Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20140916

Have the arab spring and it was during the strikes against libya, and the objective was to restore democracy in libya. Two years later, its now in libya. Its no man land. And libya is destroyed, as afghanistan, iraq, dont speak about yemen, sudan, and all these conflicts. Do you think dont you think if you are going to enter military or us to other partners to make war against this socalled Islamic State, dont you think thats going to make also jordan and lebanon, maybe iran, and other countries . Second question, mr. Secretary secretary quickly. The arab Public Opinions knows that the main reason of instability in the area is because the International Community didnt find a solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and its not the Israeli Palestinian con. The israeli arab conflict. Dont you think if nato, European Union, eu member states, exert pressures against israel, so as to accept King Abdullah for peace which was accepted by all arab countries, without restrictions, because arabs have nothing to negotiate and to give to israel. Dont you think that is going to stop these terrorist, and to have mail military, dont you think its better to invest in the Development Office these countries . Thank you very much. Two questions. Does military action threaten destabilize more than stabilize, in libya, and is the solution of the arab israeli conflict necessary. The first question is a very good question because you can point to some historical examples that in the wake of a military operation, we have seen unstablity, violence, maybe even failed states. And but first let me stress that we have or individual allies have received a request from the Iraqi Government to assist the government, in the fight against this terrorist organization. And i think we have a responsibility to help the Iraqi Government fight isis, exactly to avoid that iraq would become a new failed state. Having said that, i think we have there are lessons to be learned from previous military operations. I would not argue against the military operations because in each and every case, i think they were necessary and legitimate. However, i think the International Community, as such, should learn from these operations that it is of utmost importance to strengthen efforts after a military operation, to help these societies improve their capability, to establish security and good governance. Libya after 40 years of dictatorship, the new authorities have to start from scratch, and seeing retrospectively, i think the International Community us a such did too little too late to help the new authorities in libya. Its a new nation. The nato operation was a great success. We implemented the u. N. Security mandate hundred . We prevented attacks against the libyan people so we did what we were mandated to do. But when we had finished the military operations, i think, seen red throw specktively, that the International Community, led by the u. N. , should have done much more, much faster to help the new authorities in lib gentleman, and thats one of the important lessons to be learned, that military operations should go hand in hand with civilian efforts to follow up, to establish or to build a new nation after such a military operation. But i have to say, this goes beyond natos capabilities. Nato is a military alliance so its for the broader International Community to follow up in such cases. Of course, i can only agree that a settlement of the Israeli Palestinian conflict would solve many problems. Absolutely. I fully agree. And without going into too many details, i still think that the longterm sustainable solution is to see true states living sidebyside in peace and harmony, and within secure borders. I still see this as the right formula for a longterm sustainable solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Going to the other side, right here from reuters. Adrian from reuters. How long it would take an independent scotland to join nato and whether you believe that nato that Scottish Independence would undermine britains contribution to natos defenses . Did you get those . Yes. Probably you know very well that im not going to interfere with the Referendum Campaign in scotland. What i can tell you is the following. If a new independent state wants to become a member of nato, it will have to apply for membership. Of nato, and such an application will be addressed in exactly the same way as all applications are dealt with, and eventually it will require consensus, unanimity, within the alliance to accept a new member of our alliance. As this is a hypothetical question, we havent discussed it at all within our alliance, and im not in a position to say anything about timelines. As you know from history, timelines differ significantly when it comes to applicants towards membership of nato and basically its very much a part of their able to fulfill the necessary criteria. So actually the answer is that i cant say anything about timelines. On the issue of whether Scottish Independence would undermine u ks ability as being one of the leading member offered nato to participate. Any concerned about that . No. Without interfering with the debate leading up to the referendum, i dont see that any outcome of the Scottish Referendum will have an impact on uks contribution to nato. Right there, egyptian television, with the book up. Hi. I am a reporter for one question. When you had this operation in libya, you spoke about three conditions which under this conditions you are going to lead the operation. Clear request from the libyan authorities, and i think u. N. Mandate. Under which conditions you are going to lead this coalition, International Coalition in iraq . Do you exclude this or its something for the future . Just to throw in one from twitter here, saying almost the saying thing. Given the kosovo precedent would nato need a u. N. Security council backing. Let me stress were not considering a nato role or even a leading nato role in this operation. A number of nato allies are forming a coalition that also includes countries from the region. So, to avoid any misunderstanding, let me stress that we are not in a process of engaging nato as such in military strikes against isis. I pointed out that at the summit, we mentioned three possibles of a nato involvement. Firstly, defense Capacity Building in iraq. If requested. Secondly, the coordinating role. Thirdly, strengthen cooperation on intelligence and informationsharing among allies to counter foreign fighters. So the rest of it is quite hypothetical because we havent received any request for a nato involvement, but nato allies are involved, and i really welcome that. Peter, you added the question about u. N. Mandate. When individual allies engauge in this, will they need a u. N. Mandate . Im not a legal expert, so i but i see the following. Isis commits horrific atrocities, and i would say, witnessing manslaughter, their attacks against religious and ethnic minorities, in my opinion, its pretty close to genocide. And in my opinion, that gives such a military operation legitimacy within the principles of the u. N. Charter. I say this without being a legal expert. And finally, also consider this a kind of selfdefense which is also committed within the u. N. Charter. So, i would say that, as layman, as a politician, not as a legal expert, as far as i can see, there is a basis in the fundamental u. N. Charter principles, to conduct military operations against isis. We have five minutes left. Let me take two or three for the secretary general. Sir, at the front here. Just come to the microphone, please. Host i work at carn anything gee. My question is, secretary, during your five years, turkey has been involved in afghanistan and in libya, although noncombat mode. Turkey is still weighing decision on Missile Defense, which has been for two years now, and we dont know the answer yet which, of course, very fortunate important to nato Missile Defense. We learned on friday that turkey will not play any role in the military operations against isis. After your five years, what would be your judgment without perhaps going as far as what the what the general said on saturday, turkey has talked a long ago being a friend of the west. Do you see a problem there in the future . Let me take another one. I saw a gentleman the blue shirt right there. I have a question. Given the security volatility in eastern europe, can nato resources be applied to the u. An allies . For example, by deploying nato troops to protect strategic infrastructure in the region. For example, the pipeline. Thank you. Lastly, theres a woman right there. Thank you. My question is that theres some critics, doubts the capacity sorry the able of nato to use its forces in assault. How do you think about this . Also, theres another question. Do you have any detailed plan to rescue the hostage in the region . Thank you. Three very different topics for you, turkey, Energy Security, and the ability to do multiple things at one time. Guest first on turkey, i have to say i consider turkey a strong ally, and on a personal basis, i have had an excellent cooperation with the turkish leadership, since i took office as secretary general. And whenever we have needed contributions to nato operations, turkey has actually engaged and contributed to nato operations. Now, in the case of iraq, first of all, were not speaking about a nato operation, but so far a coalition on the willing. Furthermore, it may play a role that isis has also taken turkish