280 --> 14:37.430 exercise to again examine what a 14:37.430 --> 14:39.652 noncombatant evacuation would look like 14:39.652 --> 14:42.900 out of uh Hamid Karzai International 14:42.900 --> 14:44.956 Airport . I mean specifically at the 14:44.956 --> 14:47.070 airport . Uh and we think that those 14:47.080 --> 14:49.880 exercises did prepare us in terms of 14:49.880 --> 14:52.047 having the resources forward Secretary 14:52.047 --> 14:54.160 forward deployed troops , including 14:54.160 --> 14:56.104 marines off of their ship and into 14:56.104 --> 14:58.327 kuwait so that they can be more readily 14:58.327 --> 15:00.382 available as well as other forces in 15:00.382 --> 15:02.438 the region . So a lot of what you're 15:02.438 --> 15:04.660 seeing transpire , the reason we can be 15:04.660 --> 15:07.350 so quick With upwards of 6000 troops is 15:07.350 --> 15:09.370 because we anticipated the possible 15:09.370 --> 15:11.481 need to do this . Now , could we have 15:11.481 --> 15:14.620 predicted every single scenario and uh , 15:14.630 --> 15:16.574 and every single breach around the 15:16.574 --> 15:18.630 perimeter of the airport with only a 15:18.630 --> 15:21.150 couple of 1000 troops on the ground . 15:21.740 --> 15:23.740 Absolutely . You know , there are , 15:23.740 --> 15:25.800 there are changes that happen . So 15:25.810 --> 15:27.990 plans are terrific and we take them 15:27.990 --> 15:30.157 seriously , but they are not and never 15:30.157 --> 15:32.450 have been perfectly predictive when you 15:32.450 --> 15:35.150 practice this was one of the scenarios , 15:35.540 --> 15:38.960 a complete taliban takeover uh , of the 15:38.960 --> 15:42.410 capital there . There was certainly as 15:42.410 --> 15:44.521 you do exercises , I don't want to go 15:44.521 --> 15:46.577 into too much detail here on these , 15:46.577 --> 15:49.250 but uh , but uh it would certainly be 15:49.250 --> 15:51.139 wrong to conclude that the United 15:51.139 --> 15:53.880 States military did not view as a 15:53.880 --> 15:57.470 distinct possibility uh that the the 15:57.470 --> 16:00.370 taliban uh could overrun the country 16:00.380 --> 16:03.570 and uh and including Kabul now as we've 16:03.570 --> 16:06.040 talked about here many times , it 16:06.040 --> 16:08.680 happened very fast . Um and one of the 16:08.680 --> 16:10.847 things that we couldn't anticipate and 16:10.847 --> 16:12.847 didn't anticipate was the degree to 16:12.847 --> 16:14.624 which Afghan forces capitulated 16:14.624 --> 16:16.402 sometimes without a fight . The 16:16.402 --> 16:18.624 President said that he did not see that 16:18.624 --> 16:20.791 happening . Did you tell the president 16:20.791 --> 16:22.902 that you thought it was a possibility 16:22.902 --> 16:24.958 the country would be over ? We won't 16:24.958 --> 16:27.013 speak to advice and counsel that our 16:27.013 --> 16:29.069 leaders here in the pentagon give to 16:29.069 --> 16:31.236 the president . What I can tell you is 16:31.236 --> 16:33.236 that in in the in the planning that 16:33.236 --> 16:35.236 we've done and in the exercises and 16:35.236 --> 16:37.236 drills we ran we certainly ran them 16:37.236 --> 16:39.440 against the possibility that the 16:39.440 --> 16:41.496 taliban would make significant gains 16:41.496 --> 16:43.218 throughout the country . Yes . 16:43.218 --> 16:45.460 Absolutely . Carla speaking of the 16:45.460 --> 16:47.793 images we've been seeing at the airport , 16:47.793 --> 16:49.793 a U . S . Official has told me away 16:49.793 --> 16:52.016 that there's an investigation currently 16:52.016 --> 16:54.238 underway about multiple civilian deaths 16:54.238 --> 16:56.890 when a C 17 took off from the airport . 16:56.900 --> 16:58.956 What more can you tell us about that 16:58.956 --> 17:00.956 investigation ? And can you confirm 17:00.956 --> 17:03.080 that ? I can't confirm that reporting 17:03.080 --> 17:05.470 Carlos . So you're getting information 17:05.470 --> 17:07.470 that I don't have . But it wouldn't 17:07.470 --> 17:09.137 surprise me in the least that 17:09.137 --> 17:11.940 Commanders would be taking a look at 17:11.950 --> 17:14.280 what happened this morning with respect 17:14.290 --> 17:16.720 to the c . 17 . And I won't get ahead 17:16.720 --> 17:18.942 of that process ? There will be you can 17:18.942 --> 17:21.164 expect that we will take a look at this 17:21.164 --> 17:23.360 to see what happened . Uh and what we 17:23.360 --> 17:25.527 can learn from it in the future . That 17:25.527 --> 17:27.416 is absolutely consistent . And it 17:27.416 --> 17:29.471 wouldn't surprise me at all if there 17:29.471 --> 17:31.638 was in fact the formal investigation . 17:31.638 --> 17:31.170 But I just can't confirm that right now . 