WEBVTT 00:03.140 --> 00:04.140 really . 00:07.540 --> 00:11.040 Okay . I have two updates for you . Um 00:11.040 --> 00:13.110 The first is one on Hurricane IDa , 00:13.110 --> 00:15.166 which is lengthy . I'm just going to 00:15.166 --> 00:17.388 give you an advance but hopefully we'll 00:17.388 --> 00:19.554 share a number of helpful details with 00:19.554 --> 00:21.777 all of you . Uh Today , as you just saw 00:21.777 --> 00:23.666 the president um and his homeland 00:23.666 --> 00:25.777 security team continue to monitor the 00:25.777 --> 00:25.610 impacts of Hurricane IDa , something 00:25.610 --> 00:27.554 that he was monitoring through the 00:27.554 --> 00:29.680 course of the weekend . This was an 00:29.680 --> 00:32.110 extremely large and powerful hurricane . 00:32.340 --> 00:34.451 And as expected early reports suggest 00:34.451 --> 00:36.820 catastrophic damage in a number of 00:36.820 --> 00:38.987 areas along the gulf coast . And while 00:38.987 --> 00:40.820 IDA has now been downgraded to a 00:40.820 --> 00:42.598 tropical storm , it is going to 00:42.598 --> 00:44.764 continue to inflict damage as it moves 00:44.764 --> 00:46.876 across the state of Mississippi today 00:46.876 --> 00:49.153 and into the Tennessee Valley tomorrow . 00:49.153 --> 00:50.931 This will be a lengthy whole of 00:50.931 --> 00:52.820 government and whole of community 00:52.820 --> 00:54.931 response and recovery effort . And we 00:54.931 --> 00:57.153 are closely coordinating with state and 00:57.153 --> 00:59.209 local officials at every step of the 00:59.209 --> 01:01.320 way today . As damage assessments and 01:01.320 --> 01:01.310 response efforts begin in the gulf 01:01.310 --> 01:03.490 coast , gulf coast where conditions 01:03.500 --> 01:05.650 allow on the ground . We understand 01:05.650 --> 01:07.594 that responders are focused on the 01:07.594 --> 01:09.817 following immediate priorities . Search 01:09.817 --> 01:11.706 and rescue operations and medical 01:11.706 --> 01:13.706 evacuations for those in distress . 01:13.706 --> 01:15.483 Accelerating efforts to restore 01:15.483 --> 01:17.372 electrical power in Louisiana and 01:17.372 --> 01:19.690 Mississippi where latest counts uh 01:19.700 --> 01:21.700 suggests that more than one million 01:21.700 --> 01:23.700 customers are without electricity , 01:23.700 --> 01:25.922 restoring communications where they are 01:25.922 --> 01:27.922 down and providing emergency food , 01:27.922 --> 01:30.033 water and shelter to those in need in 01:30.033 --> 01:31.978 parts of Louisiana , including new 01:31.978 --> 01:33.756 Orleans . Energy companies have 01:33.756 --> 01:35.867 reported catastrophic damage to their 01:35.867 --> 01:37.867 transmission systems . We don't yet 01:37.867 --> 01:37.550 know how long this will take for the 01:37.550 --> 01:39.800 local utilities to repair . But clearly 01:39.800 --> 01:41.950 that's a big priority for everyone 01:41.950 --> 01:43.950 involved . It could be weeks to get 01:43.950 --> 01:46.117 everything fully back up and running . 01:46.117 --> 01:48.006 Administration officials are also 01:48.006 --> 01:49.894 engaged directly with electricity 01:49.894 --> 01:51.950 sector leadership to help ensure all 01:51.950 --> 01:54.061 available resources are being brought 01:54.061 --> 01:56.228 to bear to restore power as quickly as 01:56.228 --> 01:58.450 possible as you all saw . The president 01:58.450 --> 02:00.506 spoke with governors and mayors from 02:00.506 --> 02:02.450 impacted communities and he was at 02:02.450 --> 02:04.561 Fema's National Response Coordination 02:04.561 --> 02:06.728 Center yesterday to receive the latest 02:06.728 --> 02:08.950 updates on the response operations . Uh 02:08.950 --> 02:11.117 And to thank the hardworking staff who 02:11.117 --> 02:13.339 are working around the clock to support 02:13.339 --> 02:13.060 state and local response efforts . 02:13.340 --> 02:15.507 President also approved . You may have 02:15.507 --> 02:17.618 seen this but last night an emergency 02:17.618 --> 02:19.729 major declaration for Louisiana which 02:19.729 --> 02:21.673 allows individuals in the impacted 02:21.673 --> 02:23.896 areas to apply for assistance . He also 02:23.896 --> 02:25.784 approved a pre disaster emergency 02:25.784 --> 02:27.562 declaration from Mississippi to 02:27.562 --> 02:29.562 authorize emergency preparation and 02:29.562 --> 02:31.729 protective measures and direct federal 02:31.729 --> 02:33.951 assistance . Uh I just want to give you 02:33.951 --> 02:35.951 a quick overview two of the federal 02:35.951 --> 02:35.880 resources that are supporting state and 02:35.880 --> 02:39.070 local efforts as of now and many which 02:39.160 --> 02:41.216 which were pre positioned before the 02:41.216 --> 02:43.382 storm fema is working with its federal 02:43.382 --> 02:45.604 state and local partners as well as non 02:45.604 --> 02:47.771 governmental agencies to support needs 02:47.771 --> 02:50.110 of areas affected by IDa the agency 02:50.110 --> 02:52.332 position supplies such as meals , water 02:52.332 --> 02:54.388 and generators to assist states With 02:54.388 --> 02:56.800 impacts from the storm . More than 3600 02:56.810 --> 02:59.100 fema employees are deployed to Alabama 02:59.110 --> 03:01.380 Florida Georgia . Louisiana , 03:01.390 --> 03:03.557 Mississippi and texas and are ready to 03:03.557 --> 03:05.723 provide additional support is needed , 03:05.723 --> 03:07.834 fema has staged more than 3.4 million 03:07.834 --> 03:09.946 meals , millions of liters of water , 03:09.946 --> 03:13.040 more than 35,700 tarps and roughly 200 03:13.040 --> 03:15.040 generators . Hundreds of additional 03:15.040 --> 03:17.262 ambulances and air ambulances have also 03:17.262 --> 03:19.490 been moved into the area . Seven fema , 03:19.490 --> 03:21.810 incident management assistance teams in 03:21.810 --> 03:24.080 mats and 17 urban search and rescue 03:24.080 --> 03:26.136 teams have been activated along with 03:26.136 --> 03:27.960 debris subject matter experts . 03:27.970 --> 03:30.192 Department of Health and Human Services 03:30.192 --> 03:32.830 is deploying a 250 bed federal medical 03:32.830 --> 03:35.160 shelter to alexandria Louisiana and the 03:35.160 --> 03:37.340 U . S . Coast Guard has 27 rotary or 03:37.340 --> 03:39.507 fixed wing aircraft and the Department 03:39.507 --> 03:41.618 of Defense has 60 High water vehicles 03:41.618 --> 03:43.840 and 14 rotary wing aircraft preposition 03:43.840 --> 03:46.170 to assist with cells with uh with 03:46.170 --> 03:48.337 rescue efforts , shelters are open and 03:48.337 --> 03:50.281 affected areas throughout the gulf 03:50.281 --> 03:52.337 coast across the impacted states and 03:52.337 --> 03:54.559 their implementing steps to prevent the 03:54.559 --> 03:56.781 spread of covid 19 . The National Guard 03:56.781 --> 03:58.670 has also activated more than 5200 03:58.670 --> 04:00.726 personnel in Louisiana , Mississippi 04:00.726 --> 04:02.837 texas and Alabama to support response 04:02.837 --> 04:05.003 efforts . And finally , the Army Corps 04:05.003 --> 04:07.226 of Engineers has activated planning and 04:07.226 --> 04:09.114 response teams , two for debris , 04:09.114 --> 04:11.448 temporary roofing and temporary housing . 04:11.448 --> 04:13.448 Again , we are working closely with 04:13.448 --> 04:15.559 state and local officials even though 04:15.559 --> 04:17.503 the storm has been downgraded to a 04:17.503 --> 04:19.448 tropical storm damaging wind gusts 04:19.448 --> 04:21.503 continue to be a threat , which will 04:21.503 --> 04:21.200 likely result in additional down trees 04:21.200 --> 04:24.030 and power outages as the storm moves to 04:24.040 --> 04:26.262 move northeast and ida will continue to 04:26.262 --> 04:27.929 produce heavy rainfall , life 04:27.929 --> 04:29.984 threatening flash and urban flooding 04:29.984 --> 04:32.318 and tornadoes remain a threat . Finally , 04:32.318 --> 04:34.470 uh our Secretary of Homeland Security 04:34.480 --> 04:37.400 100 Marcus and fema administrator dan 04:37.400 --> 04:39.567 Creswell will travel to baton rouge on 04:39.567 --> 04:41.789 Tuesday morning and we'll meet with the 04:41.789 --> 04:44.011 governor to survey damage . Uh The fema 04:44.011 --> 04:45.900 administrator will also travel to 04:45.900 --> 04:48.122 Jackson Mississippi that evening and on 04:48.122 --> 04:47.630 Wednesday she will meet with the 04:47.630 --> 04:49.990 governor and tour the damage . The last 04:49.990 --> 04:52.046 update I wanted to provide to all of 04:52.046 --> 04:54.160 you as that as part of our all across 04:54.160 --> 04:55.827 government effort approach to 04:55.827 --> 04:58.049 preventing evictions . Today , Attorney 04:58.049 --> 05:00.160 General Merrick Garland is calling on 05:00.160 --> 05:02.104 the entire legal community to take 05:02.104 --> 05:02.070 immediate action to help prevent 05:02.080 --> 05:04.090 unnecessary evictions during this 05:04.090 --> 05:06.257 public health emergency , the Attorney 05:06.257 --> 05:08.368 general's call to action as major law 05:08.368 --> 05:10.146 firms , law school students and 05:10.146 --> 05:12.423 individual lawyers to work with courts , 05:12.423 --> 05:14.646 legal service providers and non profits 05:14.646 --> 05:16.646 through pro bono services to ensure 05:16.646 --> 05:18.479 access to justice for vulnerable 05:18.479 --> 05:20.423 tenants . So far over 40 major law 05:20.423 --> 05:22.423 school deans including from Harvard 05:22.423 --> 05:24.646 Yale stanford , Columbia Howard U . C . 05:24.646 --> 05:26.868 L . A . And more have already committed 05:26.868 --> 05:29.034 their students and law clinics to help 05:29.034 --> 05:28.920 prevent evictions and presidents of 05:28.920 --> 05:30.809 several major legal organizations 05:30.809 --> 05:32.420 including the Legal services 05:32.420 --> 05:34.142 Corporation , the American Bar 05:34.142 --> 05:36.198 Association and the National Housing 05:36.198 --> 05:38.364 Law project have joined the commitment 05:38.364 --> 05:40.531 to immediate action and on thursday we 05:40.531 --> 05:42.753 will join a nationwide emergency rental 05:42.753 --> 05:44.753 system program training held by the 05:44.753 --> 05:46.976 association of pro bono counsel and law 05:46.976 --> 05:49.087 firm uh anti racism alliance . That's 05:49.087 --> 05:48.660 Arlene why don't you kick us off 05:49.580 --> 05:52.410 switching to Afghanistan ? As of 05:52.420 --> 05:54.900 yesterday there were 300 U . S . 