hostages. I dont know. Its for the turkish government to answer that question, but i have to say, seen from my chair, that turkey has played a crucial role within our alliance, and continues to play a crucial role, and overall, i would also have to say, turkey not least because of the radical location, is a very important ally and partner from a Strategic Point of view. And as regards Missile Defense, im sure that the turkish authorities have listened to concerns raised by fellow allies. Next, on energy. First of all, let me stress that natos core task is Territorial Defense of our allies. And as regards pipelines, on allied on allied territory, of course, its part of the Territorial Defense to protect such pipelines and other means of energy supply. But first of all, i think Energy Security is much more about reducing europes dependence on imported gas and oil. It has become evident that theres also an overall security aspect of being so dependent on one single supplier in this case russia and i think thats more the European Union. I think its of utmost importance to increase Energy Security by establishing a wellfunctioning European Energy market with more free flow of energy across borders, so that this single most important supplier cannot blackmail one and single out individual allies, because energy will flow more freely across borders. Alternative pipelines, development of alternative energy sources, all this is part of overall Energy Security, and i think its for the European Union first and foremost to deal with that. Finally, can we actually address security challenges from both the east and south at once and the same time . I think that i answered to that question already at the beginning of this q a, and, yes, we can. We have the capacity to deal with these wideranging threats. It was one of the very important outcomes of the nato summit in wales, that we will not become a one dimensional ally. We do have the capability to deal with more or less conventional threats, both to the east and to the south, as well as addressing newer security challenges like cyberattacks, missile attacks. Thats why at the summit we decided to enhance our cyberdefense. We continue building our Missile Defense system. So i can assure you that the Alliance Stands Ready and capable to address both these and the south and cyberspace, if needed. Let me wrap this onement one last quitter question from a fellow dane. The foreign fairs spokesman for the social democrats. What the most important advice to offer your successor . I think actually the most important advice would be to continue reforming, modernizing, our alliance, and continue strengthening our collective defense, so that nato remains capable to address this broad range of security challenges, and then on top of that, he will need some patience to make sure that he is spent the necessary time and efforts to create consensus among 28 independent nations. But for me, its been a great pleasure. Its been a very positive experience, and while it may take some time to create consensus among 28 nations, once we reach the consensus and there is a very strong consensual spirit in our align once we take a decision, all 28, then it is a very Strong Alliance that moves forward. Thats been a big pleasure for me to see. Thank you. Join me with one more round of applause. Thank you very much, sir. [applause] ive been told to encourage everyone after the event to join us for drinks outside, and down, and that wraps up this one. Four and final for you here at carnegie. Thank you very much. [inaudible question] [inaudible conversations] defense secretary chuck haigle and the chairman of the joint chiefs, general martin dempsey, will testify about u. S. Strategy to combat the militant group isis. Well have live coverage from the Senate Armed Services committee on cspan3. And later in the day, a look at the International Response to the Ebola Outbreak in west africa. Witnesses include the head thief National Institute of allergy and Infectious Diseases and Health Workers who treated people infected with the virus. This joint Senate Health Committee Hearing is live at 2 30, also on cspan3. Two soldiers who served in vietnam, one still living and one killed in action, received a medal or honor during a white house ceremony today. Thats next on cspan2. Later, remarks from Homeland Security secretary jay jeh johnson. The 2015 student video cam competition is underway. Owl of. Awarded the medal of hon to donald sloat and adkins, who both served in the vietnam war. This is 25 minute. S. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the ute. Let us play. We pray today to remind us of the value of sacrifice. How hero, the title, is a price paid by soldiers, like the two to be honored today. First remembered by persistence to defend his brothers, to never accept defeat, and to never quit. One who stays alive for his friends by selfishly and respectively giving up his own. These brave men, living and dead, consecrate our history and our faith, courage of our soldiers, significance of our sacredness of our values, strength of our nation. Today we weave their actions into the fabric of our history as the served in the jungles. We, who are the living, never forget what they did, the friends they lost, the may we take to heart the words spoken by a grieving president , it is for us, the living, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought have so nobly advanced, god of redemption and grace, we ask you to grant these in holy name, amen. Amen. Please be seated. Good afternoon and welcome to the white house. More than four decades ago, in early 1970, an american squad in vietnam set out on patrol. They marched down a trail, past a rice paddy. Shots rang out and splintered the bamboo above their heads. The lead soldier tripped a wire. A booby trap. A grenade rolled toward the feet of a 20yearold machine gunner. The pin was pulled. And that grenade would explode at any moment. A few years earlier on the other side of the country, deep in the jungle, a small group of americans were crouched on top of a small hill. And it was dark, and they were exhausted, and the enemy had been pursuing them for days, and now they were surrounded, and the enemy was closing in on all sides. Two discreet moments, but today we honor two american soldiers for gallant triabove and beyond the call of duty at each of those moments. Specialist donald sloat, who stood above that grenade. And command Sergeant Major Bennie Adkins, who fought through a ferocious battle and found himself on that jungle hill. Nearly half a century after their acts of valor, a grateful nation bestows upon these men the highest military decoration, the medal of honor. Normally this medal must be awarded within a few years of the action, but sometimes even the most extraordinary stories can get lost in fog of war or the passage of time. When new evidence comes to light, certain actions can be reconsidered for this honor and it is entirely right and proper that we have done so and that is why we are here today. Then he decided to join the army but when he went to enlist he didnt pass his physical because of high Blood Pressure said he tried again and again, and again. In all it took a physical maybe seven times until he passed. Because don sub i was determined to serve his country. In vietnam became known as one of they liked and most are siebel likeable guys in this company. His patrol was ambushed both times. Don responded with punishing fire from his machine gun leaving himself completely vulnerable to the enemy. Both times he was recognized for his bravery or as don put it in a letter home, i guess they think im really gung ho or something. And then one morning don and his squad set out on patrol pass that rice patty down that trail where the shots rang out. When the lead soldiers foot trip that wire and set off the boobytrap, the grenade rolled right to dons feet and in that moment he could have run. At that moment he could have ducked for cover but don did something truly extraordinary. He reached down and he picked that grenade up and he turned to throw it but there were americans in front of him and behind him inside the kill zone. Don held onto that grenade and pulled her close to his body and bent over it and then as one of the men said, all of a sudden there was a boom. The blast through the lead soldier up against a boulder. Men were riddled with shrapnel. Four were medevaced out, but everyone else survived. Don had absorbed the brunt of the explosion with his body. He saved the lives of those next to him and today we are joined by two men who were with him on that patrol, Sergeant William hacker and specialist michael multiin. For decades, dons family only knew that he was killed in action. They had heard he had stepped on a landline. All those years as gold star family honor the memory of their son and brother whose name is etched forever on that granite wall not far from here. Late in her life dawns mother evelyn finally learned the full story of her sons sacrifice. And she made it her mission to have dawns actions properly recognize. Sadly nearly three years ago evelyn passed away but she always believed, she knew that this day would come. She even bought a special dress to wear to the assembly. We are honored that don and his mom are represented here today by dons brother, sisters and their families on behalf of this American Family i would ask dons brother dr. Bill sloat to come forward with a rating of a citation and accept the gratitude of our nation. The president of the United States of america authorized by act of Congress March 3, 1863 has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to special sworn donald p. Sloat United States army. Specialist donald sloat distinguished himself with acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty serving as a machine gunner with company t second battalion, 1st infantry regiment 196 lightning pair trooper. During combat operations in the republic of vietnam on january 17, 1970. On that morning specialist sloats squad was performing a patrol and armored personnel carriers in the area. As the squad moved up a small hill information to lead soldier tripped a wire attached to a hand grenade boobytrap set up by enemy forces. As the grenade grenade rolled downhill specialist for sloat nelson picked up the grenade. After initially attempting to throw the grenade specialist for sloat realized that nation was imminent. Pete drew the grenade to his body and show with his squad members from the blasts saving their lives. Specialist sloats actions to find the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of his comrades. Donald p. Sloats selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, company t second battalion. 