Pentagon Holds Press Briefing As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Visits Washington, D.C.

3 months ago

Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder holds a press briefing.

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00:00Everyone, I think it's Tuesday. All right, just a few things on the top here, and then I'll get

00:06right to your questions. As we announced yesterday, Secretary Austin will depart this Friday for a

00:11trip to both Japan and the Philippines. This will be his 11th visit to the Indo-Pacific region as

00:17Secretary of Defense. In Tokyo, the Secretary will participate in the 2024 U.S.-Japan Security

00:24Consultative Committee and a historic trilateral ministerial meeting with Japan and South Korea.

00:30He'll also meet with senior Japanese officials. In Manila, Secretary Austin and Secretary of State

00:36Antony Blinken will participate in the fourth U.S.-Philippines 2-plus-2 ministerial dialogue

00:42with their Philippine counterparts. The trip underscores the U.S. commitment to strengthening

00:46alliances in the Indo-Pacific region for peace and stability. And following his return from the

00:52Indo-Pacific, Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken will host their Australian counterparts

00:57in Annapolis, Maryland on August 6th for the 2024 Australia-U.S. ministerial consultations.

01:04We'll have much more to provide on the Secretary's upcoming trip and the Australia-U.S.

01:08ministerial consultations in the near future. Separately, Secretary Austin hosted Estonian

01:14Minister of Defense Hannu Pevkur here at the Pentagon earlier today to discuss a range of

01:19regional and bilateral issues. The discussions underscored the importance of maintaining NATO

01:25alliance unity and countering Russian aggression in Ukraine. The two leaders also emphasized the

01:31need to strengthen NATO's credible deterrence and defense, highlighting the importance of

01:36continued joint exercises to enhance interoperability and efficiency between military forces.

01:42Additionally, they discussed the U.S. commitment to a persistent rotational presence in the Baltics,

01:48increased defense production to support Ukraine and replenish Allied munitions and equipment stocks,

01:53and the outcomes of the recent Washington NATO summit. A readout of the meeting will be posted

01:58to the DOD website. Secretary Austin also spoke by phone today with Ukrainian Minister of Defense

02:04Rustam Umarov. During the call, the Secretary reaffirmed the unwavering support of the United

02:09States for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The two leaders also discussed

02:14the outcomes of the NATO summit in Washington and the steps Allies are taking to support Ukraine.

02:20Minister Umarov provided Secretary Austin an update of dynamics on the ground in Ukraine

02:25as Ukraine's forces bravely continue to fight Russian aggression. A readout will be posted to

02:29defense.gov later today. And finally, the 2024 U.S.-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue

02:36concludes today after two days of senior-level working group meetings and dialogue exchange

02:41focused on both nations' commitment to strengthening our important bilateral strategic relationship.

02:47Secretary Austin will host Iraqi Minister of Defense Tawheed al-Abbasi in the Pentagon this

02:52afternoon to discuss the U.S.-Iraq bilateral defense relationship and the efforts of the

02:57Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue and Higher Military Commission. We'll provide readouts of

03:02both of these as soon as they become available. And with that, glad to take your questions. I

03:06know we've got AP on the phone, so we'll go to Tariqa. Hello, thank you. I wanted to know if

03:14Secretary Austin will be sitting in on any meetings between Netanyahu and White House

03:20officials this week, and if any discussions are on the table about increased weapons for Israel,

03:28either offensive weapons in Gaza or increased defense weapons like for Iron Dome. Thanks.

03:34Yeah, thanks, Tara. I don't have any meetings to read out at this time.

03:38If with the Secretary and the Prime Minister, if that changes, certainly we'll let you know.

03:44And nothing to announce at this time in terms of any security, additional security assistance

03:52or increased FMS. Is the 2,000-pound bomb still held up? Is that still the one shipment that has

04:00not been sent to Israel? Correct. There's the one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs that is still

04:07paused. Go to Idris. Just on the Iraq, meeting between Iraqi and U.S. officials,

04:13is there a sort of goal to have some sort of agreement by the end of the meetings,

04:18by the end of the visit by the Iraqi minister on the transition away from the coalition to

04:24a bilateral relationship? Or is that something that doesn't need to happen as a result of the

04:29meetings? Yeah, so again, we'll have a readout in terms of the outcomes of the Joint Security

04:36Cooperation Dialogue. And really, as we've talked about before, so kind of two separate things,

04:42all interrelated. The JSCD, I have to use an acronym because this is the DoD,

04:51is a forum by where we can discuss our bilateral security relationship. Of course,

04:59the Higher Military Commission was created out of last year's Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue.

