Transcripts For CSPAN3 CIA Director John Brennan Discusses Global Threats 20160705

Here on cspan3. John brennan on last weeks terrorist attack in istanbul and ongoing threats to u. S. National security. Hosted by the council on foreign relations, this is an hour. Welcome to the council on foreign relations, im Judy Woodruff and im delighted to introduce our speaker this afternoon. I dont think there could be a better time or moment for us to hear from the director of the Central Intelligence agency without further ado, please welcome director john brennan. Thank you, it is a pleasure to be back at the council to compare notes on Dynamic International scene, i very much look forward to talking with judy and Council Membership on the many topics in the headlines. I would first like to offer brief opening remarks to kick off the conversation today. Now, whenever i administer the oath of offices to our headquarters in langley, virginia, i tell them they are coming aboard at the critical moment. In the 36 years since i first entered government, i have never been witnessing a time with such a daunting array of challenges to a National Security. Notable is that some of the institutions and relationships that have been pillars the post Cold War International system are under serious stress. The United Kingdom voted to leave the european union. Of all of the crises they have faced in recent years, it may well be its greatest challenge. Brexit is pushing the eu into interinspection that will pur va everything the eu does in weeks and months ahead. They are demanding their own referendums on multiple eu issues and this will make decisionmaking and forging consensus in the eu much harder. No member state has ever left the union. So europe is entering a period of uncertainty as the uk and the eu take stock of the situation and begin staking out the negotiating positions. Discussions about how an exit will work will dominate the eu agenda in the months ahead. The negotiations for the exit agreement will not begin until the Prime Minister formally notifies of the intention to leave which Prime Minister David Cameron has said will occur his successor. Eu and member state leaders, including the uk will be meeting in the coming dads and weeks to lay the groundwork. Regardless of what lies ahead, i would like to take this opportunity to say that the brexit vote will not adversely affect the partnership between the United States and United Kingdom in the months and years ago. Indeed, i spoke to my counterpart in london early monday morning and we reaffirmed to one another that the bonds of friendship and cooperation between our services are only destined to grow stronger in the years ahead. These ties are and will always be essential to our collective security. I presume a few of you have questions about terrorism and the socalled Islamic State of iraq and ill look forward to addressing them in the question and answer session. I know that our collective hearts go out to the families of the latest victims of the horrific terrorist attacks perpetrated as well as incited by isil. The despicable attack at istanbuls airport that killed dozens and injured many more certainly bears the hall mark of isils depravity. Let me take a moment to discuss some less discussed but important issues that we throughout the Intelligence Community are watching closely. Ill start with the overarching challenge of instability which grips large sections of the globe. It is one of the defining issues of our time and its implications are hard to overstate. As instability spreads, extremists and terrorists are finding sanctuary in ungoverned spaces and Energy Supplies are being disrupted, political reform is suffering as too many governments opt for athor tear yan measures at the expense of principles and respect for human rights. Most devastating of all is the human toll attendant to instability. Last week the United Nations reported that a number of people had reached 65 million, the highest figure ever reported. In a host of countries from east asia to the middle east to west africa, governments are under stress and civil institutions are struggling to provide basic services and maintain law and order. As governments recede from the center for national life, more people are shifting allegiances away in the nation state and towards subnational groups and identities, leaving societies to fracture along ethnic and sectarian lines. A region i have studied closely much of my professional life, when i lived there years ago i liked to walk through neighborhoods and villages to observe the rhythms of daily life. Ive seen people of different backgrounds and belief living side by side secular and devout. Today relations among these groups are too often marred by suspicion and distrust and outright hos tist. Extremist groups luring impressible young men and women to join the cause and spreading false narrative meant to divide and inflame. A whole generation growing up in a environment of militaryism without a chance to learn skills to contribute or engage in modern day society. The underlying causes are complex and difficult to address and the long term consequences of these developments are deeply troubling. Global instability is an issue that affects all countries from russia to china to the United States. It must be met by strong collective response from the International Community. Im certain this issue will loom large on the agenda of the next administration. Another strategic challenge is dealing with the tremendous power, potential, opportunities and risks resident in the digital domain. No matter how many geopolitical crises or seasonal headlines, the vulnerability and range of human activity taking place within cyber space are constantly on my mind. On the Cyber Security front, organizations of all kinds are under constant attack from a range of actors, foreign governments and criminal gangs and extremist groups and cyber activists and many others. In the new and relatively unchartered frontier, speed and agility are king. Malicious actors have shown they can penetrate a network and withdraw in very short order. Plunderring systems without anyone knowing they were there until maybe after the damage is already done. I