17:31.180 --> 17:33.740 Looking at the images was the U . S . 17:33.740 --> 17:35.684 Too late to bring in the number of 17:35.684 --> 17:37.684 troops that it brought in . Was the 17:37.684 --> 17:39.740 decision , did the decision come too 17:39.740 --> 17:41.962 late ? We float these forces in as fast 17:41.962 --> 17:44.184 as we possibly could . And it was aided 17:44.184 --> 17:46.570 in fact by the by the prepositioning 17:46.570 --> 17:49.690 that was done in previous weeks . Uh I 17:49.700 --> 17:51.867 mean you all reported yourselves about 17:51.867 --> 17:55.190 the Iwo Jima , the the navy ship from 17:55.190 --> 17:57.246 which these marines were based , you 17:57.246 --> 17:59.357 know , being extended for a couple of 17:59.357 --> 18:01.523 weeks by Secretary Austin . That was a 18:01.523 --> 18:03.468 decision he made several weeks ago 18:03.468 --> 18:05.190 because it was all part of the 18:05.190 --> 18:07.246 contingency planning for the need to 18:07.246 --> 18:09.470 maybe do some evacuations to make that 18:09.470 --> 18:11.526 even faster . We moved those marines 18:11.526 --> 18:13.960 ashore and we saw the benefit now those , 18:13.960 --> 18:16.690 those marines were the first ones on 18:16.690 --> 18:19.950 scene . So it was something that we 18:19.950 --> 18:22.117 absolutely had thought about . And one 18:22.117 --> 18:24.228 last question and this can be for you 18:24.228 --> 18:26.228 or the general , you spoke from the 18:26.228 --> 18:28.394 podium over the last several days many 18:28.394 --> 18:30.561 times saying that the Afghan air force 18:30.561 --> 18:32.783 was conducting more air strikes against 18:32.783 --> 18:34.894 the taliban than the U . S . Was . My 18:34.894 --> 18:37.117 question is why was that why didn't the 18:37.117 --> 18:39.172 U . S . Conduct more strikes against 18:39.172 --> 18:41.339 the taliban in these final days ? Yeah 18:41.339 --> 18:43.561 Carl I think monday morning quarterback 18:43.561 --> 18:45.506 in here now . I mean isn't I don't 18:45.506 --> 18:48.950 think helpful exercise but the 18:49.840 --> 18:53.520 as we said from a while ago that as 18:53.520 --> 18:55.960 our resources and capabilities in the 18:55.960 --> 18:58.293 region dwindled because of the drawdown , 18:58.440 --> 19:00.662 we were ordered to draw down by the end 19:00.662 --> 19:02.551 of august and we were nothing but 19:02.551 --> 19:04.607 honest about the speed with which we 19:04.607 --> 19:06.884 had to do that because speed is safety . 19:06.884 --> 19:06.720 We wanted to make sure we did this 19:06.720 --> 19:08.887 quickly . Uh and the drawdown means to 19:08.887 --> 19:11.109 draw down and it's not just about boots 19:11.109 --> 19:13.220 on the ground . The drawdown is about 19:13.220 --> 19:13.080 capabilities and resources in the 19:13.080 --> 19:15.500 region as we wrapped up our advise and 19:15.500 --> 19:17.111 assist in combat missions in 19:17.111 --> 19:19.167 Afghanistan which meant we had fewer 19:19.167 --> 19:21.510 airplanes , fewer strike capabilities 19:21.510 --> 19:23.566 in the region as we continue to draw 19:23.566 --> 19:25.232 down . And again we were very 19:25.232 --> 19:27.177 transparent about the fact that we 19:27.177 --> 19:29.343 would conduct airstrikes in support of 19:29.343 --> 19:31.343 the afghans where and when feasible 19:31.343 --> 19:33.343 fully cognizant of the fact that it 19:33.343 --> 19:35.454 wasn't always going to be feasible in 19:35.454 --> 19:37.677 every on every day and in every place . 19:37.840 --> 19:40.710 But the the afghan air force is 19:40.710 --> 19:42.877 indigenous and they are in the country 19:42.890 --> 19:45.057 and they did maintain their presence . 19:45.057 --> 19:47.057 And there were days where they flew 19:47.057 --> 19:49.610 easily twice as many strikes as as we 19:49.610 --> 19:52.130 did . And they were able to often get 19:52.140 --> 19:54.530 on scene quicker because they were 19:54.530 --> 19:56.474 already there and because they had 19:56.474 --> 19:58.830 tangible connections to their troops in 19:58.830 --> 20:01.300 the field . It also is a healthy 20:01.300 --> 20:03.244 reminder something that I think we 20:03.244 --> 20:05.467 forget that in the last year and a half 20:05.467 --> 20:08.980 afghans were in the lead of almost all 20:08.990 --> 20:11.550 literally all but just about almost all 20:11.560 --> 20:14.380 of their operations uh on the ground . 20:14.380 --> 20:16.491 I mean they advise and assist mission 20:16.491 --> 20:18.713 was still there but they were very much 20:18.713 --> 20:20.936 in the lead of their own operations and 20:20.936 --> 20:23.158 coordinating with their Air Force Zoe . 