English subtitles for clip: File:9-29-14- White House Press Briefing.webm

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Mr. Earnest: Good
afternoon everybody.

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Nice to see you all.

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Let's get a couple of
more wins under our belt

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and then maybe we'll
trot that out here.

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I hope you
all had a nice weekend.

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I don't have anything at the
beginning of the briefing,

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Josh, so we'll go straight
to the questions.

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The Press: Thanks, Josh.

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The President in his "60
Minutes" interview last night,

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acknowledged that the United
States underestimated what was

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happening with the Islamic State
and also the Iraqi military's

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ability to deal with it.

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And I know that the President
is reliant on the intelligence

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community and his advisors for
those kinds of assessments,

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but I'm wondering if he
sees himself as having any

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responsibility for that failure
to connect the dots there

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or if he has a role in
what happened there.

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Mr. Earnest: Josh, the President
of the United States is the

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Commander-in-Chief, and
he often talks about how

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he is the one that is
ultimately responsible

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for protecting the national
security interests

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of the United States of America
all around the globe.

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There is no question that he
relies on important advice from

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the leaders in our military,
from leaders in our diplomatic

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corps, and from leaders in
our intelligence community.

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He values the relationship and
advice that he gets from leaders

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among all of those important
segments of our government,

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and in fact, it's only
because of the strong,

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sound advice that he has
received from members of the

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intelligence community that we
have had some success early

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on in our efforts to combat
the threat from ISIL.

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One of the things that we talked
about earlier this summer is the

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efforts underway at the Pentagon
to develop military options

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for the President, either
in Iraq or in Syria.

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And at that time, I talked about
how it was important -- or at

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that time, I talked about how
military planners were relying

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on intelligence that was being
collected and cultivated by our

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intelligence community to
develop a set of targets

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on which the President could
order military action.

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The early reviews, the early
assessments of those

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military operations indicate
that the strikes were

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impactful and effective.

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That's a testament,
first and foremost,

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to the skill and courage of
our men and women in uniform,

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but it would not have been
possible without the tremendous

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ability of members of our
intelligence community.

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The Press: And the President
also discussed last night how

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the Islamic State group has
become the more immediate threat

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even as the United
States continues to wish

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to see Assad go.

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I'm wondering if there is
anything that the U.S.

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is actively doing at the moment
to work to get Assad to go.

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Mr. Earnest: Well, certainly our
efforts to build up the moderate

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elements of the Syrian
opposition will have a very

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negative effect on the Assad
regime's ability to hold

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on to power; that as the
opposition in Syria is built up,

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it will succeed in providing a
legitimate counterweight to the

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Assad government, with the
ultimate goal of a diplomatic

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resolution of that situation.

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That's also something
the President discussed

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in the "60 Minutes"
interview over the weekend.

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There is not a military solution
to the very grave problems that

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are plaguing Syria right now;
that ultimately at the core

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is a political
resolution as it relates

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to governing that country.

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And building up, fortifying and
strengthening the capacity

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of moderate elements of the
Syrian opposition will

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move us further in
pursuit of that goal.

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The Press: But in the past,
there was the Geneva talks,

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and there was an actual
diplomatic effort underway very

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actively with other nations.

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Is there anything like
that still going on?

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Or is it basically just about
focusing on the moderate

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opposition in the hopes that one
day after the Islamic State

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is not as big of a threat,
they'll also be able

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to confront the
Assad government?

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Mr. Earnest: Well,
what I would say, Josh,

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is there are no -- at
least as far as I know,

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there aren't ongoing talks in
Geneva on this topic right now.

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But the important diplomacy that
had been underway and has

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been underway for some time
among the United States,

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elements of the
Syrian opposition,

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other countries in the region,
other countries around

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the world continues
to persist.

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Those kinds of conversations are
part and parcel of what it means

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to be a diplomat and what it
means to represent America's

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interests around the globe.

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What the President has indicated
is that the focal point of our

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strategic efforts right now is
on this threat that's posed

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by ISIL, the destabilizing
impact it's having on the region

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and the potential that they
could recruit foreign fighters

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that could pose a threat
to the West or to even

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the U.S. homeland.

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The Press: And on another topic,
I'm wondering if you have

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any thoughts about the
pro-democracy protests that

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we're seeing take hold
in much of Hong Kong.

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Mr. Earnest: I have read the
news reports about this.

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I can tell you that the
U.S. government is closely

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watching the situation
in Hong Kong.

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Around the world -- so this is
true in Hong Kong and other

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places -- the United States
supports internationally

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recognized fundamental
freedoms, such as the freedom

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of peaceful assembly and
the freedom of expression.

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The United States urges the Hong
Kong authorities to exercise

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restraint and for protestors to
express their views peacefully.

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The United States supports
universal suffrage in Hong Kong

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in accordance with the Basic Law
and we support the aspirations

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of the Hong Kong people.

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We believe that an open society
with the highest possible degree

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of autonomy and governed by
the rule of law is essential

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for Hong Kong's stability
and prosperity.

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Indeed, this is what
has made Hong Kong such

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a successful and truly
global city to this point.

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We've consistently made
our position known

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to Beijing and we'll
continue to do so.

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We believe that the basic
legitimacy of the Chief

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Executive in Hong Kong
will be greatly enhanced

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if the Basic Law's
ultimate aim of selection

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of the Chief Executive by
universal suffrage is fulfilled.

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We also believe
that the legitimacy

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of the Chief Executive will
be enhanced if the election

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provides the people of Hong Kong a genuine choice of candidates

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that are representative of the people's and the voters' will.

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The Press: Would you like
to see those aspirations and

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expressions of free speech
extend also to the mainland,

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where people have arguably
even less freedoms than

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they do in Hong Kong?

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Mr. Earnest: The short
answer to that is yes.

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The longer answer is that we
make a point out of every

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interaction with Chinese --
senior Chinese government

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officials that respect for
basic universal human rights

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is critically important.

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There's no question it's the
foundation of our democracy.

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We believe it should be the
foundation of any government,

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and that that respect for and
protection of basic universal

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human rights is an
important principle,

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and it's a principle that is
raised every time that a senior

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member of this administration is
dealing with a senior member

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of the Chinese government.

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Steve.

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The Press: Josh,
just to follow up,

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China is saying
it hopes the U.S.

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will be cautious on this issue
and not send the wrong signal.

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Are you concerned that you
might send the wrong signal

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on this case?

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Mr. Earnest: No, I think we've
been very clear about what

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our principles and what
our priorities are.

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They certainly apply to this
situation in particular.

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And we have been very consistent
in voicing our support to the

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People's Republic of China
for universal suffrage

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and for the aspirations
of the Hong Kong people,

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and we're going to
continue to do so.

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The Press: And is this something
the President will bring up with

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the Chinese leader when he
goes to Beijing in November?

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Mr. Earnest: I'm not in a
position to preview the exact

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conversation that the
President will have with

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the Chinese President.

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I do feel confident, however, in
saying that the President will

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certainly raise that the
protection of basic universal

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human rights is
critically important.

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That's something that the
President has done in every

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interaction that he's had
with the Chinese leadership,

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and I'm confident that that will
be part of the conversation

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that he is looking forward
to having in November.

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The Press: And lastly,
on the CBS interview,

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did the President
intend to blame

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the intelligence community for
not warning him about ISIL?

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Because that's the
interpretation some are taking.

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Mr. Earnest: He did not.

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That is not what the
President's intent what.

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What the President was trying
to make clear -- and this is

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something I'd point out that the
President has said on previous

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occasions in response to
questions from probably somebody

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who's sitting in this room
right now about how difficult

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it is to predict the will of
security forces that are based

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in another country to fight.

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And that's difficult business,
and ultimately, at the end,

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becomes a prediction.

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And as I mentioned in response
to Josh's question, ultimately,

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the President is the
Commander-in-Chief,

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and he's the one who takes
responsibility for ensuring that

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we have the kinds of policies
in place that are required

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to protect our interests
around the globe.

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And the President relies heavily
on the professionals in the

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intelligence community to offer
him the advice that's necessary

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to fulfill that function, and
the President continues to have

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the highest degree of confidence
in our intelligence community

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to continue to
provide that advice.

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Nadia.

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The Press: According to
NBC-Wall Street Journal,

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72 percent of the Americans
disagree with the President.

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They actually believe
that, ultimately,

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you're going to
send ground troops.

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So where are you
going wrong here?

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Is this the messaging?

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How come that despite all the
assurances that no ground troops

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will be sent to Syria or Iraq,
the majority of Americans

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believe that they will be sent?

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Mr. Earnest: Well, Nadia, this
country has learned some very

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painful lessons over the last
decade and the skepticism

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of the American public about
these kinds of -- about military

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involvement in some of these
areas is understandable.

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But the fact is the President
has laid out a strategy for

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dealing with this situation that
stands in stark contrast to the

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strategy that was pursued by the
previous administration in Iraq.

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We believe, the
President believes,

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and his national security
team believes that we can be

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successful in strengthening the
capacity of local ground forces

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to take the fight on the ground
to ISIL in their own country,

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and that adding U.S.

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ground troops in a combat role
in this situation would not be

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in the best strategic interest
of the United States of America

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simply because sending
ground troops into a combat

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role sends a mixed signal
to the Iraqi government

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in particular about what
our expectations are.

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We've been very clear
that this is a problem.

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The security situation in Iraq
is something that can only be

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solved by the Iraqi government
and the Iraqi military

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and the Iraqi people.

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This is not something that
the United States or the

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international community
can do for them;

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this is something they
must do for themselves.

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What the President has committed
to do and what the United States

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is prepared to do is -- I guess
I should say what

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the United States is already
doing -- is strongly

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supporting the Iraqi
central government

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and the Iraqi security forces
as they engage in this effort.

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And we're going to
continue to do that.

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The Press: This
situation is very fluid.

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I mean, obviously you admit that
things change on the ground

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almost on a daily basis.

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So if General Dempsey and John
Boehner both say leave that

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possibility for sending troops,
why not even acknowledge

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that actually there is
that possibility,

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instead of just completely
ruling out this option?

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Mr. Earnest: Well, there is one
piece of your question that

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I want to clarify, which is it
should be no surprise that

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Speaker Boehner has a different
position than the President.

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He criticizes the President
on a variety of topics

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and so it's not particularly
surprising to me,

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and it wasn't surprising to me
when I watched it on television

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last night, that Speaker Boehner
does think that the President

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should consider
sending ground troops

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into a combat role in Iraq.

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That's something that senior
members of the Republican Party

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00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:30,282
advocated in the
previous administration.

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It's something that senior
members of the Republican Party

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advocate in this administration.

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It's something that they
advocated prior to ISIL's

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significant advance
across the desert in Iraq,

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so it's not surprising to
me that they continue

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to advocate that position.

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But that is a different position
than the position that was

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advocated by the President --
by this President and different

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than the position that was
advocated by Chairman Dempsey.

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Chairman Dempsey,
in his testimony,

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did not advocate and did
not contemplate sending

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American ground troops into
a combat role in Iraq.

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The Press: A different role.

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He acknowledged there
is a possibility.

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Mr. Earnest: No, no, no.

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No, no, no.

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It's important, this
is really important.

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I'd encourage you to go back
and look at his testimony.

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What he was very clear about is
he did contemplate a possible

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situation in the future where
American ground troops could be

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deployed into a forward position
with the Iraqi security forces,

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but they would not be
deployed into that position

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in a combat role.

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They would not be engaging
personally or directly with

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the enemy in combat.

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They certainly are in harm's
way and would be in harm's way.

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But that is very different
than the kind of ground combat

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operation that people like
Speaker Boehner have advocated

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in the past.

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So what Chairman Dempsey has
indicated a willingness to leave

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the door open on is something
that the President has said

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he would be willing to consider
on a case-by-case basis,

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which is you could imagine
a scenario where it might

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be necessary in the future for
some American ground forces --

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or personnel, I should say --
could be forward deployed

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to provide some tactical advice
to Iraqi security forces,

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to maybe even call
on airstrikes,

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but not to engage in combat
directly with the enemy.

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And that's very different
than the strategy that

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was pursued by the
previous administration.

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Go ahead, Jim.

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The Press: Just to follow,
are you saying that

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00:14:19,458 --> 00:14:23,362
the Republicans have a
little bit of war fever?

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00:14:23,362 --> 00:14:26,397
Mr. Earnest: That sounds like
your colorful description

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00:14:26,398 --> 00:14:27,499
of their position,
not mine.

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The Press: I mean, you were just
saying that that's something

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that members of the Republican
Party advocated in a previous

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00:14:32,972 --> 00:14:34,973
administration and they seem
to be advocating it now.

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00:14:34,974 --> 00:14:39,111
Mr. Earnest: They
do all the time.

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00:14:39,111 --> 00:14:41,914
The Press: So they have
ground-boot fever?

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00:14:41,914 --> 00:14:43,682
I mean, what is it that
you're trying to say here?

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00:14:43,682 --> 00:14:45,651
(laughter)

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00:14:47,519 --> 00:14:48,354
Mr. Earnest:
I think Jim thinks it's

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00:14:48,354 --> 00:14:49,288
my first day here.