served at the white house, cyber was part of my portfolio and it was always the subject that gave me the biggest headache. Cyber attackers are determined and adaptive. They often collaborate and share expertise. And they come at you in so many different ways with an ever changing array of tools tactics and techniques. Moreover, our laws have not adequately add dapted to the emergence of this new digital frontier. Most worry some from my perspective, theres still no political or National Consensus on the appropriate role of the government. Law enforcement and Homeland Security and intelligence agencies in safeguarding the security and reliability and resiliency and pros spert of the digital domain. The Intelligence Community is making Great Strides but much work needs to be done. As we move forward on this issue, one thing we know is that private industry will have a huge role to flay as the vast majority of the internet is in private hands. Protecting it is not something the government can do on its own. Right up there with tourism, global instability and Cyber Security is Nuclear Proliferation and Accompanying Development of Delivery Systems both tactical and strategic to make all too real the potential for a nuclear event. Unsurprisingly, top of my list of countries of concern is north korea. Whos authoritarian leader wanted to develop a Nuclear Program to threaten neighbor states and United States instead of taking care the repressed men and women and children of north korea. So what else is there besides terrorism and global instability and Cyber Security and Nuclear Proliferation that worries that the cia director and keeps us busy around the globe . As a liberal arts guy, from the baby boomer generation, the rapid pace of technological change during my lifetime has been dizzying. As we have seen with just about every scientific leap forward, new technologies often carry substantial risks to the same degree that they hold tremendous promise. Nowhere are the stakes higher for our National Security than in the field of biotechnology. Recent advances in genome editing are also cause for concern. Because the same methods could be used to create genetically engineered biological warfare agents and though the overwhelming majority have tended to be rashl enough with unpredictable consequences, a subnational terrorist entity such as isil won few come pungss in dealing such a weapon. The potential measures to mitigate it were laid out clearly last october in the bipartisan report of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on biodefense shared by Joe Lieberman and former secretary tom ridge. As with the cyber threat, the International Communitys response to this issue lags behind the Technology Driving it. Effectively countering this danger requires the development of national and International Strategies along with the consensus of the laws and standards and authorities needed and cia officers and Intelligence Community colleagues work hard to protect the country from the darker side of technological change, were mindful how beneficial advances could have destabilizing effects in the long run. Agency all sorts analysts drawing from the ever expandsing pool of global open Source Information seek to offer our National Leaders Early Warning of potential challenges that could arise from the advances we are seen with today across the spectrum of technological endeavors. As former defense secretary and cia director bob gates is fond of saying, when Intelligence Officers smell flowers they look around for a coffin. That remains a good depiction of our mind set. One example taking a page from the biotech and Life Sciences sectors how a wide range of break throughs that potentially could extend Life Expectancy stuch as new methods of fighting cancer and greater understanding of the aging process, could reinforce the trend towards older populations in advanced nations and some of the leading economies and lesser economies could face stronger headwinds from having significantly larger proportions of retired people and older people relative to working age citizens. G one that has gained my personal attention is strat os fehric sai, with particles that help reflect the suns heat in much the way way volcanic eruptions do. It could limit temperature increases reducing some risks associated with higher temperatures and providing the World Economy additional time to transition from fossil fuels. This process is also relatively inexpensive. The National Research council estimates that a fulldy deployed program would cost about 10 billion yearly. As promising as it may be it would also raise a number of challenges for the International Community. On technical side, Green House Gas emission, to address other such as ocean asid fiction, sai alone would not remove Greenhouse Gases from the atmosphere. On the geopolitical side, the technologys potential to alter weather patterns and benefit certain regions of the world at the expense of other regions could trigger sharp opposition by some nations and others might seize on the benefits and back away from commitment to carbon deoxide deductions and with other breakthrough technologies, global norms and standards are looking to guide the implementation of sai and other g geoengineering initiatives. I could go on and on about the things that fascinate me. I thought i would stop here and start the conversation with judy then i can take some of your questions. I very much appreciate the invitation to come back here and as i say to all of the groups i speak to, it is a tremendous honor and privilege i lead an organization full of pay i dont thinkic men and women who make great risks and put themselves on the front lines to keep fellow americans safe and secure and do what they can to keep the countrys security secure. Thank you so much. [ applause ] were all impressed with what you deal requewith on a re basis, director brennan, and i want to come back to whats in the news right now, this latest attack in istanbul. What the administration has been saying and i think you referenced it just now, is that it has the ear marks of isis. How much is known about whos behind this and why does it point in their direction . To my knowledge theres no