1st infantry regiment 196 light Infantry Brigade America Division in the United States army. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] at this point i would like to ask Bennie Adkins to come join me on stage. Now, let me just say the first thing you need to know is when bennie and i met in the oval office i asked him if he could sign back up. [laughter] his lovely wife was not amused. [laughter] most days you can find bennie at home down at opelika alabama. Tending his garden or his pontoon boat out on the lake. He has been married to mary for 58 years. He is the proud father of five, grandfather of six and at 80 still going strong trade a couple of years ago he came here to the white house with his fellow veterans for breakfast we had on veterans day. He told folks he was the only person he knows who spilled his dessert in the white house. [laughter] and i just had to correct him. That makes two of us. [laughter] i have messed up my tie. I had messed up my pants. But in the spring of 1966, bennie was just 32 years old on his second tour in vietnam. He and his fellow greene berets were an isolated camp along the ho chi minh trail. A huge north vietnamese force attacked bombarding bennie and is comrades with mortars and white phosphorus. At a time it was nearly impossible to move without being wounded or killed. But bennie ran into enemy fire again and again, to retrieve supplies and ammo, to carry the wounded to safety, demand a mortar pit, holding off wave after wave of enemy assaults. Three times, explosions blasted him out of that mortar pit and three times he returned. I have to be honest, in a battle and daring escape that lasted for four days, bennie performs so many acts of bravery we actually dont have time to talk about all of them. Let me just mention three. On the first day, bennie was helping load a wounded american in to a helicopter. Vietnamese soldier jumped into the hilo trying to escape the battle and aimed his weapon directly the wounded soldier ready to shoot. Bennie shielded his comrade placing himself directly in line of fire helping to save his wounded comrade. At another point in the battle for bennie and a few other soldiers were trapped in a mortar pit, covered in shrapnel and smoking debris. Theyre only exit was blocked by enemy machine gun fire. So bennie. Fast. He dug a hole out of the pit and snuck out the other side. As another american escape through that hole he was shot in the leg. An enemy soldier charged in hoping to capture a live p. O. W. And bennie fired taking out the enemy and pulling his fellow american safety. By the third day of battle, bennie and a few others had managed to escape into the jungle. He had cuts and wounds all over his body but he refused to be evacuated. When a rescue helicopter arrived bennie insisted that others go instead. So on the third nights bennie wounded and bleeding found himself with his men up on that jungle hill exhausted and surrounded with the enemy closing in. And after all they had been through as if that werent enough, there was something mo more, you cant make this up, theyre in the jungle they heard the growls of a tiger. It turns out that tiger mightve been the best thing that happened to bennie during those days because he said the north vietnamese were more scared of that tiger than they were a plus. [laughter] said the enemy fled. Bennie and his squad made their escape and they were rescued finally the next morning. And dannys life, we see the Enduring Service of our men and women in uniform. He went on to serve a third tour in vietnam, total of more than two decades in uniform. After he retired he earned his masters degree, actually not one but two, opened up an accounting firm, taught Adult Education classes, became National Commander of the legion of valor veterans organization. So he has earned his retirement, despite what he says. He is living outside auburn and yes he is a fan of the auburn tigers although i did a poll of the family and there are some crimson tide fans here. [laughter] so theres obviously some divisions. But bennie will tell you that he has everything to the men he served with in vietnam, especially the five who gave their lives in that battle. Every member of his unit was killed or wounded. Every single one was recognized for their service. Today we are joined by some of the men who served with bennie including major John Bradford the soldier that bennie shielded in that helicopter and major wayne murray, the soldiers, the soldiers thought they deserved saved from being captured. And i would ask them in all of our Vietnam Veterans who are here today to please stand or raise your hand to be recognized. [applause] [applause] [applause] and now i would ask that the citation be read. The president of the United States of america authorized by act of Congress March 3, 1863 has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to Sergeant First Class danny g. Atkins United States army. Sergeant first class danny t. Adkins dissing bush himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Intelligence Sergeant attachment a 125th special forces group were special forces during combat operations against an armed enemy at camp eshoo republic of vietnam from march the ninth to 12th 1966. When the camp was attacked by a large vietnamese and viacom force in the Early Morning hours Sergeant First Class atkins rush through intense enemy fire and manned an order position continually adjusting fire for the camp despite recurring wounds as a mortar pit received hits from enemy mortars. Upon learning that several soldiers were wounded near the center of camp be temporarily turned the mortar over to another soldier ran through exploding mortar rounds and drag several comrades to safety. As hostile fire subsided Sergeant First Class atkins exposed himself to sporadic fire while carrying his wounded comrades to the camp dispensary. But Sergeant First Class atkins in this group of defenders came under heavy smallarms fire by members of the civilian irregular Defense Group they have defected to fight with the north vietnamese he maneuvered outside the camp to evacuate a seriously wounded american and draw fire all the while successfully covering the rescue. When a resupply airdrop landed outside of the camp perimeter Sergeant First Class atkins again moved outside of the camp walls to retrieve the muchneeded supplies. During the Early Morning hours of march 10, 1966 enemy forces launched their main attack and within two hours Sergeant First Class atkins was the only man firing a mortar weapon. When all mortar rounds were expanded Sergeant First Class atkins began placing effective require a list of rifle fire upon enemy positions. Despite receiving additional ones from enemy rounds exploding on his position Sergeant First Class atkins bought up intense waves of attacking vietcong. Sergeant first class atkins eliminated numerous insurgents with smallarms fire after withdrawing to Communications Bunker several soldiers. Running extremely low on ammunition he returned to the mortar pit gathered vital ammunition and ran through intense fire out of the bunker. After being ordered to evacuate the camp Sergeant First Class atkins and the small group of soldiers destroyed all signal equipment and classified documents, dug their way out of the rear of the bunker and talk their way out of the camp. While carrying a wounded soldier to the extraction point he learned that the last helicopter had already departed. Sergeant first class atkins led the group a with aiding the enemy until they were rescued by helicopter on march 12, 1966. During the 38 hour battle in 48 hours of escape and invasion fighting with mortars and machine guns require less rifle smallarms and hand grenades, it was estimated to Sergeant First Class atkins had killed between 135 and 175 of the enemy while sustaining 18 different ones to his body. Sergeant first class atkins extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, detachment and a 125th special forces group for special forces in the United States army. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] over the decades, our Vietnam Veterans didnt always receive the thanks and respect they deserved. Thats a fact. But as we have been reminded again today, our vietnam vets were patriots and are patriots. You served with valor. You made us proud. And your service is with us for eternity. So no matter how long it takes, no matter how many years go by, we will continue to express our gratitude for your extraordinary service. May god watch over don sloat and all those who have sacrificed for our country. May god keep safe those who wear our countrys uniform and veterans like Bennie Adkins and may god continue to bless the United States of america. At this point id ask our chaplain to return to the stage iv the benediction. Let us continue to pray. As we go forth be not afraid. Have peace and courage and honor what is good. Return no evil for evil to strengthen the fainthearted support the weak and helpless suffering. We honor all people. Let us love and serve and may gods blessing be upon us and remain with us always, amen. And at this point, i would welcome everybody to join the sloat family and the Atkins Family for a reception. I hear the food is pretty good. And once again, to all of you who serve and your families who serve along with them, the nation is grateful. And your commander in chief could not be prouder. Thank you very much everybody. [applause] [applause] b i really didnt expect to spend the day watching tv, but i caught the end of the key west program and started checking what was coming and i couldnt turn it off. It was really terrific. I hope its okay that i recorded it. There is so much information and i like the opportunity to see parts of it again. I dont have a computer but at any rate, it was a wonderful program. Thank you so much. I watched cspan covers last night at the irs hearings. It was like a threehour little editorial piece. And i was stunned. I was stunned by the moments that were picked out over all the hours of interviews and Committee Meetings and investigations and hearings. I was stunned to see out of all the moments that were picked was when the democrats were attacking republicans, accusing them of witch hunting and hatred and bigotry and stupidity, unamerican, unpatriotic, whatever. That was three hours of cspan propping up the democrats and protecting barack obama. I always knew you had a bias. I have only been following cspan for a couple of years. I have always known there was a liberal bias. Youd have to be stupid not to see it but last night was absolutely stunning and cspan obviously, obviously through that threehour debacle that i listened to last night, obviously cspan supports the democrats, the irs, the union and barack obama, no question about it. Shame on you. I does want to say the programming, especially on the weekends on cspan2 and cspan3, in is everything somebody with some brains could hope for. With all the junk on tv that stuff is fantastic. Thank you so much and i also enjoy regular cspan in the mornings. Thank you again. You are doing a hell of a job. I hope you continue for years to come. Now nato allied Commander Europe general Philip Breedlove talks about the recent nato summit held in scotland this month in the ongoing situation in ukraine. From Atlantic Council, this is an hour. [inaudible conversations] good morning and welcome everybody. We are delighted to be here at Atlantic Council. I very much appreciate you being here this morning for this commander series event. To hear from general Philip Breedlove, commander of u. S. European command and nato supreme allied command europe. In a few minutes he will give us his remarks and join a roster of Atlantic Council commanders series speakers that includes general martin dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and general james amos commandant of the u. S. Marine corps. The commander series is our longstanding flagship Speaker Series for senior u. S. And allied military leaders and i want to thank north america for their strong and consistent support for this series. You can follow the series if you are interested including todays event on twitter using the hashtag ac commanders. We have more great speakers lined up in the series later in the year including admiral jonathan greenert, chief of naval operations, general lloyd austin commander of Central Command and general jim kelly commander of Southern Command among others. We hope hope that youll be able to join us for these Upcoming Events as well. But today we could not be more excited to host general breedlove, the generalist is returned from the nato summit in wales where the alliance charted his pass for the future while also working on how to deal with a brutal price devices, russias invasion of ukraine and emerging threats around the Alliance Southern flight. This is indeed a crucial time for nato and i i think the coming period of time will help shape the alliance for many decades to come. Finally with the Atlantic Council we like to consider ourselves the Washington Home of the dcbased nato community so we are especially pleased that we can host those top military leaders at the council once again. This time for his readout on the summit among other things. We are delighted to have the general and admiral greene who is traveling with him as well as many other members of the delegation. We have some midshipmen from the Naval Academy to match pitted like to give them an extra special shout out. Its always a pleasure to be in a company of our future leaders. Without further ado i would like to turn the day is over to my predecessors general jim jones for additional comments. General. Thank you governor and good morning everyone. Its an honor to be here to introduce or to help introduce the supreme allied commander of europe. I like to spell out that title because it has a special elegance to it that some people around washington dont appreciate. So good morning and welcome. As i said its a real honor to be here. I would also like to recognize the 17th supreme allied commander of your comments are the 11th 11th. The 17th is to be introduced. General george allen, pardon me. General, always good to see you and thank you for being here. When the recently completed wales summit was first planned it was originally intended to mark the conclusion of nearly a decade of successful allied operations in afghanistan. The responsibility the alliance assumed many moons ago when i held general breedloves position. While nato and its isaf partners did have a meaningful discussion on the afghanistan transition the summit will most likely be remembered for natos response to russias ongoing destabilization in ukraine and his discussions about the emerging extremist threat on natos borders in iraq and syria. The crisis in ukraine and the dramatic rise of tensions of moscow have been on welcome developments in all matters pertaining to European Security. Secretarygeneral rasmussen has stated that russias action in and around ukraine propose the most serious threat to European Security since the end of the cold war. Yet throughout this crisis general breedlove has provided remarkable clarity and decisive leadership of allied military forces in responding to a new strategic challenge. Across all of europe, north, south, east, and west, buy land, in the air, and on the sea. Meanwhile, he and his staff have been hard at work in advance of the summit to develop new measures to strengthen natos continuous presence and readiness in europes east and north. Measures that were blessed at wales and im sure general breedlove will describe to you in more detail. General breedlove has impacted the alliance beyond the ukraine crisis overseeing operations in kosovo, the mediterranean, off the horn of africa and in insuring a peaceful transition in afghanistan. Meanwhile, he has worked to strengthen nato partnerships around the globe as part of the alliance of missions of bolstering security. General breedlove assumed the title of commander, u. S. European command and supreme allied Commander Europe in may. An f16 pilot by trade with combat experience in the bosnia and cause of a complex, general breedlove has a rich regional experience of senior command positions in asia and europe as well as the u. S. Air force. He served most recently as vice chief of the United States air force and commander of u. S. Air force of europe before assuming the best job title and the u. S. Military, supreme allied Commander Europe. A great pleasure to have general breedlove at the Atlantic Council and a pleasure to welcome him back to the council for his public debrief of the nato summit. I would like to turn the microphone over now to mr. Mr. Jonas hjelm who will continue the introduction. Thank you. Thank you, general jones and governor jon huntsman. It is not easy to come after two such distinguished gentleman. Allow me to elaborate a little bit about why saab is sponsoring this. First, i would say it is a pleasure to have general breedlove here today. I am looking forward to what you are going to give us for insight and good things from the summit. Saab in the Atlantic Council have been partners for many, many years now. I think this is a fantastic relationship. The company and the council continue to grow and evolve. I think we, saab, as european, north European Company makes business globally but also on both sides of the atlantic equal to the Atlantic Council. Wed read the transatlantic, soda say the values and cherish them. I think the events we see around the world today, all the tragic events and what is happening, these values are even more important than before. This is the core thing our partnership with the Atlantic Council. Before the general is giving his remarks, let me maybe add on something to general jones describing what the general did before he assumed his and i