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00:14:49,288 --> 00:14:50,389
(laughter)

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00:14:50,389 --> 00:14:52,291
Look, I think Speaker
Boehner characterized

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00:14:52,291 --> 00:14:53,025
his own views.

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00:14:53,025 --> 00:14:54,660
The Press: Eager-beaver --

305
00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:55,493
Mr. Earnest: I think
Speaker Boehner

306
00:14:55,494 --> 00:14:57,696
characterized his
own views on this topic.

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They are different than the
view and the strategy

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00:14:59,698 --> 00:15:01,699
that's been laid out by
the Commander-in-Chief.

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I should say that the President
was certainly appreciative of

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00:15:04,069 --> 00:15:07,006
the support that Speaker
Boehner and other Republicans

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00:15:07,006 --> 00:15:10,276
articulated for the President's
strategy as it relates to

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00:15:10,276 --> 00:15:14,213
ramping up our assistance to
Syrian opposition fighters.

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00:15:14,213 --> 00:15:16,682
In the view of this President --
and maybe there is one aspect

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00:15:16,682 --> 00:15:20,319
of this that the Speaker and
the President agree on,

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00:15:20,319 --> 00:15:26,592
which is that degrading and
ultimately destroying ISIL

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00:15:26,592 --> 00:15:31,463
will require some ground
troops in a combat role.

317
00:15:31,463 --> 00:15:33,464
The question that is open and
I think where the divergence

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00:15:33,465 --> 00:15:36,902
occurs is whether those ground
troops are going to be American.

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00:15:36,902 --> 00:15:38,904
The President has
ruled that out.

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00:15:38,904 --> 00:15:40,906
There will not be American
ground combat troops

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00:15:40,906 --> 00:15:42,074
in Iraq or in Syria.

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00:15:42,074 --> 00:15:44,075
Speaker Boehner wants to
leave open that possibility.

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00:15:44,076 --> 00:15:48,247
What the President has said is
let's actually use the ability

324
00:15:48,247 --> 00:15:51,617
of the American military and our
coalition partners around

325
00:15:51,617 --> 00:15:55,054
the globe to ramp up our
assistance and training

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00:15:55,054 --> 00:15:57,990
of local forces so that they
themselves can be the boots

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00:15:57,990 --> 00:16:00,125
on the ground to take
the fight to ISIL.

328
00:16:00,125 --> 00:16:02,895
And that is wholly a different
strategy than the one that

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00:16:02,895 --> 00:16:04,896
was pursued by the Bush
administration,

330
00:16:04,897 --> 00:16:07,566
and sounds different than the
strategy that Speaker Boehner

331
00:16:07,566 --> 00:16:08,701
is advocating at this point.

332
00:16:08,701 --> 00:16:10,302
The Press: Can I go back to
the Jim Clapper question?

333
00:16:10,302 --> 00:16:11,170
Mr. Earnest: Sure.

334
00:16:11,170 --> 00:16:12,771
The Press: Does the President
have confidence in the

335
00:16:12,771 --> 00:16:15,907
intelligence he is receiving now
from the intelligence community

336
00:16:15,908 --> 00:16:17,576
with respect to ISIS?

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00:16:17,576 --> 00:16:18,143
Mr. Earnest: Absolutely.

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00:16:18,143 --> 00:16:21,714
The Press: But he is just saying
that previously what he got

339
00:16:21,714 --> 00:16:25,584
in terms of intelligence on
the rise of ISIS was flawed.

340
00:16:25,584 --> 00:16:29,488
Mr. Earnest: Again, I don't
think that's -- I don't think

341
00:16:29,488 --> 00:16:31,657
those were the words
that the President used.

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00:16:31,657 --> 00:16:33,659
I think the President
was pretty clear,

343
00:16:33,659 --> 00:16:35,994
both then and as he
was back in August,

344
00:16:35,994 --> 00:16:41,633
that nobody predicted the speed
and pace with which ISIL would

345
00:16:41,633 --> 00:16:46,538
advance across the Syrian border
with Iraq and make dramatic

346
00:16:46,538 --> 00:16:50,409
gains across the countryside in
a way that allowed them to hold

347
00:16:50,409 --> 00:16:52,644
large chunks of territory.

348
00:16:52,644 --> 00:16:54,246
The Press: But there were
members of the intelligence

349
00:16:54,246 --> 00:16:56,915
community who were
sounding the alarm.

350
00:16:56,915 --> 00:17:00,486
Back in February, the head of
the Defense Intelligence Agency

351
00:17:00,486 --> 00:17:03,655
testified at a hearing
that this was possible,

352
00:17:03,655 --> 00:17:06,992
that you could see ISIS rise and
take territory and continue

353
00:17:06,992 --> 00:17:08,993
to take more territory.

354
00:17:10,194 --> 00:17:12,464
So there were people sounding
the alarm within the

355
00:17:12,464 --> 00:17:15,000
intelligence community publicly
as far back as February.

356
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,836
Mr. Earnest: Well, Jim, there
have been people for quite some

357
00:17:17,836 --> 00:17:22,107
time who have been talking about
how difficult it is to assess

358
00:17:22,107 --> 00:17:25,377
the will of foreign
organizations to actually

359
00:17:25,377 --> 00:17:26,712
fight for their country.

360
00:17:26,712 --> 00:17:32,718
And there is no doubt that
there was a question about how

361
00:17:36,455 --> 00:17:39,524
determined Iraqi security forces
would be to defend their own

362
00:17:39,525 --> 00:17:43,395
country, largely due to the
sectarian way in which that

363
00:17:43,395 --> 00:17:46,732
country was being governed, and
that would, understandably,

364
00:17:46,732 --> 00:17:52,838
raise some doubt about the
fighting will of the Iraqi

365
00:17:52,838 --> 00:17:54,072
security forces.

366
00:17:54,072 --> 00:18:00,579
And I think that proved to be
true in the end that ISIL was

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00:18:00,579 --> 00:18:02,648
able to make significant gains
because the Iraqi security

368
00:18:02,648 --> 00:18:06,885
forces weren't able to
withstand their advance.

369
00:18:06,885 --> 00:18:10,756
Now, what we have seen is we've
seen several things change.

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00:18:10,756 --> 00:18:12,758
The most important thing
that we've seen change

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00:18:12,758 --> 00:18:14,760
is the central
government in Baghdad.

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00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,762
We do now see an inclusive
government in Baghdad that is

373
00:18:16,762 --> 00:18:18,931
governing that country in a way
that can unify the country

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00:18:18,931 --> 00:18:20,499
to meet the ISIL threat.

375
00:18:20,499 --> 00:18:24,369
That will have a corresponding
effect on the capability and

376
00:18:24,369 --> 00:18:27,339
will of the Iraqi security
forces to fight for and defend

377
00:18:27,339 --> 00:18:28,506
their own country.

378
00:18:28,507 --> 00:18:30,509
You've seen a commitment from
the United States and our

379
00:18:30,509 --> 00:18:33,078
coalition partners to ramp up
our training and assistance even

380
00:18:33,078 --> 00:18:35,047
to the Iraqi security forces.

381
00:18:35,047 --> 00:18:37,316
And you've seen a willingness
by the United States and our

382
00:18:37,316 --> 00:18:41,386
coalition partners to back up
the efforts of Iraqi security

383
00:18:41,386 --> 00:18:45,557
forces on the ground with
military strikes from the air.

384
00:18:45,557 --> 00:18:49,962
All of those things combined
will significantly enhance both

385
00:18:49,962 --> 00:18:52,965
the will and the capability
of Iraq's security forces.

386
00:18:52,965 --> 00:18:57,535
And we are optimistic that they
will build on the progress that

387
00:18:57,536 --> 00:19:02,808
they've already made to degrade
and ultimately destroy ISIL.

388
00:19:02,808 --> 00:19:04,443
The Press: And can I ask
you very quickly about

389
00:19:04,443 --> 00:19:07,846
The Washington Post story that
came out over the weekend about

390
00:19:07,846 --> 00:19:10,782
the shooting incident here at
the White House back in 2011?

391
00:19:10,782 --> 00:19:12,985
It was reported in that
story that the President

392
00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:15,486
and the First Lady were irate
with the Secret Service

393
00:19:15,487 --> 00:19:17,556
over their handling
of that incident.

394
00:19:17,556 --> 00:19:20,392
Does that accurately reflect how
the President and the First Lady

395
00:19:20,392 --> 00:19:24,696
felt after they learned
that there were shots fired

396
00:19:24,696 --> 00:19:27,933
at the White House and that
they were fired by somebody who

397
00:19:27,933 --> 00:19:30,636
was intending to fire
shots at the White House?

398
00:19:30,636 --> 00:19:34,806
Mr. Earnest: Jim, as I
think as you would expect,

399
00:19:34,806 --> 00:19:36,808
the President and First
Lady, like all parents,

400
00:19:36,808 --> 00:19:38,810
are concerned about the
safety of their children.

401
00:19:38,810 --> 00:19:43,315
But the President and First Lady
also have confidence in the men

402
00:19:43,315 --> 00:19:46,318
and women of the Secret Service
to do a very important job,

403
00:19:46,318 --> 00:19:48,320
which is to protect
the First Family,

404
00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:50,822
to protect the White House, but
also protect the ability of

405
00:19:50,822 --> 00:19:53,591
tourists and members of the
public to conduct their business

406
00:19:53,592 --> 00:19:55,494
or even tour the White House.

407
00:19:55,494 --> 00:20:00,299
So this requires balancing
a wide range of equities,

408
00:20:00,299 --> 00:20:03,135
which makes for a
very difficult task.

409
00:20:03,135 --> 00:20:08,807
But it is a task that the
Secret Service is dedicated to.

410
00:20:08,807 --> 00:20:13,478
What they are also dedicated to
is where shortcomings occur,

411
00:20:13,478 --> 00:20:18,183
implementing the changes that
are necessary to improve.

412
00:20:18,183 --> 00:20:22,421
And Director Pierson and other
senior leaders at the United

413
00:20:22,421 --> 00:20:25,557
States Secret Service are
currently engaged in a review

414
00:20:25,557 --> 00:20:29,261
in light of the incident from
10 days or so ago to further

415
00:20:29,261 --> 00:20:33,264
upgrade and enhance the security
posture of the White House.

416
00:20:33,265 --> 00:20:37,836
And what will be -- what's
required in an environment like

417
00:20:37,836 --> 00:20:44,076
this is a security organization
that is adept, that is nimble,

418
00:20:44,076 --> 00:20:47,446
and that can be constantly both
reviewing and upgrading their

419
00:20:47,446 --> 00:20:49,014
posture as necessary.

420
00:20:49,014 --> 00:20:50,215
That's difficult work.

421
00:20:50,215 --> 00:20:52,618
But the President and
First Lady have confidence

422
00:20:52,618 --> 00:20:55,553
in the ability of the
Secret Service to do it.

423
00:20:55,554 --> 00:20:56,555
April.

424
00:20:56,555 --> 00:20:58,991
The Press: I want to follow
up on Jim's questions.

425
00:20:58,991 --> 00:21:02,561
Has the White House been kept
abreast of this most recent

426
00:21:02,561 --> 00:21:05,930
issue, the incident, as to
how things are changing?

427
00:21:05,931 --> 00:21:09,368
And also, on the issue in 2011
-- because The Washington Post

428
00:21:09,368 --> 00:21:13,304
article was scathing
of the Secret Service,

429
00:21:13,305 --> 00:21:16,942
and the Secret Service is
refuting a lot of what has been

430
00:21:16,942 --> 00:21:19,611
said in there -- in the article
-- has the Secret Service been

431
00:21:19,611 --> 00:21:23,181
in communication with the
changes and upgrading of

432
00:21:23,181 --> 00:21:27,152
security to the White House
since all of these things have

433
00:21:27,152 --> 00:21:29,821
been happening, particularly
this latest article?

434
00:21:29,821 --> 00:21:31,756
Mr. Earnest: Well, April, as I
mentioned at the end of last

435
00:21:31,757 --> 00:21:33,792
week, the President did have the
opportunity to sit down in the

436
00:21:33,792 --> 00:21:36,727
Oval Office with Director
Pierson to discuss the ongoing

437
00:21:36,728 --> 00:21:42,734
review in light of the incident
from 10 days or so ago.

438
00:21:42,734 --> 00:21:45,404
The President is interested
in the review that they are

439
00:21:45,404 --> 00:21:49,107
conducting, and I would
anticipate that he'll review

440
00:21:49,107 --> 00:21:52,577
whatever it is they -- whatever
reforms and recommendations

441
00:21:52,577 --> 00:21:54,579
they settle upon.

442
00:21:56,415 --> 00:21:59,685
But ultimately, the President
does retain confidence in the

443
00:21:59,685 --> 00:22:01,720
leadership of the Secret Service
and in the men and women of the

444
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:03,722
Secret Service who,
on a daily basis,

445
00:22:03,722 --> 00:22:06,191
wake up in the morning prepared
to put their life on the line

446
00:22:06,191 --> 00:22:08,026
to protect the First Family.