05:54.900 --> 05:57.067 citizens who were still there who want 05:57.067 --> 05:59.067 to get out of the deadline . Do you 05:59.067 --> 06:01.233 have an update on that number ? Are we 06:01.233 --> 06:03.567 still looking at 300 waiting to get out ? 06:03.567 --> 06:05.900 Is it down to 1 50 ? Is it down to zero ? 06:05.900 --> 06:07.956 Absolutely . Um Well I know my State 06:07.956 --> 06:10.122 Department colleagues will have a more 06:10.122 --> 06:12.344 specific up to date number . But let me 06:12.344 --> 06:12.180 give you an update of where things 06:12.180 --> 06:14.530 stand at this point of those who self 06:14.530 --> 06:16.697 identified as Americans in Afghanistan 06:16.697 --> 06:18.808 considering leaving the country since 06:18.808 --> 06:20.919 August 14 , We have thus far received 06:20.919 --> 06:23.086 confirmation that about 6000 have been 06:23.086 --> 06:25.252 evacuated or otherwise departed . This 06:25.252 --> 06:27.419 number will likely continue to grow as 06:27.419 --> 06:29.586 our outreach and arrivals continue and 06:29.586 --> 06:31.641 we have been providing as you know , 06:31.641 --> 06:33.474 regular updates to all of you on 06:33.474 --> 06:35.697 evacuations . The initial assessment if 06:35.697 --> 06:37.863 we go back to August 14 Was that there 06:37.863 --> 06:39.752 were fewer than 6000 Americans in 06:39.752 --> 06:41.919 Afghanistan who wanted to get out . So 06:41.919 --> 06:43.974 as we conveyed at the time , we knew 06:43.974 --> 06:46.141 that there could be an option one that 06:46.141 --> 06:48.252 people who had registered had already 06:48.252 --> 06:50.419 departed or that people had registered 06:50.419 --> 06:49.920 had not deregistered or that there 06:49.920 --> 06:51.920 would be additional people who came 06:51.920 --> 06:54.087 forward and we believe there are still 06:54.087 --> 06:56.031 a small number . I understand your 06:56.031 --> 06:58.142 exact asking for the exact number who 06:58.142 --> 06:57.720 remained were trying to determine 06:57.720 --> 06:59.700 exactly how many And we're going 06:59.700 --> 07:01.589 through manifests and calling and 07:01.589 --> 07:03.811 texting through a list . And we'll have 07:03.811 --> 07:05.867 more of a concrete number for you as 07:05.867 --> 07:07.589 soon as possible . Part of the 07:07.589 --> 07:09.811 challenge with fixing a precise numbers 07:09.811 --> 07:11.922 that there are long time residents of 07:11.922 --> 07:11.290 Afghanistan , as we've talked about in 07:11.290 --> 07:13.290 here with american passports , dual 07:13.290 --> 07:15.346 citizens , the vast majority who are 07:15.346 --> 07:17.179 trying , who are still trying to 07:17.179 --> 07:19.346 determine if they want to leave or not 07:19.346 --> 07:21.401 or have been over the last couple of 07:21.401 --> 07:23.234 days in some instances , in many 07:23.234 --> 07:25.457 instances that's because they have many 07:25.457 --> 07:25.300 family members there , but they have a 07:25.300 --> 07:27.522 range of reasons and we've been working 07:27.522 --> 07:29.744 with them to assess that . And then one 07:29.744 --> 07:31.911 other question on Afghanistan deadline 07:31.911 --> 07:34.078 is tomorrow . Obviously . What can you 07:34.078 --> 07:36.410 tell us about what the president will 07:36.420 --> 07:40.400 do tomorrow ? How will he mark 07:40.400 --> 07:43.350 this moment ? Should the public you 07:43.350 --> 07:45.572 know , expect to hear from him tomorrow 07:45.572 --> 07:47.406 at some point after Just as long 07:47.406 --> 07:49.628 wrapped up . Absolutely , really well , 07:49.628 --> 07:51.294 without getting into specific 07:51.294 --> 07:51.190 operational details . I know you're not 07:51.190 --> 07:53.023 asking me for that . But just to 07:53.023 --> 07:55.320 preface , uh , I think that you all can 07:55.320 --> 07:57.431 he expect and the american public can 07:57.431 --> 07:59.487 expect to hear from the President in 07:59.487 --> 08:01.709 the coming days . I don't have anything 08:01.709 --> 08:03.653 to outline for you in terms of the 08:03.653 --> 08:03.330 specific date or time for that at this 08:03.330 --> 08:05.497 point in time . Go ahead . Thanks very 08:05.840 --> 08:08.050 on august president biden told me , 08:08.060 --> 08:10.227 quote , I do not regret my decision to 08:10.227 --> 08:12.420 withdraw from Afghanistan after 08:12.420 --> 08:14.770 watching the heart wrenching to 08:14.770 --> 08:16.881 confront transfer yesterday . Is that 08:16.881 --> 08:19.103 still his position ? Does he not regret 08:19.103 --> 08:21.326 the manner in which this withdrawal was 08:21.326 --> 08:23.990 conducted ? Well , first , I would say 08:23.990 --> 08:26.480 that um the men and women who gave 08:26.480 --> 08:28.758 their lives and the president attended , 08:28.758 --> 08:30.702 as you noted yesterday uh to honor 08:30.702 --> 08:32.813 their service , honor their sacrifice 08:32.813 --> 08:35.030 and had time had the opportunity to 08:35.030 --> 08:37.030 meet a number of the family members 08:37.030 --> 08:39.260 yesterday . Uh , we can't that doesn't 08:39.340 --> 08:41.740 take the place of of all of the 08:41.750 --> 08:43.917 progress with all of the work that has 08:43.917 --> 08:45.972 been done to evacuate people . But I 08:45.972 --> 08:48.083 will tell you something that has been 08:48.083 --> 08:50.194 said time and time again by the brave 08:50.194 --> 08:52.306 men and women of the military who are 08:52.306 --> 08:54.028 leading this effort . These 13 08:54.028 --> 08:56.083 individuals sacrifice their lives to 08:56.083 --> 08:58.194 save tens of thousands of people . Uh 08:58.194 --> 09:00.361 and that is something that is , should 09:00.361 --> 09:02.528 be honored , should be valued . And we 09:02.528 --> 09:04.583 will continue to look for ways to do 09:04.583 --> 09:06.417 that . So after meeting when the 09:06.417 --> 09:08.694 families of the fallen service members , 09:08.694 --> 09:10.790 he still sticks by . His decision . 09:10.790 --> 09:12.710 Doesn't regret at all how this is 09:12.930 --> 09:15.263 playing out in the last couple of weeks . 09:15.263 --> 09:17.870 Well , of course , uh for any president , 09:17.870 --> 09:20.470 as I said last week , uh , a day or a 09:20.470 --> 09:22.650 week where you lose 13 service members 09:22.650 --> 09:24.820 is the worst day or the worst week of 09:24.820 --> 09:27.270 your presidency . And uh that is 09:27.280 --> 09:29.560 remains the case and yesterday and I've 09:29.560 --> 09:31.780 seen him since he of course went to 09:31.780 --> 09:34.170 dover yesterday . He is of course was 09:34.170 --> 09:36.750 deeply impacted . He knows firsthand uh , 09:36.760 --> 09:39.130 that there's nothing you can say to a 09:39.130 --> 09:41.352 family member . There's nothing you can 09:41.352 --> 09:43.463 say to someone who loses a child that 09:43.463 --> 09:45.519 is going to fill the black hole that 09:45.519 --> 09:47.574 remains the case . But I will say if 09:47.574 --> 09:49.408 you just take a step back beyond 09:49.408 --> 09:51.519 yesterday , the president uh , stands 09:51.519 --> 09:53.574 by his decision to bring our men and 09:53.574 --> 09:55.686 women home from Afghanistan . Because 09:55.686 --> 09:57.852 if he had not his view and the view of 09:57.852 --> 10:00.074 many experts in military out there , as 10:00.074 --> 10:02.241 we would have sent tens of thousands , 10:02.241 --> 10:04.241 potentially or thousands , at least 10:04.241 --> 10:06.186 more troops back into harm's way . 10:06.186 --> 10:08.520 Risking more lives and more people to 10:08.520 --> 10:10.464 fight a war . The Afghans were not 10:10.464 --> 10:12.576 willing to fight themselves . Nothing 10:12.576 --> 10:14.798 has changed in that regard . Okay . Was 10:14.798 --> 10:16.964 that interaction between the president 10:16.964 --> 10:18.909 and those families yesterday ? I'm 10:18.909 --> 10:21.131 obviously not going to speak to private 10:21.131 --> 10:23.353 conversations between the president and 10:23.353 --> 10:25.576 the parents of service members who lost 10:25.576 --> 10:27.798 their lives saving others . Um , he was 10:27.798 --> 10:29.964 grateful to be there with the families 10:29.964 --> 10:32.131 yesterday and to honor both the heroic 10:32.131 --> 10:34.353 service and the incredible sacrifice of 10:34.353 --> 10:36.353 their sons and daughters . And uh , 10:36.353 --> 10:38.409 well , his son did not lose his life 10:38.409 --> 10:40.298 directly in combat as they did or 10:40.298 --> 10:42.520 directly at the hands of a terrorist as 10:42.520 --> 10:44.800 these terrorists as these families did 10:44.810 --> 10:47.090 that their morning . He knows , as I 10:47.090 --> 10:49.312 just said firsthand , uh , that there's 10:49.312 --> 10:51.423 nothing you can say , nothing you can 10:51.423 --> 10:54.060 convey to ease the pain and to ease 10:54.140 --> 10:56.029 what all these families are going 10:56.029 --> 10:57.973 through . But he was honored to be 10:57.973 --> 11:00.196 there yesterday and to be able to spend 11:00.196 --> 11:02.473 some time with the families . Go ahead . 11:02.473 --> 11:04.696 two quick technical questions . And one 11:04.696 --> 11:06.751 other question , he said , 6000 have 11:06.751 --> 11:08.918 been evacuated or otherwise departed . 11:08.918 --> 11:10.973 Is that apples to apples to the 5400 11:10.973 --> 11:13.029 that had been evacuated ? Are we now 11:13.029 --> 11:15.084 including people who have registered 11:15.084 --> 11:17.196 but did not register on their way out 11:17.196 --> 11:19.251 and trying to understand . Sure , as 11:19.251 --> 11:21.362 we're assessing , there are people as 11:21.362 --> 11:20.950 we , as the State Department goes 11:20.950 --> 11:23.190 through in calls or emails who say I 11:23.190 --> 11:25.190 have departed or I have left . That 11:25.190 --> 11:27.134 doesn't change the total number of 11:27.134 --> 11:28.912 evacuees that we have obviously 11:28.912 --> 11:30.912 provided to all of you every day on 11:30.912 --> 11:32.968 planes and transport . But right now 11:32.968 --> 11:35.079 we're of course at the point where we 11:35.079 --> 11:37.134 are trying to assess and get a final 11:37.134 --> 11:39.246 number from command perspective , the 11:39.246 --> 11:41.357 President very clear . His commanders 11:41.357 --> 11:43.357 on the ground have a way to do what 11:43.357 --> 11:45.468 they think is necessary on the ground 11:45.468 --> 11:47.690 for a defensive strike like we saw last 11:47.690 --> 11:49.912 night . Is that something that he signs 11:49.912 --> 11:52.079 off on it too . You have a green light 11:52.079 --> 11:54.134 to that or is that commanders on the 11:54.134 --> 11:56.357 ground that make that decision ? Well , 11:56.357 --> 11:56.030 I can tell you that the President has 11:56.030 --> 11:58.197 made clear to his commanders that they 11:58.197 --> 12:00.419 should stop at nothing to make ISIS pay 12:00.419 --> 12:02.252 for the deaths of those american 12:02.252 --> 12:04.419 service members at the Kabul airport ? 