agree, very, very nice title, the supreme allied commander. It is something you could kill for, to have that title one day. I want unfortunately. He was the commander of the u. S. Air forces in europe as well as the commander for the u. S. Air forces in africa. Before that from 200890 commanded the Third Air Force out of ramstein, germany. Before going over there the general also served in various positions here in the United States air force. He was the senior military assistant to the secretary of the air force. He also was director for strategic plans and policy, and he also was chief of staff for the United States air force. That was just a part of the very extensive and long, good career that you have had, general. So without further delay, could you please help me welcome the general to take the stage. [applause] so first of all, thankyou to the Atlantic Council for a lot of things, for this opportunity to speak to you but most importantly for all of the work that it has done through the years in helping shape the policies and the positions that take us forward in our relationships across the northern atlantic, and it is about shared values and things that were mentioned. And those of the visions that we continue to hold for the future despite some of the challenges that we see out there today to our naval cadets, this is your Worst Nightmare as a speaker. You are standing in front of a crowd, literally twothirds of this crowd are qualified to great my paper. Okay . And then secondarily, you stand in front of two of the nations greatest leaders who have had your job before and know what doing it right looks like, and they are greeting me every day about whether i am doing it right or not, but it is a privilege to be in such an eye test group and a group that has the expertise that this group has about the atlantic alliance. Thanks to both of you as you all helped me as i moved into, i agree, one of the greatest jobs in the world. It is right now quite a challenging job and quite 85 lets say there are not enough hours in the day to get to everything we need to do. The ark of instability that we see to ourselves and now instability that we see in eastern europe, a place we just would never have thought about it in the past, these are all challenges that not only in my u. S. European command had gives us a lot of work to do, but certainly for the Nato Alliance, this is a challenge that comes already in a busy time. He did not have to think hard about a factor we still have a lot of work to do in afghanistan. And giving this getting this change of mission under fire from resolute support, this is no small matter. We see issues in our south from the mediterranean, eastern, and northern african area that is clearly still very much on the minds of our southern Nato Alliance, and so there are a lot of things that need to be addressed. And i will talk a little bit more about that in a minute about our southern area. Of course, right now we have just come out of the summit that had a lot of focuses, a lot of place in the air. One of the Central Place in the air is, how do we address this russia . How do we address a nation that has sort of broken those rules, morals, and is using force to change international boundaries. Something that we thought was over with what happened in georgia, and now we see that that is not the case. Our Mission Remains the same in nato, and we embrace that quite frankly at the summit. And we also, at the summit, began to look at, what is it that makes our way forward so important . And it goes back to a shared values. A shared vision for a europe free and at peace. That sometimes brings a Little Hollow because it is said so many times, but quite frankly that is still a central, guiding position for what we want to see. And i will Say Something that may be a little bit controversial right now, but i do not think that we can ever arrive at a europe whole, free, and at peace without russia as a partner. And so for the last 12 years we have been trying to make russia a partner. We have been making basing decision, force structure decisions, economic decisions of around the fact that russia would be a constructive part of the future of your. And now we see a very different situation, and we have to address that. What i would like to talk about today and i will roll a few grenades out of the table. I would like to talk about some of those very important results from the summit, the readiness action plan, our expectations going into this summit for the readiness action plan or measured. We knew that we needed to make some change. We did not know how much change we could affect. I am happy to report that, quite frankly, we got just about everything we wanted to. Now, if we are able to implement the changes that we made in the readiness action plan i think that we can reset this alliance for this new challenge that we see in eastern europe. And quite frankly, the changes that we will make will also give us adaptations that will better position as where some of the problems we see in the south. This is important for our southern Nato Alliance members, that this is not just about the north and east. It has to be addressing all of our alliance. Responsiveness, we have had a magnificent nrf, well engineered across the agency. It did all the things we asked it to do. We evaluated, look at it hard, and it meets every expectation that we set forth in the past. So one of the things that we try to make sure people understand is, we are not disheartened by what the nrf did in the past. It meant exactly what we ask it to meet. Now it is inadequate to task for what we see is the future requirement on our nrf forces and capabilities. And that is why the readiness action plan will look at a series of measures that will adapt by the nrf responsiveness, about readiness. Readiness is exactly what we asked for. Now we ask to tweak their readiness but make major changes to responsiveness. We will talk about that. I am often asked, are you trying to deter or a share . And give a simple answer, yes. Were trying to do both. We needed immediately to ensure our allies when ukraine first kicked off the crimea but certainly when the Russian Forces came across the borders into Eastern Ukraine when needed to assure our alliance posture. Allow me as an element to use an air force example. Fourteen hours from go to show, our aircraft left, landed in estonia, and were flying gaps 14 hours from go to show. This is assurance. This is nato power cannot just air power assuring our allies that we are there and we can be their rapidly if required. We brought assurance to those nations. Now, of course, as you know, we were tasked to build, as the general mentioned, a series of measures that our air, land, and see, north, center, and south. The alliance did a magnificent job of doing that. The air element immediately. The land and naval elements took a little bit more time, but they were very quick and very visible and very assuring to our nations. I think that we head, in sports terms, a 448 for logger 40yard home run with assuring quickly our nato allies. To weedy terror . I will allow you to enter that debate. If you want to talk about it in a q a at think its a good question. Clearly when mr. Panetta and now looks across the borders of these three northern nations he sees a Nato Alliance represented by nato forces that i theyre exercising, preparing all of the things that we need to do should we ever have to take action in those areas. Some who credible plot persistent, pleasant presence with capability that is visible not only to the nation we wish to assure but any aggressor we wish to deter. So we looked at nato and ask ourselves, as we see this new situation where you have a nation that will assemble a large force of the border completely equipped ephors, all of the elements of enablers that make it credible, bring forth operation and in some cases strategic resupply for that force all in the name of an exercise. And it goes across an internationally respected border and an ax is par for surf portion of a sovereign nation. So how do we react to that . How do we react to the possibility of us an area in the future . We looked at what a simple Fighter Pilot calls the three latest tool. It lays out like this. Why would i call it a three legged stool . It is to make a point that if you take any leg aware of what happens . It falls over. These are interrelated, interconnected requirements. The first like his we need to change the responsiveness of the nrf. Like we talked about before, the nrf does what we ask you to do now to what but what we asked to do is inadequate to tasks to the new threat we see to the scenario i describe of this nation not respecting borders and changing borders by force. The first element is that some portion of the nrf will become much more rapidly available for use. How much . That is a discussion that we will work on. We have put forward ideas of 48 hours and five days for some of that force. Now we will begin to look at the details of will that work. I now have another sports analogy. I talk about the goal posts. Whatever we do with this force would have to go through the goal posts of be affordable and sustainable. If is not affordable and sustainable, it is not credible for the long run. This has to be something that remains with us. The first leg was changing the responsiveness of a portion of the nrf, and i will be happy to talk about the particulars if you want later. Meanwhile the second piece is again it sounds a tiny bit irresponsible, but remember for 12 years