447
00:22:08,026 --> 00:22:08,627
The Press: All right.

448
00:22:08,627 --> 00:22:11,296
And I want to go to another
question about something else.

449
00:22:11,296 --> 00:22:13,432
The President, at the
Congressional Black Caucus

450
00:22:13,432 --> 00:22:15,400
dinner, talked about
My Brother's Keeper,

451
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,137
an announcement at the beginning
of -- when it involves mayors

452
00:22:19,137 --> 00:22:21,473
and tribal leaders.

453
00:22:21,473 --> 00:22:24,676
Could you give us a little
bit of information on that?

454
00:22:24,676 --> 00:22:28,112
And why now reach out to
mayors and tribal leaders

455
00:22:28,113 --> 00:22:30,148
and not before?

456
00:22:30,148 --> 00:22:32,350
Mr. Earnest: Well, April, there
has been an effort to reach out

457
00:22:32,350 --> 00:22:36,687
pretty broadly as it relates to
My Brother's Keeper to engage

458
00:22:36,688 --> 00:22:39,624
people in what the President
views as a top priority,

459
00:22:39,624 --> 00:22:42,994
to work in communities
of color in particular,

460
00:22:42,994 --> 00:22:46,298
with young men in particular,
to provide them some

461
00:22:46,298 --> 00:22:51,136
mentorship and support
that is so sorely needed.

462
00:22:51,136 --> 00:22:53,772
And there are many others who
have demonstrated a commitment

463
00:22:53,772 --> 00:22:57,141
to this issue in a way that
gives the President a lot

464
00:22:57,142 --> 00:22:59,144
of confidence that some
progress can be made.

465
00:22:59,144 --> 00:23:01,580
And that means working with
the business community,

466
00:23:01,580 --> 00:23:03,348
working with the
academic community,

467
00:23:03,348 --> 00:23:05,783
working with political and
community leaders to try

468
00:23:05,784 --> 00:23:07,886
to make progress and advance
some of these goals that

469
00:23:07,886 --> 00:23:08,887
they've laid out.

470
00:23:08,887 --> 00:23:11,623
If you need some more details in
terms of what the current state

471
00:23:11,623 --> 00:23:14,059
of our outreach, I can
pull those for you.

472
00:23:14,059 --> 00:23:16,962
The Press: Last question, as it
relates to My Brother's Keeper

473
00:23:16,962 --> 00:23:18,964
and linking it
somewhat to Ferguson.

474
00:23:18,964 --> 00:23:21,332
I understand the White House
has been watching the events

475
00:23:21,333 --> 00:23:22,868
of late of Ferguson.

476
00:23:22,868 --> 00:23:27,371
I want to ask you about
what you just said about the

477
00:23:27,372 --> 00:23:30,375
demonstrations in Hong Kong,
peaceful demonstrations,

478
00:23:30,375 --> 00:23:32,911
and then when the demonstrations
are happening here

479
00:23:32,911 --> 00:23:35,781
in the United States,
particularly in Ferguson,

480
00:23:35,781 --> 00:23:37,616
that are having many issues.

481
00:23:37,616 --> 00:23:41,753
It seems like they cannot come
together on how to marry

482
00:23:41,753 --> 00:23:44,990
the police force and the
demonstrators together

483
00:23:44,990 --> 00:23:45,991
in that town.

484
00:23:45,991 --> 00:23:49,060
And you're promoting democracy
there and we're still

485
00:23:49,060 --> 00:23:50,328
having a conflict here.

486
00:23:50,328 --> 00:23:51,495
Can you talk about that?

487
00:23:51,496 --> 00:23:51,997
Mr. Earnest: Yes.

488
00:23:51,997 --> 00:23:53,999
I think the President confronted
this issue pretty directly in

489
00:23:53,999 --> 00:23:56,001
the speech that he
gave at the U.N.

490
00:23:56,001 --> 00:23:57,002
General Assembly on Wednesday.

491
00:23:57,002 --> 00:23:59,004
He said it more
eloquently than I did,

492
00:23:59,004 --> 00:24:01,339
but I think what he was
highlighting -- or more

493
00:24:01,339 --> 00:24:03,875
eloquently than I will -- what
he was highlighting is that

494
00:24:03,875 --> 00:24:05,610
every country has challenges.

495
00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:06,610
No country is perfect.

496
00:24:06,611 --> 00:24:08,046
Our country is not perfect.

497
00:24:08,046 --> 00:24:10,515
But what we are seeking to do is
to form a more perfect union.

498
00:24:10,515 --> 00:24:14,619
And when we strive to
address those differences,

499
00:24:14,619 --> 00:24:16,855
we do so in the
open light of day,

500
00:24:16,855 --> 00:24:18,957
in the open light
of our democracy.

501
00:24:18,957 --> 00:24:22,160
And what you have seen is a
response from the government

502
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:29,568
that, while not perfect, has
promoted greater understanding

503
00:24:29,568 --> 00:24:32,671
between local law enforcement
and local citizens

504
00:24:32,671 --> 00:24:37,642
who are aggrieved.

505
00:24:37,642 --> 00:24:41,980
And the effort to try to resolve
those differences in a way that

506
00:24:41,980 --> 00:24:48,086
acknowledges the shortcomings is
what makes our country different

507
00:24:48,086 --> 00:24:50,889
than so many others and
certainly what makes our

508
00:24:50,889 --> 00:24:53,859
country different than
a place like China,

509
00:24:53,859 --> 00:24:57,062
where the response from the
federal government has been

510
00:24:57,062 --> 00:24:59,598
to try to shut down
reporting of the incident.

511
00:24:59,598 --> 00:25:04,936
I read reports today that
Instagram is being blocked and

512
00:25:04,936 --> 00:25:06,937
that there are efforts to
try to censor some websites

513
00:25:06,938 --> 00:25:09,641
who are trying to report
on this situation.

514
00:25:09,641 --> 00:25:12,911
And that underscores I think the
difference in approach that

515
00:25:12,911 --> 00:25:16,114
we have to try to confront
this challenge that

516
00:25:16,114 --> 00:25:17,115
other countries have.

517
00:25:17,115 --> 00:25:18,116
The Press: They tried to
shut down some reporters

518
00:25:18,116 --> 00:25:21,086
at the beginning of the Ferguson
of the protests here now.

519
00:25:21,086 --> 00:25:25,390
So, I mean, some of the policing
units were trying to shut down

520
00:25:25,390 --> 00:25:28,126
some of the reporters during
that protest, as you well know.

521
00:25:28,126 --> 00:25:31,296
Mr. Earnest: But, April, what
we're talking about here is

522
00:25:31,296 --> 00:25:33,298
we're talking about the response
of the central government,

523
00:25:33,298 --> 00:25:35,133
the response of the democracy.

524
00:25:35,133 --> 00:25:41,439
And I think that, again, while
there -- the question here is

525
00:25:41,439 --> 00:25:43,475
what is going to be the reaction
of the government to dealing

526
00:25:43,475 --> 00:25:47,078
with these kinds of situations,
and every country has them.

527
00:25:47,078 --> 00:25:50,782
The question is what are you
going to do to try to resolve

528
00:25:50,782 --> 00:25:54,252
those differences in a way
that reflects the values

529
00:25:54,252 --> 00:25:58,389
and the universal
rights of the citizens.

530
00:25:58,390 --> 00:25:59,858
Jon.

531
00:25:59,858 --> 00:26:03,762
The Press: Josh, back to this
question of ISIS or ISIL.

532
00:26:03,762 --> 00:26:09,768
Did the intelligence
community underestimate ISIL

533
00:26:09,768 --> 00:26:12,203
or did the President underestimate ISIL?

534
00:26:12,203 --> 00:26:15,974
Mr. Earnest: I think the way
that I would describe it is that

535
00:26:15,974 --> 00:26:20,845
everybody did; that everybody
was surprised to see the rapid

536
00:26:20,845 --> 00:26:26,017
advance that ISIL was able to
make from Syria across the Iraqi

537
00:26:26,017 --> 00:26:29,854
border and to be able to
take over such large swaths

538
00:26:29,854 --> 00:26:32,924
of territory in Iraq did
come as a surprise.

539
00:26:32,924 --> 00:26:34,926
And that's something that the
President has said many times

540
00:26:34,926 --> 00:26:38,163
and it's something that
even senior members of the

541
00:26:38,163 --> 00:26:40,598
intelligence community
have acknowledged as well.

542
00:26:40,598 --> 00:26:45,570
A lot of that was predicated on
the underestimation of the will

543
00:26:45,570 --> 00:26:47,672
of the Iraqi security forces
to fight for their country.

544
00:26:47,672 --> 00:26:50,942
The Press: But, Josh, I
mean, on that question,

545
00:26:50,942 --> 00:26:53,411
just to go back -- I mean, you
don't even have to go back

546
00:26:53,411 --> 00:26:56,014
to February, you can go back
to November of last year.

547
00:26:56,014 --> 00:26:59,985
Brett McGurk, who is Assistant
Secretary of State and one

548
00:26:59,985 --> 00:27:03,687
of the key point people for
the administration on Iraq,

549
00:27:03,688 --> 00:27:08,893
he described almost exactly
what the threat was,

550
00:27:08,893 --> 00:27:12,497
both on the side of the Iraqis
not being able to confront it,

551
00:27:12,497 --> 00:27:15,633
the fact that they were able
to have benefitting from

552
00:27:15,633 --> 00:27:18,336
a sanctuary across
porous border in Syria.

553
00:27:18,336 --> 00:27:21,806
I mean, his description
back in November was,

554
00:27:21,806 --> 00:27:24,843
"We have seen upwards of 40
suicide bombers per month

555
00:27:24,843 --> 00:27:27,979
targeting playgrounds, mosques,
markets...in addition to

556
00:27:27,979 --> 00:27:31,683
government sites from Basra,
to Baghdad, to Erbil."

557
00:27:31,683 --> 00:27:35,053
ISIS "has benefited from a
permissive operating environment

558
00:27:35,053 --> 00:27:38,623
due to the inherent weakness
of the Iraqi security forces."

559
00:27:38,623 --> 00:27:42,193
This is one of your key people
on Iraq who was raising

560
00:27:42,193 --> 00:27:44,996
this alarm in November
of last year.

561
00:27:44,996 --> 00:27:48,366
Did this message get
to the President?

562
00:27:48,366 --> 00:27:49,434
Did he believe it?

563
00:27:49,434 --> 00:27:50,435
Did he not hear it?

564
00:27:50,435 --> 00:27:51,436
What happened?

565
00:27:51,436 --> 00:27:54,139
Mr. Earnest: Jon, this is
something that the President

566
00:27:54,139 --> 00:27:56,674
has discussed on a number of
occasions -- that principally

567
00:27:56,674 --> 00:28:00,145
what we're talking about here is
the rapid advance that ISIL was

568
00:28:00,145 --> 00:28:03,815
able to make across the
Iraqi desert and the success

569
00:28:03,815 --> 00:28:07,252
that they have had after
that advance to holding

570
00:28:07,252 --> 00:28:08,653
large swaths of territory.

571
00:28:08,653 --> 00:28:12,524
And that is not to say that
there wasn't an acknowledgement

572
00:28:12,524 --> 00:28:15,893
of the risk that this
organization posed.

573
00:28:15,894 --> 00:28:18,196
The Press: But if I could just
stop you for a second -- because

574
00:28:18,196 --> 00:28:23,001
two months after Brett
McGurk says this,

575
00:28:23,001 --> 00:28:25,937
the President calls ISIL the
JV team in an interview

576
00:28:25,937 --> 00:28:26,937
with The New Yorker.

577
00:28:26,938 --> 00:28:28,940
Mr. Earnest: We've been through
this and that's not who the

578
00:28:28,940 --> 00:28:29,674
President was referring to.

579
00:28:29,674 --> 00:28:31,676
The Press: He was clearly
talking about ISIL because

580
00:28:31,676 --> 00:28:32,577
the question was about --

581
00:28:32,577 --> 00:28:33,144
Mr. Earnest:
That's not true.

582
00:28:33,144 --> 00:28:36,081
The Press: The question was
specifically about what happened

583
00:28:36,081 --> 00:28:39,016
after ISIL took over Fallujah.

584
00:28:39,017 --> 00:28:40,285
Mr. Earnest: That's not
what the question was about.

585
00:28:40,285 --> 00:28:41,019
The Press: The question was
directly about --

586
00:28:41,019 --> 00:28:41,719
Mr. Earnest: We can
look at the transcript

587
00:28:41,719 --> 00:28:42,720
after the briefing.

588
00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:44,422
That's not what the -- the
President also discussed

589
00:28:44,422 --> 00:28:46,925
this on "60 Minutes"
yesterday, too.

590
00:28:46,925 --> 00:28:52,163
So we've sort of -- we've
been through this argument.

591
00:28:52,163 --> 00:28:54,165
The Press: But what I'm saying
is here you have a top person

592
00:28:54,165 --> 00:28:55,166
and he's not alone.