credible claim of responsibility to this point but thats not surprising because at least in most instances, if not all, isis has not claimed credit or responsibility for attacks perpetrated inside of turkey. They carry out attacks to gain benefits from it in terms of sending a signal to our turkish partners, at the same time not wanting to potentially maybe ali alienating those individuals inside of turkey that they may still be trying to gain the support of. Why are they able to pull off these attacks with what seems to be great regularity and without the ability to pull prevent them ahead of time. Theres a variety of reasons, when individuals are committed to carry out these socalled suicide attacks that kill and maim so many people, they dont have to worry about an escape route. It makes carrying out the attack so much easier. They want to make sure they are able to penetrate whatever perimeter defense there may be and there is no perimeter defense. Thats what an open society is. They are able to get hands on automatic weapons, legally procured in some countries or through the black market in others. They are able to take advantage of technologies without having security and intelligence agencies able to understand what it is they are plotting. Being able to fabricate a plot and carrying it out among a small group of individuals, it is unfortunately a feature of our times that isil in particular has been able to carry out attacks. Is it something the rest of the world should get used to . I dont think we should ever get used to. We have to redouble our efforts to uncover what they are doing and stop them in terms of carrying out attacks but go to the source of it, which is those who are directing and orchestrating these attacks and isil, movement of tst of the at directed or incited by their external Operations Group which is resident in the syria iraq theater. In several news interviews youve done lately, youve made a point of saying or have said that our efforts have not reduced is sis capability and global reach. Theres a frustration that seems to come through in your not that theres an expression on your face, but what what is it . What does this mean to you as somebody who has been working in this area for so long . Any intelligence or security or Law Enforcement professional who has the responsibility to try to prevent these attacks from occurring, those who have been involved in Counter Terrorism for some time are interested and determined to do whatever we can to destroy these organizations that give birth to these horrific attacks. As ive said recently, weve made significant progress along with Coalition Partners in syria and iraq where most of the isis members are resident right now. But the isis ability to continue to prop pull gate its narrative as well as to incite and carry out these attacks, we still have a way to go before were able to say that we have made some significant progress against them. Is it a the need for better intelligence . Is it better do we need more resources or money poured into the effort . What is it. The challenge with isis, which is much different than al qaeda, al qaeda at its height had maybe a couple thousand individuals with a core of several hundred. Isis has tens of thousands of individuals scattered not just in the middle east but also to west africa and Southeast Asia and beyond. And so theres the scope of the problem number one. Number two, they have made very sophisticated use of Communications Systems and in order to protect and prevent protect the communications and prevent the authorities from having insight into what they are doing. Also, theyve fed upon the instability ha has wraped the middle east. Al qaeda and isis had nothing to do with initiation of the arab spring but taken the collapse of some spaces and movement of people and goods in this 21st century world can facilitate what it is isis is trying to do. They dont even have to reach out and touch somebody, the horrific attacks in orlando, they can access the material and you have individuals that they are able to guide and direct and to deploy. Theres a range of challenges that Intelligence Security agencies have but its sharing information among nations around the world. We saw in the aftermath of brussels, were trying to work with european partners. They have different Legal Systems and structures. How are they going to share information in a rapid and timely fashion to stop individuals who we may have a bit of data on. And in speaking of that, with the brexit vote, you said its not going to affect the u. S. Partnership with Great Britain with the uk but what about these other 27, 28 members give or take . How can it not affect your ability, the ability of the cia and other intelligence members of the Intelligence Community in the u. S. To deal with every one of these different entities and these other nations. Thats what we do right now. Much of or interaction is with the Intelligence Security services and bilateral channels, were trying to have multilateral sharing arrangements whereby we can all use the information that we individually collect and have access to. Eu has not been an operational element of the counter tourism effort. Its more of a policy and govern aeps structure. I do not see it affecting our ability to work with the brits as well as the remainder of the eu on the counterterrorism front. You see seamless cooperation with partners that the u. S. Needs to have intel sharing . I dont think i said seamless. I dont think the brexit is going to adverse the effect how we deal with brits. Theres still a lot of work that needs to be done to put together a Mission Architect tour to allow europe as a whole to share information in a timely fashion. Were working with the brits as well as rest of the europeans but its not just european issue, it with the middle Eastern Countries and african countries. This is going to be a journey that well be on for quite some time. Here in the u. S. With the Orlando Attack you just mentioned and with what happened in san bernard dean know, do you feel youve learn something from those two incidents that puts you in a better position to understand what to do to prevent or get into the minds of these young people, mainly