i have been treating russia as a partner. On a daytoday basis we dont have any what i would call operation or tactical level headquarters in natal but is thinking about article five, corrective defense, the ability to defend an ally and hes clearly in my headquarters we talked about it and think about it. We are not an operational or tactical level. We need a headquarters element of ability, i think, at the core level that will be focused every day 365 days of the year 24 hours a day on collective defense article five responsibilities for the alliance. This is primarily, of course , and at the north vietnamese, and i will talk about the rest in a minute. This second leg of this threelegged stool is a headquarters that feels responsible to the alliance for article five collective defense all day every day. That is the mission. That will be the primary mission. That will be the second part commandandcontrol capability ought to be with collective defense article five. The third piece is the harder, more controversial piece and the one we hear talk about in the paper so much. Some forward presence in these nations that does multiple missions. In peacetime, forward presence appears the battlefield, which at where we can expect forces, works on those Infrastructure Requirements and allow us to rapidly receive forces, put them a field to fight, if required. Stated day exercises with the local nation to bring of those processes which makes nato much quicker to react if required. Works to prepossession materials, works to establish local understandings that would allow a nato force if it had to rapidly respond to quickly come to mission. And then in that worst Case Scenario where we needed it this headquarters would be the backbone on which rapidly reacting forces from the new nrf structure would fall in on too rapidly constitute combat power and the forward area, if required. How do we define this forward presence . How do we define its mission, its role . How do we finance the requirements of forward positioning equipment . These are all the details. If you think about this threelegged stool i talked about, rapidly available nrf, commandandcontrol structure that is as be andretti, if required and a receding force that on daytoday is exercising, preparing, setting the stage for a rapid acceptance of combat power that comes from that newly structured nrf if required. These are the three legs. These are the details that we will begin to work out. We have written a paper to lay out. These concrete pieces. The three legs require each other. Can we do it without this or that . The answer is sure. It may not work. I think it requires all three. Again, very encouraged by what happened. Very encouraged by the solidarity that i saw in the alliance. I would hate to over characterize. I dont want to sound too positive. The feeling that we can get. The nation truly embraced the change. Now the details to it the goalpost. I think that is the end of my prepared remarks. Now we will enter into the more fun part of todays conversation. I will ask for help in choosing who will get to grill me first. [applause] in this spirit i am happy to stand as well. Thats terrific. We will see how well we constructed. First of all, i really want to thank you for taking this time. We have all been impressed by your voice in this crisis , this moment of history, and the clarity of your oped in the wall street journal. It was brilliant. The one thing the threelegged stool did not address his what does nato do, what is the alliance to toward what one would call gray areas . Let me ask this in two parts. Give us our assessment of what the situation is on the ground at the moment in ukraine. What are you seeing during the ceasefire . And then if you could take it a little bit beyond ukraine to the general question of are we trying is in europe or can we avoid that . So many of you have served with me. I see more and more faces in the crowd of people i have worked for or with in my life. I would hope that those who have served with me would be quick to say that general breedlove is almost always an optimist because i am. I am well over a Glass Half Full on all manner of things about nato, the progress that we made and wales, the solidarity are see in our alliance, absolutely rock steady commitment. Some things are just incredibly, i think, positive. I would tell you that along that vein, i am a glass less than half full on what is happening in the ukraine. Rather than get into a long discussion of what we all understand russias actions have been in the east, they have now for a series of days been reducing their force presence. They have left behind some very capable and very tailored force in the east that allows them to bring continued pressure on president poroshenko and the leaders of ukraine. And with that pressure allows them to do is completely shape what i think is sort of the geostrategic context of ukraine for the future. I think that the ceasefire, while it has done many good things like stop the loss of life, what it also is doing is allowing a situation in Eastern Ukraine that could easily slip into another conflict. That worries me greatly. I think our will stop there. As far as these gray areas, we, as i said before, of a great commitment and a rocksolid commitment to our nato allies and what that means. Clearly there are other nations in europe that are not made allies. I think the western world needs to come to grips with what is it that is going to happen in these states that are outside the alliance and between the alliance and russia and hell are we going to what are the expectations of the nations four how nations will conduct themselves in these states in the future. I think this is work that i would ask the Atlantic Council and others to begin to ponder, the approach to these nations that are not in the alliance and may come under great pressure in the future by those who would try to exploit. Let me just ask another question. Welcome. Talk to us a little bit about what youre seeing and what your watching on the ground in ukraine. What is the Russian Military strategy . What elements are involved . People talk about hybrid warfare. From the standpoint of your position, what exactly is that . So we have seen will we have all started turning as hybrid warfare in the early stages of what has happened in Eastern Ukraine. We watched this play out in crimea and then the hybrid warfare became more overt. They have essentially in next that portion of ukraine and we saw almost the same script play out in Eastern Ukraine. The little green men, the denial forces, the deniable presents and how the presence was shaping the support to the russian are call them russianbacked sforzas. Some call them proRussian Forces in Eastern Ukraine. And what we saw was the ukraine was actually able to a symbol of military force and begin to reshape the ground. When the Ukrainian Forces brought great pressure on those forward russianbacked forces, now we are on the horns. Can the Russian Federation see defeat in Eastern Ukraine . Can they see their force is being cut off by the Ukrainian Forces who are having success . I talked. A hardfought battle with great impact for all on the ground, both sides. But there were successors in ukraine command what we clearly saw is that they are not acceptable for moscow. The Russian Forces went from hybrid warfare, and discriminant little green man to overt action by three armored russian columns along the maps and along the coast. Those forces turn the tide. Reestablished wideopen support lines of that pressure could for resupply. That great pressure, those two ports that are so key to the ukraine fiscal ability to move forward. That is where we see ourselves now. I think that the lines of support are now wideopen, and i think that in this ceasefire the lines of supply will run at full tilt we see now some of the Russian Force that is bringing great pressure. You can look at that in two ways. It is either a coercive force to say, meet our terms in these negotiations are else. Or it is a force that is wellsuited for taking that course if required. That is kind of where we find ourselves now. Thank you. We will have a ukrainian president poroshenko here on thursday after his joint session of congress. It will be interesting to hear his views. Final question from me, your threelegged stool, thought it was a good image. I will not deal with the Rapid Reaction forces, commandandcontrol part of it. You did mention that the forward presence is most controversial. What is required for a credible forward presence . And then what triggers the forward presence . Are the green man. That me we characterize your question a little bit because i do not think that the forward presence needs to be triggered. I think that we need it right now. Badly put. We describe this as persistent presence, and it will be a persistent presence enables by rotational forces. How long those rotations are will be decided by much more smart men and women who do that kind of planning and look at duration verses understanding the mission verses other pieces, but i believe we need a persistent presence rotational enabled by significant duration so that we are not relearning something every three months. So this forward presence as, i think, in peacetime, as i have described, has lots of duties. First of all, exercise with the host nation to bring everybody stability of and everybodys interoperability up. Secondly, establish a watchman, an area where if needed we could rapidly bring force forward. Today we can relatively