593
00:28:55,166 --> 00:28:57,168
I mean, if you go -- you
mentioned coming across

594
00:28:57,168 --> 00:28:59,169
and taking over vast
areas of Iraq.

595
00:28:59,170 --> 00:29:01,673
Well, in February of this
year, the head of the Defense

596
00:29:01,673 --> 00:29:05,009
Intelligence Agency, Michael
Flynn, General Flynn,

597
00:29:05,009 --> 00:29:06,778
warned of exactly this.

598
00:29:06,778 --> 00:29:09,614
He said ISIL "probably will
attempt to take territory in

599
00:29:09,614 --> 00:29:13,184
Iraq and Syria to exhibit
its strength in 2014,

600
00:29:13,184 --> 00:29:17,822
as it demonstrated recently
in Ramadi and Fallujah."

601
00:29:17,822 --> 00:29:20,558
And the group's "ability to
concurrently maintain multiple

602
00:29:20,558 --> 00:29:22,260
safe havens in Syria."

603
00:29:22,260 --> 00:29:24,262
He is warning of
exactly what happened.

604
00:29:24,262 --> 00:29:25,296
This is back in February.

605
00:29:25,296 --> 00:29:27,599
How can the President say this
was an intelligence failure?

606
00:29:27,599 --> 00:29:30,568
Mr. Earnest: Well, Jon,
I'll read you some comments

607
00:29:30,568 --> 00:29:32,570
from Director Clapper
himself, who said,

608
00:29:32,570 --> 00:29:33,571
what we didn't do --

609
00:29:33,571 --> 00:29:35,572
The Press: There are 16
intelligence agencies --

610
00:29:35,573 --> 00:29:37,575
this is the head of the
Defense Intelligence Agency.

611
00:29:37,575 --> 00:29:39,544
Are you saying that the
President didn't hear this?

612
00:29:39,544 --> 00:29:41,813
This was testimony to Congress.

613
00:29:41,813 --> 00:29:42,814
Mr. Earnest: What I'm talking
about is the person who

614
00:29:42,814 --> 00:29:47,485
is responsible for being in
charge of the broader

615
00:29:47,485 --> 00:29:49,486
intelligence community, and
what he said was he said,

616
00:29:49,487 --> 00:29:51,489
"What we didn't do was
predict the will to fight.

617
00:29:51,489 --> 00:29:52,490
That's always a problem."

618
00:29:52,490 --> 00:29:56,261
And what that goes to is the
challenge of figuring out how

619
00:29:56,261 --> 00:30:01,533
exactly willing foreign fighters
are to defend their own country

620
00:30:01,533 --> 00:30:05,136
-- wow capable are they,
how well equipped are they,

621
00:30:05,136 --> 00:30:08,005
and how willing are they to
put their life on the line

622
00:30:08,006 --> 00:30:09,807
to defend their own country.

623
00:30:09,807 --> 00:30:13,278
And we did know that there was
some weakness among the Iraqi

624
00:30:13,278 --> 00:30:16,514
security forces because we had
been publicly expressing concern

625
00:30:16,514 --> 00:30:19,716
for quite some time that Prime
Minister Maliki was governing

626
00:30:19,717 --> 00:30:22,253
that country in a sectarian way
that was starting to pull

627
00:30:22,253 --> 00:30:23,655
that country apart.

628
00:30:23,655 --> 00:30:27,792
And that would make it
vulnerable to outside forces,

629
00:30:27,792 --> 00:30:30,794
and it certainly would reduce
the ability of the Iraqi

630
00:30:30,795 --> 00:30:33,932
security forces to respond
to a specific threat.

631
00:30:33,932 --> 00:30:37,368
What was not predicted was how
quickly and how successfully

632
00:30:37,368 --> 00:30:40,772
ISIL would be able to make this
significant advance across Iraq

633
00:30:40,772 --> 00:30:43,942
in a way that has allowed them
to hold so much territory.

634
00:30:43,942 --> 00:30:51,416
What's important is that the
United States, as we always

635
00:30:51,416 --> 00:30:53,784
do, has led the
international community

636
00:30:53,785 --> 00:30:55,753
in responding to
this situation.

637
00:30:55,753 --> 00:30:58,456
And that response requires
the continued skill and

638
00:30:58,456 --> 00:31:01,458
professionalism and service of
our intelligence community.

639
00:31:01,459 --> 00:31:04,362
That's why -- that's an
important part of why our

640
00:31:04,362 --> 00:31:06,397
initial response here
has been successful,

641
00:31:06,397 --> 00:31:10,301
and they will be critical to
our success moving forward.

642
00:31:10,301 --> 00:31:11,636
The Press: Let me just
button it up with this.

643
00:31:11,636 --> 00:31:13,972
So these warnings that came --
and I've mentioned two --

644
00:31:13,972 --> 00:31:18,910
the U.S. ambassador to
Baghdad, to Iraq, made

645
00:31:18,910 --> 00:31:21,813
similar warnings in an
interview on ABC News.

646
00:31:21,813 --> 00:31:24,315
We had heard similar warnings
from Department of Homeland

647
00:31:24,315 --> 00:31:25,316
Security officials.

648
00:31:25,316 --> 00:31:27,619
Did the President hear this?

649
00:31:27,619 --> 00:31:30,021
Did he know what --
he mentioned Clapper.

650
00:31:30,021 --> 00:31:34,492
So we know he heard what Clapper
said, the head of the DNI.

651
00:31:34,492 --> 00:31:37,729
Did he know what these other
top officials in his own

652
00:31:37,729 --> 00:31:40,298
administration were saying
about the threat from ISIL?

653
00:31:40,298 --> 00:31:43,134
Did he hear what I
just read to you?

654
00:31:43,134 --> 00:31:45,236
Mr. Earnest: I assume
that what you just read

655
00:31:45,236 --> 00:31:47,005
to me is congressional
testimony.

656
00:31:47,005 --> 00:31:49,974
So there are a lot of public
statements about this.

657
00:31:49,974 --> 00:31:52,277
I'm not going to get into what
sort of private conversations

658
00:31:52,277 --> 00:31:55,413
the President had with the
intelligence community about --

659
00:31:55,413 --> 00:31:56,347
The Press: I'm just trying
to get at -- these warnings

660
00:31:56,347 --> 00:31:57,348
got to the level
of the President.

661
00:31:57,348 --> 00:32:00,685
Maybe they didn't; maybe there
is a problem at DNI that

662
00:32:00,685 --> 00:32:01,886
needs to be looked at.

663
00:32:01,886 --> 00:32:05,123
Mr. Earnest: And what I'm saying
is that the President has

664
00:32:05,123 --> 00:32:08,192
complete confidence in the
intelligence community to deal

665
00:32:08,192 --> 00:32:14,866
with these very dynamic but
significant threats to our

666
00:32:14,866 --> 00:32:16,501
broader national interest.

667
00:32:16,501 --> 00:32:20,171
And he has complete confidence
in their ability to gather

668
00:32:20,171 --> 00:32:24,676
the information that will be
required to help us meet

669
00:32:24,676 --> 00:32:26,543
and mitigate that threat.

670
00:32:26,544 --> 00:32:29,113
As it relates to the private
conversations that the President

671
00:32:29,113 --> 00:32:31,482
has had with his intelligence
advisors, I won't get into that.

672
00:32:31,482 --> 00:32:35,987
But both the Director of
National Intelligence and the

673
00:32:35,987 --> 00:32:41,993
President have been pretty
candid about their insight into

674
00:32:44,429 --> 00:32:48,599
this specific situation, which
is to say everybody knew

675
00:32:48,599 --> 00:32:50,668
that there was a threat
that was posed by ISIL,

676
00:32:50,668 --> 00:32:54,738
but what nobody could predict,
as the director said,

677
00:32:54,739 --> 00:32:56,908
is the willingness of the
Iraqi security forces to stand

678
00:32:56,908 --> 00:32:58,743
up and fight for
their own country.

679
00:32:58,743 --> 00:33:01,579
The Press: Well, that's
exactly what McGurk said.

680
00:33:01,579 --> 00:33:01,979
Mr. Earnest: Okay.

681
00:33:01,979 --> 00:33:02,914
Justin.

682
00:33:02,914 --> 00:33:04,949
The Press: I wanted
to kind of ask about

683
00:33:04,949 --> 00:33:06,484
the political aspect
of this.

684
00:33:06,484 --> 00:33:09,419
Republicans have obviously
seized on the President's

685
00:33:09,420 --> 00:33:12,490
comments, but more generally
we've seen a lot of campaign ads

686
00:33:12,490 --> 00:33:17,095
coming out today in North
Carolina kind of accusing the

687
00:33:17,095 --> 00:33:19,997
President and Democrats of
being slow to respond to ISIS.

688
00:33:19,997 --> 00:33:22,834
I know that administration
officials before said that

689
00:33:22,834 --> 00:33:25,136
the President, as he starts
campaigning -- he's going

690
00:33:25,136 --> 00:33:27,538
to Chicago this week -- won't
be using foreign policy

691
00:33:27,538 --> 00:33:30,842
as part of his
campaign message.

692
00:33:30,842 --> 00:33:31,843
But is that tenable?

693
00:33:31,843 --> 00:33:33,544
Or are we going to start
hearing the President defend

694
00:33:33,544 --> 00:33:37,315
or explain or promote his
strategy on ISIS as part

695
00:33:37,315 --> 00:33:39,550
of his campaign activities?

696
00:33:39,550 --> 00:33:42,153
Mr. Earnest: Well, I think we
have been pretty clear about

697
00:33:42,153 --> 00:33:45,056
the fact that the President does
believe there is a very clear

698
00:33:45,056 --> 00:33:49,160
choice in this midterm election
between the policies that

699
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,696
Democrats have advocated that
benefit middle-class families

700
00:33:51,696 --> 00:33:55,666
and the policy that Republicans
advocate that benefit

701
00:33:55,666 --> 00:33:56,868
those at the top.

702
00:33:56,868 --> 00:34:02,240
There is a different strategy
and there is a different agenda

703
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,008
that's being promoted
by the two sides.

704
00:34:04,008 --> 00:34:05,777
The President will
make that case.

705
00:34:05,777 --> 00:34:07,779
The voters will have
the opportunity

706
00:34:07,779 --> 00:34:08,780
to make their choice.

707
00:34:08,780 --> 00:34:10,782
When it comes to these specific
national security issues,

708
00:34:10,782 --> 00:34:13,050
the President believes that
our national security

709
00:34:13,050 --> 00:34:14,819
trumps local politics.

710
00:34:14,819 --> 00:34:19,223
That's been true since the
President entered the race for

711
00:34:19,223 --> 00:34:23,828
the presidency back in 2007,
and it continues to be true

712
00:34:23,828 --> 00:34:24,829
to do this day.

713
00:34:24,829 --> 00:34:26,998
In fact, I over the last couple
of weeks have even gone

714
00:34:26,998 --> 00:34:29,801
out of my way to praise
Republicans in Congress,

715
00:34:29,801 --> 00:34:31,803
both in the House
and the Senate,

716
00:34:31,803 --> 00:34:35,572
who voted to give the
administration the authority

717
00:34:35,572 --> 00:34:37,574
necessary to ramp
up our assistance

718
00:34:37,574 --> 00:34:38,775
to Syrian opposition fighters.

719
00:34:38,775 --> 00:34:41,446
This was a proposal that
the President asked for,

720
00:34:41,446 --> 00:34:44,449
and Democrats and Republicans in
both the House and the Senate

721
00:34:44,449 --> 00:34:47,217
put aside their own partisan
affiliation and voted

722
00:34:47,217 --> 00:34:50,120
in a way that would allow
that legislation to pass,

723
00:34:50,121 --> 00:34:52,590
and gave the President the
authority that he needs

724
00:34:52,590 --> 00:34:54,091
to fulfill that mission.

725
00:34:54,091 --> 00:34:58,830
So I think, if anything, based
on the limited sample size here,

726
00:34:58,830 --> 00:35:03,433
we've been pretty willing to
give credit where it's due to

727
00:35:03,434 --> 00:35:05,636
Republicans who are supportive
of the President's strategy.

728
00:35:05,636 --> 00:35:07,971
The Press: And then on
the Secret Service --

729
00:35:07,972 --> 00:35:10,641
Director Pierson is supposed
to go in front of Congress

730
00:35:10,641 --> 00:35:12,777
to the Oversight
Committee tomorrow.

731
00:35:12,777 --> 00:35:15,580
And I know that she is
leading the review here,

732
00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:19,183
but some congressional leaders
have suggested that this will

733
00:35:19,183 --> 00:35:22,086
be kind of a make-or-break
testimony for her in their eyes,

734
00:35:22,086 --> 00:35:24,087
in terms of what kind of
confidence they have in her

735
00:35:24,088 --> 00:35:26,691
ability to lead the department,
both because of the recent

736
00:35:26,691 --> 00:35:29,393
incidents and I think a string
of incidents leading up to them.