young men, who are carrying out these isis inspired what appear to be isis inspired one, this country has done a great job since 9 11 making the American Homeland much more difficult for terrorist organizations to penetrate physically and send people over because of things like the watch list and the very close cooperation between Law Enforcement intelligence, we see the most recent examples of those who are here and incited to carry out these attacks. I have tremendous respects for the fbis capabilities and interact with jim comey on a regular basis. They have say real challenge because there are individuals who could be in their home, no interaction with other people, but will be on the internet and will be shaped and influenced by what they are seeing in terms of this narrative and decide on their own, maybe with a spouse or maybe with others, or maybe alone, to carry out an attack. And if they get their hands on a weapon or explosive material, they can do great damage before the signatures that are traditionally associated with traditional terrorist groups are seen. And what is the cias role in working with the fbi on that . Youre right, its a domestic challenge but the cia cia working with other parteners nsa and Homeland Security. We do a very good job of sharing as much Data Information as possible, all of the puzzle pieces. Any lead we have from overseas collection or access, we make sure its shared with our partners, any of the trends or developments we see in terrorist organizations in terms of their modus operandi, we share that immediately. I think it has helped protects this country so the vulnerability that exist that the 9 11 hijackers and killers took advantage of, they no longer exist but there are other ways that isis can adapt to the reality now to be able to carry out these attacks. I want to come back to isis and syria and in iraq. Yes, theres been some progress as you say, but its its frustratingly slow. Youre dealing with you have the iranians playing a role in iraq and i guess to a lesser extent in syria, but certainly in iraq. Where do you see the iranians as being supportive, being in a supportive role because of the side they take in iraq or do you see them as being in the opposite role . Yes. There are things they can do and have done in order to address terrorist threats they face, which are similar to what we face. One of the things about isis that distinguishes it, it has a very strong antishia dimension to it. Because of the years where the Sunni Community felt as though a shia dominated and iranian influenced government in baghdad was not addressing the needs of the Sunni Community, so i think they are very concerned about that growth. Iran is identified as the leading state sponsor of terrorism because of what they have done. They are both a part of the problem but they also are hopeful maybe with the growing influence and asendants of more of the elements of the government and rohani, we may see a iran truly move towards rejoining the community of nations and fulfilling its role and responsibility. While it continues to provide support to terrorist organizations like hezbollah inside of iraq and theres a real problem with tehran. Whats the level of communication between your agency and iran . I dont communicate with iran. Theres zero i do not have personally any interaction. Not personally. I do not have any interaction, formal liaison relationship with iran. Does the agency . The agency does not. No formal intelligence maybe somebody out here can phrase it better. President assad we know the iranians very well. Just saying. President assad does not seem to be certainly weakened to some extent but hanging on in syria, there doesnt seem to be much evidence that hes budging from his position. How do you weigh where the syrian conflict stands right now . Last year this time assad was really on the ropes in terms of the Syrian Military taking on the chin a number of areas north of damascus. And that is what prompted moscow to decide to sends several thousand personnel and artillery and you name it in order to prop up the regime that they have invested over the last 50 years or so. The downward trajectory of the regimes fortune was reversed as a result of engagement in moscow. We believe that assad is part of the problem, not part of the solution. He is the reason after the atrocities he perpetrated on his people, he lost all legitimacy in terms of ruling that country. And thats also one of the reasons why we have so many of the Syrian People up in arms against assad and the damascus and foreign fighters. We believe that although he may be strengthened on the battlefield relative to where tefs last year, we really are continuing to push the russians because they play a Critical Role in this. Theres going to be no way forward on the political front without active russian cooperation as well as true and genuine russian interests in trying to find a political half because this is not going to be resolved on battlefield. Do you see any progress on that front . I have had numerous interactions with night russian counterparts, visited moscow and talked with them. I feel as though they can do more. They probably feel we can do more. But they i dont believe lived up to commitments as far as honoring the cessation of hostilities and getting the trajectory of the syrian conflict on a better course, particularly on the political transition front. So how do you how do you turn that around . How do you change that . The dogged determination of our diplomats led by the infatiguable john kerry who works with mr. Lavrov and others to try to have a common appreciation of what the situation is inside of syria. I have no doubt that the russians are motivated in part in terms of their investment in syria out of concern about the growth of isis and terrorist forces there. Whether it be isis and al qaeda in syria, they are determined to i think try to crush those forces. At the same time though, i think they recognize that these forces have grown because of the problems that existed in syria in the syrian government. Last question and then well open it up to the audience. I was struck that i guess i shouldnt have been, that you the greatest Nuclear Proliferation