20:23.158 --> 20:26.300 Um I have a question for Mr Reid . Um 20:26.310 --> 20:30.000 You said earlier that your crisis 20:30.010 --> 20:32.930 action group for Afghanistan was was 20:32.930 --> 20:36.830 set up in a early july the 20:36.840 --> 20:40.740 decision of president biden to end the 20:40.740 --> 20:44.560 war was taken in mid april . 20:44.940 --> 20:47.190 Why did it take so long to create a 20:47.190 --> 20:49.220 group to take care of your afghan 20:49.230 --> 20:52.060 allies ? The 20:53.340 --> 20:56.350 Department of Defense enters into this 20:56.450 --> 20:58.617 in support of the State Department and 20:58.617 --> 21:00.839 the State Department has for many years 21:01.340 --> 21:03.530 as you know , executed the S . I . V . 21:03.540 --> 21:07.530 Program . The addition of the U . S . 21:07.540 --> 21:09.660 Military support to that program was 21:09.660 --> 21:13.000 new and it was generated by 21:13.010 --> 21:15.720 guidance to try to accelerate and help 21:15.730 --> 21:18.560 the process due to the time delays 21:18.570 --> 21:21.450 inherent within getting them through . 21:21.460 --> 21:24.650 So we were asked by the State 21:24.650 --> 21:26.817 Department to provide support to their 21:26.817 --> 21:28.817 operation . That's not a suggestion 21:28.817 --> 21:30.706 that that is when S . I . V . S . 21:30.706 --> 21:32.761 Became a priority for the government 21:32.761 --> 21:34.872 that has been for many years . It was 21:34.872 --> 21:37.094 just the contributions that the Defense 21:37.094 --> 21:38.872 Department could make using our 21:38.872 --> 21:38.830 installations in the United States as 21:38.830 --> 21:40.997 an example where we could do this in a 21:40.997 --> 21:43.470 very orderly setting , free of 21:43.470 --> 21:46.360 distractions without them coming 21:46.360 --> 21:48.570 individually or scattering to multiple 21:48.570 --> 21:50.780 locations . We could centralize the 21:50.780 --> 21:53.560 resources and contribute our resources . 21:53.560 --> 21:55.893 Our logistics are our medical personnel . 21:55.893 --> 21:57.838 Fort lee Virginia is the center of 21:57.838 --> 21:59.949 excellence for army logistics . So it 21:59.949 --> 22:02.116 was a good example of how we could use 22:02.116 --> 22:04.700 our resources to support a program that 22:04.700 --> 22:07.820 we all wanted to see continue and 22:07.820 --> 22:10.540 accelerate and help as many folks out 22:10.550 --> 22:12.990 as we could because we value what they 22:12.990 --> 22:15.280 did for us and we want to be reciprocal 22:15.280 --> 22:17.169 in that regard . So do we have to 22:17.169 --> 22:19.336 understand that this group was created 22:19.336 --> 22:22.130 because of the slowness of the process 22:22.430 --> 22:24.880 at the State Department ? No that's not 22:24.880 --> 22:27.610 what I said . It is a long process and 22:27.610 --> 22:29.777 to the extent that the addition of D . 22:29.777 --> 22:31.777 O . D . Resources and support could 22:31.777 --> 22:33.888 make it again about bringing them all 22:33.888 --> 22:36.054 together . If you're familiar with the 22:36.054 --> 22:38.054 process there's multiple stages and 22:38.054 --> 22:40.166 multiple agencies involved within our 22:40.166 --> 22:42.221 system . This gave us because of our 22:42.221 --> 22:44.277 resources the ability to have a base 22:44.277 --> 22:46.388 with a location . We could bring that 22:46.388 --> 22:48.443 together and speed up something that 22:48.443 --> 22:50.554 may have otherwise taken weeks into a 22:50.554 --> 22:52.277 matter of days and became more 22:52.277 --> 22:54.499 economical . We increase the throughput 22:54.499 --> 22:56.666 of that process and create capacity to 22:56.666 --> 22:58.388 do more . So that's really the 22:58.388 --> 23:00.721 contributions of the Defense Department . 23:00.721 --> 23:02.888 I think we need to get into the phones 23:02.888 --> 23:04.999 to a little bit . I haven't done that 23:04.999 --> 23:08.840 yet dan Lamont . The Washington 23:08.840 --> 23:12.830 post . Thank you John uh to drill 23:12.830 --> 23:14.886 down a bit on the on the flights out 23:14.886 --> 23:17.180 that we've we've seen on video my 23:17.180 --> 23:19.402 colleagues defense one of reported that 23:19.402 --> 23:21.960 were in excess of 600 perhaps 640 23:21.960 --> 23:25.790 people On AC . 17 flying out . And 23:25.790 --> 23:27.901 you also took a question this morning 23:27.901 --> 23:29.957 and your first briefing and said you 23:29.957 --> 23:31.957 try to get back to us on it . There 23:31.957 --> 23:33.957 appeared to be two people that fell 23:33.957 --> 23:35.901 from that aircraft likely to their 23:35.901 --> 23:38.068 death . Can you confirm those things ? 