737
00:35:29,393 --> 00:35:32,396
And so what I'm wondering is,
are you guys undertaking any

738
00:35:32,396 --> 00:35:34,699
review of her leadership
and her ability to lead

739
00:35:34,699 --> 00:35:37,001
the department -- or
the agency?

740
00:35:37,001 --> 00:35:38,970
Mr. Earnest: As I mentioned
I think last week, Justin,

741
00:35:38,970 --> 00:35:41,439
the President does have full
confidence in Director Pierson

742
00:35:41,439 --> 00:35:44,942
and other members of the
Secret Service to do their

743
00:35:44,942 --> 00:35:45,977
very important work.

744
00:35:45,977 --> 00:35:48,513
So we are interested in the
review that is underway

745
00:35:48,513 --> 00:35:50,648
by the Secret Service.

746
00:35:50,648 --> 00:35:54,519
That is a review that the White
House will take a look at,

747
00:35:54,519 --> 00:35:57,120
and we'll certainly consider the
reforms that they recommend.

748
00:35:57,121 --> 00:35:59,056
But the President continues
to have confidence

749
00:35:59,056 --> 00:36:00,324
in the men and women
of the Secret Service.

750
00:36:00,324 --> 00:36:02,460
The Press: What would have to
happen to shake that confidence

751
00:36:02,460 --> 00:36:03,394
in Director Pierson?

752
00:36:03,394 --> 00:36:06,796
I mean, we've had drunken
agents in hotel rooms,

753
00:36:06,797 --> 00:36:09,066
we've had somebody make his
way into the White House.

754
00:36:09,066 --> 00:36:11,868
Short of an incredibly
tragic circumstance,

755
00:36:11,869 --> 00:36:17,141
what would get the President to
do a review of how she is doing

756
00:36:17,141 --> 00:36:18,009
as leader of the agency?

757
00:36:18,009 --> 00:36:20,378
Mr. Earnest: That's a difficult
hypothetical question to answer.

758
00:36:20,378 --> 00:36:25,783
What I'll tell you is that this
is an issue that the President

759
00:36:25,783 --> 00:36:27,285
is obviously concerned about.

760
00:36:27,285 --> 00:36:30,821
That's something that he will
review once they've had a chance

761
00:36:30,821 --> 00:36:35,359
to conduct their investigation
of what exactly happened

762
00:36:35,359 --> 00:36:36,360
10 days ago.

763
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,531
That will be part of a broader
review of the security posture

764
00:36:40,531 --> 00:36:44,000
here at the White House,
and we're looking forward

765
00:36:44,001 --> 00:36:45,303
to the results.

766
00:36:45,303 --> 00:36:46,237
Peter.

767
00:36:46,237 --> 00:36:48,205
The Press: Josh, has the
President been briefed on the

768
00:36:48,205 --> 00:36:51,107
air traffic control shutdown
in the Chicago area?

769
00:36:51,108 --> 00:36:52,310
Mr. Earnest: He has been, yes.

770
00:36:52,310 --> 00:36:55,613
The Press: And what's the
thinking here about the fact

771
00:36:55,613 --> 00:37:01,752
that one single individual could
wreak so much havoc in such

772
00:37:01,752 --> 00:37:05,957
a huge chunk of the country
when it comes to air travel?

773
00:37:05,957 --> 00:37:09,060
Mr. Earnest: Well, the FAA is
obviously hard at work on this.

774
00:37:09,060 --> 00:37:13,230
They've made tremendous progress
in getting the system back

775
00:37:13,230 --> 00:37:17,501
up and running here.

776
00:37:17,501 --> 00:37:21,606
What the FAA has decided to do
is to completely replace the

777
00:37:21,606 --> 00:37:24,542
central communications network,
which will restore the system

778
00:37:24,542 --> 00:37:26,110
as quickly as possible.

779
00:37:26,110 --> 00:37:28,546
The FAA is assembling the new
components at a remote site

780
00:37:28,546 --> 00:37:32,015
and they should begin arriving
to the center soon.

781
00:37:32,016 --> 00:37:35,553
There is an investigation
underway by the FBI and the ATF

782
00:37:35,553 --> 00:37:38,055
into what exactly occurred,
so I wouldn't want

783
00:37:38,055 --> 00:37:41,091
to get ahead of that specific
investigation.

784
00:37:41,092 --> 00:37:48,366
But obviously a large chunk of
our economy and the American

785
00:37:48,366 --> 00:37:50,835
traveling public relies
on this piece of critical

786
00:37:50,835 --> 00:37:54,839
infrastructure, and it's
something that is important

787
00:37:54,839 --> 00:37:58,609
to safeguard and I'm confident
that this will be part of what

788
00:37:58,609 --> 00:38:02,246
the FAA and the ATF and the
FBI all take a look at.

789
00:38:02,246 --> 00:38:03,814
The Press: What's the
President's level of concern,

790
00:38:03,814 --> 00:38:08,085
again, about the fact that one
guy bent on doing something like

791
00:38:08,085 --> 00:38:11,989
this could cause such heavy
damage to the air travel?

792
00:38:11,989 --> 00:38:14,225
Mr. Earnest: Well, it's
important to remember that,

793
00:38:14,225 --> 00:38:15,726
apparently -- and, again, I
don't want to get ahead

794
00:38:15,726 --> 00:38:17,962
of the investigation -- but apparently the one guy that

795
00:38:17,962 --> 00:38:19,230
you're referring to is
somebody who actually

796
00:38:19,230 --> 00:38:21,832
worked at the center.

797
00:38:21,832 --> 00:38:24,301
So we're not talking about
somebody who was just walking

798
00:38:24,301 --> 00:38:28,839
down the street and caused
this significant problem.

799
00:38:28,839 --> 00:38:31,509
But I don't want to get ahead
of the investigation that's

800
00:38:31,509 --> 00:38:33,511
currently underway by
the ATF and the FBI.

801
00:38:33,511 --> 00:38:34,512
Ed.

802
00:38:34,512 --> 00:38:36,514
The Press: Josh, when
you said -- I just want

803
00:38:36,514 --> 00:38:38,516
to go to something basic on
the "60 Minutes" interview.

804
00:38:38,516 --> 00:38:41,318
When you said it was not the
President's intent to blame

805
00:38:41,318 --> 00:38:44,789
James Clapper, the question
from Steve Kroft was,

806
00:38:44,789 --> 00:38:49,026
was that a complete surprise
to you, Mr. President.

807
00:38:49,026 --> 00:38:52,863
And he said, James Clapper
says they underestimated it.

808
00:38:52,863 --> 00:38:55,131
How is that not blaming the
intelligence community?

809
00:38:55,132 --> 00:38:58,269
Mr. Earnest: Because, Ed, on
questions like this that

810
00:38:58,269 --> 00:38:59,470
the President has
answered in the past,

811
00:38:59,470 --> 00:39:02,272
he has been very clear that
as the Commander-in-Chief,

812
00:39:02,273 --> 00:39:04,208
he is the one who is
personally responsible.

813
00:39:04,208 --> 00:39:06,577
The Press: He never said that
in the "60 Minutes" interview.

814
00:39:06,577 --> 00:39:08,579
He was asked, was it a
surprise to you, and he

815
00:39:08,579 --> 00:39:10,748
didn't say yes, no, maybe
-- he said Jim Clapper.

816
00:39:10,748 --> 00:39:14,285
Mr. Earnest: Well, I'll tell you
this -- that the President

817
00:39:14,285 --> 00:39:16,353
is the Commander-in-Chief and
he is somebody who takes

818
00:39:16,353 --> 00:39:18,322
personal responsibility
for the national security

819
00:39:18,322 --> 00:39:19,256
of the United States of America.

820
00:39:19,256 --> 00:39:20,191
The Press: So if he takes
that responsibility,

821
00:39:20,191 --> 00:39:23,194
why did he use the word "they"
-- they underestimated?

822
00:39:23,194 --> 00:39:24,195
Why didn't he say "we"?

823
00:39:24,195 --> 00:39:26,163
Isn't Jim Clapper a part
of the President's team?

824
00:39:26,163 --> 00:39:27,231
Mr. Earnest: Of course he is.

825
00:39:27,231 --> 00:39:30,034
The President has confidence
in Director Clapper and the

826
00:39:30,034 --> 00:39:33,504
President has confidence in the
intelligence professionals who

827
00:39:33,504 --> 00:39:38,476
are responsible for providing
him advice and intelligence

828
00:39:38,476 --> 00:39:40,211
about what's happening
on the ground there.

829
00:39:40,211 --> 00:39:42,812
And that advice and intelligence
has been critical to the success

830
00:39:42,813 --> 00:39:45,583
that we've had so far in
combating the ISIL threat.

831
00:39:45,583 --> 00:39:47,585
The Press: So Jim Clapper
is not going to be fired?

832
00:39:47,585 --> 00:39:49,553
Because you would probably
acknowledge this is a pretty big

833
00:39:49,553 --> 00:39:51,555
intelligence failure then if
this is the way the President

834
00:39:51,555 --> 00:39:53,790
is going to characterize it,
that they underestimated --

835
00:39:53,791 --> 00:39:54,925
Mr. Earnest: I would not
acknowledge that this --

836
00:39:54,925 --> 00:39:56,227
I would not describe
it that way.

837
00:39:56,227 --> 00:39:56,660
The Press: Would not?

838
00:39:56,660 --> 00:39:57,394
Mr. Earnest: I would not.

839
00:39:57,394 --> 00:39:58,696
The Press: So the President
didn't know for months that

840
00:39:58,696 --> 00:39:59,897
this was getting worse?

841
00:39:59,897 --> 00:40:01,665
And that's not a
failure somewhere?

842
00:40:01,665 --> 00:40:02,533
Mr. Earnest: No.

843
00:40:02,533 --> 00:40:08,806
What the President has been
clear about is that what

844
00:40:08,806 --> 00:40:12,476
everybody has been surprised by
was the rapid advance earlier

845
00:40:12,476 --> 00:40:16,914
this summer that ISIL was able
to make across the Syria-Iraq

846
00:40:16,914 --> 00:40:21,719
border in the face of Iraqi
security forces and in a way

847
00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:24,021
that allowed them to
occupy significant swaths

848
00:40:24,021 --> 00:40:25,289
of territory in Iraq.

849
00:40:25,289 --> 00:40:27,758
The Press: Right, but you're
saying everybody was surprised.

850
00:40:27,758 --> 00:40:29,960
So if everybody in the U.S. government was surprised

851
00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,263
at that, nobody failed?

852
00:40:32,263 --> 00:40:34,031
Nobody is going to
be held accountable?

853
00:40:34,031 --> 00:40:36,801
Mr. Earnest: Well, Ed,
predicting the will of foreign

854
00:40:36,801 --> 00:40:41,605
security forces to fight for
their country is difficult.

855
00:40:41,605 --> 00:40:43,607
This is something that
Director Clapper himself

856
00:40:43,607 --> 00:40:44,675
has acknowledged.

857
00:40:44,675 --> 00:40:47,511
What we're focused on is making
sure that the President has the

858
00:40:47,511 --> 00:40:50,581
intelligence that he needs to
build and lead an international

859
00:40:50,581 --> 00:40:53,551
coalition to take the fight
to ISIL and employ the

860
00:40:53,551 --> 00:40:56,086
counterterrorism strategy that
the President has laid out.

861
00:40:56,086 --> 00:40:58,689
The President has full
confidence in the ability of the

862
00:40:58,689 --> 00:41:01,457
intelligence community to
provide that intelligence that's

863
00:41:01,458 --> 00:41:02,927
necessary to do that job.

864
00:41:02,927 --> 00:41:06,030
And their performance so far
has been critical to our

865
00:41:06,030 --> 00:41:07,331
early success here.

866
00:41:07,331 --> 00:41:08,165
The Press: A couple
other topics.

867
00:41:08,165 --> 00:41:10,267
Prime Minister Netanyahu coming
here Wednesday, I believe,

868
00:41:10,267 --> 00:41:11,969
to meet with the President;
he gave a speech at the U.N.

869
00:41:11,969 --> 00:41:13,270
a few moments ago.

870
00:41:13,270 --> 00:41:17,441
The President at the U.N.
last week said that when

871
00:41:17,441 --> 00:41:18,241
it comes to the
Mideast peace

872
00:41:18,242 --> 00:41:20,244
process the status
quo is unacceptable.

873
00:41:20,244 --> 00:41:22,313
So my question being, what
does he think is holding

874
00:41:22,313 --> 00:41:23,547
things up right now?

875
00:41:23,547 --> 00:41:25,583
There's a cease-fire
that's taken hold,

876
00:41:25,583 --> 00:41:26,951
so that was a
positive development.

877
00:41:26,951 --> 00:41:28,185
What's holding it up now?

878
00:41:28,185 --> 00:41:31,255
And will he press the Prime
Minister to get this process

879
00:41:31,255 --> 00:41:32,623
back on track?

880
00:41:32,623 --> 00:41:34,525
Mr. Earnest: What we have said
about this situation, Ed,

881
00:41:34,525 --> 00:41:38,529
is that it is clearly in the
interest of both Israeli leaders

882
00:41:38,529 --> 00:41:41,565
and Palestinian leaders
to advance beyond

883
00:41:41,565 --> 00:41:43,334
the current status quo.

