WEBVTT 00:00.140 --> 00:01.140 mm hmm . 00:07.940 --> 00:11.770 So just a couple of things at the 00:11.770 --> 00:13.860 top here , as you've no doubt heard 00:14.740 --> 00:17.310 last night , us special operations 00:17.310 --> 00:19.310 forces under the control of U . S . 00:19.310 --> 00:20.866 Central command conducted a 00:20.866 --> 00:22.977 counterterrorism mission in Northwest 00:22.977 --> 00:25.080 Syria that resulted in the death of 00:25.090 --> 00:28.510 ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al 00:28.510 --> 00:31.260 Karachi , also known as Haji Abdullah . 00:32.340 --> 00:35.570 How'd you do ? It was a very hands on 00:35.570 --> 00:38.970 leader um , and uh involved 00:38.980 --> 00:41.850 uh in many day to day operations of 00:41.850 --> 00:45.640 ISIS and certainly uh keenly interested 00:45.650 --> 00:48.050 in restoring 00:49.590 --> 00:52.360 the lethality 00:53.240 --> 00:56.360 uh and the higher optempo that ISIS had 00:56.360 --> 00:59.560 once enjoyed . So his death , 01:00.540 --> 01:03.320 we believe dealt a significant blow 01:04.000 --> 01:06.860 to ISIS . You've already heard from the 01:06.860 --> 01:10.040 President this morning . And I think 01:10.040 --> 01:12.151 you've probably seen a statement that 01:12.151 --> 01:14.207 Secretary Austin put out joining the 01:14.207 --> 01:15.818 president and commending the 01:15.818 --> 01:17.707 professionalism and the skill the 01:17.707 --> 01:19.762 readiness exhibited by our forces in 01:19.762 --> 01:22.910 this operation , particularly with the 01:22.910 --> 01:26.050 extensive regard towards safeguarding 01:26.290 --> 01:28.820 innocent life that we knew it was 01:28.820 --> 01:31.150 located there at the target's location . 01:32.160 --> 01:34.382 And while the cowardly actions of Hajji 01:34.382 --> 01:36.327 Abdullah and a small number of His 01:36.327 --> 01:38.438 followers resulted in the death , the 01:38.438 --> 01:40.950 tragic death of at least three innocent 01:41.440 --> 01:43.551 civilians , the calculated efforts of 01:43.551 --> 01:46.680 our forces succeeded in protecting more 01:46.680 --> 01:49.880 than 10 women Children and babies . 01:50.640 --> 01:53.700 These efforts included a deliberate 01:53.700 --> 01:56.890 decision by the president to execute a 01:56.890 --> 01:59.780 raid on the location as opposed to an 01:59.780 --> 02:02.560 airstrike . Despite the additional risk 02:03.000 --> 02:05.930 that that decision put on our forces . 02:08.030 --> 02:11.470 And as I think you've probably seen in 02:11.470 --> 02:13.692 addition to all that as they got to the 02:13.692 --> 02:17.050 site , they called out 02:17.740 --> 02:20.960 to everyone in the in the building and 02:20.960 --> 02:23.560 giving them an opportunity to leave 02:23.560 --> 02:27.390 peacefully quietly . Uh and uh for 02:27.390 --> 02:29.700 abdullah to surrender himself , of 02:29.700 --> 02:31.700 course he chose a different route . 02:32.540 --> 02:34.818 While there were no U . S . Casualties , 02:36.040 --> 02:38.040 one of our helicopters did suffer a 02:38.040 --> 02:41.350 mechanical failure early on 02:42.250 --> 02:44.490 in the infiltration phase of the 02:44.490 --> 02:47.660 operation . The helicopter was able to 02:47.660 --> 02:51.010 depart the target location and land at 02:51.020 --> 02:54.460 another location further away off site , 02:55.240 --> 02:58.000 but ultimately it was determined that 02:58.440 --> 03:01.560 further use of the helicopter was not 03:01.570 --> 03:03.580 practical , uh and in fact could be 03:03.580 --> 03:06.010 dangerous . Uh and so General Mackenzie 03:06.010 --> 03:08.121 made the decision that the helicopter 03:08.121 --> 03:11.060 should be abandoned uh and uh and 03:11.060 --> 03:13.171 detonated so it could be destroyed in 03:13.171 --> 03:17.170 place . Um So Moving forward , I'm 03:17.170 --> 03:19.170 sure you've got lots of questions . 03:19.170 --> 03:21.392 I'll do the best I can to answer them . 03:21.392 --> 03:23.448 I want to remind you that this is an 03:23.448 --> 03:25.726 operation that is not yet 24 hours old . 03:25.740 --> 03:27.573 So while we will provide as much 03:27.573 --> 03:30.760 context as we can to you um I suspect 03:30.770 --> 03:32.659 as you all covered these kinds of 03:32.659 --> 03:34.826 things before that we will continue to 03:34.826 --> 03:37.103 learn more information as time goes on . 03:37.103 --> 03:39.214 We are still reviewing the results of 03:39.214 --> 03:41.214 this operation , We are still going 03:41.214 --> 03:43.326 through the after action process that 03:43.326 --> 03:45.437 we always do . We will do the best we 03:45.437 --> 03:48.050 can to to provide you as much context . 03:48.060 --> 03:50.460 I also would add and I'm saying this as 03:50.460 --> 03:52.516 a bit of a disclaimer here before we 03:52.516 --> 03:54.627 begin taking questions that there are 03:54.627 --> 03:56.849 still operational security matters that 03:56.849 --> 03:58.960 we're just not gonna be able to speak 03:58.960 --> 04:01.310 to . We obviously take these kinds of 04:01.310 --> 04:03.477 missions very seriously . We obviously 04:03.477 --> 04:05.643 want to be able to continue to conduct 04:05.643 --> 04:07.810 these kinds of operations because ISIS 04:07.810 --> 04:09.977 remains a threat . So there's going to 04:09.977 --> 04:12.199 be some information um uh that you will 04:12.199 --> 04:14.199 want to know that we are simply not 04:14.199 --> 04:16.366 going to be able to provide so that we 04:16.366 --> 04:18.588 can preserve our flexibility to conduct 04:18.588 --> 04:18.560 these sorts of operations going forward 04:18.570 --> 04:21.490 with that , john thank you . A couple 04:21.490 --> 04:24.320 questions on the civilians . Um if I 04:24.320 --> 04:26.042 heard you , did you I hear you 04:26.042 --> 04:28.209 correctly , that you said you Verified 04:28.209 --> 04:30.750 three civilians were killed . And also 04:31.140 --> 04:33.830 could you elaborate on perhaps explain 04:33.830 --> 04:36.370 a little further what Secretary Austen 04:36.370 --> 04:38.426 meant in his written statement about 04:38.426 --> 04:40.759 looking into the possibility that U . S . 04:40.759 --> 04:42.814 Actions may have resulted in harm to 04:42.814 --> 04:44.537 civilians . What exactly is he 04:44.537 --> 04:47.840 referring to ? So we know that uh that 04:47.840 --> 04:51.610 when abdullah detonated an explosive 04:51.610 --> 04:55.440 device which obviously killed him , uh 04:55.450 --> 04:58.960 we know that there were three people on 04:58.960 --> 05:01.210 that third floor with him that were 05:01.210 --> 05:04.860 also killed His wife and two 05:04.860 --> 05:08.680 Children . Um uh and so that's what I'm 05:08.680 --> 05:10.680 talking about when I talk about the 05:10.680 --> 05:13.690 three , We also know as I said that we 05:13.690 --> 05:16.400 were able to safely evacuate 10 05:16.410 --> 05:19.490 individuals , six from the first floor , 05:19.500 --> 05:21.460 an adult male and adult female 05:23.360 --> 05:27.040 and and four Children and then four 05:27.040 --> 05:30.010 Children from the second floor , which 05:30.070 --> 05:32.990 our forces were able to safely get to 05:32.990 --> 05:35.930 get out of the building on that second 05:35.930 --> 05:39.210 floor where uh one of Abdullah's 05:39.220 --> 05:43.020 lieutenant's engaged our forces , um 05:43.770 --> 05:47.460 actually one of his lieutenants and 05:47.950 --> 05:50.920 the lieutenant's wife firing back at 05:50.920 --> 05:54.140 our forces . Uh they were killed . Uh 05:54.150 --> 05:58.060 and uh and it appears as if a 05:58.070 --> 06:00.126 child was also killed on that second 06:00.126 --> 06:02.070 floor . And that's for your second 06:02.070 --> 06:05.580 question . I mean , um Mhm . We're 06:05.580 --> 06:09.030 always mindful of the potential for 06:09.190 --> 06:11.560 civilian harm or harm to innocent life . 