rapidly take forces into nations like this, but when they land they have to figure out supply, lodging, forward position, fighting material. Now we will have a force for word in these areas on a daytoday basis doing all that preparatory works such that they are available then to rapidly receive this new portion of the nrf to build to combat capability so there will be some commandandcontrol. We need to rotate through some of the enablers so that each can be able to work with the host nation to understand the challenges and the things that need to be done. We need fire supporters working with the host nation on a rotational basis to understand how you would use fires to support business in that area. We need communicators occasionally to establish and workout lines of communication. We need logistics people saying, this is how we resupply, move Forward Command these are the things that we need to possibly put in pre positioning so that it is available and we do not have to transport it when they come forward. So all hosts of the enablers need to be a part of that rotation so that we can work the squeaky wheel and get it all ready to go if we have to. And then sitting in there in that command and control capability with some force is attached if the worst happens ready to rapidly proceed. When of the commander, who to land and plug into, the ammunition kid. Rapidly and fight it. Or looking at that model right now now that we have the agreement for the requirement of it. Article five is harder. It can be as cyber attack potentially. It is not likely to be a russian market tank. Cant you look at all of that . A broad series of questions first of all, cyber, what constitutes an article five. And that we, frankly, have not been addressing. After the world summit we agree that there is work to do about what cyber means in this context. On the flip side to the little green men, we have clearly now seen the script play out in crimea. We have seen this could play out in Eastern Ukraine. We are beginning to see some of the script in moldova. So we are beginning to understand this whole track of how this hybrid war will be brought to bear. And so what we now have to do is look at those forces in our border nations where there are substantial russian populations and now we better prepare those nations to survive the initial onslaught of this hybrid war. I think what we all understand is that this hybrid war, if it kicks off, and it is attributable this is not a nato issue. It is an internal nation issue, and emmeline problem. Now we better prepare our allies to characterize, understand, and survive the initial onslaught of the little green men scenario. Clearly also we have great acceptance among the nato allies that if you attribute this little green man issue to an aggressor nation it is an article five action. All of the assets of nato come to bear. Those are the lines of thought. Very interesting. Identify yourself. Good to see you again. George nicholson, consultants. You talk about enablers. One large initiative was the establishment of Nato Special Operations command. Which is a huge success. Well, one of the things that was tried but has been pushed back, he wanted to duplicate that capability for general kelly in south,. Can you talk to how effective you think that is . It has been absolutely amazing. Quite frankly, what you have seen out of the special Operations Unit of multiple missions in afghanistan is a result of this exact effort. The sharing of tactics, techniques, procedures, but everyone to a standard, working on interoperability of forces together as they worked in afghanistan. It is a huge success and a great force multiplier and will be a big part, i think, of helping nations understand how to handle themselves when theyre under the onslaught of this little green man scenario up until it is attributed. And it is a different issue. Thank you. Thank you, general. I am francisco you were very discreet. I would like you to talk about turkey in the context of how they are actively working against western policy by supporting isil. The information has become public. Thank you. Here is what our would like to say about turkey. We need to remember that turkey is an important ally. Right now than air and a pretty tough place. A border to the south, which is, as you know, quite exciting. Now they have a neighbor to the north who we used to think was a partner who has put in place in crimea the ability through Coastal Defense cruise missiles and surfacetoair missiles to pretty much dominate the black sea. Pretty hard on their ability to exude influence. So our ally, turkey, is caught between a rock and hard place. And so i think we need to understand the context in that way. The good news is that our alliance has responded, as you know. We are now actively involved in the air defense to the south end of felton to understand what is going on along the border in the Intelligence Surveillance and reconnaissance way. I am going to disappoint you because i am not trying to address the political piece of this. I think that is for others. As a military man, what i think we need to focus on is we have a member of our alliance that we have shown our support for and asked them to support us and actions we think are important. And that is a conversation that is, i think, just beginning. Thank you, general. Congratulations on a good cop and the washington post. General, in ukraine what you said about forward deployments case, what were doing for allies, is that feasible to do for your great . For ukraine. A deterrent matter to try to at least held the russian advance where it is. It shall make sure they at least have to undertake an action that is probably bigger than they would feel prudent for them to do in order to move beyond where they are. Let me broaden the question again. I think that a line of logic you just used is exactly what i think the western world and to some degree our nation needs to look and. Now, there are nations outside of nato and not russia, literally in some cases between us. How does the western world approached those nations . And what are the expectations of all neighbors east and west as to whether their actions should be in the nations . What are accepted International Norms . I think this is first principle conversation. Then you can begin to look at what you talk about. Those assurances that we could give these nations. We would be an interesting personal pronoun in that sentence. Is it nato, a coalition, bilateral . All of those things would have to be addressed. Right now there is no nato policy on what to do in those nations that find themselves outside of the alliance and not in the Russian Federation. Services, i think, a place where credit brinkley i would ask the Atlantic Council to help cover conversation along these lines. How do we approach these conundrums. Thank you very much right in front. You first. Peter sharp and. Would you anticipate in the future exercises in which the elements of the nrf or other elements moved to practice reinforcement in the form of yes. I am being flipped by that one word answer. Now let me elaborate. I dont think we in our nation have some of the most amazing Rapid Reaction forces out there. I think you would agree. The elements of the 802nd airborne and others who are on these short strings are truly incredible forces. You do not have that force if you do not exercise that force irregularly and sometimes off schedule. You really dont know if you have a 48 hour force until you ask it to respond insider 48 hours. So part of the original conversation that we had with the leaders of the summit is that this would be an expectation that we would exercise elements of these forces and speed in order to ensure we have it. The short answer is yes. Thank you. The nato summit in istanbul, the last summit was about enlargement, what do you think about countries such as macedonia, an enlargement in the summer situation such as georgia and ukraine. I think obviously this is a good question to ask a military leader verses a political leader. How do you look at the whole issue . What our nations have a firm is at the door is still open. No one moved through the door, but several have their programs of engagement and prove and most notably ukraine and others have their programs of engagement improve. Georgia clearly as well. I think that there are lots of things that nations need to do to come across the barrier into nato. What i would do is reserve now to make remarks toward the military pieces of those because those are the things i understand the most. Clearly some of the nations like georgia have done an extremely good job at becoming interoperable with nato and deploying with nato georgia has deployed in a very constant and highlevel its forces and support in afghanistan and other places. And so what i see is the nations continued to move toward their goal or have already probably in some cases that the military expectation that we have for their entry into nato. Now some of the more political issues of being worked out by the political leaders. Thank you, general breedlove. There are so many questions. I can only take two more. This young man year. Two rows back please. Those will have to be the last two. One after another. I was wondering, how are you keeping the administrations eye on russia with everything happening right now . Secondly, with the European Reassurance Initiative to when you know, if appropriate how would you like to see that money spent . This last question. [inaudible question] i just wanted to ask, and