12:04.419 --> 12:06.308 Uh they have the authority is not 12:06.308 --> 12:08.141 necessary . It is self defense . 12:08.141 --> 12:10.086 Obviously there are these are ISIS 12:10.086 --> 12:11.919 terrorists who killed us service 12:11.919 --> 12:14.086 members and the president is regularly 12:14.086 --> 12:16.252 briefed but he has directed them to go 12:16.252 --> 12:18.640 after and to kill these ISIS terrorists 12:18.640 --> 12:20.862 who have taken the lives of the men and 12:20.862 --> 12:23.080 women serving our country . One more 12:23.090 --> 12:25.201 kind of dealing with dual , very high 12:25.201 --> 12:27.146 stakes issues right now inside the 12:27.146 --> 12:28.979 White House so they can transfer 12:28.979 --> 12:31.090 yesterday . How dangerous part of the 12:31.090 --> 12:33.090 mission right now ? A category four 12:33.090 --> 12:35.312 hurricane slamming the gulf coast . You 12:35.312 --> 12:37.312 talk about what the White House has 12:37.312 --> 12:37.050 been like a little bit of course of the 12:37.050 --> 12:39.280 last 48 hours given these very very 12:39.280 --> 12:42.150 high stakes moments transpire . Well , 12:42.160 --> 12:44.271 I would say that addressing crises is 12:44.271 --> 12:46.271 what government is supposed to do . 12:46.271 --> 12:48.438 It's what any president is supposed to 12:48.438 --> 12:50.216 do , what any vice president is 12:50.216 --> 12:50.140 supposed to do and what the senior 12:50.140 --> 12:52.260 members of the President's team are 12:52.260 --> 12:54.800 supposed to do . Uh So when you have 12:54.800 --> 12:57.490 moments like this where you are facing , 12:57.490 --> 13:00.040 as you said , multiple crises , I would 13:00.050 --> 13:01.883 I would add of course that we're 13:01.883 --> 13:04.280 continuing to uh fight a pandemic that 13:04.290 --> 13:08.070 has uh continues to take the lives of 13:08.070 --> 13:10.620 thousands of people every week . Uh You 13:10.620 --> 13:12.842 have to rely on strong and capable team 13:12.842 --> 13:15.730 members and you have to uh you have to 13:15.740 --> 13:18.980 be nimble enough to adapt quickly . But 13:18.990 --> 13:21.212 I think we would argue this is actually 13:21.212 --> 13:24.180 government uh working to do our best to 13:24.180 --> 13:26.124 function as best as we can . Is it 13:26.124 --> 13:28.347 tough ? Yes or the days long ? Yes . Is 13:28.347 --> 13:30.513 it always going to be perfect ? No but 13:30.513 --> 13:32.458 this is exactly what government is 13:32.458 --> 13:34.680 supposed to be doing . Go ahead back on 13:34.680 --> 13:36.624 the hurricane . Is the White House 13:36.624 --> 13:38.680 seeing reports are having data about 13:38.680 --> 13:40.970 fuel fuel shortages with some of the 13:40.970 --> 13:43.050 refineries impacted and real life 13:43.050 --> 13:44.939 suspended . It is something we're 13:44.939 --> 13:47.050 monitoring closely Jeff . We have not 13:47.050 --> 13:50.140 seen to date that as an issue but we 13:50.150 --> 13:52.094 will closely monitor that and will 13:52.094 --> 13:54.620 continue to over the coming days along 13:54.620 --> 13:56.731 the same lines considering or see the 13:56.731 --> 13:59.250 need for jones Act waivers to deal with . 14:00.340 --> 14:02.780 Well as you noted the jones Act which 14:02.780 --> 14:04.947 we talked quite a bit about just a few 14:04.947 --> 14:06.947 weeks ago . Um There are a range of 14:06.947 --> 14:09.113 tools at our disposal that the federal 14:09.113 --> 14:11.480 government has um to address fuel 14:11.480 --> 14:13.258 supply shortages during natural 14:13.258 --> 14:15.424 disasters by issuing emergency waivers 14:15.424 --> 14:17.591 of certain fuel standards and affected 14:17.591 --> 14:19.647 area . And obviously if warranted by 14:19.647 --> 14:21.813 circumstances E . P . A . Is temporary 14:21.813 --> 14:23.924 waivers can help ensure that adequate 14:23.924 --> 14:26.091 supply full of fuel is available . E . 14:26.091 --> 14:28.202 P . A . As well as several components 14:28.202 --> 14:30.424 of the government are in touch with our 14:30.424 --> 14:29.880 state partners in Louisiana and 14:29.880 --> 14:32.150 Mississippi as well as operators of 14:32.150 --> 14:34.280 refineries , pipelines , tanks and 14:34.280 --> 14:36.224 other infrastructure to assess the 14:36.224 --> 14:38.391 situation on the ground and what needs 14:38.391 --> 14:40.058 exist to ensure the supply of 14:40.058 --> 14:42.224 transportation fuel . We have not made 14:42.224 --> 14:41.630 that assessment at this point in time , 14:41.630 --> 14:43.574 but we do have those authorities . 14:43.574 --> 14:45.686 Should they be needed last fall up on 14:45.686 --> 14:47.870 the Afghanistan . The meeting with 14:47.880 --> 14:50.102 family yesterday . But the president is 14:50.102 --> 14:52.158 the president planned to continue to 14:52.158 --> 14:54.158 stay in touch with those families . 14:54.158 --> 14:56.380 Absolutely . And he's going to continue 14:56.380 --> 14:58.491 to look for ways of honoring them and 14:58.491 --> 15:00.602 the lives that were lost last week as 15:00.602 --> 15:02.658 well . Good . Thank you . Just a few 15:02.658 --> 15:04.769 others on the ongoing evacuation with 15:04.769 --> 15:06.991 the caveat . That things are changing , 15:06.991 --> 15:09.920 winding down numbers as they get 15:09.920 --> 15:12.087 reported here versus situations on the 15:12.087 --> 15:14.950 ground . Sure , we heard to the weekend 15:15.340 --> 15:17.396 of americans who were told to get to 15:17.396 --> 15:19.451 the airport and then unable to do so 15:19.451 --> 15:21.562 because of the danger on the ground . 15:21.562 --> 15:24.140 Right . If for some reason and we don't 15:24.150 --> 15:26.317 have a specific example just yet . But 15:26.317 --> 15:28.372 they're very well maybe depending on 15:28.372 --> 15:30.372 when the final flights out our what 15:30.372 --> 15:30.300 would be your message to those 15:30.300 --> 15:32.467 americans who get left behind who were 15:32.467 --> 15:34.850 trying to get out ? Well , as you noted , 15:34.850 --> 15:36.906 and I appreciate the caveat , we are 15:36.906 --> 15:39.370 continuing , we remain in in touch with 15:39.370 --> 15:41.592 the american citizens as I noted at the 15:41.592 --> 15:43.648 top to Darlene's question and we are 15:43.648 --> 15:45.870 continuing to work to evacuate american 15:45.870 --> 15:47.926 citizens . What our message directly 15:47.926 --> 15:50.148 would be that is that our commitment is 15:50.148 --> 15:52.720 enduring and our commitment does not 15:52.720 --> 15:55.040 waver even as we bring our men and 15:55.040 --> 15:57.420 women from the military home and let me 15:57.420 --> 15:59.476 just outline for you a couple of the 15:59.476 --> 16:01.531 steps that are ongoing that I expect 16:01.531 --> 16:03.698 will give you updates on as as details 16:03.698 --> 16:05.809 are finalized first on the diplomatic 16:05.809 --> 16:07.920 front , the Secretary of State has is 16:07.920 --> 16:09.976 going to be meeting with a number of 16:09.976 --> 16:12.142 his international partners . Just over 16:12.142 --> 16:11.610 the weekend , the State Department put 16:11.610 --> 16:13.750 out a letter from 100 countries , 16:13.760 --> 16:15.816 making clear that there must be safe 16:15.816 --> 16:17.871 passage for citizens for afghans who 16:17.871 --> 16:20.590 want to leave after the 31st On Friday , 16:20.600 --> 16:22.660 one of the Taliban leaders delivered 16:22.660 --> 16:24.827 public remarks coming that individuals 16:24.827 --> 16:26.993 who wish to leave after the 31st would 16:26.993 --> 16:29.160 be able to do so that does not mean we 16:29.160 --> 16:31.610 trust what they say but there that is a 16:31.620 --> 16:33.590 but there is an enormous amount of 16:33.590 --> 16:35.680 international leverage that we will 16:35.680 --> 16:37.791 continue to work in a coordinated way 16:37.791 --> 16:39.847 with our partners around the world . 16:39.847 --> 16:41.513 And there is also of course a 16:41.513 --> 16:43.569 discussion about what our diplomatic 16:43.569 --> 16:45.791 presence may look like moving forward . 16:45.791 --> 16:47.680 As our Secretary of State and our 16:47.680 --> 16:49.680 national security adviser confirmed 16:49.680 --> 16:51.847 yesterday . Our current plan is not to 16:51.847 --> 16:54.069 have an ongoing presence in Afghanistan 16:54.069 --> 16:56.124 as of september 1st but we will have 16:56.124 --> 16:57.847 means and mechanisms of having 16:57.847 --> 16:59.958 diplomats on the ground being able to 16:59.958 --> 16:59.570 continue to process out those 16:59.570 --> 17:01.626 applicants and facilitate passage of 17:01.626 --> 17:03.348 other people who want to leave 17:03.348 --> 17:05.570 Afghanistan . We will have more details 17:05.570 --> 17:07.626 for that I expect in the coming days 17:07.626 --> 17:07.370 and can I add one more piece that we're 17:07.370 --> 17:09.592 working on , the other piece of this is 17:09.592 --> 17:11.648 operational , which of course is the 17:11.648 --> 17:13.703 airport and the airports , there are 17:13.703 --> 17:15.592 also regional airports and we are 17:15.592 --> 17:17.481 currently working with a range of 17:17.481 --> 17:17.450 partners in the region about how to 17:17.460 --> 17:19.682 keep those up and operational . We need 17:19.682 --> 17:21.960 to reopen or figure out how to work 17:21.970 --> 17:23.748 with our partners to reopen the 17:23.748 --> 17:25.748 civilian airport uh and ensure that 17:25.748 --> 17:27.748 that is a mechanism that is an area 17:27.748 --> 17:30.320 where there is mutual interest by the 17:30.320 --> 17:33.980 United States , by international uh 17:33.990 --> 17:35.879 organizations like the World Food 17:35.879 --> 17:38.101 Programme who want to get assistance in 17:38.101 --> 17:39.879 and by the taliban to get these 17:39.879 --> 17:41.934 airports operational and running you 17:41.934 --> 17:43.990 anticipated higher line next because 17:43.990 --> 17:46.212 this ongoing conversation with the rest 17:46.212 --> 17:48.268 of the world about being able to get 17:48.268 --> 17:50.379 people out if they want to leave . Is 17:50.379 --> 17:52.601 there any sense of how long afghans who 17:52.601 --> 17:54.546 are trying to leave don't leave by 17:54.546 --> 17:56.712 tomorrow are going to have to wait for 17:56.712 --> 17:59.460 further instruction or sense of whether 17:59.460 --> 18:01.682 or not they're going to be able to go . 