884
00:41:43,334 --> 00:41:46,604
It is not in the interest
of either side for

885
00:41:46,604 --> 00:41:48,739
the status quo to persist.

886
00:41:48,739 --> 00:41:52,843
And what's difficult about this
situation is it will require

887
00:41:52,843 --> 00:41:55,511
these individual political
leaders on either side

888
00:41:55,512 --> 00:41:57,514
to make very difficult
political decisions.

889
00:41:57,514 --> 00:42:00,050
These are decisions that the
international community -- that

890
00:42:00,050 --> 00:42:02,119
neither the international
community nor the United States

891
00:42:02,119 --> 00:42:03,520
can make for them.

892
00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:06,991
These are decisions that
they will be forced to make.

893
00:42:06,991 --> 00:42:10,995
The good news is that it is in
the interest of both sides

894
00:42:10,995 --> 00:42:12,997
to make these
difficult decisions.

895
00:42:12,997 --> 00:42:17,667
And that is what continues
to motivate the President,

896
00:42:17,668 --> 00:42:19,970
certainly Secretary Kerry,
but other leaders in the

897
00:42:19,970 --> 00:42:22,673
international community, to
press both sides to make

898
00:42:22,673 --> 00:42:25,142
the kinds of decisions
that, while difficult,

899
00:42:25,142 --> 00:42:28,611
are ultimately in the best
interest of both sides.

900
00:42:28,612 --> 00:42:30,547
The Press: One other
question on Yemen.

901
00:42:30,547 --> 00:42:32,549
On Friday, you said that this
was sort of a model of the

902
00:42:32,549 --> 00:42:35,586
President's counterterror policy
working -- Somalia as well,

903
00:42:35,586 --> 00:42:36,986
but Yemen in particular.

904
00:42:36,987 --> 00:42:39,323
Over the weekend, a series of
headlines: A bombing in Yemen

905
00:42:39,323 --> 00:42:43,394
kills seven near hospital; a
car bombing kills at least 15.

906
00:42:43,394 --> 00:42:46,964
And a splinter group of al Qaeda
-- about 24 hours after you told

907
00:42:46,964 --> 00:42:51,602
us on Friday that this was a
good model -- a splinter group

908
00:42:51,602 --> 00:42:53,604
of al Qaeda fires a
rocket in the direction

909
00:42:53,604 --> 00:42:55,506
of the U.S. Embassy
in Yemen.

910
00:42:55,506 --> 00:42:57,508
Do you stand behind
what you said Friday?

911
00:42:57,508 --> 00:42:58,542
Mr. Earnest: Absolutely.

912
00:42:58,542 --> 00:43:00,711
The Press: And is this really
a model for the world to see?

913
00:43:00,711 --> 00:43:03,479
Mr. Earnest: What's a model, Ed,
is the counterterrorism strategy

914
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:07,017
that this administration has put
in place to mitigate and deter

915
00:43:07,017 --> 00:43:10,654
-- to degrade, if you will --
the threat that is posed

916
00:43:10,654 --> 00:43:12,957
by extremists to the
U.S. homeland.

917
00:43:12,957 --> 00:43:15,725
There is no doubt that there are
local forces on the ground

918
00:43:15,726 --> 00:43:18,696
in Yemen that are not
American, that are taking

919
00:43:18,696 --> 00:43:20,864
the fight to extremists
in that country.

920
00:43:20,864 --> 00:43:23,534
Does there continue to be a
threat emanating from Yemen?

921
00:43:23,534 --> 00:43:24,768
Absolutely, there does.

922
00:43:24,768 --> 00:43:28,138
But right now, that threat has
been mitigated through the use

923
00:43:28,138 --> 00:43:30,140
of this counterterrorism
strategy that the President has

924
00:43:30,140 --> 00:43:32,576
laid out, which is building up
the capacity of local forces

925
00:43:32,576 --> 00:43:34,578
to take the fight to these
extremist groups,

926
00:43:34,578 --> 00:43:37,147
to build up the capacity of the
central government with broad,

927
00:43:37,147 --> 00:43:39,883
international support to
try to strengthen

928
00:43:39,883 --> 00:43:41,051
and stabilize the country.

929
00:43:41,051 --> 00:43:42,286
And where necessary --

930
00:43:42,286 --> 00:43:43,387
The Press: --
you put in place

931
00:43:43,387 --> 00:43:45,889
a counterterror strategy to
deny them a safe haven,

932
00:43:45,889 --> 00:43:48,158
as well as what you just
said -- mitigate the threat.

933
00:43:48,158 --> 00:43:50,426
It sounds like they
have a safe haven.

934
00:43:50,427 --> 00:43:52,830
Mr. Earnest: Ed, these are
individuals who -- these

935
00:43:52,830 --> 00:43:55,332
are extremists groups who
are hiding in Yemen,

936
00:43:55,332 --> 00:43:57,935
who are under continual
pressure from local forces

937
00:43:57,935 --> 00:44:00,104
on the ground who are
taking the fight to them.

938
00:44:00,104 --> 00:44:04,841
These are individuals who live
in fear 24 hours a day of being

939
00:44:04,842 --> 00:44:09,713
the next victim in an airstrike,
either by the Yemeni government

940
00:44:09,713 --> 00:44:13,484
or by international
forces to take them out.

941
00:44:13,484 --> 00:44:15,853
And what that has done is it has
applied continual pressure

942
00:44:15,853 --> 00:44:18,655
to them to make it much more
difficult for them to strengthen

943
00:44:18,655 --> 00:44:19,757
the United States.

944
00:44:19,757 --> 00:44:21,859
They continue to be a
threat, make no mistake.

945
00:44:21,859 --> 00:44:24,127
This is something that we
need to be vigilant about.

946
00:44:24,128 --> 00:44:26,163
This is something that is the
focal point of the efforts

947
00:44:26,163 --> 00:44:28,966
of our intelligence
community and our military,

948
00:44:28,966 --> 00:44:31,801
and this is something that we
work very hard to mitigate.

949
00:44:31,802 --> 00:44:36,807
And that is -- but it does
provide a useful model for

950
00:44:36,807 --> 00:44:42,346
demonstrating how an extremist
organization will not just be

951
00:44:42,346 --> 00:44:47,284
able to freely operate even in a
country that doesn't have a --

952
00:44:47,284 --> 00:44:50,120
or at least didn't have a
strong central government.

953
00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:55,225
And because we have seen in
very real tragic terms what

954
00:44:55,225 --> 00:44:58,162
can happen if an extremist
organization is granted a safe

955
00:44:58,162 --> 00:45:01,165
haven if continual pressure
is not applied to them,

956
00:45:01,165 --> 00:45:03,767
that is what allowed the
al Qaeda network under

957
00:45:03,767 --> 00:45:07,404
Osama bin Laden to successfully
execute a large-scale,

958
00:45:07,404 --> 00:45:10,474
catastrophic terrorist
attack here in the U.S.

959
00:45:10,474 --> 00:45:12,943
And because of the
implementation of this strategy,

960
00:45:12,943 --> 00:45:14,945
we've made that much,
much harder for

961
00:45:14,945 --> 00:45:15,946
these extremist organizations.

962
00:45:15,946 --> 00:45:17,548
But you can't take a day off.

963
00:45:17,548 --> 00:45:19,716
This is something that people
are focused on 24 hours

964
00:45:19,716 --> 00:45:21,685
a day, seven days a week.

965
00:45:21,685 --> 00:45:22,653
Cheryl.

966
00:45:22,653 --> 00:45:23,252
The Press: Thanks.

967
00:45:23,253 --> 00:45:24,521
Moving to India.

968
00:45:24,521 --> 00:45:29,159
India has been opposed to the
Trade Facilitation Agreement at

969
00:45:29,159 --> 00:45:32,563
the WTO, and I'm wondering if
the President plans on talking

970
00:45:32,563 --> 00:45:35,299
specifically about that
agreement with Prime Minister

971
00:45:35,299 --> 00:45:37,034
Modi tonight, or tomorrow.

972
00:45:37,034 --> 00:45:38,569
Mr. Earnest: To be
honest with you, Cheryl,

973
00:45:38,569 --> 00:45:40,571
I don't know if that's on the
agenda but we can take a look

974
00:45:40,571 --> 00:45:42,473
at that, and after the
meetings tomorrow we can

975
00:45:42,473 --> 00:45:45,241
give you a sense of whether
or not that came up.

976
00:45:45,242 --> 00:45:46,276
Michelle.

977
00:45:46,276 --> 00:45:47,611
The Press: Josh, also on Modi.

978
00:45:47,611 --> 00:45:50,346
What is the single-most
important narrative discussion

979
00:45:50,347 --> 00:45:53,350
that we should be focused on as
a sign that this administration

980
00:45:53,350 --> 00:45:56,353
wants to take ties further
than previous administrations?

981
00:45:56,353 --> 00:45:58,889
Mr. Earnest: Michelle, I think
the thing that I would highlight

982
00:45:58,889 --> 00:46:04,895
for you is the robust nature of
the relationship between the

983
00:46:04,895 --> 00:46:07,364
United States and India, such
that it can't be reduced

984
00:46:07,364 --> 00:46:08,365
to one specific issue.

985
00:46:08,365 --> 00:46:10,366
There are so many
ways in which the U.S.

986
00:46:10,367 --> 00:46:12,669
government interacts with the
India government in pursuit

987
00:46:12,669 --> 00:46:17,207
of our mutual interests that
it's hard to identify just one.

988
00:46:17,207 --> 00:46:19,209
Whether it's security
cooperation or economic

989
00:46:19,209 --> 00:46:24,580
cooperation, even agreements
related to reducing the causes

990
00:46:24,581 --> 00:46:27,317
of climate change, that we're
confident that we can advance

991
00:46:27,317 --> 00:46:29,319
the ball down the field by
working closely with our

992
00:46:29,319 --> 00:46:30,621
counterparts in India.

993
00:46:30,621 --> 00:46:32,189
The Press: Is there no
specific top goal, though?

994
00:46:32,189 --> 00:46:34,223
What is your top ask
out of this visit?

995
00:46:34,224 --> 00:46:35,292
Mr. Earnest: Well,
I think, again,

996
00:46:35,292 --> 00:46:39,763
what I would underscore here
is that we have the kind

997
00:46:39,763 --> 00:46:41,865
of strategic partnership
that is focused on a wide

998
00:46:41,865 --> 00:46:42,866
variety of areas.

999
00:46:42,866 --> 00:46:45,636
And whether it's security
and counterterrorism,

1000
00:46:45,636 --> 00:46:49,439
or strengthening the economy, or
a host of other regional issues,

1001
00:46:49,439 --> 00:46:55,444
that there is a broad framework
where India and the U.S.

1002
00:46:55,445 --> 00:46:57,714
work closely together to
advance our shared interests.

1003
00:46:57,714 --> 00:47:01,384
And that underscores the
significance of the relationship

1004
00:47:01,385 --> 00:47:03,387
between the United
States and India,

1005
00:47:03,387 --> 00:47:06,256
which is the world's
largest democracy.

1006
00:47:06,256 --> 00:47:07,124
Yes, Tamara.

1007
00:47:07,124 --> 00:47:09,692
The Press: Coming out
of those two meetings,

1008
00:47:09,693 --> 00:47:12,296
are you expecting any
announcements of any kind,

1009
00:47:12,296 --> 00:47:16,165
or is this more of just like a
get-to-know-you kind of meeting?

1010
00:47:16,166 --> 00:47:17,401
(laughter)

1011
00:47:17,401 --> 00:47:20,337
Mr. Earnest: Well, I don't
know if President Obama

1012
00:47:20,337 --> 00:47:22,339
and the newly elected
Prime Minister of India

1013
00:47:22,339 --> 00:47:23,340
have met before.

1014
00:47:23,340 --> 00:47:27,177
I suspect they have not, but
don't fact-check me on that.

1015
00:47:27,177 --> 00:47:29,179
If they have, it has
not been recently,

1016
00:47:29,179 --> 00:47:31,181
and they certainly
haven't met since

1017
00:47:31,181 --> 00:47:32,516
the Prime Minister
took office.

1018
00:47:32,516 --> 00:47:35,786
So this will be an important
opportunity for them to spend

1019
00:47:35,786 --> 00:47:37,788
some time talking about
the relationship between

1020
00:47:37,788 --> 00:47:38,789
our two countries.

1021
00:47:38,789 --> 00:47:41,458
We certainly value the strong
relationship that we have

1022
00:47:41,458 --> 00:47:43,460
with India, and this was
a relationship that

1023
00:47:43,460 --> 00:47:47,631
was strengthened under
the leadership

1024
00:47:47,631 --> 00:47:49,499
of the previous
Prime Minister.

1025
00:47:49,499 --> 00:47:51,734
And the President wants to
make sure that we continue

1026
00:47:51,735 --> 00:47:53,737
that strong relationship
between our two countries.