threat still comes from north korea. Is there any progress in terms of intelligence information, communication with the north, is it still chiefly through china . That is another one of the more frustrating aspects of our International Agenda that you have someone like kim jongun who continues to pursue these nuclear and Ballistic Missile capabilities. I dont believe he yet has come to realize that the International Community is going to remain united against the nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and that were not going to accept north korea as a nuclear state, which is what he is demanding. And so therefore, i think the International Community wants to be able to bring north korea out of its International Isolation and help the north Korean People but there needs to be a better appreciation on the part of kim jongun that his continued pursuit of these military capabilities and Nuclear Capabilities is only going to undermine his long term prospects. You dont sense that message is get being through. He seems to be exceptionally stubborn and not a good listener. With that i want to invite all of you to ask questions. Im told that this meeting is on the record. I think we already knew that. We have microphones and well bring them to you. Raise your hands and stand up, were asking you to tell us who you are and give us your affiliation and keep it to one question so we can get to as many of you as possible. Who has the first question . Why dont we start here on the third row. Gentleman in the middle. Ats lancaster tick council. I wonder if you comment on the iranian saudi rivalry and how the plans might help or hurt that relationship . Its a longstanding rivalry that predates the current leadership as well as the current governments in both countries. This rivalry between persian and arab, shia and sunni unfortunately has undermined i think some of the efforts in the past to try to bridge that gap. Unfortunately, the continued problems that exist inside iraq and syria do not help to facilitate even the productive dialogue between tehran and rea has had. There are sharply differences of view about what the future of syria and iraq should look like. So i drk its important for two very large important and influential countries in the golf region to be ab gulf region to finds some were hoping some of the more rational actors inside of iran are going to recognize that there needs to be some type of accommodation with the saudi leadership and saudi government and in my engagements with the saudis and i do have leads on engagement with saudi arabia, they are interested in pursuing that if they feel as though the iranian leadership is generally interested in pursuing something other than antagonistic relationship. Is that something the u. S. Is trying to persuade them of . I think one of the real motivating factors behind the jcpoa, was to tamp down the tensions that were rising as a result of the program in the gulf with the ultimate aim of having the gulf states, ones that are in that region, find a better way to communicate with one another, first of all and secondly see whether or not there can be repairing of those relations. In the past there have been times when saudi arabia and iran under different leaders were able to Work Together. There are areas where i think there is quite a bit of interaction. The iranians have decided not to send pilgrims to mecca this year because of security concerns there and because of this an tagnxta tagnism that continues to exist. Youre only going to improve relations if you have dialogue. Far against the wall over here. Yes. John sullivan with george mason university. There have been a number of excellent articles recently in counc Council Publications talking about the erosion of the democratic trend around the world and revival of the auto cratic tend entcys. I wonder in your major overarching concerns, to what degree do you worry about this fracturing of democracy and increase in authoritarian revival . We will have remarks available on the cia website later on today and i do say in there a lot of these governments and regimes have opted for authoritarian measures at the expense of human principles and human rights. I do think unfortunately some of the these governments feel as though they are overwhelmed by the security challenge they face and will resort back to some of the traditional measures of suppressing these challenges with authoritarian measures. We also though i think have to recognize that western style democracy, which has taken several hundred years to really take root and its continuing to be a journey for us, that life switch that can be just flipped in these middle Eastern Countries and our states. Going from very traditional societies and having the tr trappings of modernization in some cities, still culturally unfamiliar with practices and democratic principles we hold so dear. I think we have to be understanding that this is going to take some time. At the same time, we, the u. S. Government, we, the cia, are very very clear in terms of the types of behaviors and actions we will not tolerate with that type of suppression and human rights. We had cia have not only threatened to custody off relations with those liaison partners with information they practiced we have cut off relati relations. We have to keep the pressure on them and make sure that the navigation of the shoals that stand between these governments today and a thriving democracy are significant. And i think we have to help them navigate it. One of the real concerns i have is that the economic challenges that these countries face are overwhe overwhelming. When i think about the suffering thats taking place in yemen, still in the midst of active fig fighting, the reconstruction thats going to be required to put that country back together and syria and iraq and libya and the economic reform that has to take place in the region that are not racked by instability are significant. How do you make these changes on the economic front and political front while dealing with these serious threats that some individuals who purport that want or demonstrator protest purportedly in the name of democracy are not really interested in a flourishing democracy, interested