06:12.040 --> 06:16.030 And while the strong indications are 06:16.030 --> 06:19.890 here is that that the life that the 06:19.890 --> 06:22.090 lives taken in this operation , the 06:22.090 --> 06:24.090 lives of innocence taken in this 06:24.090 --> 06:27.100 operation were caused by uh 06:27.110 --> 06:29.280 Abdullah and his decision to blow 06:29.290 --> 06:31.670 himself up and everybody else with him 06:31.670 --> 06:33.726 on that third floor , as well as the 06:33.726 --> 06:35.726 resistance of his lieutenant on the 06:35.726 --> 06:38.230 second floor . Um uh we're willing to 06:38.230 --> 06:40.450 take a look to just examine and make 06:40.450 --> 06:43.440 sure um that there wasn't any action 06:43.440 --> 06:45.496 that we might have taken . That that 06:45.496 --> 06:48.110 that could have also uh caused harm to 06:48.120 --> 06:51.680 innocence in any way . I think we're 06:51.680 --> 06:53.750 just gonna take a look and see . But 06:53.760 --> 06:56.250 but right now , uh the strong strong 06:56.250 --> 06:59.060 indications are that to the degree 06:59.060 --> 07:01.227 there's a loss of innocent life , it's 07:01.227 --> 07:03.449 it's lost caused by Mr Abdullah and his 07:03.449 --> 07:05.782 lieutenant quite confident on the three , 07:05.782 --> 07:07.949 that's only three people , that is the 07:07.949 --> 07:10.200 that's what we have right now bob , I'm 07:10.200 --> 07:12.311 gonna give you what I can right now . 07:12.340 --> 07:14.100 And I think , you know , that 07:14.110 --> 07:16.054 information can change over time . 07:16.054 --> 07:17.832 That's what we have right now . 07:18.390 --> 07:20.612 Additional information on the team that 07:20.612 --> 07:22.668 executed the operation . I'm sorry . 07:22.668 --> 07:24.723 Any additional information about the 07:24.723 --> 07:27.240 team that executed the operation ? No , 07:27.390 --> 07:29.612 I don't have any more information about 07:29.612 --> 07:31.779 the team that executed the operation . 07:31.779 --> 07:33.820 About what kind of support or 07:33.830 --> 07:36.880 cooperation that the sdf provided to 07:36.880 --> 07:39.870 the operation . The sdf were helpful 07:39.950 --> 07:42.560 in um 07:44.040 --> 07:47.010 and enabling our ability to conduct 07:47.010 --> 07:49.121 this operation . But I'm not going to 07:49.121 --> 07:51.970 go into more detail about what that 07:51.970 --> 07:54.137 assistance looked like . I will remind 07:54.137 --> 07:56.137 Pierre that this was a US operation 07:56.540 --> 07:59.100 conducted by U . S . Forces only gen 08:00.160 --> 08:02.830 will anyone get a reward for justice 08:02.830 --> 08:05.052 reward for this tip ? And how long have 08:05.052 --> 08:07.510 you had this intelligence Also , you 08:07.520 --> 08:09.450 referred to the three innocent 08:09.450 --> 08:12.320 civilians , but would the wife of Hajji 08:12.320 --> 08:14.480 Abdullah be considered an innocent 08:14.480 --> 08:17.730 civilian ? Uh you know , I think I'm 08:17.730 --> 08:19.397 just gonna leave it the way I 08:19.397 --> 08:22.210 characterized it , jen . Um um and 08:22.210 --> 08:24.154 again , we're going to continue to 08:24.154 --> 08:27.600 review and look at this . I think I 08:27.600 --> 08:29.822 think I'm just gonna leave it the way I 08:29.822 --> 08:31.989 described it . And as for the reward , 08:31.989 --> 08:34.156 I don't have any updates on that yet . 08:34.156 --> 08:36.267 There was a $10 million dollar reward 08:36.267 --> 08:39.160 on his head . Um but I don't have any 08:39.730 --> 08:42.210 updates on whether that award can or 08:42.220 --> 08:44.109 will be claimed . And then on the 08:44.109 --> 08:46.164 intelligence , I would just tell you 08:46.164 --> 08:49.370 that uh this operation was literally 08:49.370 --> 08:52.640 months in the planning . Um and of 08:52.640 --> 08:56.090 course a strong basis for being able to 08:56.090 --> 08:57.979 conduct an operation like this is 08:57.979 --> 09:00.201 valuable intelligence intelligence that 09:00.201 --> 09:02.312 comes from multiple streams and again 09:02.312 --> 09:04.423 without getting into more detail than 09:04.423 --> 09:08.360 that . Um uh There was as obviously 09:08.360 --> 09:11.000 because of the success of the operation . 09:11.010 --> 09:13.820 I mean the the intelligence was a a 09:13.820 --> 09:17.460 mosaic that allowed us the level of 09:17.840 --> 09:19.960 of awareness and fidelity of 09:19.960 --> 09:22.127 information to be able to conduct this 09:22.127 --> 09:24.293 in the way we did . Was he responsible 09:24.293 --> 09:27.350 for the Abbey Gate bombing ? I don't 09:27.350 --> 09:29.730 have a direct connection to speak to in 09:29.730 --> 09:33.320 terms of that . However , he's the he 09:33.320 --> 09:35.720 was the leader of ISIS and it was an 09:35.720 --> 09:38.210 ISIS K . Attack . But what we do know 09:38.210 --> 09:41.420 is he was hands on kind of leader , 09:41.750 --> 09:45.630 we know that um that he 09:45.640 --> 09:48.010 certainly had knowledge of and 09:48.020 --> 09:51.760 uh was it uh at 09:51.760 --> 09:54.920 least maintaining a level of 09:54.920 --> 09:56.850 situational awareness during the 09:56.850 --> 09:59.350 Hasakah Prison break last week . We 09:59.350 --> 10:01.461 know that he was directly involved in 10:01.461 --> 10:03.406 the massacre in the in the rape of 10:03.406 --> 10:07.190 innocent uh Yazidis back in 2014 . Um 10:07.200 --> 10:10.660 uh mm this is a 10:11.040 --> 10:13.040 this is a man that we should all be 10:13.040 --> 10:15.207 happy is no longer walking on the face 10:15.207 --> 10:18.910 of the Earth court . Did you get D . N . 10:18.910 --> 10:21.132 A . Of him and have a positive DNA . Is 10:21.132 --> 10:23.188 that how you were able to identify ? 10:23.188 --> 10:22.940 Can you tell us a little bit more about 10:22.950 --> 10:24.950 that ? Can you if you got a bunch , 10:24.950 --> 10:27.172 let's take one at a time . Alright . We 10:27.172 --> 10:29.600 were able to identify his body through 10:29.600 --> 10:31.711 fingerprints and D . N . A . Analysis 10:32.640 --> 10:36.330 on site ? Well the fingerprint the 10:36.330 --> 10:38.441 fingerprints were on site . It took a 10:38.441 --> 10:40.274 little bit longer to get the DNA 10:40.274 --> 10:42.330 analysis . So it was a combination . 