1027
00:47:53,737 --> 00:47:55,939
The Press: And regarding
the Secret Service stuff,

1028
00:47:55,939 --> 00:47:58,774
I have sort of an
aesthetic question,

1029
00:47:58,775 --> 00:48:02,879
which is that it's kind of
unpleasant looking out there

1030
00:48:02,879 --> 00:48:04,714
right now on
Pennsylvania Avenue.

1031
00:48:04,715 --> 00:48:07,784
There are at the moment two
layers of gates that look

1032
00:48:07,784 --> 00:48:12,789
like bike racks in front
of the big fences.

1033
00:48:12,789 --> 00:48:15,225
And I'm assuming one of those
layers might be for Prime

1034
00:48:15,225 --> 00:48:18,895
Minister Modi, but is this
a permanent situation?

1035
00:48:18,895 --> 00:48:23,200
Should people get used to
little fences and big fences?

1036
00:48:23,200 --> 00:48:27,303
How long can we anticipate
the aesthetics to be such

1037
00:48:27,304 --> 00:48:28,705
as they are?

1038
00:48:28,705 --> 00:48:30,274
Mr. Earnest: Tamara, I'd refer
you to the Secret Service

1039
00:48:30,274 --> 00:48:32,276
for the details
about the deployment

1040
00:48:32,276 --> 00:48:35,011
of specific security
precautions.

1041
00:48:35,012 --> 00:48:38,482
What you're
highlighting, though,

1042
00:48:38,482 --> 00:48:41,618
is the very difficult challenge
of balancing the need to protect

1043
00:48:41,618 --> 00:48:44,421
the President, the First Family,
and the White House with the

1044
00:48:44,421 --> 00:48:48,924
need to ensure that all of
those of us who work here

1045
00:48:48,925 --> 00:48:52,396
at the White House have
access to this building.

1046
00:48:52,396 --> 00:48:55,866
There's also a need to ensure
that tourists have access

1047
00:48:55,866 --> 00:48:57,968
to one of the more popular
tourist destinations

1048
00:48:57,968 --> 00:48:59,368
in our nation's capital.

1049
00:48:59,369 --> 00:49:01,705
There are thousands of people
that visit the White House

1050
00:49:01,705 --> 00:49:03,840
just about every day to
tour the White House.

1051
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:08,378
They are essentially touring
the seat of government

1052
00:49:08,378 --> 00:49:10,047
of the United States.

1053
00:49:10,047 --> 00:49:12,849
They're touring the house of the
President of the United States.

1054
00:49:12,849 --> 00:49:17,020
But they're also touring a
museum that contains artifacts

1055
00:49:17,020 --> 00:49:21,491
and paintings and art that are
a testament to the strength

1056
00:49:21,491 --> 00:49:22,426
of our democracy.

1057
00:49:22,426 --> 00:49:26,163
So there's a very unique
position that the White House

1058
00:49:26,163 --> 00:49:29,533
holds, and it presents a
significant challenge for the

1059
00:49:29,533 --> 00:49:32,336
Secret Service as they try to
balance all of those equities.

1060
00:49:32,336 --> 00:49:35,305
But it's something that they are
continually refining and they

1061
00:49:35,305 --> 00:49:38,508
are continually looking
for ways to improve on it.

1062
00:49:38,508 --> 00:49:41,511
And the President continues to
have confidence in their ability

1063
00:49:41,511 --> 00:49:45,315
to perform their very
difficult function.

1064
00:49:45,315 --> 00:49:46,316
Chris.

1065
00:49:46,316 --> 00:49:46,817
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

1066
00:49:46,817 --> 00:49:48,985
I want to go back to the "60"
interview and your comment that

1067
00:49:48,985 --> 00:49:52,456
predicting the will of
fighters is difficult.

1068
00:49:52,456 --> 00:49:55,192
But isn't analysis at the heart
of what intelligence does?

1069
00:49:55,192 --> 00:49:58,261
It sounds as if you're
interpreting this

1070
00:49:58,261 --> 00:50:01,398
as a misinterpretation
of data rather than

1071
00:50:01,398 --> 00:50:04,668
a massive
intelligence failure.

1072
00:50:04,668 --> 00:50:05,902
Mr. Earnest: Well, that's
certainly not how I would

1073
00:50:05,902 --> 00:50:06,670
describe the situation.

1074
00:50:06,670 --> 00:50:09,740
I think Director Clapper himself
was pretty candid about how

1075
00:50:09,740 --> 00:50:12,075
difficult this work is.

1076
00:50:12,075 --> 00:50:15,912
And ultimately what you are
trying to assess is the ability

1077
00:50:15,912 --> 00:50:19,783
or the willingness of
individual fighters in another

1078
00:50:19,783 --> 00:50:21,785
country to fight for
their own country.

1079
00:50:21,785 --> 00:50:23,787
The Press: But isn't part of
that the other side of it,

1080
00:50:23,787 --> 00:50:27,156
the fact that Islamic radicals
had been expanding in Syria

1081
00:50:27,157 --> 00:50:31,395
and Iraq for two years; the
journalists frequently pointed

1082
00:50:31,395 --> 00:50:36,466
out that foreign fighters
were streaming into Syria?

1083
00:50:36,466 --> 00:50:38,335
We know the Agency had
people there for years;

1084
00:50:38,335 --> 00:50:39,302
they were embeds.

1085
00:50:39,302 --> 00:50:43,140
So is it part of the other side
of the analysis that people

1086
00:50:43,140 --> 00:50:44,674
who are on this side?

1087
00:50:44,674 --> 00:50:50,080
So the growth of the
foreign fighters,

1088
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:53,150
the growth of the Islamic
radicals who are expanding,

1089
00:50:53,150 --> 00:50:56,553
wouldn't that have been an
indication of how difficult

1090
00:50:56,553 --> 00:50:57,654
it was for the other side?

1091
00:50:57,654 --> 00:51:01,258
Mr. Earnest: Well, I would defer
to the intelligence community

1092
00:51:01,258 --> 00:51:05,395
to provide greater insight
to you about what kinds

1093
00:51:05,395 --> 00:51:08,498
of things fed into this
broader assessment.

1094
00:51:08,498 --> 00:51:12,102
But clearly, there are multiple
factors in this one equation.

1095
00:51:12,102 --> 00:51:15,872
One of the factors is the
capacity -- and in this case,

1096
00:51:15,872 --> 00:51:21,944
even the growing capacity -- of
the radical extremists in Syria.

1097
00:51:24,948 --> 00:51:32,087
Another factor was the will of
Iraq security forces and their

1098
00:51:32,088 --> 00:51:34,624
willingness to try to fight
for their own country.

1099
00:51:34,624 --> 00:51:37,961
The other factor that went into
this is what sort of impact did

1100
00:51:37,961 --> 00:51:42,332
the divisive way in which Prime
Minister Maliki was leading the

1101
00:51:42,332 --> 00:51:46,236
country affected the willingness
of Iraqi security forces

1102
00:51:46,236 --> 00:51:47,671
to fight.

1103
00:51:47,671 --> 00:51:51,942
The other factor here is trying
to determine what exactly

1104
00:51:51,942 --> 00:51:56,213
were the ambitions of
the extremists in Syria.

1105
00:51:56,213 --> 00:52:00,917
The other factor is what sort
of environment would those

1106
00:52:00,917 --> 00:52:03,252
extremist fighters find
themselves in once they crossed

1107
00:52:03,253 --> 00:52:04,254
the border.

1108
00:52:04,254 --> 00:52:06,623
Would they be warmly accepted
by the local population?

1109
00:52:06,623 --> 00:52:08,992
Would the local
population resist?

1110
00:52:08,992 --> 00:52:10,961
Would there be
something in the middle?

1111
00:52:10,961 --> 00:52:14,397
There are a lot of factors that
went into sort of drawing --

1112
00:52:14,397 --> 00:52:16,266
making this assessment.

1113
00:52:16,266 --> 00:52:18,268
And that's why it's
so difficult to do.

1114
00:52:18,268 --> 00:52:23,540
But what we are focused on now
is trying to put together

1115
00:52:23,540 --> 00:52:26,076
an assessment, as the
intelligence community has

1116
00:52:26,076 --> 00:52:30,347
so far successfully done, to
make sure the President has

1117
00:52:30,347 --> 00:52:33,416
the information that he
needs to build and lead

1118
00:52:33,416 --> 00:52:36,653
this broader international
coalition to counter,

1119
00:52:36,653 --> 00:52:39,589
degrade and ultimately
destroy ISIL.

1120
00:52:39,589 --> 00:52:44,794
That's the focal point of the
efforts over at the wide array

1121
00:52:44,794 --> 00:52:48,498
of intelligence agencies that
exist in the federal government.

1122
00:52:48,498 --> 00:52:52,936
And that is advice the President
will continue to rely on.

1123
00:52:52,936 --> 00:52:55,739
To their credit, because of
their professionalism and

1124
00:52:55,739 --> 00:53:00,477
performance so far, they
have contributed in a very

1125
00:53:00,477 --> 00:53:03,613
important way to the early
success that we've had.

1126
00:53:03,613 --> 00:53:04,614
The Press: And if I can
ask you quickly about

1127
00:53:04,614 --> 00:53:06,149
the Secret Service.

1128
00:53:06,149 --> 00:53:09,886
The most recent incident had
a lot of people asking how

1129
00:53:09,886 --> 00:53:11,922
is it possible for
somebody just to get into

1130
00:53:11,922 --> 00:53:15,225
the White House -- a very
common-sense question.

1131
00:53:15,225 --> 00:53:18,328
And now you have this additional
report over the weekend about

1132
00:53:18,328 --> 00:53:21,264
2011 and the shooting, and how
long it took them to assess

1133
00:53:21,264 --> 00:53:23,300
what really happened.

1134
00:53:23,300 --> 00:53:26,136
Should the American people have
confidence that the President

1135
00:53:26,136 --> 00:53:28,138
and his family are safe?

1136
00:53:28,138 --> 00:53:30,707
Mr. Earnest: The
President does.

1137
00:53:30,707 --> 00:53:31,875
The President does.

1138
00:53:31,875 --> 00:53:33,143
Jeff.

1139
00:53:33,143 --> 00:53:34,110
The Press: Given
the risk before,

1140
00:53:34,110 --> 00:53:36,413
what gives you confidence now
that the Iraqi forces will

1141
00:53:36,413 --> 00:53:40,216
be an effective -- effectively
be able to counter ISIL?

1142
00:53:40,216 --> 00:53:41,817
Mr. Earnest: That's a good
question and an important

1143
00:53:41,818 --> 00:53:42,953
one because it is an
important part

1144
00:53:42,953 --> 00:53:45,889
of this counterterrorism
strategy.

1145
00:53:45,889 --> 00:53:48,425
There are three things that
I would point to, Jeff,

1146
00:53:48,425 --> 00:53:50,493
just to answer your
question very directly.

1147
00:53:50,493 --> 00:53:54,331
The first is, there has been a
commitment by the United States

1148
00:53:54,331 --> 00:53:56,733
and our coalition partners
to ramp up our training and

1149
00:53:56,733 --> 00:53:59,035
equipping and assistance
to the security forces.

1150
00:53:59,035 --> 00:54:01,471
So we would anticipate
that these forces will

1151
00:54:01,471 --> 00:54:03,473
be better trained, they'll
be better equipped,

1152
00:54:03,473 --> 00:54:06,142
and that they will have more of
what they need to successfully

1153
00:54:06,142 --> 00:54:07,577
defend their country.

1154
00:54:07,577 --> 00:54:09,579
The second thing -- and in some
ways this might be the most

1155
00:54:09,579 --> 00:54:12,482
important thing -- is the
formation of a new central

1156
00:54:12,482 --> 00:54:14,750
government in Baghdad that
reflects the diversity

1157
00:54:14,751 --> 00:54:16,086
of that country.

1158
00:54:16,086 --> 00:54:20,223
By having a government that
unites the diverse nation of

1159
00:54:20,223 --> 00:54:23,827
Iraq to confront the ISIL
threat, you can count on,

1160
00:54:23,827 --> 00:54:29,199
or you would expect that that
would lead to a more integrated,

1161
00:54:29,199 --> 00:54:33,370
diverse Iraqi security force
that's more willing to put

1162
00:54:33,370 --> 00:54:37,540
their lives on the line to
protect their country.

1163
00:54:37,540 --> 00:54:40,644
And we would anticipate that
there would be a benefit

1164
00:54:40,644 --> 00:54:44,513
to the Iraqi security forces
from a more inclusive,

1165
00:54:44,514 --> 00:54:47,217
more effective central
government on Baghdad.

1166
00:54:47,217 --> 00:54:50,520
The third thing -- and this is
also important -- is we're now

1167
00:54:50,520 --> 00:54:53,456
seeing that those Iraqi security
forces are being backed

1168
00:54:53,456 --> 00:54:56,860
up American military airpower
and by the military airpower

1169
00:54:56,860 --> 00:54:58,695
of our coalition partners.

1170
00:54:58,695 --> 00:55:01,231
That will certainly enhance the
performance of Iraqi security

1171
00:55:01,231 --> 00:55:02,232
forces on the battlefield.