05:06And so really what they do, Idris, is they provide a forum to discuss not only our bilateral security

05:11relationship, but in the context of the coalition in Iraq, what the transition of that will look

05:17like going forward. So right now, I don't have anything to read out in terms of decisions or

05:23timelines. But of course, you know, recognizing that that is a continued topic of interest,

05:27we'll be sure to keep you updated on that. Thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you, General Patrick. So is

05:33the purpose of the discussion with Iraqis, this building, to end the role of the coalition,

05:39the international coalition? Well, again, you know, just if you go back to Prime Minister

05:46Sudani's visit to Washington, D.C. earlier this year, they affirmed that we would review the

05:53factors to determine when and how the mission of the global coalition in Iraq would end

05:58and transition in an orderly manner to ensure or to an enduring bilateral security partnership.

06:05This is all, of course, in accordance with Iraq's constitution and the U.S.-Iraq Strategic

06:10Framework Agreement of 2008. So the Higher Military Commission is looking at that transition,

06:18what that will look like in the context of the threat that ISIS pose, operational considerations,

06:25as well as Iraqi security forces' capacity. And so again, nothing to announce right now. We'll

06:31be sure to keep you updated on this. One more, if you don't mind, on ISIS. Recently, Suncom

06:36released its six-month activities in both Iraq and Syria, including Kurdistan region,

06:42that conducted 196 operations against ISIS. And on the contrary, ISIS launched 153 attacks

06:49in both countries. So in the discussions, did you consider the threats of ISIS?

06:56You know, again, without previewing the readout, I mean, certainly, I mean, this is a core function

07:03of this group, is to look at the threat that ISIS poses to the region and also with the eye

07:09towards Iraq's important role when it comes to regional stability. Thank you very much. Tom.

07:16Hi. Hi, Gerald. Thanks for doing this. It's quite wordy, isn't it, the descriptions that you're

07:21coming up with in terms of the transition in an orderly manner to ensure an enduring bilateral

07:28security partnership. Can you put that more in layman's terms? Like, what is a bilateral security

07:33partnership, if not troops? Well, first of all, the global coalition is more than just the United

07:40States and Iraq, right? CJTF-OIR represents, you know, dozens and dozens of countries that have

07:46come together to address the threat of ISIS. And so what we're talking about here is the

07:52transition of the coalition, which again, is more than just the United States, but also

07:58through the Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue, with an eye towards the US-Iraq bilateral security

08:04relationship. What does that relationship look like? So that's what I'm talking about. And I

08:08do appreciate the commentary on my wordy responses. Security partnership, could that continue with US

08:13troops on the ground? Or is that? Well, I think, again, the US-Iraq bilateral security relationship

08:21is one thing. And the global coalition, which is US-led right now in the region, what does that

08:31look like going forward? Again, taking into account the three factors that I highlighted.

08:37Okay. So, all right. I didn't really hear an answer there, but it's okay. Like, so in terms

08:42of the, in terms of, sorry to beat a dead horse here. With the US-Iraq bilateral security agreement,

08:48could that include a continuing presence of American troops?

08:53Well, again, I don't want to get ahead of the process. That's the discussions that are ongoing,

08:57is what would that relationship look like under the auspices of the security or the strategic

09:03or the strategic framework agreement going forward? So again, I, you know, it's a very

09:10well put question, very eloquently stated. I just can't answer it. Thanks. Yes, sir.

09:16Thanks. Last week, General Brown said the, in response to the, to the attack in Iraq,

09:25which the Pentagon attributed to an Iran-backed group, he said that the US would respond at a

09:31time and place of its choosing. Previously, you guys have said we reserve the right to do so.