10:42.330 --> 10:44.386 It's a little more detail about this 10:44.386 --> 10:46.608 firefight that occurred sort of towards 10:46.608 --> 10:48.830 the end of the two hour time frame that 10:48.830 --> 10:48.130 they were on the ground . There are 10:48.130 --> 10:50.130 some locals or something . What was 10:50.130 --> 10:52.241 that ? A couple of people were killed 10:52.241 --> 10:53.963 towards towards the end of the 10:53.963 --> 10:57.460 operation ? Um uh There were um 10:58.440 --> 11:00.607 there was a small group of individuals 11:00.607 --> 11:02.662 approaching the compound . They they 11:02.662 --> 11:05.550 were appropriately deemed as hostile . 11:06.040 --> 11:08.760 Um And they were engaged , they were 11:08.760 --> 11:12.540 engaged and we 11:12.540 --> 11:16.300 know that in that engagement , two 11:16.520 --> 11:19.620 of them were killed . Um and that 11:19.630 --> 11:22.010 resulted in the end of that hostile 11:22.010 --> 11:25.030 activity . The remaining of individuals 11:25.040 --> 11:28.020 left the site on the ground by the air . 11:28.030 --> 11:31.010 I don't know exactly , I know that at 11:31.010 --> 11:33.232 least some engagement came from the air 11:33.232 --> 11:35.343 but I can't be sure that there wasn't 11:35.343 --> 11:37.454 some engagement from the ground , can 11:37.454 --> 11:39.121 you say ? Do you know who the 11:39.121 --> 11:41.232 lieutenant was ? You mentioned he and 11:41.232 --> 11:40.780 his wife were killed and it was just 11:40.780 --> 11:43.350 someone relatively senior . It was it 11:43.350 --> 11:47.170 was a senior lieutenant of Abdullah . I 11:47.180 --> 11:50.750 don't have the name . You could say you 11:50.750 --> 11:53.360 could say it was a deputy and then um 11:53.370 --> 11:56.960 can you was this mission to kill or 11:56.960 --> 11:58.960 capture mission ? Was there ever an 11:58.960 --> 12:01.016 effort to try to take him alive ? Uh 12:01.016 --> 12:03.016 you know , without getting into the 12:03.016 --> 12:05.071 specifics of uh of the orders . This 12:05.071 --> 12:07.680 there was a raid against Abdullah . Um 12:07.690 --> 12:11.590 um and uh again 12:11.590 --> 12:15.420 he decided to kill himself and others 12:15.430 --> 12:18.720 before uh coming into direct contact 12:18.720 --> 12:21.110 with the the assault force uh that he 12:21.110 --> 12:23.020 did not fight back . 12:26.540 --> 12:29.060 The the the the objective was 12:30.740 --> 12:34.380 two finish his leadership of 12:34.380 --> 12:36.491 ISIS and that was achieved . And then 12:36.491 --> 12:38.658 finally the question , I'm sure all of 12:38.658 --> 12:40.602 us are wondering , was there a dog 12:40.602 --> 12:42.713 involved ? What was its name ? And do 12:42.713 --> 12:44.936 you have a photo ? I do not know . I do 12:44.936 --> 12:47.720 not know and I do not know . I'll take 12:47.720 --> 12:51.320 all three . You're welcome . Louis john , 12:51.330 --> 12:54.210 why did the mission take two hours ? 12:54.500 --> 12:56.778 For what what was the process ? I mean , 12:56.778 --> 12:59.100 was there a calculated process to get 12:59.100 --> 13:02.660 civilians out of this building ? Was 13:02.660 --> 13:04.771 that a part of the delay ? Because it 13:04.771 --> 13:06.938 sounds like two hours on the ground is 13:06.938 --> 13:08.882 quite a long time for one of these 13:08.882 --> 13:10.882 kinds of missions . So it's a great 13:10.882 --> 13:12.882 question , louis first of all , the 13:12.882 --> 13:14.882 plan was to have them there for two 13:14.882 --> 13:16.993 hours uh , From the get go , the plan 13:16.993 --> 13:20.990 was for two hours on site . And it 13:20.990 --> 13:24.750 speaks to the level of care that 13:25.440 --> 13:28.200 US Special operations forces used in 13:28.200 --> 13:32.130 this mission which was designed 13:32.140 --> 13:35.680 to preserve innocent life . 13:35.690 --> 13:39.210 Um I uh to go to the site as they did . 13:39.220 --> 13:41.164 First of all , it was securing and 13:41.164 --> 13:45.070 isolating the site . Then it was to 13:45.070 --> 13:48.660 get innocence . And quite frankly to 13:48.660 --> 13:51.660 encourage mr Abdullah to leave the site . 13:52.810 --> 13:55.260 And that's why they used a bullhorn and 13:55.270 --> 13:58.740 made several call outs , beseeching 13:58.990 --> 14:02.050 everybody in that building to leave . 14:02.540 --> 14:05.460 Um and that takes some time to you want 14:05.460 --> 14:07.404 to make sure you make a good faith 14:07.404 --> 14:09.700 effort to do that . And we did um they 14:09.700 --> 14:12.090 were engaged , there was an explosion 14:12.090 --> 14:14.720 on the third floor and engagement , uh 14:14.730 --> 14:16.897 gunfire from the from the building and 14:16.897 --> 14:20.240 then they , they went in . Um uh and 14:20.240 --> 14:22.407 obviously you want to process the site 14:22.407 --> 14:24.629 as best you can get as much information 14:24.629 --> 14:27.020 as you can . Um and of course in this , 14:27.030 --> 14:29.197 in this regard because he chose to end 14:29.197 --> 14:31.810 his life the way he did uh to be able 14:31.810 --> 14:34.360 to um identify 14:35.800 --> 14:39.260 and then safely leave the site . So 14:40.340 --> 14:42.451 honestly from from soup to nuts . The 14:42.451 --> 14:44.507 original plan was to have them there 14:44.507 --> 14:46.618 for two hours and they were there for 14:46.618 --> 14:48.229 just about exactly two hours 14:48.240 --> 14:50.184 characterization has been by other 14:50.184 --> 14:53.980 officials that , that he 14:54.110 --> 14:56.860 detonated this explosive very early on 14:56.870 --> 14:59.180 after the arrival of the troops . I 14:59.180 --> 15:01.170 mean , do you have a notion of how 15:01.180 --> 15:03.640 quickly he did that or was this a long 15:03.640 --> 15:05.950 drawn out process ? I don't have the 15:05.950 --> 15:09.350 exact minute by minute Tiktok , but 15:09.350 --> 15:11.570 that characterization as I understand 15:11.570 --> 15:14.880 it is accurate . It wasn't long after 15:14.890 --> 15:17.090 they isolated and secured the site and 15:17.090 --> 15:19.520 began the call outs that there was a 15:19.520 --> 15:21.576 large explosion on the third floor , 15:21.576 --> 15:23.798 which turned out to have of course been 15:23.798 --> 15:27.140 uh , abdullah , killing himself and the 15:27.140 --> 15:29.196 family members that were with him on 15:29.196 --> 15:31.140 the third floor and and putting at 15:31.140 --> 15:33.490 significant risk everybody else in that 15:33.490 --> 15:36.350 building . One more please 15:37.340 --> 15:40.500 the Kabul eric drone strike and the 15:40.500 --> 15:42.667 repercussions that have happened since 15:42.667 --> 15:44.611 then . We saw the secretary issues 15:44.611 --> 15:47.020 guidance recently . Um , did that 15:47.030 --> 15:49.560 factor in at all into the notion of 15:49.560 --> 15:52.190 that we're gonna go in with ground 15:52.190 --> 15:55.300 troops and an air a raid as opposed to 15:55.310 --> 15:57.410 a drug store . What , what , what 15:57.410 --> 15:59.530 factored into that decision Louis was 15:59.530 --> 16:01.960 our long standing practice of trying to 16:01.960 --> 16:04.530 minimize civilian harm , not what 16:04.530 --> 16:06.890 happened on 29 August or in any other 16:06.890 --> 16:09.860 day . Um , but but a longstanding 16:09.870 --> 16:12.037 desire to minimize civilian harm . And 16:12.037 --> 16:14.460 the president made that decision . Um , 16:14.470 --> 16:18.180 and it was a significant decision 16:18.180 --> 16:20.910 because it involved putting our troops 16:21.210 --> 16:23.550 at much greater risk in order to do it 16:23.550 --> 16:27.050 this way . Um , but that's in keeping 16:27.050 --> 16:30.090 with a longstanding desire by us to try 16:30.090 --> 16:32.146 to minimize civilian harm as much as 16:32.146 --> 16:34.270 possible , boring , just a follow up 16:34.270 --> 16:36.326 question , civilian casualties , you 16:36.326 --> 16:38.270 said there were three on the third 16:38.270 --> 16:40.326 floor of the wife and two kids , but 16:40.326 --> 16:42.492 you also said it appears as if a child 16:42.492 --> 16:44.603 was also killed on the second floor , 16:44.603 --> 16:46.659 wouldn't that before I was referring 16:46.659 --> 16:46.560 when I said when I was referring to the 16:46.560 --> 16:48.671 three , I was I was talking about the 16:48.671 --> 16:52.510 context of him killing himself Again , 16:52.510 --> 16:54.510 I'm not going to get into a blow by 16:54.510 --> 16:57.170 blow on every single uh event . Here , 16:57.180 --> 16:59.291 we are still processing this orange . 16:59.291 --> 17:01.440 It's not even 24 hours old . We're 17:01.440 --> 17:03.496 giving you as much information as we 17:03.496 --> 17:05.329 can right now , information will 17:05.329 --> 17:07.551 continue to flow in and as we can share 17:07.551 --> 17:09.990 it with you , we will let it let it not 17:09.990 --> 17:12.640 be forgotten though , that we also You 17:12.640 --> 17:14.830 know saved , helped save 10 lives 17:14.830 --> 17:16.774 including four kids on that second 17:16.774 --> 17:20.450 floor . So 10 , 10 people , mostly 17:20.450 --> 17:22.561 Children were able to get out of that 17:22.561 --> 17:24.561 building safely because of the care 17:24.561 --> 17:26.617 that was put into that mission . one 17:26.617 --> 17:28.728 follow up question , did any of those 17:28.728 --> 17:30.617 who took part in the planning for 17:30.617 --> 17:32.839 either the bin laden raid or the or the 17:32.839 --> 17:32.770 Baghdadi raid take part in the 17:32.770 --> 17:34.937 operation or execution of this rate as 17:34.937 --> 17:38.900 well . Yeah . About the Children of 17:38.910 --> 17:41.021 those who are killed or those who are 17:41.021 --> 17:43.021 saved . Who are they ? Do you think 17:43.021 --> 17:45.243 like who are the civilians in the , who 17:45.243 --> 17:47.577 are the civilians in the building again ? 17:47.577 --> 17:49.799 I want to be careful here as I don't we 17:49.799 --> 17:51.910 don't have perfect knowledge of every 17:51.910 --> 17:53.966 single individual that was killed in 17:53.966 --> 17:55.799 this uh , in this raid . We know 17:55.799 --> 17:58.021 hygiene . Abdullah was killed . We know 17:58.021 --> 18:00.132 his lieutenant that was on the second 18:00.132 --> 18:03.440 floor was killed . We know that When he 18:03.440 --> 18:05.496 blew himself up on the third floor , 18:05.496 --> 18:09.100 three others went with him . Um And 18:09.110 --> 18:11.760 uh We know of at least one 18:12.140 --> 18:15.330 uh child that was killed on the second 18:15.330 --> 18:18.800 floor . But you know , I I don't I 18:18.800 --> 18:20.800 don't have much more information to 18:20.800 --> 18:22.744 give you than that . Are there any 18:22.744 --> 18:24.911 civilians under us custody right now ? 18:24.911 --> 18:27.070 Where where did you want to say that 18:27.070 --> 18:29.126 you want to go after the operation ? 18:29.126 --> 18:31.190 There is no there are there there's 18:31.190 --> 18:33.301 nobody in U . S . Custody as a result 18:33.301 --> 18:36.590 of this raid helicopter . What was the 18:36.590 --> 18:39.080 mechanical issue ? I would describe the 18:39.080 --> 18:41.302 mechanical issue as a drive train issue 18:41.540 --> 18:44.460 that rendered it uh not usable for 18:44.460 --> 18:48.290 future flight in the operation fire or 18:48.710 --> 18:51.010 something . It didn't catch fire was a 18:51.010 --> 18:54.360 drive train issue . Um It didn't crash . 18:54.740 --> 18:57.350 Um It landed safely at an alternative 18:57.350 --> 19:01.250 location . They looked 19:01.250 --> 19:03.417 at it to determine whether it could be 19:03.417 --> 19:05.583 fixed and and and continued to be used 19:05.583 --> 19:07.250 in the operation . And it was 19:07.250 --> 19:09.139 determined that that that was not 19:09.139 --> 19:11.361 possible . So General Mackenzie ordered 19:11.361 --> 19:13.472 that it be uh detonated and destroyed 19:13.472 --> 19:15.639 on site . All right . I haven't gotten 19:15.639 --> 19:18.920 any . Yeah , go ahead . In addition to 19:18.920 --> 19:21.031 the people involved . Was there other 19:21.031 --> 19:23.142 material like digital media that were 19:23.142 --> 19:25.087 recovered that could be useful for 19:25.087 --> 19:27.142 without getting into details bob ? I 19:27.142 --> 19:29.910 think , you know , that it's common 19:29.910 --> 19:32.077 practice when we conduct raids of this 19:32.077 --> 19:36.060 kind to try to to 19:36.060 --> 19:39.650 collect uh information um and 19:39.660 --> 19:42.680 uh and material that that might help us 19:42.690 --> 19:45.490 uh in the continued prosecution of 19:45.490 --> 19:47.520 these kinds of operations and 19:47.530 --> 19:49.641 operations against ISIS . And I think 19:49.641 --> 19:51.960 that's as far as I'll go , I'll just 19:51.960 --> 19:54.182 tell you it's common practice for us to 19:54.182 --> 19:57.300 try to um to examine whether there's 19:57.310 --> 19:59.670 usable material that that can help us 19:59.680 --> 20:01.902 in future operations . And I think I'll 20:01.902 --> 20:05.000 leave it at that carla babb . Hey , 20:05.000 --> 20:07.000 thanks john for doing this . I have 20:07.000 --> 20:09.111 three questions just to clear up some 20:09.111 --> 20:11.167 things . If those who were saved are 20:11.167 --> 20:13.500 not in U . S . Custody , where are they ? 20:13.500 --> 20:15.556 Are they in sdf custody , where they 20:15.556 --> 20:17.556 left at the scene ? Can you clarify 20:17.556 --> 20:19.611 that ? Um clarification number two , 20:19.611 --> 20:21.833 please ? When you said that the hostels 20:21.833 --> 20:24.056 that were coming at the end , does that 20:24.056 --> 20:26.278 is it safe to assume that these hostile 20:26.278 --> 20:28.830 actors had weapons and they were 20:28.830 --> 20:30.941 engaged as you were kind of referring 20:30.941 --> 20:32.997 to with Courtney ? They were engaged 20:32.997 --> 20:35.470 with an air strike . Um And then number 20:35.470 --> 20:38.720 three uh v always spoken to the sdf and 20:38.720 --> 20:41.290 they said that the the SDF says that us 20:41.290 --> 20:43.068 launched the operation from Sdf 20:43.068 --> 20:45.234 territory . Can you confirm that ? And 20:45.234 --> 20:47.401 can you confirm that they were helping 20:47.401 --> 20:49.568 with the intelligence and the tracking 20:49.568 --> 20:51.568 of um the ISIS leader ? Thanks . Um 20:52.040 --> 20:54.510 there's nobody in custody carla . Um So 20:54.510 --> 20:56.510 there's there's nobody that there's 20:56.510 --> 20:58.454 nobody to tell you that they're in 20:58.454 --> 21:00.566 custody that and certainly no U . S . 