1172
00:55:02,232 --> 00:55:06,870
But the reason the question that
you're asking is so important

1173
00:55:06,870 --> 00:55:08,872
goes to something that
somebody mentioned earlier,

1174
00:55:08,872 --> 00:55:13,276
which is ground forces of
some kind will be required

1175
00:55:13,276 --> 00:55:16,078
to take the fight to ISIL
on the ground.

1176
00:55:16,079 --> 00:55:20,517
And the open question has
been, in the minds of some,

1177
00:55:20,517 --> 00:55:24,587
is who will make up
those ground forces.

1178
00:55:24,587 --> 00:55:27,090
The President is determined that
American ground forces will

1179
00:55:27,090 --> 00:55:29,759
not be participating in a
combat role in Iraq;

1180
00:55:29,759 --> 00:55:32,062
that it will be the
responsibility of Iraqi security

1181
00:55:32,062 --> 00:55:34,064
forces to take
the fight to ISIL.

1182
00:55:34,064 --> 00:55:36,832
That's why it's so important for
us to ramp up our assistance

1183
00:55:36,833 --> 00:55:38,835
and training for those
Iraqi security forces.

1184
00:55:38,835 --> 00:55:40,904
It's why it's so important
that the central government in

1185
00:55:40,904 --> 00:55:43,973
Baghdad govern that country in
an inclusive way to unite the

1186
00:55:43,973 --> 00:55:46,241
country and unite the security
forces to meet that threat.

1187
00:55:46,242 --> 00:55:49,145
And it's why it's so important
that the United States is

1188
00:55:49,145 --> 00:55:51,748
working closely with our
coalition partners provide

1189
00:55:51,748 --> 00:55:54,017
some military airpower
to back up the efforts

1190
00:55:54,017 --> 00:55:56,019
of Iraqi security
forces on the ground.

1191
00:55:56,019 --> 00:55:57,486
The Press: Do you see any
evidence on the first two points

1192
00:55:57,487 --> 00:55:59,389
here, aside from -- I
mean, we know that U.S.

1193
00:55:59,389 --> 00:56:01,391
forces and allied forces are
helping the bombing campaign.

1194
00:56:01,391 --> 00:56:02,392
But on the first
two points you made,

1195
00:56:02,392 --> 00:56:03,859
do you see evidence that
that's actually happened?

1196
00:56:03,860 --> 00:56:05,995
Mr. Earnest: Well, the President
discussed in his "60 Minutes"

1197
00:56:05,995 --> 00:56:10,033
interview that we have started
to hear the right things from

1198
00:56:10,033 --> 00:56:12,402
Prime Minister Abadi and other
leaders of the Iraqi government

1199
00:56:12,402 --> 00:56:14,404
that they're committed to
governing that country

1200
00:56:14,404 --> 00:56:15,638
in an inclusive way.

1201
00:56:15,638 --> 00:56:17,640
One data point I could
point you to is, last week,

1202
00:56:17,640 --> 00:56:19,642
when the President traveled
to the United Nation General

1203
00:56:19,642 --> 00:56:23,613
Assembly, he convened a meeting
of the Sunni-led nations who

1204
00:56:23,613 --> 00:56:25,781
are part of our military
operations in Syria

1205
00:56:25,782 --> 00:56:27,884
at beginning of last week.

1206
00:56:27,884 --> 00:56:30,587
Prime Minister Abadi,
the Shia leader of Iraq,

1207
00:56:30,587 --> 00:56:32,021
joined that meeting.

1208
00:56:32,021 --> 00:56:35,792
The previous Prime Minister,
his predecessor Prime Minister

1209
00:56:35,792 --> 00:56:40,230
Maliki, had a very tenuous
relationship with the Sunni-led

1210
00:56:40,230 --> 00:56:41,531
governments in the region.

1211
00:56:41,531 --> 00:56:43,533
But here you had, with the
leadership of the American

1212
00:56:43,533 --> 00:56:46,502
President, the Shia Prime
Minister of Iraq being willing

1213
00:56:46,503 --> 00:56:48,738
to sit down with the Sunni
leaders of those other

1214
00:56:48,738 --> 00:56:49,906
countries in the region.

1215
00:56:49,906 --> 00:56:52,976
And that is an indication that
he is committed to the kind

1216
00:56:52,976 --> 00:56:55,278
of inclusive governing
agenda that we think

1217
00:56:55,278 --> 00:56:57,613
is so important to
our success here.

1218
00:56:57,614 --> 00:57:00,450
As it relates to improve
training and equipping,

1219
00:57:00,450 --> 00:57:05,053
those are the kinds of things
that you would see over time.

1220
00:57:05,054 --> 00:57:08,024
There had been some isolated
data points to indicate that

1221
00:57:08,024 --> 00:57:11,094
the performance of Iraqi
security forces has improved.

1222
00:57:11,094 --> 00:57:14,330
For example, Iraqi security
forces were successful

1223
00:57:14,330 --> 00:57:17,634
in retaking the Mosul Dam.

1224
00:57:17,634 --> 00:57:21,304
This is a critical piece
of infrastructure in Iraq.

1225
00:57:21,304 --> 00:57:23,640
They did so with the
backing of military power,

1226
00:57:23,640 --> 00:57:27,042
but previously -- military
airpower I should say.

1227
00:57:27,043 --> 00:57:30,013
Previously, their forces had
been overrun by ISIL forces.

1228
00:57:30,013 --> 00:57:32,315
And so that is evidence
that their performance

1229
00:57:32,315 --> 00:57:34,317
on the battlefield
is improving.

1230
00:57:34,317 --> 00:57:36,853
There was also a pretty
contentious fight around Haditha

1231
00:57:36,853 --> 00:57:39,589
Dam -- another piece of critical
infrastructure in western Iraq

1232
00:57:41,925 --> 00:57:45,028
-- and what we did see was that
Iraqi security forces were able

1233
00:57:45,028 --> 00:57:48,497
to repel ISIL forces that
did have designs on trying

1234
00:57:48,498 --> 00:57:50,500
to take over that piece
of infrastructure.

1235
00:57:50,500 --> 00:57:52,502
So there are a couple of
pieces of evidence to indicate

1236
00:57:52,502 --> 00:57:53,837
that their performance
is improving.

1237
00:57:53,837 --> 00:57:55,071
Anita.

1238
00:57:55,772 --> 00:57:58,308
The Press: Just following on the
Prime Minister visit today --

1239
00:57:58,308 --> 00:58:00,910
you mentioned a couple
things on the agenda.

1240
00:58:00,910 --> 00:58:04,080
Several human rights groups
today have come out and urged

1241
00:58:04,080 --> 00:58:08,183
the President to take up the
human rights issues with

1242
00:58:08,184 --> 00:58:09,185
the Prime Minister today.

1243
00:58:09,185 --> 00:58:10,720
I wondered if you knew if
that was on the agenda.

1244
00:58:10,720 --> 00:58:12,522
It's a variety of things
they're talking about,

1245
00:58:12,522 --> 00:58:14,190
including the violence
against women.

1246
00:58:14,190 --> 00:58:17,026
Do you have any idea if
that's going to come up?

1247
00:58:17,026 --> 00:58:19,662
Mr. Earnest: The issue of basic
universal human rights

1248
00:58:19,662 --> 00:58:24,033
is something that is frequently
discussed in the President's

1249
00:58:24,033 --> 00:58:26,301
meetings with world
leaders around the globe.

1250
00:58:26,302 --> 00:58:28,404
So I don't have anything
specific to say about this

1251
00:58:28,404 --> 00:58:31,741
particular meeting, but I
wouldn't be surprised if this

1252
00:58:31,741 --> 00:58:34,143
issue that we considered to be a
priority in our relations with

1253
00:58:34,143 --> 00:58:36,579
countries all around the world
is raised in the context

1254
00:58:36,579 --> 00:58:38,581
of the meetings over the
next couple of days.

1255
00:58:38,581 --> 00:58:40,583
The Press: And yesterday, he was
in -- the Prime Minister was

1256
00:58:40,583 --> 00:58:42,585
in -- or I guess he's been in
New York for a few days.

1257
00:58:42,585 --> 00:58:45,355
Did you notice the
reception he received

1258
00:58:45,355 --> 00:58:48,658
at Madison Square Garden -- 20,000 people sort of screaming,

1259
00:58:48,658 --> 00:58:49,759
chanting his name?

1260
00:58:49,759 --> 00:58:53,963
I think some painted
his face on their body.

1261
00:58:53,963 --> 00:58:57,533
I just wondered -- it just
was like kind of a rock star

1262
00:58:57,533 --> 00:59:00,937
reception, and I was wondering
if you were surprised by that,

1263
00:59:00,937 --> 00:59:03,038
just how popular he is.

1264
00:59:03,039 --> 00:59:05,041
Mr. Earnest: I
read news reports.

1265
00:59:05,041 --> 00:59:08,444
I was not aware of the body
paint that may have been

1266
00:59:08,444 --> 00:59:12,715
involved in the event.

1267
00:59:12,715 --> 00:59:16,452
I think the thing that I would
say is that the strong turnout

1268
00:59:16,452 --> 00:59:19,188
at that event and the
enthusiastic reaction I do think

1269
00:59:19,188 --> 00:59:22,859
highlights the deep cultural
ties that exist between the

1270
00:59:22,859 --> 00:59:25,094
United States and India; that
there are so many immigrants

1271
00:59:25,094 --> 00:59:28,131
from India to the United States
that are now interwoven

1272
00:59:28,131 --> 00:59:30,700
into communities all
across the countries.

1273
00:59:30,700 --> 00:59:35,370
And I think that just highlights
one other way in which in the

1274
00:59:35,371 --> 00:59:39,976
relationship between our two
countries is so important.

1275
00:59:39,976 --> 00:59:40,009
So, yes, interesting.

1276
00:59:40,009 --> 00:59:43,379
The Press: And then, finally, I
saw that it's a working dinner

1277
00:59:43,379 --> 00:59:44,814
tonight and it's closed.

1278
00:59:44,814 --> 00:59:46,950
Do you expect a readout after?

1279
00:59:46,950 --> NaN:NaN:NaN,NaN
Just so we know.

1280
00:59:46,783 --> 00:59:48,817
Mr. Earnest: We probably
won't have a readout today,

1281
00:59:48,818 --> 00:59:52,588
but there will be more formal
aspects of the visit tomorrow

1282
00:59:52,588 --> 00:59:56,259
with the formal arrival
ceremony, a bilateral meeting,

1283
00:59:56,259 --> 00:59:58,494
and then an opportunity for you
to hear from both leaders

1284
00:59:58,494 --> 00:59:59,929
after the meeting as well.

1285
00:59:59,929 --> 01:00:00,930
The Press: A quick follow-up?

1286
01:00:00,930 --> 01:00:02,732
Mr. Earnest: Go ahead, Goyal.

1287
01:00:02,732 --> 01:00:06,803
The Press: My question is, Josh,
that India has been demanding

1288
01:00:06,803 --> 01:00:10,906
the most-wanted terrorist
based now in Pakistan,

1289
01:00:10,907 --> 01:00:12,809
including Brahamdagh.

1290
01:00:12,809 --> 01:00:16,746
And also, Zawahiri has
threatened that next his mission

1291
01:00:16,746 --> 01:00:18,681
will be to attack India.

1292
01:00:18,681 --> 01:00:22,852
And also, these comments were
repeated by Prime Minister Modi

1293
01:00:22,852 --> 01:00:25,955
at the United Nations, and
that's what he said -- the

1294
01:00:25,955 --> 01:00:29,592
relations between India and
Pakistan and the U.S., based

1295
01:00:29,592 --> 01:00:32,695
on the mutual interests.

1296
01:00:32,695 --> 01:00:35,198
What I'm asking you -- all
these issues you think

1297
01:00:35,198 --> 01:00:36,199
will be discussed?

1298
01:00:36,199 --> 01:00:38,301
Because Prime Minister Modi
is asking the United States,

1299
01:00:38,301 --> 01:00:42,572
and may ask President Obama
to help India in this,

1300
01:00:42,572 --> 01:00:46,409
because India wants peace in the
region and around the world.

1301
01:00:46,409 --> 01:00:47,643
Thank you.

1302
01:00:47,643 --> 01:00:49,078
Mr. Earnest: The United
States wants peace

1303
01:00:49,078 --> 01:00:50,079
in the region as well.

1304
01:00:50,079 --> 01:00:55,585
And we value the strong security
cooperation that we already have

1305
01:00:55,585 --> 01:00:57,420
with the Indian government.

1306
01:00:57,420 --> 01:01:00,223
We value that
strategic partnership,

1307
01:01:00,223 --> 01:01:03,226
and the President believes that
strengthening that partnership

1308
01:01:03,226 --> 01:01:07,330
even further will be a critical
part of this specific meeting.

1309
01:01:07,330 --> 01:01:08,398
Thanks very much, everybody.

1310
01:01:08,398 --> 01:01:09,065
We'll see you tomorrow.