23:38.068 --> 23:40.650 Thank you . On the on the video footage 23:40.660 --> 23:44.200 we've all seen of uh something falling 23:44.210 --> 23:46.950 off the wing . I don't have an update 23:46.950 --> 23:49.300 for you in terms of uh specific 23:49.300 --> 23:52.210 validity of that were obviously uh just 23:52.210 --> 23:54.321 as interested in you and and learning 23:54.321 --> 23:56.599 more about uh what what happened there . 23:56.599 --> 23:59.110 Um And on the on the first question 23:59.110 --> 24:02.690 about the the the C 17 with fully 24:02.690 --> 24:04.468 loaded again , I don't have any 24:04.468 --> 24:06.357 additional information about that 24:06.357 --> 24:08.523 particular aircraft in that particular 24:08.523 --> 24:10.412 flight . Uh but uh you know we'll 24:10.412 --> 24:12.634 continue to try to dig down and and see 24:12.634 --> 24:14.857 if there's more information that can be 24:14.857 --> 24:16.801 had about that . It's obviously uh 24:16.801 --> 24:19.890 difficult from 8000 miles away to to uh 24:19.900 --> 24:21.678 to have perfect knowledge about 24:21.678 --> 24:23.567 everything that's going on on the 24:23.567 --> 24:25.678 ground over there . But again , we're 24:25.678 --> 24:27.622 working hard to secure to keep the 24:27.622 --> 24:29.780 airport Secure and keep these 24:29.780 --> 24:33.100 operations now uh sustained now that 24:33.100 --> 24:36.380 they're they're back on track zero so 24:36.380 --> 24:38.102 much on as you know , I'm from 24:38.102 --> 24:40.560 Afghanistan and I'm very upset today 24:41.040 --> 24:43.310 because Afghan women didn't expect that 24:43.320 --> 24:47.250 overnight . All the taliban came , they 24:47.250 --> 24:50.950 took off my flag , this is my flag and 24:50.950 --> 24:54.140 they put their flak . Everybody is 24:54.840 --> 24:58.370 absolute , especially women . I forgot 24:58.370 --> 25:00.600 my question to me . What do you ask ? 25:00.610 --> 25:02.420 Where is my President ? Former 25:02.420 --> 25:05.550 President Ghani . People expected that 25:05.550 --> 25:07.750 he bye bye with the people and 25:07.750 --> 25:09.806 immediately run away . We don't know 25:09.806 --> 25:11.694 where is he ? And we don't have a 25:11.694 --> 25:13.806 President . President biden said that 25:13.806 --> 25:16.270 President Ghani , no , he has to fight 25:16.280 --> 25:19.200 for those people . They have to do 25:19.200 --> 25:21.350 everything and we were able to 25:21.360 --> 25:23.840 financially help them . But we don't 25:23.840 --> 25:25.784 have any president . We don't have 25:25.784 --> 25:27.784 anything Afghan people . They don't 25:27.784 --> 25:29.896 know what to do . A woman as a lot of 25:29.896 --> 25:31.951 achievement in Afghanistan . I had a 25:31.951 --> 25:34.173 lot of achievement . I I lived from the 25:34.173 --> 25:37.100 Taliban like 20 years ago now , we go 25:37.100 --> 25:39.720 back to the first step again . Do you 25:39.720 --> 25:41.553 have any comments ? We deserve a 25:41.553 --> 25:43.553 president , can he should answer to 25:43.553 --> 25:45.980 Afghan people obviously can't speak for 25:45.990 --> 25:49.770 uh Ashraf Ghani or where he is or 25:50.540 --> 25:52.873 what his views are . I wouldn't do that . 25:52.873 --> 25:56.260 But let me say with all respect that I 25:56.260 --> 25:59.190 understand and we all understand the 25:59.310 --> 26:01.670 the anxiety and the fear and the pain 26:01.710 --> 26:04.550 that you're feeling . It's it's clear 26:04.560 --> 26:07.600 and it's evident and nobody here at the 26:07.600 --> 26:10.820 pentagon is happy about the images that 26:10.830 --> 26:13.360 we've seen coming out in the last few 26:13.360 --> 26:16.960 days . Uh and we're all mindful of um 26:18.040 --> 26:20.207 of the kind of governance , governance 26:20.207 --> 26:23.670 that the Taliban is capable of . Um so 26:24.140 --> 26:27.120 heartfelt respect to what you're going 26:27.120 --> 26:29.780 through . And and we we understand that 26:29.790 --> 26:32.670 uh a lot of us have spent time in 26:32.670 --> 26:34.670 Afghanistan . The general mentioned 26:34.670 --> 26:37.620 that uh everything that you're seeing 26:38.700 --> 26:42.450 in the last 48 72 hours is personal for 26:42.840 --> 26:45.410 everybody here at the pentagon . Uh we 26:45.420 --> 26:47.550 we to have invested greatly in 26:47.550 --> 26:49.740 Afghanistan and in the progress that 26:49.750 --> 26:53.000 women and girls have made politically 26:53.000 --> 26:55.640 economically , socially . Uh and and we 26:55.640 --> 26:58.430 certainly do understand and we do feel 26:58.440 --> 27:02.030 the pain that you're feeling probably 27:02.030 --> 27:05.870 not to the same extent . Uh We uh 27:05.880 --> 27:08.210 we're focused right now on making sure 27:08.220 --> 27:11.910 that that we do the best we can for 27:11.910 --> 27:14.590 those afghans who helped us . And to 27:14.590 --> 27:16.990 Sylvia's point uh when she was talking 27:16.990 --> 27:19.270 to Gary . Yes , the action group that 27:19.270 --> 27:21.492 stood up in july but you can go back to 27:21.492 --> 27:23.710 the spring and and here the secretary 27:23.710 --> 27:26.590 himself talk about uh interpreters and 27:26.590 --> 27:28.990 translators and the sacred obligation 27:28.990 --> 27:31.440 that we know that we have to them . And 27:31.440 --> 27:35.080 so in this moment on this day now that 27:35.080 --> 27:37.024 the airport is open again , we are 27:37.024 --> 27:39.080 going to be focused on doing what we 27:39.080 --> 27:41.080 can to honor that obligation to all 27:41.080 --> 27:43.024 those who who helped make all that 27:43.024 --> 27:45.191 progress possible . Because because by 27:45.191 --> 27:47.510 helping us , they helped us help you . 27:47.520 --> 27:49.900 Uh and and we take that very very 27:49.900 --> 27:52.011 seriously . And again , I'm sorry for 27:52.011 --> 27:54.178 your pain . I truly , truly am . And I 27:54.178 --> 27:56.289 know that the general gary share that 27:56.289 --> 27:59.620 as well . Megan Mr Reid is that you 27:59.620 --> 28:01.720 guys want to make space for 22,000 28:01.730 --> 28:04.170 Afghans . Other helpers to be able to 28:04.170 --> 28:06.700 come to the US . There's about two 28:06.700 --> 28:08.867 weeks until all troops are supposed to 28:08.867 --> 28:11.370 be off of the ground in Afghanistan who 28:11.370 --> 28:13.790 is going to protect that mission into 28:13.790 --> 28:16.920 september Assuming that 22,000 people 28:16.920 --> 28:18.976 are not going to get out in the next 28:18.976 --> 28:20.976 two weeks . And does that mean that 28:20.976 --> 28:20.610 there might be an extension of some of 28:20.610 --> 28:22.666 these security forces at the airport 28:22.666 --> 28:24.721 after that ? Well , I can't speak to 28:24.721 --> 28:26.888 the last part , but I can say that our 28:26.888 --> 28:29.054 commitment and the Secretary's task to 28:29.054 --> 28:31.166 me is to continue to do everything we 28:31.166 --> 28:33.332 can in this department to support this 28:33.332 --> 28:35.388 process and as conditions change and 28:35.388 --> 28:37.499 and opportunities change , we will do 28:37.499 --> 28:39.221 our very best to make whatever 28:39.221 --> 28:41.054 resources this department has to 28:41.054 --> 28:43.620 contribute to continued success in that 28:43.620 --> 28:45.676 regard . Understand it could be very 28:45.676 --> 28:47.953 difficult . We don't know what's ahead , 28:47.953 --> 28:50.176 but we're going to stay in this as long 28:50.176 --> 28:49.470 as it takes , as long as we can 28:49.470 --> 28:51.440 contribute . And I would just add 28:51.440 --> 28:54.250 making , uh , it's up to 22 . That's 28:54.250 --> 28:56.361 the capacity that we're looking at at 28:56.361 --> 28:58.694 three at these three installations . Um , 28:58.694 --> 29:00.917 it doesn't mean that there are going to 29:00.917 --> 29:03.320 be 22,000 people that need that support . 29:03.330 --> 29:05.219 We're just trying to fill out the 29:05.219 --> 29:07.570 capacity as best we think we need right 29:07.570 --> 29:11.320 now . If , if we have underestimated 29:11.320 --> 29:13.487 that capacity , the secretary is fully 29:13.487 --> 29:15.590 committed to finding additional 29:15.670 --> 29:17.837 locations and installations if we need 29:17.837 --> 29:21.790 it . And if we've overestimated then to 29:21.790 --> 29:23.679 Barbara's excellent point . We've 29:23.679 --> 29:26.280 planned , well , we've , uh , we've , 29:26.290 --> 29:28.401 we want to make sure we're ready . So 29:28.401 --> 29:30.512 it's , it's a capacity thing of up to 29:30.512 --> 29:32.679 22 were not being predictive that it's 29:32.679 --> 29:35.070 going to actually be 22,000 . So is 29:35.070 --> 29:37.181 that to say it as many people who can 29:37.181 --> 29:39.014 get out in the next two weeks or 29:39.014 --> 29:41.237 they're considering what I can tell you 29:41.237 --> 29:40.830 is that over the next two weeks we're 29:40.830 --> 29:43.930 going to be as aggressive as we can and 29:43.930 --> 29:46.041 moving as many people as we can . And 29:46.041 --> 29:48.140 as you've heard me say , once we get 29:48.400 --> 29:52.040 the operation up and running well here , 29:52.040 --> 29:54.700 we could get Conceivably up to 5000 29:54.700 --> 29:57.720 hours a day , but it's that's , that's 29:57.720 --> 30:00.770 seats on airplanes . Not just military 30:00.770 --> 30:03.000 airplanes , but commercial and charter 30:03.010 --> 30:04.880 airplanes as well . That doesn't 30:04.880 --> 30:06.880 necessarily mean that there will be 30:06.880 --> 30:08.991 that demand signal on the other end . 30:08.991 --> 30:10.880 Does that , does that answer your 30:10.880 --> 30:13.102 question , Let me go back to the phones 30:13.102 --> 30:15.213 here . I haven't been good about this 30:15.213 --> 30:19.150 uhh tara cop . Um thank you for 30:19.150 --> 30:22.700 doing this . Um we just reported on the 30:22.700 --> 30:26.090 C 17 a separate C 17 that was able to 30:26.100 --> 30:29.670 airlift 640 afghans out 30:29.680 --> 30:31.513 and learned that that was one of 30:31.513 --> 30:33.569 several C seventeen's that have that 30:33.569 --> 30:36.490 number or more aboard . So I was just 30:36.490 --> 30:39.600 wondering how is the pentagon or State 30:39.600 --> 30:42.380 Department tracking just how many 30:42.390 --> 30:44.334 afghans and americans it's helping 30:44.334 --> 30:48.290 assist depart the country and uh how 30:48.300 --> 30:50.522 how going forward are you able to track 30:50.522 --> 30:52.744 those people to be able to help them as 30:52.744 --> 30:54.300 they repatriate elsewhere ? 30:57.640 --> 31:00.890 So the number of 700 that I gave 31:00.890 --> 31:03.057 earlier was the number reported by the 31:03.057 --> 31:04.834 Department of State and the the 31:04.834 --> 31:06.750 commander on the ground . So the 31:06.750 --> 31:09.140 question uh as we continue to go 31:09.140 --> 31:11.480 forward , uh that is one of the more 31:11.480 --> 31:14.200 important task that we will do is as 31:14.210 --> 31:16.390 Department of State continues to 31:16.390 --> 31:19.730 provide names of those that will depart , 31:19.740 --> 31:22.130 the military will continue to ensure we 31:22.130 --> 31:24.460 have uh the aircraft , whether it's 31:24.460 --> 31:27.160 military or civilian aircraft to get 31:27.160 --> 31:30.160 them out and continue to report forward ? 31:30.540 --> 31:34.520 Yeah . Dude , Is a lot 31:34.520 --> 31:36.353 like this question . What is the 31:36.353 --> 31:38.242 determining factor here , is that 31:38.242 --> 31:41.360 August 31 or is it the completion of 31:41.840 --> 31:44.270 the mission to evacuate 31:45.340 --> 31:48.600 diplomats ? U . S . Citizens vulnerable 31:48.610 --> 31:52.310 afghanis . It's the mission is to 31:52.320 --> 31:55.680 evacuate our embassy personnel 31:55.690 --> 31:59.450 uh american citizens uh as 31:59.450 --> 32:02.490 well as afghans who we can help . 32:02.500 --> 32:04.790 That's the mission set . The time frame 32:04.790 --> 32:07.780 that we're on right now is to is to is 32:07.780 --> 32:11.170 to do that complete that mission . Bye 32:11.640 --> 32:15.240 August 31 . And If we're at 32:15.240 --> 32:17.407 5000 and I've seen some estimates that 32:17.407 --> 32:19.629 go north of 5000 a day depending on how 32:19.629 --> 32:21.351 many stories you can fly . And 32:21.351 --> 32:23.518 obviously that's dependent on a lot of 32:23.518 --> 32:25.407 factors including weather . Uh we 32:25.407 --> 32:28.550 believe that there with that capacity , 32:29.240 --> 32:32.480 should air operations be able to go 32:32.490 --> 32:35.060 uninterrupted that we can meet those . 32:35.070 --> 32:37.890 We can meet that goal by the end of the 32:37.890 --> 32:41.760 month beyond August 31 . It's just too 32:41.760 --> 32:43.927 difficult to speculate and we wouldn't 32:43.927 --> 32:45.982 want to get ahead of uh of decisions 32:45.982 --> 32:48.149 that haven't been made yet . Where are 32:48.149 --> 32:50.920 head , head is right down right now on 32:50.930 --> 32:53.208 getting the air operations going again . 32:53.440 --> 32:55.860 Getting getting airplanes in with 32:55.860 --> 32:58.310 troops and getting people on those same 32:58.310 --> 33:00.421 airplanes as they head out . And then 33:00.421 --> 33:03.020 once the troop flow is done uh to be 33:03.020 --> 33:05.180 continued to continue to flow in 33:05.190 --> 33:09.040 military aircraft uh empty to pick up 33:09.050 --> 33:11.272 people and go out . But again our focus 33:11.272 --> 33:13.494 is on getting as much done as we can as 33:13.494 --> 33:15.870 quickly as we can . Uh Yes the date 33:15.880 --> 33:18.880 august 31st is is when the president 33:18.880 --> 33:20.936 has told us to be done this drawdown 33:20.936 --> 33:23.047 and this movement , I won't speculate 33:23.047 --> 33:24.936 about what it's gonna look like . 33:24.936 --> 33:27.102 Beyond that . Plans for helping people 33:27.102 --> 33:29.269 get to the airport right now as I said 33:29.269 --> 33:31.380 before , our mission military mission 33:31.390 --> 33:33.850 is to secure the airport uh to 33:33.850 --> 33:37.350 safeguard air traffic and people and 33:37.350 --> 33:39.239 and the flow at the airport . And 33:39.239 --> 33:41.239 that's that's what we're focused on 33:41.239 --> 33:43.517 right now . Of course . General taylor , 33:43.517 --> 33:45.517 can you tell us a little bit more ? 33:45.517 --> 33:47.683 Herbie said that there hadn't been any 33:47.683 --> 33:49.906 taliban attacks but there were a couple 33:49.906 --> 33:49.390 of security incidents earlier in the 33:49.390 --> 33:52.650 day . Were those taliban , these armed 33:52.650 --> 33:55.080 fighters that the U . S . Hit ? No we 33:55.080 --> 33:57.302 can't confirm that those were taliban . 33:57.380 --> 34:00.350 We do know that there was some random 34:00.350 --> 34:02.620 shooting that came in during that piece 34:02.620 --> 34:05.410 but not confirmed to be taliban . Have 34:05.410 --> 34:07.632 there been any other security incidents 34:07.632 --> 34:09.688 like that ? Never been any americans 34:09.688 --> 34:11.854 wounded . There haven't been any other 34:11.854 --> 34:14.077 major security instance other than what 34:14.077 --> 34:16.420 we saw last night . There was a report 34:16.420 --> 34:20.390 of one us wounded but superficial 34:20.390 --> 34:22.530 and already back to duty shot was 34:22.530 --> 34:24.697 individuals . I don't know that detail 34:24.920 --> 34:27.142 and that was wounded . And then can you 34:27.142 --> 34:29.198 I'm not sure who this is for but I'm 34:29.198 --> 34:31.087 still unclear on the numbers . So 34:31.087 --> 34:33.142 there's been 700 since let's take it 34:33.142 --> 34:35.087 from august 14th until right now . 34:35.087 --> 34:37.253 There have been 700 S ivy candidates . 34:37.253 --> 34:39.309 How many americans have been moved ? 34:39.309 --> 34:41.253 How many aircraft have left taking 34:41.253 --> 34:43.476 people out ? How many total people have 34:43.476 --> 34:45.587 been moved as part of this evacuation 34:45.587 --> 34:47.809 operation so far . Yeah . So I can give 34:47.809 --> 34:49.920 you the answer for the S . I . B . So 34:49.920 --> 34:53.520 in the last 48 We know that we had 700 34:53.560 --> 34:56.900 out on flights That gives us that total 34:56.900 --> 35:00.380 of 2000 CVS since 35:00.490 --> 35:02.850 we began operations . But how many 35:02.850 --> 35:04.850 Americans have there been Americans 35:04.850 --> 35:07.017 moved out on the work at the embassy ? 35:07.017 --> 35:09.390 Right . And other Afghans who are not 35:09.390 --> 35:11.446 as many candidates as well have been 35:11.446 --> 35:13.612 trying to get a sense of understanding 35:13.612 --> 35:16.720 ongoing for 48 hours I hate to say but 35:16.730 --> 35:18.841 you only moved 700 total people in 48 35:18.841 --> 35:21.110 hours . Well first things is to remind 35:21.110 --> 35:23.221 everyone the lives that we're talking 35:23.221 --> 35:25.970 about were on the charter flights that 35:25.970 --> 35:28.026 the State Department had chartered . 35:28.026 --> 35:30.137 And we have been running though since 35:30.137 --> 35:33.350 29 July we I think 10 flight 10 arrived 35:33.360 --> 35:36.960 overnight last night , 265 uh none of 35:36.960 --> 35:39.016 them went to fort lee , they already 35:39.016 --> 35:41.182 had their electronic visas and they're 35:41.182 --> 35:43.930 being processed by state the outflow of 35:43.930 --> 35:46.240 americans and embassy staff as it's in 35:46.240 --> 35:48.296 the hundreds . I don't have an exact 35:48.296 --> 35:50.351 number for you but just to reinforce 35:50.351 --> 35:52.430 this is sort of available space on 35:52.430 --> 35:54.597 aircraft that are coming in configured 35:54.597 --> 35:56.840 not ideal to just load up completely 35:56.890 --> 35:59.057 there's equipment back halls and other 35:59.057 --> 36:01.001 things that are occurring on these 36:01.001 --> 36:03.057 aircraft . So think of it as a space 36:03.057 --> 36:05.279 available With those aircraft going out 36:05.279 --> 36:07.446 and as Mr Kirby said as soon as we get 36:07.446 --> 36:09.223 all the forces in you will have 36:09.223 --> 36:11.334 aircraft coming in solely for ramping 36:11.334 --> 36:13.400 of these evacuations . Getting up to 36:13.400 --> 36:16.330 the 20 or 30 a day getting you up to 36:16.330 --> 36:18.600 5000 per day ? But as of now , it's 36:18.600 --> 36:20.767 still in the hundreds of people who as 36:20.767 --> 36:22.933 part of this evacuation mission in the 36:22.933 --> 36:24.878 hundreds right now . And we talked 36:24.878 --> 36:26.989 about that earlier . You got time for 36:26.989 --> 36:29.044 just a couple more guys . Like , can 36:29.044 --> 36:31.211 you tell how were the U . S . Is going 36:31.211 --> 36:33.100 to keep Afghanistan from becoming 36:33.100 --> 36:35.044 another terrorist safe haven since 36:35.044 --> 36:37.267 arguably we're in a worse position than 36:37.267 --> 36:39.480 we were pre 9 11 . We've talked about 36:39.480 --> 36:41.980 this to mike , we have a robust over 36:41.980 --> 36:43.536 the rising counterterrorism 36:43.536 --> 36:45.920 capabilities already in the region . Uh 36:45.930 --> 36:49.200 we can fly from ships at sea , we can 36:49.200 --> 36:52.070 fly from bases in the region . I mean , 36:52.070 --> 36:55.380 just in terms of the uh support , we 36:55.380 --> 36:57.940 were able to give uh two the afghans , 36:57.950 --> 37:01.210 uh And just the airstrikes that we did 37:01.210 --> 37:03.210 in support of them . I mean , there 37:03.210 --> 37:06.590 were multiple sorties per day , uh 37:06.600 --> 37:08.880 sometimes several strikes , sometimes 37:08.880 --> 37:12.160 as many as 10 to a dozen per day . Uh 37:12.170 --> 37:14.200 so we've got the capability and the 37:14.200 --> 37:16.910 capacity and we continue to talk , we 37:16.910 --> 37:19.350 continue to talk to partners in the 37:19.350 --> 37:21.280 region to see if we can explore 37:21.290 --> 37:23.790 additional options that are closer to 37:23.790 --> 37:25.734 Afghanistan . But you've heard the 37:25.734 --> 37:27.957 Secretary say this many times . There's 37:27.957 --> 37:30.123 not a scrap of the earth that we can't 37:30.123 --> 37:32.580 hit if uh if we don't need to now , um 37:32.590 --> 37:35.240 is it more difficult to do 37:35.250 --> 37:37.139 counterterrorism strikes over the 37:37.139 --> 37:39.720 rising , you bet , um , uh , do you 37:39.720 --> 37:41.720 have to travel more distances yet ? 37:41.720 --> 37:43.720 Could it take more time ? Yes , but 37:43.720 --> 37:45.664 it's not like we haven't done this 37:45.664 --> 37:47.720 before . And if you look at , if you 37:47.720 --> 37:47.660 look at other places around the world , 37:47.730 --> 37:49.950 uh , we where we execute over the rise 37:49.950 --> 37:52.172 in counterterrorism , it is possible it 37:52.172 --> 37:54.410 is effective . Um , and we believe that 37:54.420 --> 37:58.420 uh , our intelligence apparatus , um , 37:58.430 --> 38:00.710 and the networks we have in the region 38:00.710 --> 38:02.877 now are far more mature than they were 38:02.877 --> 38:06.060 in 2001 . Uh , and we believe that we 38:06.060 --> 38:08.180 can execute effective over the rising 38:08.180 --> 38:10.180 counterterrorism capabilities going 38:10.180 --> 38:12.124 forward . Doesn't mean that we are 38:12.124 --> 38:14.013 going to try to improve that . We 38:14.013 --> 38:16.124 absolutely will . I got just time for 38:16.124 --> 38:18.291 one more . I'll go to Tony for General 38:18.291 --> 38:17.840 taylor . I want to go back to the 38:17.840 --> 38:20.210 question though . They , the afghan 38:20.210 --> 38:22.154 national security forces collapsed 38:22.154 --> 38:24.570 quicker than anticipated . What was 38:24.570 --> 38:26.459 anticipated ? I asked you because 38:26.459 --> 38:28.626 you've been there , you , you said you 38:28.626 --> 38:30.792 had a deep emotional connection to the 38:30.792 --> 38:32.626 events on the ground , Roughly ? 38:32.626 --> 38:34.737 billion dollars has been spent 66,000 38:34.737 --> 38:36.459 of these great people killed ? 38:36.459 --> 38:38.860 According to the cigar . Can you give a 38:38.860 --> 38:41.670 sense broadly , why do you think they 38:41.670 --> 38:43.670 seem to have collapsed quicker than 38:43.670 --> 38:47.320 expected ? I think as mr Kirby said 38:47.320 --> 38:49.450 earlier and others that the 38:49.460 --> 38:53.380 anticipation of the lack possibly of 38:53.390 --> 38:56.040 action by uh , some of the afghan 38:56.040 --> 38:58.230 leaders , I think is uh , one of the 38:58.230 --> 39:01.170 areas uh , that we look are continuing 39:01.180 --> 39:04.120 to look at the afghan military and 39:04.120 --> 39:07.580 public leaders military , uh in some of 39:07.580 --> 39:09.691 the political . But really as we look 39:09.691 --> 39:11.691 at what were the actions or lack of 39:11.691 --> 39:13.580 actions at the The military level 39:13.580 --> 39:15.636 throughout the country is what we're 39:15.636 --> 39:17.580 looking at right now , because $83 39:17.580 --> 39:19.636 billion dollars people are gonna say 39:19.636 --> 39:21.747 that was wasted . What do you think ? 39:21.747 --> 39:21.260 What do you respond to someone who does 39:21.260 --> 39:24.650 not follow you closely ? I know that we 39:24.650 --> 39:26.970 will continue to look to to find out 39:26.970 --> 39:30.500 and dig deep into the why we're at 39:30.500 --> 39:32.722 where we are today . Thanks everybody . 39:32.722 --> 39:34.240 We gotta get going appreciate it .