18:01.682 --> 18:03.738 Well , I will , I will tell you that 18:03.738 --> 18:05.738 there is ongoing , immediate urgent 18:05.738 --> 18:07.904 conversations happening at a very high 18:07.904 --> 18:10.016 level with international partners now 18:10.016 --> 18:12.127 and we hope to have more of an update 18:12.127 --> 18:14.293 on that in the coming days . There are 18:14.293 --> 18:16.460 different components of this , right ? 18:16.460 --> 18:18.516 The airport operations , It may take 18:18.516 --> 18:20.571 some time to get that going , but we 18:20.571 --> 18:20.230 are working through a range of 18:20.230 --> 18:22.240 mechanisms so that there can be an 18:22.240 --> 18:25.250 ongoing efforts to Move people out who 18:25.250 --> 18:27.361 are looking to depart Afghanistan one 18:27.361 --> 18:29.361 final one on this . Because again , 18:29.361 --> 18:31.583 based on things we've heard from people 18:31.583 --> 18:33.361 there did the evacuation of non 18:33.361 --> 18:36.320 americans S I . B recipients or people 18:36.320 --> 18:38.264 who are applying and were eligible 18:38.264 --> 18:40.264 enough to leave effectively stopped 18:40.640 --> 18:43.720 after thursday's attack . Uh no , we 18:43.720 --> 18:46.140 have continued to work to evacuate 18:46.140 --> 18:48.251 individuals since that time . I think 18:48.251 --> 18:50.418 we've put out a range of numbers since 18:50.418 --> 18:52.251 then who make clear that we have 18:52.251 --> 18:54.362 continued to evacuate Afghan partners 18:54.362 --> 18:56.584 and other applicants . Good as the us . 18:56.584 --> 18:58.362 First of all , it's approaching 18:58.362 --> 19:00.529 midnight at the end of the 30th now in 19:00.529 --> 19:02.584 Kabul . Is that the way you view the 19:02.584 --> 19:04.584 deadline is the White House for the 19:04.584 --> 19:06.807 deadline . As some point tomorrow , I'm 19:06.807 --> 19:08.973 not gonna get into operational details 19:08.973 --> 19:11.196 of when we will continue our retrograde 19:11.196 --> 19:13.418 efforts that's led by the Department of 19:13.418 --> 19:13.290 Defense and our team on the ground . 19:13.290 --> 19:15.290 President said he believed recently 19:15.290 --> 19:17.234 followed and said the same that we 19:17.234 --> 19:16.980 believe that they were on pace . This 19:16.980 --> 19:19.750 is before the attack on pace to for the 19:19.750 --> 19:21.972 achievement of our objective . So as we 19:21.972 --> 19:24.194 approach that deadline , either tonight 19:24.194 --> 19:26.250 or tomorrow night , whatever it is , 19:26.250 --> 19:28.250 Did the us accomplish its objective 19:28.250 --> 19:30.139 knowing that there will be likely 19:30.139 --> 19:32.306 thousands of smb applicants and others 19:32.306 --> 19:32.010 still there and certainly some 19:32.010 --> 19:34.177 Americans as well . Did we achieve our 19:34.177 --> 19:36.620 objective ? I think first we have we 19:36.620 --> 19:38.560 have to date evacuated more than 19:38.560 --> 19:41.690 120,000 people . That's 120,000 19:41.880 --> 19:44.570 lives that we have saved , Including 19:44.570 --> 19:46.650 6000 Americans and their families , 19:46.660 --> 19:49.520 many of them dual nationals . Uh and we 19:49.520 --> 19:51.540 are continuing our commitment is 19:51.540 --> 19:54.390 enduring . Uh two afghan partners to 19:54.390 --> 19:56.334 american citizens who may not have 19:56.334 --> 19:58.880 decided to leave . That is their right 19:58.880 --> 20:01.047 to determine when they want to leave . 20:01.047 --> 20:03.110 That commitment is enduring . But we 20:03.110 --> 20:05.110 have saved more than 100 and 20,000 20:05.110 --> 20:07.166 lives . And I would let you evaluate 20:07.166 --> 20:09.388 your for that for yourself . Go ahead . 20:09.388 --> 20:11.499 When we talk about as the US prepares 20:11.499 --> 20:13.554 to leave whether tonight or tomorrow 20:13.554 --> 20:12.670 there are going to be billions of 20:12.670 --> 20:16.220 dollars worth of us made munitions 20:16.230 --> 20:19.950 arms , military aircraft , um armored 20:19.950 --> 20:22.117 vehicles that have fallen in the hands 20:22.117 --> 20:24.120 of the Taliban here giving them new 20:24.120 --> 20:26.287 capabilities they didn't have before . 20:26.287 --> 20:29.670 This are americans less safe now 20:29.680 --> 20:32.430 because the taliban now has access to 20:32.440 --> 20:34.551 billions of dollars worth of american 20:34.551 --> 20:36.840 made weaponry . Well , let me unpack 20:36.840 --> 20:39.007 your question a little bit because the 20:39.007 --> 20:40.729 U . S . Military part of their 20:40.729 --> 20:44.570 retrograde effort is to uh reduce 20:44.580 --> 20:46.620 the amount of military equipment or 20:46.620 --> 20:49.020 apparatus that anyone on the ground has 20:49.030 --> 20:51.141 access to . I'm not going to get into 20:51.141 --> 20:53.252 the details of how they do that , but 20:53.252 --> 20:55.363 that is part of their effort . I will 20:55.363 --> 20:57.419 also uh reiterate something that our 20:57.419 --> 20:59.419 National Security advisor said just 20:59.419 --> 21:01.086 last week , we had to make an 21:01.086 --> 21:03.030 assessment several weeks ago about 21:03.030 --> 21:05.030 whether we provide materials to the 21:05.030 --> 21:07.252 afghan national security forces so that 21:07.252 --> 21:06.620 they could fight the fight . Obviously 21:06.620 --> 21:09.520 they decided not to fight or not . And 21:09.520 --> 21:11.576 we made the decision to provide them 21:11.576 --> 21:13.742 with that equipment and the material . 21:13.742 --> 21:15.742 The third piece I would note that's 21:15.742 --> 21:17.964 very important here is that we have not 21:17.964 --> 21:20.187 assessed that any group on the ground , 21:20.187 --> 21:22.353 whether it's Isis K or the Taliban has 21:22.353 --> 21:24.687 the ability to attack the United States . 21:24.687 --> 21:26.687 Well , we clearly need to , sorry , 21:26.687 --> 21:28.909 that was an aggressive bug . We need to 21:28.909 --> 21:31.131 ensure that remains the case . But that 21:31.131 --> 21:32.964 is not a capability that we have 21:32.964 --> 21:35.076 assessed to be the case at this point 21:35.076 --> 21:37.298 in time , there is a difference between 21:37.298 --> 21:39.353 the threat that is posed to us , men 21:39.353 --> 21:41.353 and women serving or people who are 21:41.353 --> 21:43.576 gathering outside of the gates in Kabul 21:43.576 --> 21:45.464 and whether these individuals can 21:45.464 --> 21:47.353 attack the United States . But in 21:47.353 --> 21:47.290 simple questions , acknowledging that 21:47.300 --> 21:49.189 you're going to try to limit what 21:49.189 --> 21:50.967 access they do have some of the 21:50.967 --> 21:52.744 weaponry in ways that you can't 21:52.744 --> 21:52.740 communicate here . But at the end of 21:52.740 --> 21:54.851 the day , whether it's not the United 21:54.851 --> 21:56.629 States , that's under risk as a 21:56.629 --> 21:58.740 function of this are americans around 21:58.740 --> 22:00.740 the globe are Western interests now 22:00.740 --> 22:02.796 more at risk because the taliban has 22:02.796 --> 22:04.962 new access to all this weapon . Well , 22:04.962 --> 22:07.073 again , peter , I would say that uh , 22:07.073 --> 22:09.240 we , uh , the world will be watching . 22:09.240 --> 22:11.518 We have an enormous amount of leverage , 22:11.518 --> 22:11.230 including access to the global 22:11.230 --> 22:13.174 marketplace , which is not a small 22:13.174 --> 22:15.230 piece of leverage to the taliban who 22:15.230 --> 22:17.360 are now overseeing large swaths of 22:17.360 --> 22:19.490 Afghanistan . Uh certainly our 22:19.490 --> 22:21.546 objective was not to leave them with 22:21.546 --> 22:23.712 any equipment , but that is not always 22:23.712 --> 22:25.670 an option when you are looking to 22:25.740 --> 22:28.050 retrograde and move out of a war zone . 22:28.080 --> 22:30.300 But that is our clear leverage we have 22:30.300 --> 22:32.133 with the Taliban . And again our 22:32.133 --> 22:34.680 capacities are over the horizon 22:34.680 --> 22:36.736 capacities which by the way , killed 22:36.736 --> 22:38.902 two ISIS terrorists just last week and 22:38.902 --> 22:41.069 continue to be utilized by our men and 22:41.069 --> 22:43.180 women on the ground , remain in place 22:43.180 --> 22:45.180 and remain in place in the region . 22:45.180 --> 22:47.236 There are other parts of the world , 22:47.236 --> 22:49.291 Somalia Libya Yemen , where we don't 22:49.291 --> 22:51.347 have a presence on the ground and we 22:51.347 --> 22:53.291 still prevent terrorist attacks or 22:53.291 --> 22:55.402 threats to U . S . Citizens living in 22:55.402 --> 22:55.220 the United States or around the world 22:55.220 --> 22:59.060 from uh from growing is the 22:59.060 --> 23:01.400 US more or less safe today than we were 23:01.410 --> 23:03.770 before the Taliban took over ? Well , 23:03.770 --> 23:05.992 again , we are not going to do anything 23:05.992 --> 23:07.992 that's going to allow terrorists to 23:07.992 --> 23:10.260 grow or prosper in Afghanistan or any 23:10.260 --> 23:12.430 terrorist organization that continues 23:12.430 --> 23:14.652 to be the president's commitment and in 23:14.652 --> 23:16.819 order to his U . S . Military over the 23:16.819 --> 23:18.986 past several days and the actions that 23:18.986 --> 23:21.097 centcom have announced show that he's 23:21.097 --> 23:21.010 going to deliver on that promise . Go 23:21.010 --> 23:23.210 ahead . Serving disappointment here 23:23.210 --> 23:25.500 that china and Russia didn't sign on to 23:25.500 --> 23:27.667 the letter to the State Department put 23:27.667 --> 23:29.833 out the end of the day . It remains an 23:29.833 --> 23:31.889 open letter that they are welcome to 23:31.889 --> 23:34.000 sign on . I will tell you though that 23:34.000 --> 23:33.810 uh it will be important and we will 23:33.810 --> 23:35.754 continue to engage with a range of 23:35.754 --> 23:37.754 partners , including those where we 23:37.754 --> 23:39.977 have at times adversarial disagreements 23:39.977 --> 23:42.088 with about about the need to maintain 23:42.088 --> 23:44.810 safe passage for individuals who wish 23:44.810 --> 23:46.754 to leave Afghanistan . There are a 23:46.754 --> 23:48.810 range of international organizations 23:48.810 --> 23:50.421 and mechanisms to have those 23:50.421 --> 23:52.699 discussions and their ongoing go ahead . 23:52.699 --> 23:52.460 Jack Good . One other question 23:52.460 --> 23:55.740 unrelated to this , the idea has put 23:55.740 --> 23:57.796 out a report that indicates that the 23:57.796 --> 23:59.629 north Korea's North Korea's main 23:59.629 --> 24:02.190 nuclear reactor maybe restarting . Uh 24:02.190 --> 24:04.023 he says it's a matter of serious 24:04.023 --> 24:05.857 concern . What's the White House 24:05.857 --> 24:07.912 reaction ? We are of course aware of 24:07.912 --> 24:10.079 this report , are closely coordinating 24:10.079 --> 24:10.060 with our allies and partners on 24:10.060 --> 24:12.116 developments regarding North Korea . 24:12.116 --> 24:14.338 This report underscores the urgent need 24:14.338 --> 24:16.393 for dialogue and diplomacy so we can 24:16.393 --> 24:18.504 achieve the complete denuclearization 24:18.504 --> 24:20.616 of the korean peninsula . We continue 24:20.616 --> 24:22.671 to seek dialogue with the Dprk so we 24:22.671 --> 24:24.782 can address this reported activity in 24:24.782 --> 24:26.782 the full range of issues related to 24:26.782 --> 24:28.949 denuclearisation . Jackie , thanks . I 24:28.949 --> 24:30.949 wanted to go to this new york Times 24:30.949 --> 24:32.893 report about the students from the 24:32.893 --> 24:34.949 American University in Afghanistan . 24:34.949 --> 24:38.620 The Times reported that they had been 24:38.620 --> 24:41.500 left behind and they were contacted 24:41.500 --> 24:43.750 apparently to try to get out held in 24:43.750 --> 24:45.917 safe houses for a period of time . And 24:45.917 --> 24:48.139 then we're told that the evacuation had 24:48.139 --> 24:51.180 stopped and and that separately . The 24:51.180 --> 24:53.236 university president apparently told 24:53.236 --> 24:55.370 these students and their parents that 24:55.380 --> 24:57.547 their information has been handed over 24:57.547 --> 25:00.690 to the taliban . Uh obviously to get 25:00.700 --> 25:02.700 them safe passage which has not yet 25:02.700 --> 25:04.700 happened . But my question is is it 25:04.990 --> 25:07.170 sort of draws down don't we sort of oh 25:07.180 --> 25:09.520 a group like that where we've given out 25:09.520 --> 25:11.464 their information , their passport 25:11.464 --> 25:13.631 numbers , their names are we obligated 25:13.631 --> 25:15.631 in some way to ensure that they get 25:15.631 --> 25:17.631 onto these last flights . Given the 25:17.631 --> 25:19.853 fact that the taliban soon after coming 25:19.853 --> 25:21.909 into Kabul posed at the front of the 25:21.909 --> 25:23.964 university saying that this is where 25:23.964 --> 25:27.890 the americans trained people and um 25:27.900 --> 25:30.011 there obviously threatened and scared 25:30.011 --> 25:32.122 by that . Absolutely . Well first let 25:32.122 --> 25:34.460 me say that uh there have been reports 25:34.460 --> 25:36.990 that we provided or the U . S . 25:36.990 --> 25:39.130 Provided lists of people who want to 25:39.130 --> 25:41.090 leave Afghanistan to the Taliban . 25:41.100 --> 25:42.950 That's inaccurate . That's miss 25:42.950 --> 25:45.390 reported and misconstrued . We have 25:45.390 --> 25:48.550 also confirmed repeatedly that we have 25:48.560 --> 25:50.616 had to coordinate with the taliban . 25:50.616 --> 25:53.020 And so there have been limited limited 25:53.020 --> 25:55.540 cases where it is possible that when 25:55.540 --> 25:57.596 buses or individuals are at a border 25:57.596 --> 25:59.651 checkpoint and they're trying to get 25:59.651 --> 26:01.873 through in order to get them through to 26:01.873 --> 26:03.929 evacuate them successfully . We have 26:03.929 --> 26:06.151 had to coordinate and provide details . 26:06.151 --> 26:08.151 I don't have confirmations of those 26:08.151 --> 26:10.207 events but that is the scenario in a 26:10.207 --> 26:12.318 limited cases where that would happen 26:12.318 --> 26:14.540 and in vast majority of cases not aware 26:14.540 --> 26:16.484 of any that that hasn't been those 26:16.484 --> 26:18.484 individuals have been evacuated . I 26:18.484 --> 26:20.540 understand what the president of the 26:20.540 --> 26:20.200 school said . I don't have any 26:20.200 --> 26:22.200 confirmation that that has actually 26:22.200 --> 26:24.150 happened on the ground or any from 26:24.150 --> 26:26.372 anyone who is leading the effort on the 26:26.372 --> 26:28.483 ground . And certainly our commitment 26:28.483 --> 26:30.706 remains to american citizens to afghans 26:30.706 --> 26:32.680 who want to leave like these 26:32.690 --> 26:34.857 individuals and these young people who 26:34.857 --> 26:37.079 have been courageous to get them out of 26:37.079 --> 26:39.246 the country . And we are in touch with 26:39.246 --> 26:41.357 all those individuals on the ground . 26:41.357 --> 26:43.523 I'd also note and as they know , it is 26:43.523 --> 26:45.579 scary and it isn't , it is a it is a 26:45.579 --> 26:47.857 very dangerous situation on the ground . 26:47.857 --> 26:50.079 Another attack could happen at any time 26:50.079 --> 26:52.270 and when we give these security uh 26:52.280 --> 26:55.530 briefings or security warnings or tell 26:55.530 --> 26:57.697 people to move away from the gate . It 26:57.697 --> 26:59.752 is because we also want to save them 26:59.752 --> 27:01.863 and protect them . So what we've been 27:01.863 --> 27:03.919 trying to do is work with individual 27:03.919 --> 27:06.086 cases with families with groups to get 27:06.086 --> 27:08.750 them evacuated If and when we can . I'd 27:08.750 --> 27:11.000 also note our our commitment is 27:11.000 --> 27:13.480 enduring . I just this is a very fluid 27:13.480 --> 27:15.702 and dangerous situation on the ground . 27:15.702 --> 27:17.758 I just don't have a detail on this , 27:17.758 --> 27:19.813 the current state of this particular 27:19.813 --> 27:22.610 case and then on the drone strikes , it 27:22.610 --> 27:24.790 seems that we're witnessing these 27:24.790 --> 27:26.530 happened with more frequency . 27:26.530 --> 27:28.800 Obviously we have the over the horizon 27:28.800 --> 27:30.911 ability to get this done if we've got 27:30.911 --> 27:32.980 the intelligence to do it . But my 27:32.980 --> 27:35.810 question is why is it that we weren't 27:35.820 --> 27:39.110 able to do use similar action to 27:39.110 --> 27:41.110 prevent the attack that happened on 27:41.110 --> 27:44.960 thursday . And then part of that is 27:45.640 --> 27:48.620 because we now are curing reports of 27:48.630 --> 27:50.741 how these have been carried out . One 27:50.741 --> 27:52.908 of the drones had to fly eight hours I 27:52.908 --> 27:54.908 think from U . A . E . Is there any 27:54.908 --> 27:56.741 concern that were limited in our 27:56.741 --> 27:58.852 ability to respond in a timely manner 27:58.852 --> 28:01.074 if we've got eight hours of flight time 28:01.074 --> 28:03.130 and then they can only hang out over 28:03.130 --> 28:05.297 the target for like four or five hours 28:05.297 --> 28:04.440 before they got to turn around and go 28:04.440 --> 28:07.360 back . Is there a future ongoing 28:07.740 --> 28:09.796 worry that we're gonna be behind the 28:09.796 --> 28:12.370 eight ball again ? Well , first I would 28:12.370 --> 28:14.259 say the fact that we have had two 28:14.259 --> 28:16.481 successful strikes confirmed by centcom 28:16.481 --> 28:18.592 tells you that are over the horizon . 28:18.592 --> 28:20.759 Capacity works and is working in terms 28:20.759 --> 28:22.814 of the specific threats . Uh what we 28:22.814 --> 28:24.814 what when we had , what we had with 28:24.814 --> 28:26.870 respect to the Kabul airport , we of 28:26.870 --> 28:29.148 course had been warning about for days , 28:29.148 --> 28:31.314 which was the potential for the rising 28:31.314 --> 28:33.481 threats . The rising threats from ISIS 28:33.481 --> 28:36.180 K . Uh that's such a and how could take 28:36.180 --> 28:38.069 place and could take place at any 28:38.069 --> 28:40.069 moment in time . What we can do and 28:40.069 --> 28:42.236 what our commanders on the ground do , 28:42.236 --> 28:44.458 who have access to all this information 28:44.458 --> 28:46.513 as well is mitigate risks . We can't 28:46.513 --> 28:48.624 eliminate risk . And if we were going 28:48.624 --> 28:50.402 to continue to evacuate tens of 28:50.402 --> 28:52.624 thousands of people , American citizens 28:52.624 --> 28:54.458 afghans are partners . We had to 28:54.458 --> 28:56.569 mitigate risk . We couldn't eliminate 28:56.569 --> 28:58.410 it and that's uh that's how we 28:58.410 --> 29:00.577 proceeded Now . The president has been 29:00.577 --> 29:02.410 clear to his military and to the 29:02.410 --> 29:04.410 commanders on the ground that force 29:04.410 --> 29:06.632 protection is of utmost concern . And I 29:06.632 --> 29:08.354 know my colleague at D . O . D 29:08.354 --> 29:10.521 confirmed the closure of gates earlier 29:10.521 --> 29:12.743 today . There have been steps that have 29:12.743 --> 29:14.910 been taken and obviously as we've gone 29:14.910 --> 29:17.132 through the retrograde process over the 29:17.132 --> 29:16.330 last couple of days and it has been 29:16.330 --> 29:18.497 incredibly dangerous . There are steps 29:18.497 --> 29:20.441 that have had to be taken as these 29:20.441 --> 29:22.441 threats have increased the last one 29:22.441 --> 29:24.719 just overland routes . As I understand , 29:24.719 --> 29:26.886 we're looking for other ways after our 29:26.886 --> 29:28.997 military pulls out to get people back 29:28.997 --> 29:31.530 and out . But has this been at all 29:31.530 --> 29:33.930 hampered by Putin , you know , 29:33.940 --> 29:37.130 rejecting a U . S . Effort to put 29:37.130 --> 29:40.050 counterterrorism forces or basis for 29:40.050 --> 29:42.010 drones in central asian countries 29:42.020 --> 29:44.190 bordering ? I know Putin also in that 29:44.200 --> 29:47.240 reported june meetings spoke for china 29:47.250 --> 29:49.250 in that . Did we ever get an answer 29:49.250 --> 29:51.600 from china ourselves on their position 29:51.600 --> 29:53.800 on this ? I can't speak to these 29:53.800 --> 29:55.911 private diplomatic conversations from 29:55.911 --> 29:58.022 here , but I can tell you , we have a 29:58.022 --> 30:00.189 range of partners in the region who we 30:00.189 --> 30:00.070 continue to work with and have 30:00.070 --> 30:02.060 discussions with so that we can 30:02.060 --> 30:04.430 maintain the over the horizon capacity . 30:04.750 --> 30:07.080 Thank you . Going back to the president 30:07.090 --> 30:09.990 of the families of over yesterday , the 30:09.990 --> 30:12.157 sister of one of the marines killed in 30:12.157 --> 30:14.280 the airport attack . Told chris that 30:14.280 --> 30:16.280 the president's comments struck her 30:16.280 --> 30:18.447 family as scripted and shallow and she 30:18.447 --> 30:20.900 said , well you can't f up as bad as he 30:20.900 --> 30:23.122 did and say you're sorry , this did not 30:23.122 --> 30:25.289 need to happen in every life is on his 30:25.289 --> 30:27.456 hands . So how could you talk a little 30:27.456 --> 30:29.678 bit about how the president thought the 30:29.678 --> 30:31.900 meeting with the families when and also 30:31.900 --> 30:34.070 what responsibility in any for these 30:34.070 --> 30:36.348 deaths . Does he think he bears ? Well , 30:36.348 --> 30:38.570 I think the President made clear as the 30:38.570 --> 30:40.570 Secretary of state and our national 30:40.570 --> 30:42.737 Security advisor made clear that we're 30:42.737 --> 30:44.792 all responsible and their response , 30:44.792 --> 30:44.730 they feel a responsibility . And the 30:44.730 --> 30:46.841 buck stops with the president . And I 30:46.841 --> 30:48.619 think you heard him say that on 30:48.619 --> 30:51.800 thursday when uh , we , uh , he spoke 30:51.800 --> 30:54.680 to the loss of life , the servicemen 30:54.680 --> 30:56.570 and women , uh , as soon as it , 30:56.580 --> 30:58.890 shortly after it had happened . Uh , it 30:58.890 --> 31:01.350 is certainly the the right of any 31:01.350 --> 31:03.461 individual who met with the president 31:03.461 --> 31:05.683 yesterday to speak publicly about their 31:05.683 --> 31:07.906 experience . But I'm not going to speak 31:07.906 --> 31:10.128 about the President's experience beyond 31:10.128 --> 31:12.294 what I've said already . You mentioned 31:12.294 --> 31:12.280 that the President absolutely plans to 31:12.280 --> 31:14.447 stay in touch with those families . Is 31:14.447 --> 31:16.669 there the possibility he may attend any 31:16.669 --> 31:19.060 funerals or speak at any funerals ? 31:19.440 --> 31:21.551 Well , I will say what's important to 31:21.551 --> 31:23.740 remember here is that , uh , this is 31:23.750 --> 31:25.972 the worst thing that's happened ever in 31:25.972 --> 31:28.083 the lives of these family members and 31:28.083 --> 31:30.139 last thursday or friday , it was the 31:30.139 --> 31:32.310 worst day of their lives . Uh , and 31:32.310 --> 31:34.143 what role the president plays or 31:34.143 --> 31:36.366 doesn't play uh , is probably not front 31:36.366 --> 31:38.366 and center for them , but he's only 31:38.366 --> 31:41.050 going to do things that or of comfort 31:41.050 --> 31:43.040 to the family are supportive of 31:43.040 --> 31:45.096 remembering the lives that have been 31:45.096 --> 31:47.318 lost . Uh and uh he's going to continue 31:47.318 --> 31:49.484 to look for ways to do that . Go ahead 31:50.240 --> 31:52.800 questions First on Afghanistan . The 31:52.810 --> 31:55.100 drone strike that the United States 31:55.100 --> 31:57.211 conducted appears according to family 31:57.211 --> 31:59.433 members in Afghanistan who killed seven 31:59.433 --> 32:01.600 Children . Uh Part of 10 people . Does 32:01.600 --> 32:03.656 the president feel the same sense of 32:03.656 --> 32:05.940 responsibility and loss for those lives 32:05.940 --> 32:07.940 as he does for the american service 32:07.940 --> 32:09.940 members ? Well , first , let me say 32:09.940 --> 32:12.770 that um , we take uh efforts take steps 32:12.770 --> 32:14.548 from the United States to avoid 32:14.548 --> 32:16.760 civilian casualties in every scenario 32:16.770 --> 32:18.659 and probably more than almost any 32:18.659 --> 32:21.010 country in the world . I can't speak to 32:21.010 --> 32:23.670 or confirm . Uh , the numbers or cases 32:23.670 --> 32:25.781 of civilian casualties in this case . 32:25.781 --> 32:28.003 There is an investigation . I will note 32:28.003 --> 32:30.226 that in the centcom statement that they 32:30.226 --> 32:32.170 put out yesterday , what they last 32:32.170 --> 32:34.392 night , I should say what they noted is 32:34.392 --> 32:36.392 that there was also the explosion , 32:36.392 --> 32:38.503 there were explosives in this vehicle 32:38.503 --> 32:40.392 that could have led to additional 32:40.392 --> 32:42.448 damage . There's an investigation to 32:42.448 --> 32:42.150 determine how this happened . But of 32:42.150 --> 32:44.261 course the loss of life from anywhere 32:44.261 --> 32:47.010 is horrible and it impacts families no 32:47.010 --> 32:48.954 matter where they're living in the 32:48.954 --> 32:51.177 United States or around the world . The 32:51.177 --> 32:53.288 question is about american families , 32:53.288 --> 32:55.288 7.5 million Americans are essential 32:55.288 --> 32:57.510 lose unemployment benefits next month , 32:57.510 --> 32:59.677 not just their federal supplement that 32:59.677 --> 33:01.788 all benefits given the exploration of 33:01.788 --> 33:03.954 the eviction moratorium . What's going 33:03.954 --> 33:05.732 on with delta variant ? Has the 33:05.732 --> 33:07.954 president considered asking Congress to 33:07.954 --> 33:10.121 extend those benefits further ? Well , 33:10.121 --> 33:12.010 if Congress were to vote to uh to 33:12.010 --> 33:14.066 extend the eviction moratorium , the 33:14.066 --> 33:16.232 president would sign that into law and 33:16.232 --> 33:18.454 you'd be happy to do that . Uh look , I 33:18.454 --> 33:20.677 think he made a decision based on where 33:20.677 --> 33:22.788 things stand in our economic recovery 33:22.788 --> 33:24.566 at this point in time , there's 33:24.566 --> 33:26.788 additional assistance that continues to 33:26.788 --> 33:26.550 go out to people across the country , 33:26.550 --> 33:28.883 which you are very familiar with and no , 33:28.883 --> 33:30.772 well , whether it's the child tax 33:30.772 --> 33:32.828 credit or additional funding that is 33:32.828 --> 33:35.050 still being distributed by the american 33:35.050 --> 33:37.530 rescue plan . Our objective continues 33:37.530 --> 33:39.197 to be to work with states and 33:39.197 --> 33:41.141 localities to keep people in their 33:41.141 --> 33:43.030 homes , make sure people have the 33:43.030 --> 33:45.252 assistance they need . That's why there 33:45.252 --> 33:47.308 is a range of programs in a range of 33:47.308 --> 33:49.474 assistance the President advocated for 33:49.474 --> 33:49.190 fought like hell for and signed into 33:49.190 --> 33:51.480 law that is going to be implemented 33:51.480 --> 33:53.536 over the course of the next year and 33:53.536 --> 33:56.320 not just ending this summer . Go ahead . 33:56.450 --> 33:59.820 President regularly the President of 33:59.830 --> 34:01.830 Afghanistan . He made a point , his 34:01.830 --> 34:03.608 april speech to say . He called 34:03.608 --> 34:05.830 President Bush wondering has he been in 34:05.830 --> 34:07.941 touch with President Bush , President 34:07.941 --> 34:07.830 Obama and assuming hasn't been touched 34:07.840 --> 34:10.380 President trump cost anyway about about 34:10.390 --> 34:12.557 this , over the past few weeks as this 34:12.557 --> 34:14.557 withdrawal has played out . I'm not 34:14.557 --> 34:16.723 aware of any calls he's had with those 34:16.723 --> 34:16.360 presidents over the last few weeks . 34:16.840 --> 34:20.490 Good um jen on the , you voted 34:20.500 --> 34:24.130 uh to implement new travel restrictions . 34:24.130 --> 34:26.130 It's obviously up to the individual 34:26.130 --> 34:28.352 countries on whether they want to allow 34:28.352 --> 34:31.010 us citizens and travelers into their 34:31.010 --> 34:33.520 countries . Um Obviously we have not 34:33.520 --> 34:35.920 been letting many of the same from the 34:35.920 --> 34:38.087 same countries come to the U . S . But 34:38.087 --> 34:40.309 what's the administration's reaction to 34:40.309 --> 34:42.309 the EU taking that stuff ? Well , I 34:42.309 --> 34:44.531 think it's first important to note that 34:44.531 --> 34:46.698 today's announcement by the EU impacts 34:46.698 --> 34:48.864 people who are unvaccinated uh and not 34:48.864 --> 34:50.698 people who are vaccinated And we 34:50.698 --> 34:52.698 continue to encourage people to get 34:52.698 --> 34:54.753 vaccinated . And the fastest path to 34:54.753 --> 34:56.864 reopening travel is for people to get 34:56.864 --> 34:58.809 vaccinated to mask up and slow the 34:58.809 --> 35:00.587 spread of the deadly virus . We 35:00.587 --> 35:02.364 continue to work across federal 35:02.364 --> 35:04.420 agencies to develop a consistent and 35:04.420 --> 35:06.642 safe international travel policy . This 35:06.642 --> 35:08.864 includes travel from europe . This will 35:08.864 --> 35:10.809 involve step up efforts to protect 35:10.809 --> 35:10.360 american people including by 35:10.360 --> 35:12.249 potentially strengthening testing 35:12.249 --> 35:14.471 protocols for international travel . It 35:14.471 --> 35:16.471 may also involve ensuring that over 35:16.471 --> 35:18.527 time foreign nationals coming to the 35:18.527 --> 35:18.500 United States are fully vaccinated with 35:18.500 --> 35:20.556 limited exceptions . No decision has 35:20.556 --> 35:22.722 been made yet , but these are internal 35:22.722 --> 35:24.944 discussions have benefited greatly from 35:24.944 --> 35:27.056 our engagement with our international 35:27.056 --> 35:29.167 partners , a smaller thing related to 35:29.167 --> 35:31.222 the hurricane . Are you anticipating 35:31.222 --> 35:33.600 that the president will visit Louisiana 35:33.600 --> 35:35.711 at some point and you think that that 35:35.711 --> 35:37.933 will likely be later this week . I know 35:37.933 --> 35:40.100 things are obviously floated short but 35:40.100 --> 35:41.822 you have the Homeland Security 35:41.822 --> 35:43.933 Secretary already going there right . 35:43.933 --> 35:46.100 Uh it is different as you all know for 35:46.100 --> 35:46.030 the President of the United States to 35:46.030 --> 35:48.197 travel somewhere from the Secretary of 35:48.197 --> 35:50.419 Homeland Security . Given the footprint 35:50.419 --> 35:52.530 on the President would not want to go 35:52.530 --> 35:54.697 if it were to impact until it does not 35:54.697 --> 35:56.808 impact recovery and rescue efforts on 35:56.808 --> 35:58.641 the ground . So I don't have any 35:58.641 --> 36:00.752 prediction of that . At this point in 36:00.752 --> 36:02.752 time . We will see how the next few 36:02.752 --> 36:04.586 days ago go ahead . Parent group 36:04.586 --> 36:06.752 reports of hospitals down in Louisiana 36:06.752 --> 36:08.919 that are full of covid patients trying 36:08.919 --> 36:10.919 to evacuate some patients . They're 36:10.919 --> 36:12.974 having issues of group damage , some 36:12.974 --> 36:15.141 generators failing . Can you give us a 36:15.141 --> 36:17.141 sense of the scope of the impact on 36:17.141 --> 36:19.252 hospitals in that region and what the 36:19.252 --> 36:21.197 federal government is specifically 36:21.197 --> 36:23.141 doing about that ? Absolutely . So 36:23.141 --> 36:25.252 first let me say that um I know there 36:25.252 --> 36:27.530 have been a range of reports out there , 36:27.530 --> 36:26.990 but as of late last night , no 36:26.990 --> 36:29.101 hospitals had run out of oxygen as of 36:29.101 --> 36:31.268 late last night . That is something of 36:31.268 --> 36:33.101 course that we are watching very 36:33.101 --> 36:35.101 closely . Um We have , prior to the 36:35.101 --> 36:37.370 storm , we had more than 300 federally 36:37.370 --> 36:39.426 deployed healthcare personnel on the 36:39.426 --> 36:41.592 ground supporting COVID surge response 36:41.592 --> 36:43.592 in Louisiana and Mississippi of the 36:43.592 --> 36:45.814 Department of Veterans Affairs has made 36:45.814 --> 36:47.926 beds available prior to the hurricane 36:47.926 --> 36:50.092 to support local hospitals and will be 36:50.092 --> 36:52.314 available to assist in response and HHS 36:52.314 --> 36:54.426 and fema are working to assess deploy 36:54.426 --> 36:56.426 additional assets as needed , so on 36:56.426 --> 36:57.981 hospitals . Um we also have 36:57.981 --> 36:59.814 approximately 39 facilities as I 36:59.814 --> 37:02.037 understand using generator power and we 37:02.037 --> 37:04.203 are of course working around the clock 37:04.203 --> 37:06.426 to get power back on where we can . But 37:06.426 --> 37:08.537 this is certainly an area where we uh 37:08.537 --> 37:10.370 not only did the President speak 37:10.370 --> 37:12.537 purposefully , several over the course 37:12.537 --> 37:14.703 of the last few months and many of our 37:14.703 --> 37:16.926 of our high level officials have spoken 37:16.926 --> 37:16.670 out about the need for people to get 37:16.670 --> 37:18.850 vaccinated . But we've also worked 37:18.850 --> 37:21.610 preemptively to put in place generators , 37:21.610 --> 37:24.050 equipment , emergency personnel to help 37:24.050 --> 37:26.440 address and expect as we continue to 37:26.440 --> 37:28.496 discuss with the governor and health 37:28.496 --> 37:30.718 administrators will will determine what 37:30.718 --> 37:32.884 additional assistance we can provide . 37:32.884 --> 37:32.750 Something you said in your opening 37:32.810 --> 37:35.032 shelters are open in the area and their 37:35.032 --> 37:36.921 implementing steps to prevent the 37:36.921 --> 37:39.088 spread of covid . Can you give us more 37:39.088 --> 37:38.980 details of what's being done in those 37:38.980 --> 37:41.340 shelters ? There are steps including 37:41.350 --> 37:43.890 social distancing wherever possible , 37:43.910 --> 37:46.021 which I know sounds challenging , but 37:46.021 --> 37:48.132 we're working that is being worked to 37:48.132 --> 37:50.243 implement masking wherever possible . 37:50.243 --> 37:52.132 And again , I would note that the 37:52.132 --> 37:54.299 president and several other high level 37:54.299 --> 37:56.354 members of the administration made a 37:56.354 --> 37:58.577 strong case over the course of the last 37:58.577 --> 38:00.799 couple of months for individuals to get 38:00.799 --> 38:02.910 vaccinated , we had seen increases in 38:02.910 --> 38:05.077 numbers of vaccination in the region , 38:05.077 --> 38:06.966 although not simply not enough to 38:06.966 --> 38:09.640 prevent um the spread uh George , can 38:09.640 --> 38:11.820 you give us any kind of update on the 38:11.820 --> 38:13.709 american hostage of the president 38:13.709 --> 38:15.987 mentioned the other day martin critics . 38:16.420 --> 38:18.890 Sure it is . Um the case of Mark 38:19.030 --> 38:21.252 because someone is a case that has been 38:21.252 --> 38:23.850 raised repeatedly by our officials from 38:23.850 --> 38:26.140 the State Department and also uh 38:26.150 --> 38:28.930 managed um the State Department is 38:28.930 --> 38:30.763 working closely with the Special 38:30.763 --> 38:32.874 representative , special presidential 38:32.874 --> 38:34.763 envoy for hostage affairs and the 38:34.763 --> 38:36.930 Special Representative for Afghanistan 38:36.930 --> 38:36.590 reconciliation . They've continued to 38:36.590 --> 38:38.590 press the taliban for his release , 38:38.590 --> 38:40.479 continues to raise the status and 38:40.479 --> 38:42.479 senior level engagement in Doha and 38:42.479 --> 38:44.650 Islamabad . Obviously that is overseen 38:44.660 --> 38:46.882 is of great importance to the president 38:46.882 --> 38:48.771 but is overseen in the day to day 38:48.771 --> 38:50.938 operations by the State Department who 38:50.938 --> 38:52.993 would have any additional updates if 38:52.993 --> 38:55.216 there are any thanks jen . So President 38:55.216 --> 38:57.438 biden has said that there is a thorough 38:57.438 --> 38:59.382 securities breeding process at the 38:59.382 --> 39:01.438 airport for everyone who is not a US 39:01.438 --> 39:04.380 citizen or um permanent resident . Uh 39:04.390 --> 39:06.630 so he said that anyone arriving in the 39:06.630 --> 39:08.686 United States would have undergone a 39:08.686 --> 39:10.750 background check . Can you clarify 39:10.750 --> 39:12.806 where this vetting process is taking 39:12.806 --> 39:14.917 place ? Because our sources have said 39:14.917 --> 39:16.806 that the president has instructed 39:16.806 --> 39:19.770 Ambassador Ross Wilson to essentially 39:19.780 --> 39:22.010 be more permissive to just get as many 39:22.020 --> 39:24.440 people on planes first and then later 39:24.450 --> 39:26.339 you can for her . And then I have 39:26.339 --> 39:28.561 another second . I mean , I don't think 39:28.561 --> 39:30.728 that's a secret . Um that is something 39:30.728 --> 39:32.783 we have conveyed clearly and that is 39:32.783 --> 39:34.839 also one of the reasons why we're so 39:34.839 --> 39:37.006 grateful to uh several dozen countries 39:37.006 --> 39:39.228 out there ? Some of whom are serving as 39:39.228 --> 39:41.283 lily pad countries where individuals 39:41.283 --> 39:43.394 are going as for many of them they're 39:43.394 --> 39:45.561 screening process is continuing before 39:45.561 --> 39:47.561 they proceed to the United States . 39:47.561 --> 39:49.339 They correspond from respond to 39:49.339 --> 39:51.228 allegations from groups assisting 39:51.228 --> 39:53.450 evacuations . That is very difficult to 39:53.450 --> 39:55.339 get deserving afghans out because 39:55.339 --> 39:57.228 procedures that were given to the 39:57.228 --> 39:59.339 marines on the ground uh and officers 39:59.339 --> 40:01.172 on the ground changed constantly 40:01.172 --> 40:03.283 sometimes even include , Well I would 40:03.283 --> 40:05.172 first say that it's an incredibly 40:05.172 --> 40:07.117 difficult and challenging security 40:07.117 --> 40:09.339 situation on the ground as is evidenced 40:09.339 --> 40:11.506 by the fact that 13 men and women gave 40:11.506 --> 40:13.672 their lives on Thursday . And we dealt 40:13.672 --> 40:15.839 with rocket attacks overnight . And of 40:15.839 --> 40:18.061 course force posture and the protection 40:18.061 --> 40:17.780 of our troops is going to be a top 40:17.780 --> 40:20.270 priority . But I would note that we've 40:20.270 --> 40:22.750 still evacuated . If you subtract the 40:22.750 --> 40:25.100 nearly 6000 American citizens , that's 40:25.100 --> 40:28.530 114,000 people , many of whom are 40:28.530 --> 40:30.697 Afghans , others are partners who have 40:30.697 --> 40:32.660 evacuated from the country ? S ivy 40:32.660 --> 40:34.760 applicants and others and save their 40:34.760 --> 40:36.982 lives . So that would be my response to 40:36.982 --> 40:39.149 that person . How many of those people 40:39.149 --> 40:41.330 from the 120,000 . When will you give 40:41.330 --> 40:43.590 breakdowns of the nationalities ? How 40:43.590 --> 40:45.534 many are HIV is how many are third 40:45.534 --> 40:47.534 country nationals ? When can we , I 40:47.534 --> 40:49.646 would expect that would come from the 40:49.646 --> 40:49.580 department of homeland Security and 40:49.580 --> 40:51.580 they're working through that now go 40:51.580 --> 40:53.580 ahead . Wildfire . Very done . Like 40:53.580 --> 40:55.802 right now , the administration tracking 40:55.802 --> 40:58.270 its advance , what plans does it have 40:58.280 --> 41:00.880 for this ? And uh , what are your 41:00.880 --> 41:03.320 thoughts on the fires have been going 41:03.320 --> 41:05.376 on right now ? Yes , absolutely . We 41:05.376 --> 41:07.500 are tracking the wildfires um and uh 41:07.510 --> 41:09.343 and ones that have unfortunately 41:09.343 --> 41:11.343 continued in different parts of the 41:11.343 --> 41:13.454 west . It seems over the past several 41:13.454 --> 41:15.621 months , I would note that even as the 41:15.621 --> 41:17.566 president did regular briefings on 41:17.566 --> 41:19.454 hurricane preparedness , which of 41:19.454 --> 41:21.510 course have made us equipped to deal 41:21.510 --> 41:21.230 with the moment . We're facing in the 41:21.230 --> 41:23.290 gulf coats . He also prioritized 41:23.290 --> 41:25.620 preparing for fires and and ensuring 41:25.620 --> 41:27.620 that communities have the resources 41:27.620 --> 41:29.842 they need and that we have the response 41:29.842 --> 41:32.064 needed . I can check with our fema team 41:32.064 --> 41:34.287 and see if there are specific resources 41:34.287 --> 41:36.398 that are being deployed there at this 41:36.398 --> 41:38.342 moment in time and get back to the 41:38.342 --> 41:40.398 administration trying to boost paper 41:40.398 --> 41:39.910 firefighters to get more firefighters 41:39.910 --> 41:42.620 in front line . Absolutely , yeah . Is 41:42.620 --> 41:44.731 the administration confident that the 41:44.731 --> 41:46.898 resources are what's needed given that 41:46.898 --> 41:48.676 initiative ? Well , that is our 41:48.676 --> 41:50.676 objective , but we will continue to 41:50.676 --> 41:52.620 assess if additional resources are 41:52.620 --> 41:54.787 needed . And again , I would note that 41:54.787 --> 41:56.953 when the president came in , he looked 41:56.953 --> 41:59.176 at the impact of wildfires and the fact 41:59.176 --> 42:01.231 that in the past , uh there has been 42:01.231 --> 42:00.870 cases where we didn't have the 42:00.870 --> 42:02.759 resources needed and he wanted to 42:02.759 --> 42:04.926 preemptively take steps to prepare for 42:04.926 --> 42:06.648 that to make sure we had those 42:06.648 --> 42:08.870 resources as we went into fire season ? 