provocative signal to putin. I apologize to all of those i was unable to get to. Let me go back to the first. It would be a gross misstatement that ever keep our government focused on anything. Clearly we have all lot of challenges out there. Isil, isis, whatever we call these guys is an incredibly tough problem and clearly deserves a lot of focus. I think of we still have a government that completely understands that we have got to address what russia is doing in eastern europe, and we are working through those issues, an active debate inside of the bill way about how to address. I think that sometimes what we see in the headlines seems to tell us that we are maybe focused on one thing at the expense of another. I dont think that is the case. A think our government is completely focused on both of these issues. I see the ongoing work of out to address this and am able to make my input. Remind me attorney but the second part of your question. Okay. Eri. A great in my opinion, it offers us a tool to begin to do all of those things dont need to do to address the three latest will. We will need u. S. Forces to be a part of that small rapid reacting part of the nrf. Certainly we will not be all of it and have already had several other capable nations stepped up to be a part of that small force. We will need to make investment in training and capability to make sure that we are well set to be a part and to lead and be a big part of that rapid reacting peace. The third piece, our presence forward, in some cases i believe it will help us to be a part of conditioning lodgment setting forward with other nato allies those prepossession materials that we think that we needed some of these areas, and it will allow us to enable that. So i have great hopes to be an enabler of exactly what we need to do for that third leg of the stool. I see that very well. Back to the actions ours. This has been on the books for years, and it is one that we do every year. We are continuing exercise today. It is a little over a thousand people, 14 nations. The u. S. Part is just under 200 people. It is about a police operation, about bringing nations together to be able to interact and interrelate. It is being conducted so far west of ukraine it is almost in poland about 22 kilometers from the polish border and 1200 callers to been asked. So the exercise is going forward. No, i do not think it is provocative. His bid on the books. We have been talking about it forever. The continued to move forward and show engagement with the government trying to build a positive way forward. I think this can be a big part of the positive way forward. General breedlove, i think our speak on behalf of everyone here. I want to thank governor jon huntsman and jonas hjelm. Always welcome to have to supreme allied commanders in the audience. Never shy to give me feedback. I was waiting for the question to come. I am sure that there would all, as i do, not only saloon what you have done today us salute your courageous lead. Thank you very much. Thank you. [applause] the chairman of the joint chiefs will testify about u. S. Strategy to combat the militant group isis. Live coverage from the Senate Armed Services committee. That is on cspan three. Later in the day i look at the International Response to the Ebola Outbreak in west africa. Witnesses include the head of the National Institute of allergy and Infectious Diseases and Health Workers to treat people infected with the virus. This joint Senate Health Committee Hearing is live at 2 30 p. M. Up next on cspan2 remarks from a Homeland Security secretary jeh johnson and nato secretarygeneral talks about the potential for the militant group isis to expand. Later a white house medal of honor ceremony. The three branches in new. Cash prizes were students and teachers totaling 100,000. The head of the Homeland Security department jeh johnson spoke about National Security last week. Secretary johnson said the u. S. Is reviewing systems used to screen airplane passengers with western passports before the board flights to the u. S. He spoke of the council on Foreign Relations in new york. Thank you very much. I am pleased to be here. I see a lot of really good friends out there, friends and neighbors naturally. And stephen schlesinger. We have known each other for 30 years or so because we were next door neighbors to 24 riverside drive. Anyway, it is great to be here with such good friends. Richard, thank you for inviting me. I am here to speak to you today about the important subject of Homeland Security supported by my friend and colleague, the late ted sorensen, i became a member of the council on Foreign Relations in july 2001. As soon as i joinder learned by attendance of meetings that this was a terrific organization for the receipt of information and the bipartisan exchange of ideas concerning americas foreignpolicy and nationalsecurity. I am sorry that in recent years i have not been able to visit these much. I have been busy in washington. A little more than two months after i joined the council on Foreign Relations in july 2001 by 44th birthday. I remember that part state far more vividly than any other before or since. It changed my life. It was a tuesday. The weather was beautiful, temperature in the 60s or 70s, no humidity, not a cloud the sky and he did was a perfect weather day. I decided to drive to work that day to midtown manhattan. I looked forward to coming home that evening and celebrate my birthday with my wife and her two children all of that changed at age 46 00 a. M. In an instant that Beautiful Day turned into one of the single darkest days in american history. Like millions of others, there are images and moments i remember about that day that will never fade with time. The image of black smoke billowing out of the towers of the World Trade Center against the backdrop of a Crystal Clear blue sky is one burned into my memory. With the south tower collapsed at 9 59 a. M. It was the one moment in my life when i really could not believe my own. I kept thinking that building which had been a fixture on the manhattan skyline for almost 30 years was going to emerge from the cloud of dust. I remember thinking by the time i got to my car later that day and drove across the George Washington bridge Manhattan Island had suddenly been transformed into a war zone. Out of that tragic day the department of Homeland Security was formed. My personal commitment to the mission of Homeland Security was born. Today vhs is the Third Largest department of our government with 240,000 employees, 22 components, and a total Budget Authority of about 60 billion. The department has a broad and diverse set of missions. It is responsible for, among other things, counterterrorism, the a ministration and enforcement of our immigration laws, cyber security, aviation security, maritime security, border security, the security of land and sea ports, protection against nuclear, chemical, biological threats to the homeland, protection of our national leaders, protection of our critical infrastructure, training of federal Law Enforcement personnel, coordinating the federal bear in response to natural disasters and Emergency Preparedness for state and local authority. The 22 agencies or components that make up vhs include u. S. Customs and Border Protection which by itself is the largest federal Law Enforcement agency. U. S. Immigration and customs enforcement, u. S. Citizenship and immigration services, coast guard, tsa, fema, secret service. Counterterrorism must and will remain the cornerstone of the department of Homeland Security mission. During my four years as general counsel of the Defense Department guy was pleased to be a witness to many of our governments counterterrorism successes, many of the leaders of al qaeda from 2001 are now better captured. In september 2011 september 11th 2001 was my first it for stay as an american. May 1st 2011, their Intelligence Committee and special Operations Forces was my best day as a public servants. About 13 years after 9 11 it is still a dangerous world. There is still a terrorist threat to our homeland. Today the terrorist threat is different from what it was in 2001. It is more decentralized and complex. Not only is there a core al qaeda in afghanistan and pakistan, there is al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which is still active in its efforts to attack the homeland. Al qaeda and the islamic marker, how sure bob, our minister front in syria, the newest affiliate, al qaeda in the indian subcontinent. There are groups which are not official affiliates have al qaeda put share its extremist ideology. The Islamic State of iraq and the live on or isil previously known as al qaeda in iraq is now vying to be the preeminent terrorist organization on the world stage. At present we have no credible information that isil is planning to attack the homeland of the United States. That is not by any means the end of the story. Isil is an extremely dangerous organization. As the elements of those to both a terrorist organization and an insurgent army. It kills innocent civilians and has seized large amounts of territory in iraq and syria which it can utilize for safe haven, training, commandandcontrol and from which it can launch attack. It engages in 30 to 40 attacks per month, has an estimated 10,000 fighters and takes in as much as a Million Dollars a day from illicit or else map oil sales, smuggling, and ransom payments. Its public messaging and social media is as slick and effective as any ever seen from a terrorist organization. Rap