09:36Does that mean, can we interpret that as a decision has been made that the US will respond?

09:41Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for the question, Joseph. So, you know, I'm not going to forecast or telegraph

09:46any potential future operations. I think what the chairman was saying, and he's right, is that we

09:51always reserve the right to respond at a time and place of our choosing, and that we will put the

09:56protection of our forces first and foremost, the safety of our forces. So I'll just leave it there.

10:02And then secondly, the Yemen's Houthis this morning have put out a new list of targets that

10:11they may attack in Israel. Among them includes the, what they say is the port of Ashdod, where

10:17the US has transitioned the Gaza pier to the port of Ashdod for humanitarian aid.

10:24One, are you guys taking these threats seriously too? Is there any concern that

10:29any US assets could be in danger apart from the Red Sea? Obviously, that's attacks have been going

10:34on. So a couple things. So I think as demonstrated by our actions in the region, we're absolutely

10:42taking any Houthi threats seriously and continue to work with allies and partners to degrade and

10:48disrupt their capability to launch attacks in the Red Sea and in the region. As it relates to,

10:57you know, the potential impact on US forces, as I just highlighted, we'll take all necessary

11:01measures to ensure that our forces are protected and take appropriate actions. But again, I won't

11:07get into potential future actions. Just a few slides quickly. Sources have

11:13just told us that the US shot down either drones or missiles as part of the Houthi attack on Tel

11:21Aviv where one drone obviously got through. Can you confirm or deny that the US shot down any

11:26or helped in the self-defense? Yeah, I don't have anything to provide beyond what CENTCOM

11:31has already put out in their daily CENTCOM updates. So just leave it there. Let me just

11:37go to the phone here real quick. WTOP, JJ Green. Yeah, General, thank you for this opportunity.

11:47Earlier today, BBC reported NATO Chief Stoltenberg said that Europe should be prepared for a decade

11:54of war in Ukraine. A decade of war is not sure that the West is prepared for that. But I'm

12:06wondering, how far, how long is the Pentagon prepared to stand by Ukraine, considering this

12:14the statement and the conditions on the ground? Yeah, thanks, JJ. Well, I think, you know, our

12:22leadership has been clear on this, that we're going to stand by Ukraine, we're going to support

12:26their security and their inherent right to defend themselves. Of course, no one wants to see this

12:32war continue. But as long as Russia continues to occupy sovereign Ukrainian territory, and as long

12:40as the Ukrainians continue to fight against Russian aggression, and for freedom, the United

12:47States will continue to support as we've done since the beginning of Russia's illegal invasion.

12:53And as you've heard Secretary Austin say, you know, Ukraine matters, the security of Ukraine

12:58matters, because if Russia is allowed to succeed in Ukraine, they won't stop there. And so this is,

13:04of course, of vital importance in terms of not only European security, but U.S. and international

13:10security. Thank you. Come back there. Yes, ma'am. Back to the Iraqi and U.S. bilateral meeting.

13:18During the process of estimation to determine the capability of the Iraqi forces,

13:25that do you think that now it's time to have the U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq based on

13:32the capability of the Iraqi forces now? Well, again, I won't get ahead of the

13:38discussions within the Higher Military Commission and their recommendations to the senior leaders

13:44of both of our countries, Iraq and the United States. So again, we'll continue to keep you

13:51updated on that front. The United States is committed to having a continuing bilateral

13:56security cooperation relationship with Iraq. We are fully supportive of Iraq and its important

14:02role in regional stability and greatly respect Iraq as a partner and also respect Iraq's

14:09sovereignty. So again, we'll have much more to provide in the near future. Sir.

14:14Thank you, sir. My question is that after President Biden's announcement that he's no

14:20longer running for the second term and he fully endorsed and supported the Vice President Kamala

14:26Harris for the presidential or for the party's nomination. My question is that, number one,

14:34U.S. never had a female president or commander-in-chief. If this building or military

14:40is ready for a female commander-in-chief and two, if Secretary is getting any messages from around

14:46the globe as far as this announcement is concerned, how they feel about this, maybe

14:51U.S. will have a female president? Yeah, thanks for the question. As I'm sure you can appreciate,

14:57I'm not going to get into political campaigns from here. The Pentagon, of course, will always

15:04support the commander-in-chief as elected by the people of the United States.

15:09And so I'll just leave it there. Thanks very much, sir.

15:13Thank you, General. How is the Pentagon observing the ongoing student protest in Bangladesh,

15:20where mass killings are being carried out by security forces under shoot-on-sight orders

15:26from the ruling prime minister? Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured. The internet

15:32has been shut down and nationwide curfew been declared. People are demanding the resignation

15:38of the prime minister and the military is on the street. Security forces are using UN-marked

15:46armored personnel vehicle, which has been condemned by the UN. So what is your observations?

15:51Yeah, sure. Of course, we're continuing to monitor the ongoing situation there. I would say,

15:58you know, to echo what my colleagues at State Department have said is that we would call for

16:05calm and certainly don't want to see continued violence. So I'll just leave it there. Thank you.

16:12One follow-up, if I may. As U.S. is the largest donor for the peacekeeping support to the UN,

16:18and those individuals who are violating extreme, involved in extreme violation of human rights in

16:25their own country, they are deploying to the UN peacekeeping mission. So what is your observation?

16:30Those who are not able to maintain peace in their own country, how can they?

16:33Yeah, again, I don't have much to provide from the podium here other than,

16:37again, you know, we obviously don't want to see violence increase. We, of course,

16:43want there to be calm and recognition of human rights. And so I'll just leave it there, sir.

16:50Thank you, General. Greek government minister Georgiades said on television the other day that

16:56they might raid the Turkish capital with the F-35s that they're going to acquire from the

17:01United States. Would you say that such statements from one NATO ally to the other are nothing but

17:06irresponsible? I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.

17:10You said the F-35s that they're going to acquire from the United States, that they might raid the

17:15Turkish capital, those F-35s might appear suddenly one night in Turkey. So how would you evaluate

17:22that statement? Would you say that that's irresponsible from one NATO ally to the other?

17:28Yeah, I haven't seen that out there. So I don't have a comment other than,

17:35you know, again, we would always want our NATO allies to work together and would not condone

17:43violence. So historically, the United States has kept a fine balance in providing defense

17:49equipment to the Turks and the Greek. Would you say that that balance has been tipped in

17:55one size favor because it's making one of the NATO allies, those two, making them talk about,

18:01you know, about the capabilities that they haven't even acquired?

18:05Yeah.

18:05Is the first of the raids going to take years?

18:08So what I would say is, first of all, when it comes to the relationship between Greece and

18:14Turkey, I'd let Greece and Turkey talk to you and characterize the relationship. I would say from

18:20where we sit, we certainly value our partnership and alliance with both Turkey and Greece,

18:26and certainly appreciate the efforts that have gone into addressing some of the areas of mutual

18:32concern. And I'll just leave it there. Thank you very much. Ma'am.

18:38Thank you, ma'am.

18:41Janie, how are you?

18:42Thank you very much. I thought you forgot my name.

18:45You got to call me Pat now then.

18:47Okay. Ukraine, China, and North Korea. And the Ukraine foreign minister will visit China today

18:57at the visitation of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. Do you think China can play a role in

19:06stopping Russia's aggression against Ukraine?

19:11You know, it's an interesting question, Janie. So, you know, certainly, as I mentioned before,

19:20we don't want to see the conflict in Ukraine go on forever. We want to see peace in Ukraine,

19:29but it has to come in terms that are acceptable to Ukraine. You know, no decisions about Ukraine

19:36without Ukraine. And so China can play a productive role in terms of addressing

19:44Russia's malign and illegal activity in Ukraine. And so certainly, if they're able to compel Russia

19:52to withdraw its forces and enable the restoration of peace, I think that would be a positive

19:59development. But certainly, when it comes to the Ukrainian foreign minister and his conversations

20:06with his Chinese counterparts, I'd have to refer you to Ukraine.

20:10Another one. The Russian vice minister of defense is visiting North Korea currently. It was also

20:18announced that weapons and defense industries were discussed as a follow up to military

20:29cooperation with North Korea and Russia. How can you comment on this?

20:35Well, again, it's concerning that we continue to see North Korea and Russia further cooperating

20:44as it relates to the war in Ukraine. Again, as we've said many times, it's demonstrative of the

20:50fact that Russia is now having to seek support from countries like Iran and North Korea in order

20:57to obtain additional capabilities as they've experienced some logistical challenges. And so

21:05it's something we'll continue to keep a close eye on. Okay, let me come back to the room here. Louis.

21:10A couple of questions on the coalition that you're referencing. Is that the global coalition

21:14against ISIS? Correct.

21:15Okay. So the US presence has been acknowledged to be about 2,500 military personnel in whatever

21:23capacity inside Iraq. What is the complementary number of troops from the rest of the global

21:29coalition? I'd have to get back to you on that. I don't have that number in front of me. Now,

21:34you're talking about in Iraq?

21:35In Iraq.

21:36Yeah. So when it comes to the number of forces of other countries, that's something we really let

21:44other countries address. So I'm only going to speak to the US in that regard. Yeah, I'll just

21:50leave it there.

21:51And so these discussions are specifically about the coalition's presence inside Iraq and not

21:55necessarily that the coalition itself will be done or that its mission is complete, correct?

22:00Well, again, this is something that the higher military commission is looking at, right,

22:05in terms of the three factors that I highlighted. What is the threat of ISIS? What are the

22:10operational requirements? And then what is the status of the ISF as it relates to being prepared

22:19to address the ISIS threat? And so that's not to say that members of the coalition can't play an

22:27important role, whatever that may be, as it relates to Iraq's preferences in terms of addressing

22:34ISIS. And so that's part of those discussions. Again, recognizing the fact that it's not just

22:40the United States, this is an international coalition that 10 years ago came together

22:45to defeat ISIS. And so part of this is ensuring that ISIS can't resurge. We know that they remain

22:54committed to resurging, and we know that they remain committed to directing and inspiring

22:59attacks. And so I think it's a very positive development that the HMC, as a forum, is able

23:06to come together and look at this holistically, also with an eye towards our own U.S.-Iraq

23:13bilateral security relationship. And if I could switch gears towards JLATS.

23:18Since we're close to the 31st, which is the end of the authorization date,

23:23are those components now heading back to the U.S., or when can we expect them to be?

23:30So the JLATS components are being packed up. I'm not going to, for operations security reasons and

23:40policy reasons, I'm not going to get into specific redeployment timelines. But as we briefed

23:46recently, as Admiral Cooper from CENTCOM briefed recently, the JLATS mission has concluded.

23:54He said mission complete.

23:56I'm saying it has concluded.

23:58Thank you. Jared.

24:01If I could follow up on Joe's question. How concerned is the department that these Israeli

24:06strikes in Yemen and vice versa could lead to additional escalation? Or is there confidence

24:11within the department that this is still largely contained?

24:15Yeah. So a couple of things here. So again, we've always been concerned about regional escalation

24:22and remain so. And so we'll continue to do, you know, take appropriate steps to deter potential

24:30and expansion of regional conflict, you know, both through our force presence,

24:35but also importantly through diplomatic means. I think you heard the Israelis say they had been

24:40targeted by the Houthis over 200 times. Obviously, the vast majority of those

24:46attacks were taken down through air defense capabilities. And one got through. So we

24:52absolutely support their inherent right to defend themselves against these kinds of attacks.

24:57But to answer your question, yes, we will remain focused on trying to prevent a wider

25:03regional conflict.

25:04Did the U.S. advise the Israelis against striking within Yemen?

25:08Uh, look, there was no U.S. involvement in this, in their strike. Again, they gave us

25:15advance notice that they were going to do it. I won't go into more detail beyond that,

25:20other than there was no U.S. involvement, and we support their right to defend themselves.

25:24Okay. We can take a couple more. Let me go to Jeff Schogol, Task and Purpose.

25:34Are you there?

25:37Okay. Nothing heard. All right. Thanks very much, everybody. Appreciate your time today.

Pentagon Holds Press Briefing As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Visits Washington, D.C.

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