Pentagon Addresses Efforts to Deter Israel-Hamas War from Widening in the Middle East Transcript

Oh, no.

Did you time that just for me when you said, “Oh no?” All right. Good afternoon everyone. Just a few things to pass along and then I’ll be happy to take your questions. The Department of Defense continues to remain actively engaged on the situation in the Middle East and is focused on three primary objectives, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks, deterring a broader conflict in the region, and ensuring force protection for our troops.

(00:36)
And allow me to just briefly address each of these. Since Hamas’ cruel terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th, the United States has rushed security assistance to Israel to enable Israel defense forces to restore security and protect the Israeli people. And as we’ve highlighted, this includes capabilities requested by Israel to include precision guided munitions, small diameter bombs, artillery ammunition, iron dome, interceptors, and other critical equipment.

(01:04)
We continue to stay in close contact with our Israeli partners on their defense needs and remain committed to the security of Israel. We also continue to underscore the importance of safeguarding innocent civilians in this conflict, both Palestinian and Israeli, and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need. Since that Hamas terrorist attack, we’ve also been crystal clear that we do not want to see the situation in Israel brighten, widen rather into a broader regional conflict.

(01:34)
And as you’ve heard, President Biden, Secretary Austin and other senior US leaders say, “Our message to any country or group thinking about trying to take advantage of this situation to widen the conflict is don’t.” We’ve already deployed a significant number of additional US military capabilities into the region to bolster our regional deterrence efforts, strengthen our capabilities there, and enhance our ability to respond to a range of contingencies.

(02:02)
In addition to the capabilities that we’ve already announced, I can also confirm that the New Jersey Air National Guards 119th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron arrived within US Central Command’s area of responsibility today with additional F-16 Fighting Falcon squadron, bolstering US posture to deter further aggression in the region.

(02:22)
Again, it is our aim to avoid any regional expansion of Israel’s conflict with Hamas, but we stand ready and prepared to protect and defend our partners and our interests and will act to do so. Finally, in terms of force protection, the message is simple. As Secretary Austin has consistently made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our troops and our interests overseas. And with that, happy to take your questions. We’ll go to Associated Press Lolita Baldor first.

Hi. Thank you. A couple of things just for some quick clarifications. Pat, can you give a better sense of what the total number of attacks against US spaces in Iraq and Syria has been? Was there an additional one today or not? Can you just kind of sketch us out because there’s been a lot of haphazard reporting on the numbers and how many people were injured in addition to the contractor that we know died from the cardiac arrest. And then I have one other thing.

Thanks, Lolita. So in terms of those numbers and statistics, we are working with US Central Command to get you a comprehensive list for the public record. And so we’ll endeavor to get that to you all as soon as possible. What I can tell you right now, and again, we’re still continuing to ensure this accounts for everything.

(03:57)
But between October 17th and the 24th, US and coalition forces have been attacked at least 10 separate times in Iraq and three separate times in Syria via a mix of one-way attack drones and rockets. So again, those are the initial numbers. We’re continuing to work to Syncom to ensure we get you the facts on these. And so again, we’ll get that to you as soon as possible. And I’m sorry, you said you had a follow-up?

Yes. Can you say whether any of the prepared to deploy forces have actually been activated at this point, and can you give us a better sense of what Lieutenant General Glynn and this team is doing in Israel? Did that sort of double the number of advisors there? Just give us a little bit more clarity on what they’re doing.

Sure. In terms of the prepare to deploy… The forces that have been notified under prepare to deploy orders, to my knowledge, those forces have not been tasked to deploy at this point in time. I will say that separately, the deployment of the terminal high altitude area defense battery, and the additional Patriot battalions that we announced this weekend, their deployment is underway. I’m not going to be able to go into numbers.

(05:18)
I’m not going to be able to go into locations other than to say to an undisclosed location in the Middle East. Again, those forces are aimed at enhancing force protection for US forces in the region. What I can tell you is that the THAAD battery is coming from Fort Bliss, Texas and the Patriot battalions and batteries are coming from across Fort Liberty in North Carolina and Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

(05:44)
As it relates to General Glynn, we have asked a few officials with relevant experience simply to help Israeli officials think through the kinds of questions that they need to consider as they conduct their planning, including advice on mitigating civilian casualties. As I’m sure you’ve seen reported, these officials to include General Glynn have deep experience when it comes to urban combat.

(06:12)
And so again, they’re there temporarily with their military expertise to just go through and discuss some of the hard questions that the IDF should consider as they plan various scenarios. I will be very clear here though, the IDF will and always will make its own decisions. They’re not there to direct, again simply to provide advice. Thank you. Let me go back into the room here. Matt.

Thank you, Pat. Can you say what if any efforts the US is making to prevent future attacks on US forces by these Iran backed militias in the region? Have there been any counterstrikes so far, any kind of efforts to thwart future attacks? And if not, why not?

Thanks Matt. Well, again, as we announced this weekend, we are posturing additional forces in the region for two reasons. One, again, to bolster our broader regional deterrence efforts. And two, to send a clear message that we will protect our forces. We will always maintain the inherent right of self-defense. And if there is a response, should we choose to have one, we would do that at a time and place of our choosing.

Thank you.

Thank you. Megan.

A group of senators sent a letter to OSD yesterday about a new over-the-counter birth control pill requesting that TRICARE cover it. Has OSD received it and does OSD plan to respond by the end of the month as the senators requested?

Thanks Megan. So I don’t have anything to provide on that. I’ll take that question. As always, we will respond to Congress appropriately, but I’ll take that question for you. Thank you, Rio.

Thank you very much. Please let me ask you about China. The Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu was actually removed today. So does the Pentagon believe the defense took a defense leader’s engagement between the US and China is more likely

…to happen because China argues that sanctions on Mr. Reed was a major obstacle for the meeting.

Yeah, thank you for that. I’ve seen the press reports. As I’m sure you can appreciate, I’m not going to comment on Chinese military personnel policy or moves. I will say that we still believe that it is very important for the senior leaders of our two nations to continue to engage, to include between our two militaries. And so, we will continue to seek opportunities to keep those lines of communication open to prevent potential miscalculation. Thank you very much. Sir?

Has the department been preparing, or stepped up preparations, for mass evacuations if the conflict spreads beyond where it is right now?

Yeah, I don’t have anything to announce in that regard, as you know, and as you’ve heard us say in the past. We are a planning organization. It’s what we do. And so, again, we’re going to do due diligence to ensure that we’re planning for a variety of contingencies, but as it relates to the situation in the Middle East and US citizens in our embassies, I’d refer you to State Department.

And are there any discussions through intermediaries between the US and Iran?

Again, on the diplomatic side, I’d refer you to State. Certainly from a DOD standpoint, our focus is on communicating with our partners in the region. You’ve seen us read out several calls to include one today with the secretary, I think it was today, it may have been tomorrow, at All Borders Together, or yesterday rather. The secretary, Austin, and his Iraqi counterparts. Again, that continues to be our focus. Carla?

Thanks. Following up the latest question, do you believe that these, at least 13, attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria, do you believe that Iran is responsible for these? Were these all conducted by Iranian backed proxies?

I think we’ve been pretty clear on this and my colleagues at the White House yesterday talked about this as well. We know that the groups conducting these attacks are supported by the IRGC and the Iranian regime. What we are seeing is the prospect for more significant escalation against US forces and personnel across the region in the very near term coming from Iranian proxy forces and, ultimately, from Iran.

(10:22)
By virtue of our announcement over the weekend, we are preparing for this escalation both in terms of defending our forces and responding decisively. And I just want to emphasize the point that I made earlier, which is that we always reserve the right to defend ourselves and we will never hesitate to take action when needed to protect our forces and our interests overseas.

At this point, can you confirm which Iranian backed militias are responsible for these attacks?

Again, I’m not going to go into specifics here from the podium, other than to say that we know that these groups are Iranian proxy groups.

And, lastly, can we get a breakdown of the injuries that have occurred based on these attacks and have there been any TBIs that have occurred as a result of these attacks as well?

Yeah, again, we’ll come back to you on that. Thank you. Jeff.

When were the most recent attacks? You’ve mentioned 10 in Iraq, three in Syria. When were the most recent of these attacks? And, separately, can you confirm that the Carney used its five-inch gun to shoot down some of the drones launched by the Houthis?

Yeah. In terms of the Carney, Jeff, I’m just not going to go into specifics on its defensive systems. And, as far as the attacks go, I can confirm, and I think I talked about this yesterday, we had the attempted attack on Tanf garrison in Syria, no casualties or damage to infrastructure. I’m aware that there are data miner alerts out there talking about another potential attack today, so we’re looking into that. I just don’t have any information to provide.

(11:58)
But, again, it is our intent to be able to confirm the details of these attacks since they’ve begun and make that available to the press and to the public. Two reasons. One, you’ve asked the question and, two, we’re very sensitive to the fact that there’s a lot of misinformation out there right now about whether attacks have occurred or not. And so, we’d like to have something in the public record so that we can have a basis for truth as we go forward on this. Thank you. Chris. And then I’ll come back to you, Joe.

Thanks, Pat. A couple questions just to follow up on the attacks. Did any of the attacks in Syria come from inside Iraq?

Chris, right now, I just don’t have that level of detail to provide.

Okay. And then, second question, you’ve highlighted there’s a very near term threat, but it will take some time for these additional forces, the carrier, to arrive. What steps are you taking right now, in near term deterrence, to prevent attacks?

Yeah, to be clear, we have significant capabilities in the theater right now. You’ve got the Ford, that’s in the Eastern Mediterranean. You’ve got an expanded number of fighter aircraft throughout the region, in addition to the naval assets that are already in the central command, AOR. There should be no confusion whether or not we have the ability to respond to any potential threats, right now. The announcement over the weekend, as it highlighted, is intended to enhance those capabilities and sustain those capabilities for as long as we may need in order to continue to both deter and protect our troops.

And one final quick question. Do you have an update on the number of C17 flights that have gone into Israel-

I do not. I do not. I can tell you that we are conducting regular near daily missions to provide them with support, but I can take that question and we’ll see what we’re able to provide on that. Let me go to Joe and then I need to come back to the phone here.

Thank you. Quick question, would you say, on the record, if the Houthis have mid-range missiles that can reach Israel?

Yeah. Thanks, Joe. I’m not really able to get into specific intelligence. I can tell you that it’s our assessment that the range of those missiles was likely in excess of 200 kilometers.

200 or 200,000.

Thousand.

200,000.

Yeah. Okay, let me go to the phone here. Look, I studied advertising at University of Florida. Please do not make me do math up here. All right, let me go to Jared from all monitor.

Hi, sir. Thanks for doing this. There’ve been some news reports, including in my outlet, citing Israeli officials as saying that, essentially, while they greatly appreciate the US military support and coordination, that they feel that, in order to maintain deterrence, Israel, as a state in the Middle East neighborhood, that they have really no choice but to go ahead with the Gaza campaign ground incursion. Does the department share that…

Look, I’m not going to speak for Israel. I think it’s important to remember how we got here. First of all, we have had a very longstanding relationship with Israel and have worked together for many years to ensure our mutual security in the region. As I highlighted earlier, on October 7th, Israel was attacked by Hamas in a brutal and cruel attack. And so, since that day, we have worked hard to ensure that we are working closely with Israel to understand what their defense needs

… are to restore security and protect their people. And so that continues to be our focus. Let me go to James, The Messenger.

Appreciate the opportunity. The question was answered. Thank you.

Thank you. Come back to the room. Yes ma’am?

Thanks, Pat. How involved was OSD in Google’s decision to disable live traffic conditions in Israel and the Gaza Strip at the request of the IDF ahead of a potential ground invasion?

Yes. I’m not tracking any involvement from DOD on that, so thank you.

And separately, is the Defense Department providing Israel with Phoenix Ghost or other loitering munitions? And in that light, is the department supplying new or emerging tech weapons that have not been deployed by US forces in conflicts yet?

You’ve heard me talk about the kinds of capabilities that we’re providing, so I don’t have anything additional to announce at this point in time. As we’ve said, we continue to remain in close contact with Israel, for example, Secretary Austin talking on a near daily basis with the Minister of Defense there to understand what their needs are. And so as we have new capabilities that they request that we’re able to announce, we certainly will do that. Thank you. Vody?

I have two questions. So yesterday, there was one report quoting a US official that Israel is delaying its incursionment to Gaza to give the US more time to prepare for a wide escalation or conflict in the region. Do you have a comment on that report?

Yeah, I saw those press reports. Look, I’ll be clear, again, it’s Israel’s decision as to when and how they conduct their operations. The relationship between the United States and Israel right now is focused on, again, understanding what their defense needs are and making sure that we’re able to support them in that regard.

(17:52)
But we’re also communicating with them, as I highlighted earlier, in terms of providing those kinds of thoughtful questions and things to consider based on our lessons in urban combat. And then also emphasizing the importance of mitigating civilian casualties in light of the situation in Gaza. And so that continues to be our focus.

And in terms of… You talked about deterrence, you talked about what was announced on the weekend, although it could be looked at it as more like defensive assets, not offensive assets in terms of THAAD and Patriot. But as you highlighted, between October 17 and October 24, there’s been 13 attacks on US forces in Iraq, in Syria. I don’t know what your view is on deterrence and how deterrence works and whether this is a case of failed deterrence, but my question to you is, do you assess at this moment, how big are the chances that this conflict could be widened based on the reaction from groups that are attacking the US?

So a couple things there. Let me just kind of break it down.

(19:07)
So first of all, to your point, our focus… There’s a couple different things at play here and I think it’s important to separate them into their parts. There’s the situation with Israel and Hamas and their efforts to defend themselves against Hamas. And so as I mentioned at the top, we’re focused on supporting their defensive needs in order to protect their people. As we put these additional assets into the region, it again is meant to deter a wider conflict and to message those who might seek to make it a regional conflict, that would be a very bad idea.

(19:44)
Those capabilities give us options. They give us a wide range of capabilities to respond to a multitude of potential contingencies. You heard me talk yesterday, no one wants a broader regional conflict. And so we’re going to continue to not only ensure that we have those capabilities in the region, but continue to communicate clearly with our partners and our allies throughout the region directly, and then also via messaging of these capabilities to potential adversaries or bad actors in the region.

(20:16)
Separately, we have forces in Iraq and Syria that are there for one purpose only. Our forces in Iraq are there at the invitation of the government of Iraq to assist them in the campaign to defeat ISIS, ensure that the lasting defeat of ISIS, our forces in Syria are there as part of the campaign to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS.

(20:40)
So as you see these Iranian proxy groups, and it’s not the first time that they’ve done this, attempt to destabilize, attempt to divert attention, what I’m saying is that we are going to take appropriate measures to protect our people so that they can stay focused on the mission. So right now, this conflict in Israel is contained to Israel and Israel fighting Hamas. And that will continue to be a focus of ours, but we’re also not going to hesitate to protect our people when they’re in harm’s way doing important national security missions like the Defeat ISIS Mission. Thank you. Laura?

Thanks, Pat. Just to clarify on the missile that was launched from the Houthis, you said it ranges in excess of 2000 kilometers. Is that correct?

Correct.

So you assessed that the Houthis do have missiles that can reach Israel?

Correct.

(21:39)
And again, I think to highlight what I said earlier, and I think it was this week, I don’t remember the time all blurs, but when we talked earlier about this, we still cannot say for certain what those missiles and drones were targeting. But those missiles were within range of that ship, the Carney. And so the Carney made the decision to take those missiles down.

And have you seen any other such incidents involving those types of missiles since then?

No, not at this time. Mike?

The munitions requirements for Israel and Ukraine are, for the most part, not in conflict with the exception of 155 millimeter howitzer rounds. What’s the Pentagon and Defense Department doing to ensure that their needs as well as US military’s own internal needs to have a supply of those rounds are on hand?

Yeah, great question. So a couple of things. As you know, we have been working closely with industry not only in the United States, but working with our allies and partners and their defense industrial base to look at ramping up production of 155.

(22:53)
In fact, just last week, the National Armaments Directors again met as part of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group process to, again, look at how we can continue to increase that production.

(23:09)
We are confident that we can meet both Israel’s needs and Ukraine’s needs going forward. I would also highlight, again, as you know, the White House provided a supplemental last week, a request to Congress for additional funding. And so of course those resources would be very welcome in terms of going forward to ensure that we’re able to continue to provide the level of support that we need to both Ukraine and Israel.

(23:36)
But we are confident that we have what we need to be able to support them, at the same time, ensure that our military readiness stays at the threshold that it needs to; we will not sacrifice our own military readiness when it comes to defending the nation. Thank you. Let me go back to the phone here, J.J. from WTOP?

Yeah, thanks General for doing this. You said

Yesterday and you said again today that what we are seeing is the prospect for more significant escalation against US forces and personnel across the region in the near term coming from Iranian proxy forces and ultimately from Iran. When you say that, do you mean Iranian forces making direct attacks on US forces and are you seeing evidence that they’re planning or preparing for that?

Yeah. Thanks JJ. I am not going to get into hypotheticals at this point. I think my words speak for themselves in terms of we are continuing to see the prospect for increased escalation in light of the tensions throughout the region with these groups attempting to exploit that. And so, so far we’ve seen these Iranian proxy groups in Iraq and Syria conducting these attacks. And I’ll just leave it at that. All right, let me go to John Ismay, New York Times.

Yes. Hi. I was wondering if you can tell me a little bit about what the Carney was doing before she took defensive actions and what she’s been doing since.

Yeah, thanks John. So she was sailing. I’m just kidding. I don’t have any specifics to provide in terms of beyond, obviously we have a variety of assets in the region, as you know, that are supporting our both national security interests and our regional security interest. In terms of the current disposition of the ship, I don’t have anything to provide on that at the moment. Let me go to Phil Stewart, Reuters.

Hey there. Thank you. Just a quick clarification. I thought initially you said that the missile had an excess range of 200 and then I think you confirmed that you said it was over 2000. I just want to make sure which one of those it was. And then secondly, last night or yesterday, the senior defense official briefed all of us that Iran would be held accountable for these attacks. I’m just wondering if you could explain a little bit what that means. Thank you.

Yeah, thanks. So yes, 2000. And then in terms of accountability, again, look, I’m not going to discuss particular actions we could or might take other than to say again, we will do everything necessary to protect and defend our forces. If and when we would decide to respond, we will do so at a time and place of our choosing. Thank you. All right, time for a few more. Yes sir.

Thanks, General. So when the Biden administration and the DOD say they’re confident that Israel will follow the law of war, I’m wondering which law is being referred to here. Is it the Geneva Convention, the United Nations, ICC? Last week we saw an Israeli strike hit the Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church, which killed about 18, including some family members of former US Congressman, Justin Amash. So I’m just wondering if attacks like those are in line with the laws of war that the DOD is applying.

Yeah, look, so I’ll let Israel talk to its operations. In our communications with the Israelis again, we continue to encourage them to abide by the laws of war. We are both democracies, we are both professional militaries and we understand the importance of doing so. Again, I will also highlight the challenges here with urban warfare. I will highlight, we’ve made very clear that the Palestinians are not Hamas and that Hamas’ are not the Palestinians. And it is very, very unfortunate that we see a terrorist group who embeds themselves within a civilian population in order to protect and hide. But again, in our conversations with the Israelis, as we made very clear, we’re continuing to highlight the importance of mitigating civilian casualties and ensuring that, for example, things like safety corridors are thought through.

Could you speak a little bit on which laws of war are being applied for those of us assessing the war?

I’m not going to go into a doctrinal discussion about the laws of war. I think we all know what we’re talking about, law of armed conflict and yeah. Thank you. Sir.

Thanks General. From the beginning, the US has been supporting Israel with military needs and equipments with ammunitions, and now you have expertise helping the Israeli IDF to conduct their operation, possible operation in Gaza. So this is adding your responsibility against the civilian casualties in the region more. So what are these experts are going to, what kind of role are they going to play in terms of minimizing civilian casualties or are they going to help the civilian casualties to decrease in a possible operation?

Yeah, so let me just kind of push back on a little bit of what you said there. So to be clear, these subject matter experts are not there to help the Israelis conduct their operations. They’re not in any way actively participating in operations. Again, they’re there to advise. And I think it’s also important to put into context that we have had, as you highlighted, a long, many year relationship with the Israelis. We frequently share information with one another, and it really works both ways in terms of lessons learned. But again, given the expertise in conducting warfare in dense urban environments in places like Iraq, sharing those lessons learned to include the importance of doing everything you can to mitigate civilian casualties.

(29:58)
And Secretary Austin, in fact, spoke about this when he was in Israel during his press conference, talking about his own experiences in places like Mosul and ensuring that you have safety corridors and things like that. Because at the end of the day, what everyone’s trying to do here is protect innocent civilian lives in terms of ensuring that terrorist groups like Hamas cannot continue to do what they have done in this situation. Thank you. All right, thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. I appreciate your time today.