21:00.566 --> 21:02.621 Uh there's nobody in U . S . Custody 21:02.621 --> 21:06.160 for sure . Um on the 21:06.840 --> 21:09.350 on the the engagement towards the end 21:09.350 --> 21:11.740 of the operation . Uh The other two 21:11.740 --> 21:13.860 that I talked about . Um There were 21:13.860 --> 21:15.693 clear indications that there was 21:15.693 --> 21:17.916 hostile intent . I'm not gonna get into 21:17.916 --> 21:20.040 it . Uh More detail than that . Clear 21:20.050 --> 21:21.994 indications that there was hostile 21:21.994 --> 21:24.760 intent and they were engaged . Um And 21:24.770 --> 21:27.270 their compadres left after that 21:27.280 --> 21:30.720 engagement . Um and then three on 21:30.730 --> 21:33.740 sdf . We appreciate the support that we 21:33.740 --> 21:37.110 got from the sdf . Um I'll leave it to 21:37.140 --> 21:39.390 the sdf to describe it in ways that 21:39.400 --> 21:41.511 that they deem fit . I'm not going to 21:41.511 --> 21:43.720 uh to talk about it in any more detail 21:43.720 --> 21:47.670 than that . Okay . Uh Jeff 21:47.670 --> 21:51.510 shogun thank you . 21:51.510 --> 21:53.800 Can you say what type of special 21:53.800 --> 21:55.967 operations forces were involved in the 21:55.967 --> 21:59.670 raid such as seals , delta or rangers ? 22:00.840 --> 22:02.729 I'm going to describe them in any 22:02.729 --> 22:04.896 greater specificity than I have . Us . 22:04.896 --> 22:06.896 Special operations forces under the 22:06.896 --> 22:06.860 control of U . S . Central command . 22:07.840 --> 22:10.790 Tony capaci . Oh I've done two 22:10.790 --> 22:12.734 questions , quick questions . What 22:12.734 --> 22:14.590 happened to his body . Uh Was it 22:14.590 --> 22:16.757 carried away like what the US did with 22:16.757 --> 22:18.812 bin laden's body or was it too badly 22:18.812 --> 22:21.270 damaged to do anything with ? And to an 22:21.270 --> 22:23.437 administration official told reporters 22:23.437 --> 22:25.603 today that this had been planned for a 22:25.603 --> 22:27.826 long long time . The president had been 22:27.826 --> 22:29.992 presented in december with a table top 22:29.992 --> 22:32.214 model of the compound or the building ? 22:32.214 --> 22:34.540 Why was the rate now versus maybe two 22:34.540 --> 22:36.818 or three weeks ago or even a month ago . 22:36.818 --> 22:38.929 Can you give any light shed any light 22:38.929 --> 22:41.470 on that ? Yeah his body was left at the 22:41.470 --> 22:44.410 site um As for the timing 22:44.420 --> 22:47.470 is correct . This was a mission long 22:47.470 --> 22:49.581 planned months in the planning , as I 22:49.581 --> 22:53.050 mentioned to gen . Um but look , you 22:53.060 --> 22:56.960 you have to build enough context 22:57.170 --> 23:00.850 around the individuals pattern of 23:00.850 --> 23:04.380 life and you have to factor in uh 23:04.390 --> 23:06.446 external factors that that you don't 23:06.446 --> 23:08.830 get to control like the weather . Um So 23:08.840 --> 23:10.880 lots of things go into making a 23:10.880 --> 23:13.380 decision about when you when you 23:13.380 --> 23:15.740 execute a rate of this complexity and 23:15.740 --> 23:18.170 this danger . Um and there were a lot 23:18.170 --> 23:20.480 of factors that had to line up to be 23:20.480 --> 23:22.591 just right . You have to , you know , 23:22.591 --> 23:24.591 make sure that your intelligence is 23:24.591 --> 23:26.536 solid and that the individual that 23:26.536 --> 23:28.591 you're going after is in fact at the 23:28.591 --> 23:30.990 location you believe him to be and that 23:31.000 --> 23:34.550 all the external factors um ah 23:35.540 --> 23:39.050 the not just the weather , but uh 23:39.060 --> 23:42.860 the um ability 23:42.860 --> 23:46.030 to uh to operate um at that particular 23:46.030 --> 23:48.350 time of day and have enough visibility , 23:48.350 --> 23:50.770 all those things factor in . So it was 23:50.770 --> 23:53.220 a multiple factors . Um it all came 23:53.220 --> 23:57.140 together uh such that this was the 23:57.150 --> 23:59.840 best window to execute this mission and 23:59.840 --> 24:03.180 I would remind you that it's not like 24:03.180 --> 24:05.291 we were just sitting on our hands for 24:05.291 --> 24:07.458 those months . I mean , these , as you 24:07.458 --> 24:09.236 probably saw in the Secretary's 24:09.236 --> 24:11.180 statement , I mean , these Special 24:11.180 --> 24:13.850 Operations Forces conducted dozens of 24:13.860 --> 24:16.990 rehearsals to make sure that they could 24:16.990 --> 24:20.660 get this exactly right , okay . Um 24:21.800 --> 24:25.760 Mike breast Hi Mr Kirby , thanks 24:25.760 --> 24:27.982 for taking my question . I'm hoping you 24:27.982 --> 24:30.760 can provide a little insight into where 24:30.770 --> 24:33.470 ISIS stands right now . The threat they 24:33.470 --> 24:36.910 pose between the rate at the prison two 24:36.910 --> 24:39.750 weeks ago , uh and Abdullah's 24:39.750 --> 24:41.861 assassination . Where do things stand 24:41.861 --> 24:44.990 both in Syria as well as Global ? Well , 24:44.990 --> 24:46.934 I'll tell you what they're they're 24:46.934 --> 24:49.210 leaderless today . Um and that's a 24:49.210 --> 24:51.210 significant blow . This is not 24:51.210 --> 24:53.432 something that we believe ISIS is going 24:53.432 --> 24:55.266 to be able to just get over real 24:55.266 --> 24:57.266 quickly and really easily . Um That 24:57.266 --> 25:00.760 said uh they they are not the force 25:00.760 --> 25:04.680 that they were In 2014 , as we 25:04.680 --> 25:08.180 all remember that um uh their growth 25:08.180 --> 25:10.820 and rapid acceleration across Iraq and 25:10.830 --> 25:14.420 Syria . Uh This is a uh 25:14.430 --> 25:17.100 ISIS is not the significance of the 25:17.110 --> 25:19.221 threat of the same significant nature 25:19.221 --> 25:21.221 that they were back then , but they 25:21.221 --> 25:23.166 still remain a viable threat . And 25:23.166 --> 25:25.277 we've talked about that many times um 25:25.277 --> 25:27.221 that this is a group that wants to 25:27.221 --> 25:29.277 reconstitute its strength , wants to 25:29.277 --> 25:31.332 continue to attack and kill and maim 25:31.332 --> 25:34.540 and terrorize . Um and uh and hygiene . 25:34.540 --> 25:36.730 Abdullah was was very much involved in 25:36.730 --> 25:38.897 trying to resuscitate the group and to 25:38.897 --> 25:41.170 grow their capabilities . Um They 25:41.180 --> 25:43.180 remain , as we've said many times , 25:43.180 --> 25:45.390 they remain dangerous . They remain a 25:45.400 --> 25:47.456 threat to our national security , to 25:47.456 --> 25:49.567 the lives of other innocence . Um And 25:49.567 --> 25:51.733 we're gonna as the secretary said in a 25:51.733 --> 25:53.844 statement today , we're gonna stay at 25:53.844 --> 25:57.840 it . Travis Triton . Hey john , thanks 25:57.850 --> 26:00.740 a couple of quick questions . Um First 26:00.750 --> 26:03.380 on the efforts to get civilians out of 26:03.380 --> 26:05.491 the building , you said that they had 26:05.491 --> 26:07.547 called out to them with a bullhorn , 26:07.547 --> 26:10.030 Can you say specifically how long they 26:10.030 --> 26:12.260 gave civilians to leave the building ? 26:12.840 --> 26:15.130 Um And secondly , when we look at 26:15.140 --> 26:17.251 photos of the compound and we see the 26:17.251 --> 26:19.850 damage to the building , was that 26:19.850 --> 26:22.820 primarily from the suicide bomb or 26:22.820 --> 26:24.890 we're us munitions used on that 26:24.900 --> 26:27.150 building . Thanks damage . You see in 26:27.150 --> 26:29.610 the picture with the the third floor 26:29.620 --> 26:32.060 floor collapsed onto the second and 26:32.060 --> 26:34.490 even uh even more than that , and that 26:34.490 --> 26:38.000 was caused by Abdullah igniting an 26:38.000 --> 26:40.040 explosive device which as I said , 26:40.050 --> 26:43.880 killed himself and his family . Um and 26:43.890 --> 26:45.890 as for time look , Travis , I don't 26:45.890 --> 26:48.112 have a minute by minute . Uh There were 26:48.112 --> 26:51.370 numerous calls made uh to 26:51.370 --> 26:54.480 encourage everyone in the building to 26:54.480 --> 26:57.420 leave . Numerous calls were made . Um 26:57.430 --> 27:01.180 and uh at some point not too far into 27:01.180 --> 27:04.710 the operation , uh Abdullah 27:04.720 --> 27:07.850 exploded this device . Um uh and that 27:07.850 --> 27:11.330 precipitated uh more activity 27:11.330 --> 27:13.850 by at least one shooter from the 27:13.850 --> 27:16.680 building that led to us forces going in . 27:16.690 --> 27:19.400 And um to your point about , you know , 27:19.400 --> 27:21.567 how much time do we give people that ? 27:21.567 --> 27:24.910 I would remind that um that the U . S . 27:24.910 --> 27:27.610 Forces actually extricated four 27:27.610 --> 27:29.666 Children from the second floor after 27:29.666 --> 27:31.721 they went into the building . So the 27:31.721 --> 27:35.300 efforts to save the lives of 27:35.310 --> 27:38.640 of innocence wasn't just in the opening 27:38.640 --> 27:40.918 gambit here with the bullhorn . I mean , 27:40.918 --> 27:44.260 it was , it was well into the operation . 27:44.260 --> 27:46.540 It was something that was , was ever 27:46.540 --> 27:49.640 present on their minds . Um , Mike , 27:49.640 --> 27:53.630 glenn , yeah , I 27:53.640 --> 27:55.529 don't think much Tony ask you one 27:55.529 --> 27:57.640 question , but do you know that , you 27:57.640 --> 27:59.807 know , do you believe that this rate I 27:59.807 --> 28:03.660 have prevented in future a specific 28:03.660 --> 28:05.827 terrorist mission that they were going 28:05.827 --> 28:07.720 to carry out ? You were kind of 28:07.720 --> 28:09.498 breaking up mike . I think your 28:09.498 --> 28:11.609 question was , do we have information 28:11.609 --> 28:14.720 that , that his death has disrupted a 28:14.720 --> 28:16.664 specific attack ? Is that what you 28:16.664 --> 28:19.570 asked ? Yes , that's it . Yes , that's 28:19.580 --> 28:21.740 information that suggests that mike , 28:21.750 --> 28:23.806 but I would remind that this was the 28:23.806 --> 28:25.910 leader of ISIS and and he was a very 28:25.910 --> 28:27.980 hands on leader . He was involved in 28:27.990 --> 28:31.540 helping direct a lot of operations . So 28:31.540 --> 28:34.790 we have no doubt uh , that that his 28:34.790 --> 28:38.630 death will have a blow on ISIS 28:38.630 --> 28:41.210 and and there potential to conduct 28:41.210 --> 28:43.610 future operations . I do want to remind 28:43.610 --> 28:46.470 that they they are still a threat and 28:46.470 --> 28:48.748 we're , and we're not , nobody's taken , 28:48.748 --> 28:51.280 uh , you know , a victory lap here . Uh , 28:51.290 --> 28:53.401 we're gonna stay at this . They still 28:53.401 --> 28:55.550 remain a threat . They still espouse 28:55.550 --> 28:58.790 this , uh extreme ideology and this 28:58.790 --> 29:00.957 intent to kill the main to terrorize . 29:01.050 --> 29:03.161 And so we're going to stay focused on 29:03.161 --> 29:05.560 it , dan Lamar . 29:07.640 --> 29:11.030 Thanks for your time , hoping maybe we 29:11.030 --> 29:13.030 can draw you out and flesh out some 29:13.030 --> 29:14.919 details on some of these tabletop 29:14.919 --> 29:16.974 exercises , It sounds like they went 29:16.974 --> 29:18.808 back at least as far as december 29:18.840 --> 29:20.590 involving , you know , senior 29:20.590 --> 29:22.812 commanders and that sort of thing . Can 29:22.812 --> 29:24.868 you lay out a bit of what this looks 29:24.868 --> 29:27.090 like in terms of how far back it goes , 29:27.090 --> 29:29.368 who would involve , that kind of thing ? 29:29.368 --> 29:31.534 Thank you . Yeah , dan , I'm not gonna 29:31.534 --> 29:33.646 be able to go into more detail than I 29:33.646 --> 29:33.310 already have again . This was months in 29:33.310 --> 29:35.532 the planning , um several months in the 29:35.532 --> 29:38.660 planning . Um and it included um actual 29:38.660 --> 29:40.549 physical rehearsals , as I said , 29:40.549 --> 29:44.210 dozens by the Special Operations Forces 29:44.220 --> 29:47.350 as well as you can imagine , um some 29:47.350 --> 29:49.572 tabletop planning as well . But I don't 29:49.572 --> 29:51.780 have a Tiktok of exactly how all that 29:51.780 --> 29:54.330 process uh worked out . It was 29:54.340 --> 29:56.370 extensively planned extensively 29:56.370 --> 29:58.480 resourced , um and quite frankly 29:58.480 --> 30:00.702 extensively informed over the course of 30:00.702 --> 30:03.120 several months , gen if I could take 30:03.120 --> 30:05.120 you to Russia , Ukraine , there's a 30:05.120 --> 30:07.990 report that the U . S . Has evidence 30:07.990 --> 30:09.823 that Russia has developed a plan 30:09.823 --> 30:11.712 approved at the highest levels in 30:11.712 --> 30:13.934 Moscow to create a pretext for invading 30:13.934 --> 30:16.046 Ukraine by falsely pinning the attack 30:16.046 --> 30:18.212 on Ukrainian forces that could involve 30:18.212 --> 30:20.600 alleged casualties in Eastern Ukraine . 30:20.610 --> 30:22.610 But also inside Russia , it's being 30:22.610 --> 30:24.666 reported by the Washington post . Is 30:24.666 --> 30:26.930 that report accurate ? Is , has that 30:26.940 --> 30:29.162 intelligence been declassified and what 30:29.162 --> 30:31.329 can you tell us what I can tell you is 30:31.329 --> 30:33.384 that first of all , you know , we've 30:33.384 --> 30:35.496 discussed this idea of false flags by 30:35.496 --> 30:35.270 the Russians before . We've made no 30:35.270 --> 30:38.460 secret of that . Um uh and 30:39.040 --> 30:42.690 we do have information that it is 30:42.700 --> 30:44.589 that that , that the Russians are 30:44.589 --> 30:46.700 likely to want to fabricate a pretext 30:46.700 --> 30:48.650 for an invasion , which again , is 30:48.650 --> 30:50.720 right out of their playbook . One 30:50.720 --> 30:54.580 option is the Russian government we 30:54.580 --> 30:56.469 think is planning to stage a fake 30:56.469 --> 30:59.180 attack by Ukrainian military or 30:59.180 --> 31:01.320 intelligence forces against Russian 31:01.320 --> 31:04.190 sovereign territory or against Russian 31:04.190 --> 31:06.390 speaking people , uh , to therefore 31:06.390 --> 31:09.080 justify their action as part of this , 31:09.090 --> 31:12.670 um , fake attack . Uh , we believe that 31:12.670 --> 31:14.790 Russia would produce a very graphic 31:14.800 --> 31:17.500 propaganda video , which would include 31:17.500 --> 31:20.150 corpses , um , and actors that would be 31:20.150 --> 31:23.030 depicting Mourners , uh , and images of 31:23.030 --> 31:25.320 destroyed locations , as well as 31:25.320 --> 31:27.800 military equipment at the hands of 31:27.810 --> 31:30.032 Ukraine or the West , even to the point 31:30.032 --> 31:32.143 where some of this equipment would be 31:32.143 --> 31:34.630 to make made to look like it was 31:34.650 --> 31:37.530 Western supplied Ukrainian to Ukraine 31:37.530 --> 31:41.420 equipment . Um , so this is , 31:41.420 --> 31:43.476 and this is just one example that we 31:43.476 --> 31:45.390 can talk about today . Uh , we're 31:45.390 --> 31:47.557 watching this across the board . We've 31:47.557 --> 31:49.850 seen these kinds of activities by the 31:49.850 --> 31:51.960 Russians in the past and we believe 31:51.960 --> 31:54.182 it's important when we see it like this 31:54.182 --> 31:56.293 and , and we can to call it out being 31:56.293 --> 32:00.180 briefed on the hill right now . Uh , 32:00.190 --> 32:03.120 Austin familiar on the hill , there on 32:03.120 --> 32:05.430 the hill , in a classified briefing to 32:05.430 --> 32:08.460 talk about the whole spate of things 32:08.460 --> 32:10.571 we're concerned about with respect to 32:10.571 --> 32:12.738 Russia and Ukraine . Um , I won't it's 32:12.738 --> 32:14.460 a classified briefing . So I'm 32:14.460 --> 32:16.627 obviously not gonna get into an agenda 32:16.627 --> 32:18.349 item with you here in terms of 32:18.349 --> 32:20.404 everything they're talking about but 32:20.404 --> 32:22.404 they they're both up on the hill uh 32:22.404 --> 32:24.682 communicating with members of congress . 32:24.682 --> 32:26.793 What we're seeing writ large and what 32:26.793 --> 32:28.904 we're doing about it to help our NATO 32:28.904 --> 32:31.340 allies . No it has been approved at the 32:31.340 --> 32:33.396 highest level of the Kremlin in this 32:33.396 --> 32:35.618 particular case . I would just say that 32:35.618 --> 32:37.784 the our experience is that very little 32:37.784 --> 32:41.260 of this nature is is not approved 32:41.270 --> 32:43.380 at the highest levels of the Russian 32:43.380 --> 32:45.880 government . Putin the highest levels 32:45.880 --> 32:49.770 of the Russian government kelly . 32:49.770 --> 32:53.410 Meyer . Hi john thanks for taking my 32:53.410 --> 32:55.700 question . I have to if I can um you 32:55.700 --> 32:57.811 mentioned the mechanical issue on the 32:57.811 --> 33:00.033 helicopter . Um those involved . Okay . 33:00.033 --> 33:02.256 And any other issues we aren't aware of 33:02.256 --> 33:04.478 or did everything runs like clockwork . 33:04.478 --> 33:06.422 And the second on the U . S . Army 33:06.422 --> 33:08.589 dismissing unvaccinated soldiers . Are 33:08.589 --> 33:10.700 any of them the ones deploying are on 33:10.700 --> 33:12.478 high alert to deploy to eastern 33:12.478 --> 33:14.644 european allies around Ukraine for you 33:14.644 --> 33:16.533 to the army in terms of uh of who 33:16.533 --> 33:18.840 they're discharging with respect to the 33:18.840 --> 33:20.896 vaccine mandate . But I suspect that 33:20.896 --> 33:23.062 there's privacy concerns there kelly . 33:23.062 --> 33:25.173 So I um I don't want to speak for the 33:25.173 --> 33:27.118 army but I don't know that they're 33:27.118 --> 33:29.340 going to be able to give you that level 33:29.340 --> 33:31.396 of specificity . It remains a lawful 33:31.396 --> 33:33.451 order . It remains a readiness issue 33:33.451 --> 33:35.920 the vaccines work . Um And um we want 33:35.920 --> 33:38.390 everybody to to to to take them and to 33:38.390 --> 33:41.360 keep safe to keep their units safe . Um 33:41.370 --> 33:45.080 As for the um the helicopter crew . My 33:45.080 --> 33:47.550 understanding is that they're all fine 33:47.550 --> 33:49.810 as as as we said at the top there were 33:49.810 --> 33:51.960 no U . S . Casualties . Um And that 33:51.960 --> 33:54.071 would include the helicopter crew and 33:54.071 --> 33:56.182 it wasn't a crash landing they landed 33:56.182 --> 33:59.020 safely again it was a drive train issue 33:59.030 --> 34:01.197 that rendered that helicopter unusable 34:01.197 --> 34:03.550 for the rest of the operation . Um So 34:03.560 --> 34:06.040 obviously it was destroyed but the crew 34:06.050 --> 34:09.850 are safe and sound sylvie from FP . 34:15.040 --> 34:19.000 Hello Sorry sorry um Can you tell us 34:19.010 --> 34:22.790 um how many helicopters and how 34:22.790 --> 34:26.410 many U . S . Troops were involved ? Yes 34:26.410 --> 34:28.354 Sylvia . I'm not gonna answer that 34:28.354 --> 34:31.030 question actually . Um Back when uh 34:31.040 --> 34:33.262 when I opened up the press conference I 34:33.262 --> 34:35.373 told you there's gonna be some detail 34:35.373 --> 34:34.970 we're not gonna be able to provide 34:34.970 --> 34:37.192 because we want to preserve our ability 34:37.192 --> 34:39.303 to continue to conduct these sorts of 34:39.303 --> 34:41.414 operations . So what I would tell you 34:41.414 --> 34:43.637 is that we had exactly the force levels 34:43.637 --> 34:45.803 and exactly the resources we needed to 34:45.803 --> 34:47.914 conduct this operation and I'll leave 34:47.914 --> 34:51.760 it at that to recap . Thanks john I'm 34:51.760 --> 34:54.260 following up on bob's question . Can 34:54.260 --> 34:56.310 you confirm whether any sort of 34:56.310 --> 34:58.088 intelligence was taken from the 34:58.088 --> 35:00.143 compound any computer drives or cell 35:00.143 --> 35:02.810 phones ? And then secondly um to follow 35:02.810 --> 35:05.870 up on Louise question um the decisions 35:05.870 --> 35:08.040 that were made in this raid did they 35:08.040 --> 35:10.790 incorporate any lessons learned from 35:10.800 --> 35:14.540 the civilian casualty report done after 35:14.540 --> 35:16.840 the august 29th strike . Thank you . 35:16.900 --> 35:18.844 I've kind of addressed that second 35:18.844 --> 35:20.956 question before as as when when louis 35:20.956 --> 35:23.040 asked it . I mean we always try to 35:23.040 --> 35:26.360 avoid civilian harm . Um This operation , 35:26.840 --> 35:29.180 It was a completely different character 35:29.190 --> 35:31.580 than the airstrike that happened on 29 35:31.590 --> 35:35.150 August . But in general we always try 35:35.150 --> 35:39.050 to learn from uh from previous missions 35:39.050 --> 35:41.106 from previous operations . These are 35:41.106 --> 35:43.217 two completely different operations . 35:43.217 --> 35:46.210 And the desire to avoid civilian harm 35:46.210 --> 35:49.890 was baked in months ago uh into this 35:49.890 --> 35:53.320 particular plan . Um In fact the 35:53.320 --> 35:56.270 decision itself to conduct a raid using 35:56.270 --> 35:58.370 special operations forces speaks 35:58.370 --> 36:00.930 volumes of the degree to which the 36:00.940 --> 36:04.760 president was was trying to avoid 36:04.770 --> 36:08.190 civilian harm . Um and quite frankly 36:08.190 --> 36:10.134 putting our forces at greater risk 36:10.134 --> 36:12.301 because of the because of the decision 36:12.301 --> 36:15.200 to make a raid like this . Um And I'm 36:15.210 --> 36:17.377 sorry , but I should have written your 36:17.377 --> 36:19.543 other question down and I didn't do it 36:19.543 --> 36:22.270 about the , can you confirm whether any 36:22.270 --> 36:24.640 sort of computer drives or cameras or 36:24.640 --> 36:26.529 anything else were taken from the 36:26.529 --> 36:28.696 compound that could provide actionable 36:28.696 --> 36:31.029 intelligence ? Uh moving forward . Yeah . 36:31.029 --> 36:33.251 Look as I told bob I'm not going to get 36:33.251 --> 36:35.473 into talking about intelligence matters 36:35.473 --> 36:37.473 one way or the other . It is common 36:37.473 --> 36:39.473 practice when we conduct raids like 36:39.473 --> 36:42.000 this that we try to collect material 36:42.000 --> 36:44.250 that can help us and inform us in terms 36:44.250 --> 36:47.070 of our ability to um to disrupt future 36:47.070 --> 36:48.737 attacks and to conduct future 36:48.737 --> 36:50.848 operations and I think I'm just gonna 36:50.848 --> 36:52.792 leave it at that nancy . Youssef , 36:53.630 --> 36:55.686 thank you . Um I wonder if you could 36:55.686 --> 36:57.574 clarify a couple of points On the 36:57.574 --> 36:59.519 explosion that happened on the 3rd 36:59.519 --> 37:02.470 floor ? Does the US believe that the 37:02.480 --> 37:04.770 ISIS leader was wearing a suicide vest 37:04.780 --> 37:07.270 or that it was an explosive separate of 37:07.270 --> 37:09.860 that and wasn't one explosive . Can you 37:09.860 --> 37:12.027 tell us if there was any deconfliction 37:12.027 --> 37:14.138 that happened with any other nation ? 37:14.138 --> 37:16.249 And can you tell us who will lead the 37:16.250 --> 37:18.060 review of any possible civilian 37:18.060 --> 37:20.510 casualties by the us ? Thank you . 37:20.520 --> 37:22.742 There's been no decision to do a review 37:22.742 --> 37:24.850 or investigation right now , Nancy . 37:24.850 --> 37:27.072 This again , this operation is not even 37:27.072 --> 37:29.740 24 hours old . Um As the secretary said , 37:29.740 --> 37:31.962 well , we certainly are willing to take 37:31.962 --> 37:34.740 a look uh to see if there's any 37:34.740 --> 37:36.851 possibility that anything that we did 37:36.851 --> 37:39.770 might have caused harm to innocent life . 37:39.780 --> 37:41.891 But I have no investigation review to 37:41.891 --> 37:43.780 speak to today . Um As for the 37:43.780 --> 37:45.947 explosion , all I can tell you is what 37:45.947 --> 37:48.113 we've already said , there was a large 37:48.113 --> 37:50.280 explosion early on in the operation on 37:50.280 --> 37:52.950 the third floor which killed uh uh 37:53.530 --> 37:55.680 Hajji Abdullah and his family , We 37:55.680 --> 37:57.900 believe he detonated that explosion . 37:57.910 --> 38:00.980 We cannot say at this time , uh exactly 38:00.980 --> 38:04.350 what this device was . Um So I leave it 38:04.350 --> 38:07.050 at that . And then you had a your first 38:07.050 --> 38:09.161 question , I'm not good at . I got to 38:09.161 --> 38:11.328 write these down . What was your first 38:11.328 --> 38:13.494 question just to be clear . I was just 38:13.494 --> 38:15.661 asking when you say that , that review 38:15.661 --> 38:15.420 though , that that that you said the 38:15.420 --> 38:17.420 secretary would be doing . I'm just 38:17.420 --> 38:19.698 trying to understand who would do that . 38:19.698 --> 38:19.070 And then the question was was there any 38:19.070 --> 38:21.237 deconfliction on any other nations and 38:21.237 --> 38:23.600 in the run up to this ? Look , we're 38:23.600 --> 38:25.711 not calling , we're not calling for a 38:25.711 --> 38:27.822 review right now , nancy again , this 38:27.822 --> 38:29.989 operation literally just happened last 38:29.989 --> 38:32.156 night . What the secretary said in the 38:32.156 --> 38:34.378 statement was , we're gonna take a look 38:34.378 --> 38:36.600 and see if there's any possibility that 38:36.600 --> 38:38.822 any action that we conducted might have 38:38.822 --> 38:40.989 led to the loss of innocent life . And 38:41.120 --> 38:43.342 if there is , then we'll make decisions 38:43.342 --> 38:45.398 follow on that . But I don't want to 38:45.398 --> 38:44.750 leave you with the impression that 38:44.750 --> 38:46.917 there's an investigation in the offing 38:46.917 --> 38:48.972 here . Um that's not where we are at 38:48.972 --> 38:51.083 this point . As for deconfliction , I 38:51.083 --> 38:54.450 would tell you that uh uh 38:54.460 --> 38:57.020 appropriate deconfliction at the 38:57.020 --> 39:00.440 appropriate time uh was conducted in 39:00.440 --> 39:03.340 order to make sure that this operation 39:03.340 --> 39:06.000 could proceed safely . And I think I'll 39:06.000 --> 39:08.710 leave that there appropriate 39:08.710 --> 39:10.900 deconfliction as as happens in that 39:10.900 --> 39:13.070 part of Syria was convicted in this 39:13.070 --> 39:16.820 case . Um Let's see . Uh 39:16.830 --> 39:20.820 Helene cooper . Hi , thanks john 39:20.830 --> 39:24.160 um does this commando raid in Syria 39:24.160 --> 39:26.327 send a message of any kind to vladimir 39:26.327 --> 39:29.950 Putin . This raid was not meant to send , 39:30.260 --> 39:33.790 send a message to any other nation . It 39:33.790 --> 39:36.450 was meant to um 39:36.920 --> 39:40.770 remove Haji Abdullah from his 39:40.770 --> 39:44.470 leadership of ISIS and to that degree , 39:44.480 --> 39:47.700 it was successful and we are immensely 39:47.700 --> 39:51.110 proud of the forces that conducted this 39:51.110 --> 39:53.110 had planned it resources executed , 39:53.110 --> 39:57.110 rehearsed for it . Um It uh it says a 39:57.110 --> 40:00.510 lot about our capability , encounter 40:00.510 --> 40:03.300 terrorism , our focus our continued 40:03.300 --> 40:06.780 focus on the ISIS threat um and our 40:06.780 --> 40:08.750 ability to uh 40:10.300 --> 40:14.070 two plan and conduct an execution of 40:14.070 --> 40:16.540 this magnitude and with this complexity 40:16.550 --> 40:20.080 um uh with with the uh with the utmost 40:20.080 --> 40:22.247 of professionalism and skill and quite 40:22.247 --> 40:25.450 frankly secrecy . I'll take a couple 40:25.450 --> 40:28.500 more . Did the U . S . Forces 40:28.510 --> 40:32.280 collect any information or documents 40:32.290 --> 40:34.457 whatever materials from the building ? 40:34.457 --> 40:36.346 I've already I've dealt with this 40:36.346 --> 40:39.210 question before a couple of times . It 40:39.210 --> 40:42.820 is routine that we try to collect 40:42.830 --> 40:44.886 useful material . When rates of this 40:44.886 --> 40:46.997 kind are conducted , I'm not going to 40:46.997 --> 40:49.108 speak with any specificity about this 40:49.108 --> 40:51.040 one . Okay . Thanks everybody 40:51.420 --> 40:52.040 appreciate it .