42:09.420 --> 42:13.090 Thanks so much Gen one on afghans that 42:13.100 --> 42:15.440 help the United States and helped us 42:15.440 --> 42:17.607 funded Ngos and contractors . Is there 42:17.607 --> 42:19.662 any estimate on how many may be left 42:19.662 --> 42:23.020 behind ? Well , I think you mean 42:23.030 --> 42:25.670 what we're working through right now is 42:25.680 --> 42:28.220 how many left behind who have applied 42:28.220 --> 42:31.430 for programs or behind after the 42:31.440 --> 42:33.440 deadline ? Well , I would say first 42:33.440 --> 42:35.662 jimmy , should I just want to make sure 42:35.662 --> 42:37.662 I understood your question that our 42:37.662 --> 42:39.884 commitment to working with not just any 42:39.884 --> 42:41.718 american citizen who has not yet 42:41.718 --> 42:43.940 decided to leave , but others who stood 42:43.940 --> 42:45.829 by our side fought by our side uh 42:45.829 --> 42:47.996 that's enduring . That will continue . 42:47.996 --> 42:49.940 That is one of the reasons why our 42:49.940 --> 42:52.107 Secretary of State has been so focused 42:52.107 --> 42:54.384 on working with international partners . 42:54.384 --> 42:56.162 Uh assuring that there was this 42:56.162 --> 42:58.218 statement by 100 countries out there 42:58.218 --> 43:00.273 sending a clear message . I had also 43:00.273 --> 43:02.218 noted earlier the statement by the 43:02.218 --> 43:04.162 taliban about safe passage and why 43:04.162 --> 43:03.300 we're working through what the 43:03.300 --> 43:05.356 mechanisms and modes are will be for 43:05.356 --> 43:07.578 our diplomatic presence . Even as we're 43:07.578 --> 43:09.800 not anticipating having one directly on 43:09.800 --> 43:11.856 the ground after the first number it 43:11.856 --> 43:13.967 seems maybe that you're not gonna get 43:13.967 --> 43:13.930 into . I'm wondering . Well , I think 43:13.930 --> 43:16.041 the difficulty of getting to a number 43:16.041 --> 43:18.097 damages that there may be people who 43:18.097 --> 43:20.263 haven't even applied yet . So we can't 43:20.263 --> 43:22.430 count those people if they're eligible 43:22.430 --> 43:22.260 then well and they want to depart . 43:22.260 --> 43:24.430 We'll work with them to that . What is 43:24.430 --> 43:26.652 the president's message to veterans who 43:26.652 --> 43:28.708 are feeling even hurt or maybe a bit 43:28.708 --> 43:30.874 embarrassed people that I've talked to 43:30.874 --> 43:32.986 who say that they feel like there are 43:32.986 --> 43:35.208 people who help them even in some cases 43:35.208 --> 43:35.110 saved their lives , who are now being 43:35.110 --> 43:36.943 left behind after the deadline , 43:36.943 --> 43:38.888 whether it's tonight or tomorrow . 43:39.200 --> 43:41.367 What's the message ? What message from 43:41.367 --> 43:43.644 the President to these veterans ? Well , 43:43.644 --> 43:45.867 first we've been closely engaged with a 43:45.867 --> 43:48.033 range of veterans groups because we're 43:48.033 --> 43:50.089 grateful of course for their service 43:50.089 --> 43:52.311 and also for their advocacy for so many 43:52.311 --> 43:53.922 of these brave translators , 43:53.922 --> 43:55.700 interpreters and others tens of 43:55.700 --> 43:57.922 thousands of whom we've evacuated . But 43:57.922 --> 44:00.144 you're right , there could be some that 44:00.144 --> 44:01.978 are still there Who may not have 44:01.978 --> 44:04.200 applied to have not been able to depart 44:04.200 --> 44:03.810 the country yet . Our message to them 44:03.810 --> 44:05.920 would be we remain committed . These 44:05.920 --> 44:08.200 are partners . These are our allies who 44:08.200 --> 44:10.422 have courageously stood by our side for 44:10.422 --> 44:12.644 the last 20 years . That's why we're so 44:12.644 --> 44:15.000 focused on ensuring we have uh means 44:15.000 --> 44:17.111 and mechanisms of having diplomats on 44:17.111 --> 44:19.167 the ground being able to continue to 44:19.167 --> 44:21.278 process applicants and facilitate the 44:21.278 --> 44:23.278 passage of other people who want to 44:23.278 --> 44:25.222 leave Afghanistan On the hurricane 44:25.222 --> 44:27.333 Louisiana is gonna see highs of 80s . 44:27.333 --> 44:29.278 There are reports of no water , no 44:29.278 --> 44:31.389 power . How what's the plan to get to 44:31.389 --> 44:33.278 people who may not have cellphone 44:33.278 --> 44:35.444 servers who who may not have access to 44:35.444 --> 44:37.444 the internet who are stuck in their 44:37.444 --> 44:40.090 homes given the circumstances that they 44:40.090 --> 44:42.146 need , dealing with ? Well , this is 44:42.146 --> 44:44.257 why I did such an extensive laid down 44:44.257 --> 44:46.423 in the beginning because as you know , 44:46.423 --> 44:48.590 it's not just one thing right ? We are 44:48.590 --> 44:51.390 working to working with um with uh with 44:51.390 --> 44:53.557 companies who uh to get the power back 44:53.557 --> 44:55.557 on that could take weeks . We don't 44:55.557 --> 44:57.612 know . We have also preemptively had 44:57.612 --> 45:00.310 set up a range of resources , food , 45:00.320 --> 45:02.431 water and other resources that we can 45:02.431 --> 45:04.653 get to people on the ground and we have 45:04.653 --> 45:07.830 deployed and across government entities 45:07.830 --> 45:11.010 and resources whether it's from fema to 45:11.020 --> 45:13.240 health and human services to the Coast 45:13.240 --> 45:15.462 Guard to get out to communities to save 45:15.462 --> 45:17.650 lives , to recover , to get people to 45:17.660 --> 45:19.660 food water and assistance that they 45:19.660 --> 45:22.640 need . Go ahead . Ok , last one you got 45:22.650 --> 45:25.510 you got under darling's uh you know , 45:25.520 --> 45:27.690 thumb there . Thank you . Two quick 45:27.690 --> 45:30.140 ones . The Washington post reports that 45:30.150 --> 45:33.130 the taliban offered stay out of kabul 45:33.140 --> 45:35.600 and let the United States forces secure 45:35.600 --> 45:37.850 the city . We told them that we only 45:37.850 --> 45:40.072 need at the airport . Is that reporting 45:40.072 --> 45:41.850 accurate ? I have not seen this 45:41.850 --> 45:44.017 reporting . I have to look at it . And 45:44.017 --> 45:46.140 then I'm a moment ago you said that 45:46.150 --> 45:48.317 some of the reporting about the United 45:48.317 --> 45:50.490 States giving lists of the names of 45:50.500 --> 45:53.310 afghans or S . I . V . Or americans too . 45:53.790 --> 45:56.790 The taliban was inaccurate at times and 45:56.790 --> 45:58.957 misconstrued , I'm wondering if if you 45:58.957 --> 46:00.901 can just clarify a little bit more 46:00.901 --> 46:03.270 because last week the President said 46:03.270 --> 46:05.270 that you know , there has sometimes 46:05.270 --> 46:07.270 been instances where maybe a bus is 46:07.270 --> 46:09.492 coming through and some names have been 46:09.492 --> 46:12.930 given , but then he also added that I 46:12.930 --> 46:15.097 can't tell you with any certitude that 46:15.097 --> 46:17.319 there's actually been a list of names . 46:17.319 --> 46:19.319 There may have been , but I know of 46:19.319 --> 46:21.486 circumstance , I think that's entirely 46:21.486 --> 46:23.708 consistent with what I just said . What 46:23.708 --> 46:25.874 I for several minutes ago , what I was 46:25.874 --> 46:27.980 conveying is that reports or 46:27.980 --> 46:29.869 suggestions that we were giving a 46:29.869 --> 46:32.430 preemptive , proactive list of afghans 46:32.430 --> 46:34.597 or any individuals who wanted to leave 46:34.597 --> 46:36.319 the country to the taliban are 46:36.319 --> 46:38.597 inaccurate and what the President said . 46:38.597 --> 46:40.374 And what I also said , maybe in 46:40.374 --> 46:42.374 slightly different phrasing is that 46:42.374 --> 46:45.140 there could be cases were on the ground 46:45.150 --> 46:47.206 commanders who are coordinating with 46:47.206 --> 46:49.094 the Taliban to get people through 46:49.094 --> 46:51.261 checkpoints to get saved their lives , 46:51.261 --> 46:53.150 get them evacuated . We're saying 46:53.150 --> 46:55.039 here's individuals we need to get 46:55.039 --> 46:56.983 through and in any case that we're 46:56.983 --> 46:59.261 aware of those individuals got through . 46:59.261 --> 47:01.317 But again , these are these are this 47:01.317 --> 47:03.372 coordination that's happening on the 47:03.372 --> 47:05.483 ground . And I think we can all agree 47:05.483 --> 47:07.317 there's a big difference between 47:07.317 --> 47:09.483 providing a list of people who want to 47:09.483 --> 47:11.539 depart uh proactively and working at 47:11.539 --> 47:13.206 the moment on the ground in a 47:13.206 --> 47:15.490 coordinated tactical way to get people 47:15.490 --> 47:17.712 out and evacuate and save their lives . 47:17.712 --> 47:20.010 Prudential on the ground decision 47:20.020 --> 47:22.190 rather than a general massive list . 47:22.200 --> 47:24.210 Absolutely , thank you everyone