in bringing down one authoritarian regime to put another one. The middle east is racked by a number of problems right now i think will be front and center for this government a, the unit States Government for many years to come. In the back. Thank you. Kim dozier, with the council. Sir, you mentioned in recent testimony that isisisil would have to lose a lot more money, material and manpower before we would see them quote unquote on the back foot. Is it also possibly time to retire phrases like on the back foot or in retreat, because all of these different groups over the past 15 years have seemed to just change names but the ideology just switches to a new group. Terrorism has been with us through mellenia and used by all different groups. Carrying out attacks in the name of terrorism can be relatively inexpensive and relatively easy to fabricate and carry out. When you have a motivational engine like isil daish makes the potential that much more serious. When i commented on recent testimony we made progress on the battlefield and still a ways from being able to say were able to successfully thwart this isil growth, what im saying is that it really has been generated by what happened in the syria iraq theater it has a trajectory momentum that is carrying it forward. We needs efforts designed to go upstream where the external p t plotters are in terms of syria and iraq and attacking the network in terms of individuals and flow office the narrative and poison that goes out as well as working down stream to stop the attacks whether it be in istanbul, paris, belgium, whatever. It needs to be a collective and combined effort to attack all these different areas. Right now i am still concerned the isil generated engine of foreign terrorism outside of syria and iraq still has a lot of momentum that we cannot rest at all. We have to increase our efforts. I was struck after i gave that testimony how a lot of members of the esteemed media were trying to highlight how i my comments differed from the white houses comments. I must tell you im hard pressed to think about where president obama and i differ on this issue in terms of what weve been able to accomplish inside syria and iraq and at the same time are concerned about the lethality isil can bring to all our communities either because their hand can reach that far, theyve taken advantage of the openness of our societies or because theyre doing it via the internet. I think we share a very similar view on the status of isils fortunes both inside the theater as well as what they can do in terms of external operations. Ork. The very back. The hand up. Thank you. Ken delaney. You said in an interview yesterday youd be very surprised if isis wasnt pl plotting an istanbul style attack in the United States. Do you have evidence such an attack is in the works and has t have the chances of such an attack gone up in recent months or weeks . What i was saying is we have seen isil carry out and incite an array of terrorist attacks in the region, beyond the region directly, indirectly, that i would be surprised if isil wasnt considering carrying those attacks abroad and near abroad and leading the colixaln toe destroy as much of this inside iraq as possible. It would be surprising to me if isil was not trying to hit us both in the region as well as in our homeland. You see in the propagational material and they have a magazine that goes out that says exactly that, exhorts individ l individuals to do it. If anybody here believes that the u. S. Homeland is hermetically sealed and that the dash or isil would not consider that i would guard against that. Do you think were more hermetically sealed or more told than we were after 9 11 . Absolutely. I think we have gone to Great Lengths and briefed our foreign partners how we learned painful lessons as a result of 9 11. And were working together better dash than ever before. Some of it accurate, some of it bogus. Trying to make sense of it all and put the different public pieces together is challenging. I think were less vulnerable physical because of the actions weve taken. Youve seen with the internet isil taking advantage of technologies that allow them to communicate in a very secure fashion is certainly worrisome. Second row. Yes. Jimma mann author. There are several areas like cyber for example, where it might seem to fit in one way or another. Where does it fit into your list off challenges. As i said, i could have gone on and on about all the challenges out there. I didnt mention ukraine and a lot of issues related to russia. Chan is a growing power of great economic, political and increasingly military influence and presence. Clearly, as we look at whats happening in the south china sea, there is a reason for the the u. S. Pay attention to what china is doing on a number of fronts, which we are. Thats why there is the pivot to asia or making sure our allies and partners in that region feel with everything going on in the world we have not neglected that area. I was in singapore with ash carter at the singapore conference and met with people of other countries as well as my chinese counter part to let them know the United States treats this region of the world very seriously and we have very important National Security interests we will not step away from. If anybody thinks we are they are sadly mistaken. What we need to do is keep our eye on all these balls simultaneo simultaneously. This is not an effort to try to contain china, it is an effort to try to make sure u. S. National security interests are protected in advance as are the National Security interests and allies in the region and we fulfill our obligations particularly in the area of freedom of navigation in those seas. Second row over here. Christine vargas. Thank you for being here today. Another one on iran. Given the lessening of sanctions, were seeing a bit of a challenge getting investment into iran because european banks have taken a look and saying that Financial System doesnt look free of corruption yet, maybe i wont touch it. Given that dynamic, are you seeing the moderates in politics surviving until such time as those financial benefits come through and what event could tip the scales in one way or another . Thank you. We are going through a transition period from the time when iran was sanctioned across the board on so many fronts and that Financial Institutions and companies adapted to the framework that they were prev t prevented from engaging with iran. Now, were transitioning to the new environment in terms of what is allowed under jcpoa. And it is an adjustment that needs to be made. I know u. S. Officials and others are work being iranians as well as third parties to make sure its understood what is permissible and how these things can be done. That takes some time. Any time you will make a major adjustment like that . Do i think the moderates will survive during this period of time . Absolutely. I think the expectations among some within iran once the agreement was signed are quite high there would be immediate relief as well as immediate dividends as a result of this. There were some but i think there was a lot that this iranian Central Government that to do in terms of taking care of those structural strategic macroeconomic issues and other things they needed to do. The impact on individual iran n iranians is going to take place over time. Were very much hoping that impact is going to be felt certainly sooner than later as a way to validate the course the president and others are on. This will take a bit of time. Im sure some people are frustrated by it. I know our government is working to fulfill the obligations attendant to the agreement. This is taking a bit of time. The third row. If you forgive me an administrative question. Give me your name and organization. [ inaudible ]. Yesterday, i heard you say there was need for more Language Training in the agency. Have you advanced in that direction . Because as i go around the world i encounter your people and they dont seem to speak the local language. You did say you wanted to do it. Im curious what was done. We only let you encounter the people we want you to encounter. [ laughter ] as a way to continue to hide our presence overseas. [ inaudible ]. Well, i go to many stations and to our folks overseas. And they are proficient in a variety of languages. We have a language Strategic Initiative at the agency we continue to provide incentives, rewards, recognition for individuals able to not just enhance their language but expand their repertoire of la langua languages, critically important. I take your point and we need to have greater language capability inside the cia. Given that we are so we have Global Coverage we need to fulfill. The list of issues that we have to deal with continues to grow and grow and grow. And resources are resources are finite and we have to spread them around. We need the capability to fulfill our various missions and particularly on the human front it is critically important you have the ability to interact with individuals you want to work closely with. This gentleman on the fourth row on the aisle. Director brennan, scott her rel. Thank you for your efforts and the men and women. We have a new leader brought to power in china, the dppia, signs china is becoming more difficult and i wonder if you could describe the difficult threat, if you perceive one, from china to taiwan. I think from the president he has a Strategic Vision what he wants to accomplish in the region whether it is with the reclamation taking effect putting new effects in the sea. The relationship with taiwan is a very big and important one. Whether or not there is going to be an adjustment in that i think is going to be dependent how beijing views taiwan and vicever viceversa. Given there is a new administration in taiwan, given that there is a rather important dynamic going on in the really with how china is flexing some of its muscles, i think this also is in a period of transition. I think there is this dynamism. I think its not a secret to anybody Mainland China used taiwan views taiwan in a very special way. I think it has aspirations to further solidify the relationship between Mainland China and taiwan. I think this is all part of that adjustment with new leadership and i think there sometimes Campaign Rhetoric that takes place not just here in the states but also overseas that once the reality of governance comes in sometimes those views are tempered as far as the nature of interstate relations. Ill leave it there. How about in the middle back there, in the blue short. George salem. Director brennan my question concerns the 28 pages youve been on record about your view of their relative lack of value. My question is timing and release and relative classification and if they will be released with the investigative report which puts it all in context. I am only the director of cia. I dont make the decisions about the release of a congressional document of joint inquiry produced in december of 2002 that subsequently was followed up with the 9 11 commission that thoroughly investigated all the allegations and information that was in those 28 or 29 pages. Theres an executive branch responsibility because that document cited executive branch information, so there is, as been said publicly, theres been a review that has been under way so there is going to be the appropriate discussions that need to take place between executive and legislative bra h branchs to finalize. I believe its important that document get out because theres so much speculation and conjecture about it. I have said there is a lot of information in there that may be used by some to misrepresent the facts or history. Thats why the 9 11 commission thorough thorough Research Investigation really should be seen by folks as the much more dispositive of it. There are some other that may come out at the same time, as you point out, but again, i defer to others who have that Decision Making responsibility. Lets see. Trying to get to somebody next to the last third in from the end on the row, with your hand up. Youve had your hand up a long time. Yes. Yes. Simon henderson the Washington Institute for middle east policy. Theres a quote in the Washington Post in which you have a passing reference. I did talk to David Ignatius about that earle and its a reference to me. He didnt imply you did. The 30yearold saudi prince could jumpstart the kingdom or drive it off a cliff. What can the u. S. Do . What should it do to get a good outcome in saudi arabia . Continue to work very closely with the saudi leadership, the saudi government. President obama has been out there many times during his administration. We have constant interaction with the saudi government and the Political Economic Security Intelligence military realms. We have very close alignment of objectives in some areas. We need to continue to work with them. The saudi 2030 vision and project that was spearheaded by the deputy crown prince mohammad salon is an ambitious view of the future i think the saudi leadership as a whole deserves credit for thinking about how saudi arabia is going to prosper in the future across a number of differentareas, in terms of development, investment, employment, diversification of its economy. It is a very very important country to the regions stability, to u. S. National security interests. What were trying to do is make sure there is this very active dialogue and very open and candid discussion between ourselves and saudi arabia. The president has engaged extensively and has been very open and honest and candid with the areas we want to Work Together in saudi arabia because we agree. There are areas there are disagreeme disagreements. I have been impressed the dialogue has been so candid and its particularly important now because you have a new leadership, the king and crown prince, who need to be working as a team. They have a number of challenges on the security front given whats happening in yemen and their borders and other countri countries. Its a critically important relationship we will continue to nurture and definitively. This gentleman here the third independe end. Would you please give us your assessment of the terrorism and the contribution your agency gives . We do cooperate with the egypti egyptians. I spoke with my egyptian counter part this week to do what we can to protect individuals inside egypt and others. The challenge is there is an isil group there but used to be a local group that basically pledged allegiance to isil. Its not as though its a startup, this group was very active in the sinai for a number of years now part of the isis global architecture. Their responsibility for carrying out attacks against egyptian security, military officers there, they pose threat to the Multinational Force observers inside the sinai. We work closely with the egyptians and try to give them the information they need to prevent these outrageous terrorist attacks from taking place whether in the sinai or other areas. There have been attacks inside cairo. We have a close and candid conversation with egyptians. There are areas we believe the egyptians need to step up their game in terms of their capabilities and in terms of how they deal with these very challenging issues that cross both the security and political re reams. We do have an active engagement with the egyptians. I think were out of time unless somebody has a very short question. Anybody volunteer. I knew that was going to happen. An old journalist kind of question. When do you start briefing donald trump and hillary clinton. You took my question away. I knew on these things, we always go one question too long, we really do. [ laughter ] it is up to the president and then the director of National Intelligence to make that offer, as theyve done in the past, to the candidates of the two principal Political Parties after the convention formally nominates them. The director of National Intelligence takes the lead on that. The timing as well as the willingness and interest of the candidates is something that will be determined as a result of engagement with their respective staffs. But you wont do that bri briefing personally, will you . I fulfill my cia responsibilities to the best of my ability and if there is a need for me to be personally involved in this, i will try to carry out my responsibilities. [ laughter ] please thank if theres not a need, i will not. Please thank john brennan, the director of Central Intelligence agency. Coming up next on cspan3, a Senate Committee on exploiting the elderly and then an Education Committee and then right on crime that starts at 1 30 eastern on cspan3. The hard fought 2016 primary season is over with historic conventions to follow this summer. Colorado, florida, texas, show watch cspan as the delegates consider the nomination of the first woman ever to head a Major Political party. And the first nonpolitician in several decades. Watch live on cspan. Listen on the cspan radio app or get video on demand at cspan. Org. You have a front row seat to every minute of both conventions on cspan all beginning on monday, july 18th. This month, watch cspans coverage of the 2016 republican and Democratic National conventions and every saturday night at 8 00 eastern well look back at past conventions and the president ial candidates who went on to win their partys nomination. This saturday, well focus on incumbent president s who ran for reelection. Dwight eisenhower at the 1956 Republican Convention in san francisco. The 1964 Democratic Convention in Atlantic City with lyndon johnson. Richard nixon at the 1972 Republican Convention in miami beach. The 1980 Democratic Convention with jimmy carter in new york city. George h. W. Bush at the 1992 Republican Convention in houston. Bill clinton in chicago for the 1996 Democratic Convention. And the 2004 Republican Convention in new york city, with george w. Bush. Past republican and Democratic National conventions, saturday night at 8 00 eastern on cspan. The house returns this week from the july 4th break with a busy agenda that includes gun legislation. We could see debate on that as early as wednesday. Other legislative items include irs and funding and a vote to go to conference on authorization. Live coverage on cspan. Meanwhile the senate meets again wednesday to consider a judicial nomination. Watch the senate live on cspan2. The House Rules Committee will meet later today to consider the Counter Terrorism bill with a gun control measure and allow the attorney general to delay gun sales to people on terror watchlists. Live coverage starts at 5 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan2