English subtitles for clip: File:9-8-14- White House Press Briefing.webm

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,001
Mr. Earnest: Good
afternoon, everybody.

2
00:00:02,001 --> 00:00:04,971
I apologize for the
lengthy delay

3
00:00:04,971 --> 00:00:06,973
in advance of today's briefing.

4
00:00:06,973 --> 00:00:10,343
A lot of news
to get through.

5
00:00:10,343 --> 00:00:12,344
So since there's so much
going on, Julie,

6
00:00:12,345 --> 00:00:14,347
why don't we just go straight
to questions?

7
00:00:14,347 --> 00:00:15,347
The Press: Great.

8
00:00:15,348 --> 00:00:16,349
Thanks, Josh.

9
00:00:16,349 --> 00:00:18,351
The President said in his
interview over

10
00:00:18,351 --> 00:00:20,352
the weekend that the strategy
that he'll announce

11
00:00:20,353 --> 00:00:21,855
for going after the Islamic
State is going to look

12
00:00:21,855 --> 00:00:23,823
like a counterterrorism campaign.

13
00:00:23,823 --> 00:00:25,792
Can you explain a bit
more what that means?

14
00:00:25,792 --> 00:00:28,328
Mr. Earnest: Well, what
the President

15
00:00:28,328 --> 00:00:29,695
also mentioned in his interview
is his intention

16
00:00:29,696 --> 00:00:34,267
to give a speechon Wednesday to
discuss some

17
00:00:34,267 --> 00:00:34,901
of these issues.

18
00:00:34,901 --> 00:00:37,771
So I don't want to get
ahead of that speech.

19
00:00:37,771 --> 00:00:40,840
But let me try to give you
a sense of at least

20
00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:41,908
what the President is thinking
when

21
00:00:41,908 --> 00:00:42,976
he says something like that.

22
00:00:42,976 --> 00:00:45,345
As the President confronts
the situation

23
00:00:45,345 --> 00:00:47,781
and the threat that's posed by
ISIL,

24
00:00:47,781 --> 00:00:53,019
he puts the safety and security
of the American people

25
00:00:53,019 --> 00:00:55,321
at the top of his list of concerns.

26
00:00:55,321 --> 00:00:57,757
And the actions that he
has ordered thus

27
00:00:57,757 --> 00:01:03,763
far in Iraq to strike ISIL is
principally motivated

28
00:01:07,167 --> 00:01:10,003
to protect American
personnel,

29
00:01:10,003 --> 00:01:13,907
including at our embassy and our
consulate in Iraq.

30
00:01:13,907 --> 00:01:15,908
That's the focal point
of our operations.

31
00:01:15,909 --> 00:01:17,911
Now, there are some other
objectives

32
00:01:17,911 --> 00:01:19,913
that we're also pursuing in
terms of providing

33
00:01:19,913 --> 00:01:21,914
some humanitarian assistance to
those religious

34
00:01:21,915 --> 00:01:23,950
and ethnic minorities that are
being targeted by ISIL.

35
00:01:23,950 --> 00:01:26,486
There also are some
specific counterterrorism

36
00:01:26,486 --> 00:01:28,488
operations that we're
engaged in there,

37
00:01:28,488 --> 00:01:30,590
as we have been for some time.

38
00:01:30,590 --> 00:01:34,160
But when the President is
making these decisions,

39
00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,161
particularly as it relates
to an organization

40
00:01:36,162 --> 00:01:38,164
like ISIL, what he's focused on
is the safety

41
00:01:38,164 --> 00:01:40,967
and security of the American people.

42
00:01:40,967 --> 00:01:43,269
And the threat that this
extremist

43
00:01:43,269 --> 00:01:46,539
organization principally poses
to the homeland

44
00:01:46,539 --> 00:01:50,143
is in the form of foreign
fighters, individuals

45
00:01:50,143 --> 00:01:52,145
with Western passports that have
traveled

46
00:01:52,145 --> 00:01:54,848
to the region and taken up arms
to fight alongside ISIL.

47
00:01:54,848 --> 00:01:56,850
There is significant
concern about

48
00:01:56,850 --> 00:01:58,851
the idea that some of these
individuals

49
00:01:58,852 --> 00:02:00,854
may try to travel back to the
West using their

50
00:02:00,854 --> 00:02:03,857
Western passports and carry out
acts of violence

51
00:02:03,857 --> 00:02:05,024
or engage in terrorism here.

52
00:02:05,024 --> 00:02:09,294
So as it relates to our
principal concern

53
00:02:09,294 --> 00:02:11,263
about the threat that's posed
by ISIL,

54
00:02:11,264 --> 00:02:14,834
the President is concerned about
the threat of terrorism.

55
00:02:14,834 --> 00:02:16,836
And that is why the
other counterterrorism

56
00:02:16,836 --> 00:02:18,838
operations that this
administration

57
00:02:18,838 --> 00:02:24,911
has carried are a relevant
reference point.

58
00:02:24,911 --> 00:02:26,913
One of the other things
that the President

59
00:02:26,913 --> 00:02:29,415
mentioned in his interview
is that

60
00:02:29,415 --> 00:02:31,483
we have seen the United States
effectively,

61
00:02:31,484 --> 00:02:34,120
under the leadership of this
President, and thanks

62
00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,056
to the courage and service of
men and women in uniform

63
00:02:37,056 --> 00:02:40,260
and the intelligence agencies,
we've worked

64
00:02:40,260 --> 00:02:43,630
very effectively to defeat
terrorists

65
00:02:43,630 --> 00:02:45,632
who pose a threat to the
United States.

66
00:02:45,632 --> 00:02:48,201
That is true of the
success

67
00:02:48,201 --> 00:02:54,908
of our efforts to decimate al
Qaeda core in the border region

68
00:02:54,908 --> 00:02:57,543
and along the border between
Afghanistan and Pakistan.

69
00:02:57,544 --> 00:02:59,546
It's also true in some
of the counterterrorism

70
00:02:59,546 --> 00:03:01,548
efforts that you've seen
the administration

71
00:03:01,548 --> 00:03:03,550
and the President order in Yemen,

72
00:03:03,550 --> 00:03:04,651
in Somalia and other places.

73
00:03:04,651 --> 00:03:05,985
So what the President is
trying

74
00:03:05,985 --> 00:03:08,354
to do is trying to illustrate
that there is a track record

75
00:03:08,354 --> 00:03:10,890
here that people can evaluate.

76
00:03:10,890 --> 00:03:12,892
And each of these
situations is different,

77
00:03:12,892 --> 00:03:14,894
and we'll have to consider
each of them differently.

78
00:03:14,894 --> 00:03:16,896
But in terms of evaluating
what the President's

79
00:03:16,896 --> 00:03:18,898
chief concern is and what our
solution looks like,

80
00:03:18,898 --> 00:03:26,039
it is similar to some of these
other counterterrorism

81
00:03:26,039 --> 00:03:31,611
missions that the
President has ordered

82
00:03:31,611 --> 00:03:33,613
and have been successfully
executed

83
00:03:33,613 --> 00:03:38,184
by the United States military
and with the support

84
00:03:38,184 --> 00:03:40,219
and in conjunction with our
allies around the world,

85
00:03:40,219 --> 00:03:41,220
and of course the support

86
00:03:41,220 --> 00:03:43,356
of American intelligence agencies.

87
00:03:43,356 --> 00:03:44,958
The Press: You
mentioned some

88
00:03:44,958 --> 00:03:46,960
of the counterterrorism missions.

89
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:48,962
People often think about
this in the context

90
00:03:48,962 --> 00:03:50,964
of Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia,
which tend

91
00:03:50,964 --> 00:03:52,966
to be missions that are kind of
shrouded in secrecy.

92
00:03:52,966 --> 00:03:53,733
The administration in
some cases doesn't

93
00:03:53,733 --> 00:03:55,068
even acknowledge that
these are happening.

94
00:03:55,068 --> 00:03:56,669
That's not what the
President is talking about

95
00:03:56,669 --> 00:03:57,370
here, though, when

96
00:03:57,370 --> 00:03:58,404
he talks about counterterrorism, right?

97
00:03:58,404 --> 00:03:59,339
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
President has been

98
00:03:59,339 --> 00:04:01,708
engaged in an effort -- and he
gave a speech

99
00:04:01,708 --> 00:04:07,079
on this earlier this year -- his
desire and our collective

100
00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,248
effort to try to bring
some more transparency

101
00:04:09,248 --> 00:04:10,215
to some of these issues.

102
00:04:10,216 --> 00:04:10,516
The Press: But
you get my point.

103
00:04:10,516 --> 00:04:12,952
I mean, that's one type of
counterterrorism mission.

104
00:04:12,952 --> 00:04:15,788
That's not the type of
mission he appears

105
00:04:15,788 --> 00:04:16,723
to be talking about here,
though, right?

106
00:04:16,723 --> 00:04:17,624
Mr. Earnest: Well, each
of these situations

107
00:04:17,624 --> 00:04:20,627
is a little bit different, and
each of them

108
00:04:20,627 --> 00:04:22,295
has their own unique threat.

109
00:04:22,295 --> 00:04:27,800
I mean, I guess what I
would say is the President

110
00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:32,639
has been pretty clear
about what he's contemplating.

111
00:04:33,172 --> 00:04:34,040
The President is not
contemplating

112
00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,877
the deployment of combat boots
on the ground

113
00:04:37,877 --> 00:04:40,513
into Iraq or Syria to deal with
this situation.

114
00:04:40,513 --> 00:04:42,515
He's talking about
building a broader,

115
00:04:42,515 --> 00:04:44,484
international coalition,
engaging regional

116
00:04:44,484 --> 00:04:46,486
governments, looking
for the support

117
00:04:46,486 --> 00:04:52,358
and the effective governance
of the Iraqi

118
00:04:52,358 --> 00:04:55,561
central government to
confront this threat.

119
00:04:55,561 --> 00:04:56,863
Is it possible that there
might

120
00:04:56,863 --> 00:04:59,532
be some clandestine efforts that
are also underway here?

121
00:04:59,532 --> 00:05:01,534
I'm sure that that's the
case, and I'm sure

122
00:05:01,534 --> 00:05:03,536
that's something that I won't
be in a position

123
00:05:03,536 --> 00:05:04,871
to talk about if they do occur.

124
00:05:04,871 --> 00:05:08,041
But what the President is
talking about

125
00:05:08,041 --> 00:05:10,977
is something that he's laid out
a couple of time

126
00:05:10,977 --> 00:05:12,277
and will have the opportunity to
talk about

127
00:05:12,278 --> 00:05:13,880
at more length on Wednesday.

128
00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:15,882
The Press: Has he made
a decision

129
00:05:15,882 --> 00:05:17,884
on whether airstrikes should
extend into Syria?

130
00:05:17,884 --> 00:05:20,520
Mr. Earnest: What the
President

131
00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,424
has said is he -- and he said
this, again, in the interview

132
00:05:24,424 --> 00:05:26,491
that he conducted over the
week --

133
00:05:26,492 --> 00:05:32,165
is his willingness to go
wherever is necessary

134
00:05:32,165 --> 00:05:34,667
to strike those who are
threatening America.

135
00:05:34,667 --> 00:05:38,738
And that has been true
in a range

136
00:05:38,738 --> 00:05:39,706
of other circumstances.

137
00:05:39,706 --> 00:05:42,742
To the extent that there
are parallels here,

138
00:05:42,742 --> 00:05:44,877
the President ordered this
military

139
00:05:44,877 --> 00:05:48,414
to go after Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

140
00:05:48,414 --> 00:05:50,383
And that was sort of the
President

141
00:05:50,383 --> 00:05:52,784
fulfilling a campaign promise
that he made in a speech --

142
00:05:52,785 --> 00:05:55,354
I believe was in the summer
of 2007 --

143
00:05:55,354 --> 00:05:58,357
where he talked about his
commitment as Commander-in-Chief

144
00:05:58,357 --> 00:06:01,060
to deploying American
resources wherever

145
00:06:01,060 --> 00:06:03,196
necessary to protect
the American people.

146
00:06:03,196 --> 00:06:05,198
And I think that is a
useful guideline

147
00:06:05,198 --> 00:06:08,935
as you try to assess the
President's thinking

148
00:06:08,935 --> 00:06:09,936
about some of these issues.

149
00:06:09,936 --> 00:06:11,938
The Press: To play that
out -- if he's willing

150
00:06:11,938 --> 00:06:14,107
to go after groups that
threaten Americans

151
00:06:14,107 --> 00:06:16,943
wherever they are, and
you say ISIS could

152
00:06:16,943 --> 00:06:18,710
pose a threat to Americans, and
they're in Syria,

153
00:06:18,711 --> 00:06:21,481
has he then made a decision to
go after them inside Syria?

154
00:06:21,481 --> 00:06:22,748
Mr. Earnest: Well, if
the President

155
00:06:22,749 --> 00:06:23,816
has made a decision along these
lines, I'm sure that's

156
00:06:23,816 --> 00:06:25,251
a decision that would rise
to the level

157
00:06:25,251 --> 00:06:26,486
of the President making the
announcement

158
00:06:26,486 --> 00:06:27,553
about that decision.

159
00:06:27,553 --> 00:06:28,788
But what I'm trying to
do is provide

160
00:06:28,788 --> 00:06:29,989
you some insight into the
President's

161
00:06:29,989 --> 00:06:31,090
thinking on this issue.

162
00:06:31,090 --> 00:06:37,130
And I don't know if I was
successful

163
00:06:37,130 --> 00:06:39,132
in that effort, but it certainly
was a valiant effort.

164
00:06:39,132 --> 00:06:40,133
Jeff.

165
00:06:40,133 --> 00:06:42,135
The Press: Josh, the
President also said

166
00:06:42,135 --> 00:06:44,337
in his interview that he did not
believe he needed

167
00:06:44,337 --> 00:06:47,006
further authorization for action
on this plan,

168
00:06:47,006 --> 00:06:50,510
but he's also been very clear
that this is a long-term thing.

169
00:06:50,510 --> 00:06:53,513
So how do those
two elements jive?

170
00:06:53,513 --> 00:06:55,181
If this is going to go
on for more than

171
00:06:55,181 --> 00:06:58,918
just a couple months, what does
he need from Congress?

172
00:06:58,918 --> 00:07:00,920
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
administration

173
00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:02,889
has demonstrated in a pretty
transparent

174
00:07:02,889 --> 00:07:07,426
way our commitment to closely
consulting

175
00:07:07,426 --> 00:07:10,530
with members of Congress as we
pursue these kinds

176
00:07:10,530 --> 00:07:13,866
of foreign policy/national
security priorities.

177
00:07:13,866 --> 00:07:15,868
The President has convened
a couple of meetings

178
00:07:15,868 --> 00:07:17,904
with leaders in Congress to
discuss these issues

179
00:07:17,904 --> 00:07:20,206
before they went away on
their August

180
00:07:20,206 --> 00:07:22,708
recess six weeks or so ago.

181
00:07:22,708 --> 00:07:26,712
The President has invited
the four leaders

182
00:07:26,712 --> 00:07:29,015
of Congress -- the Democratic
and Republican

183
00:07:29,015 --> 00:07:31,017
leader of both the House and the
Senate --

184
00:07:31,017 --> 00:07:33,019
to come to the White House
tomorrow to discuss some

185
00:07:33,019 --> 00:07:35,254
of these issues and to follow up
on the very successful

186
00:07:35,254 --> 00:07:37,790
NATO Summit that the President
attended in Wales

187
00:07:37,790 --> 00:07:39,826
at the end of last week.

188
00:07:39,826 --> 00:07:41,460
So the President is
committed

189
00:07:41,460 --> 00:07:46,431
to intensive consultations
between the administration

190
00:07:46,432 --> 00:07:48,434
and Congress as we consider
some

191
00:07:48,434 --> 00:07:53,039
of these very difficult and very
high-stakes questions.

192
00:07:53,039 --> 00:07:55,775
In addition to that, I
think the President

193
00:07:55,775 --> 00:07:57,777
has long believed -- and this
is something

194
00:07:57,777 --> 00:07:59,779
that the President has
articulated in different --

195
00:07:59,779 --> 00:08:02,615
as he's confronted different
national security questions.

196
00:08:03,850 --> 00:08:05,852
The President believes
that when

197
00:08:05,852 --> 00:08:08,854
the American people, through
their elected representatives,

198
00:08:08,855 --> 00:08:12,325
can demonstrate a united
front across party lines,

199
00:08:12,325 --> 00:08:15,194
that that's beneficial to
our foreign policy;

200
00:08:15,194 --> 00:08:17,196
that that sends a clear signal
to people

201
00:08:17,196 --> 00:08:19,198
all around the world that the
American people

202
00:08:19,198 --> 00:08:23,469
are united in pursuing and
accomplishing a specific

203
00:08:23,469 --> 00:08:25,771
foreign policy or national
security priority.

204
00:08:25,771 --> 00:08:28,507
So the President, in his
interview

205
00:08:28,507 --> 00:08:34,914
with Chuck Todd at NBC, was
clear that he does believe

206
00:08:34,914 --> 00:08:38,384
that he has the authority to "do
what's necessary

207
00:08:38,384 --> 00:08:40,385
to protect the
American people."

208
00:08:40,385 --> 00:08:42,387
But he went on to say, "I
do think it's important

209
00:08:42,388 --> 00:08:44,390
for Congress to understand
what the plan

210
00:08:44,390 --> 00:08:47,126
is, to have buy-in, to debate
it, and that's

211
00:08:47,126 --> 00:08:50,295
why we've been consulting with
Congress throughout."

212
00:08:50,296 --> 00:08:53,933
So there will continue to
be an effort

213
00:08:53,933 --> 00:08:59,071
to keep an open line of dialogue
between the administration

214
00:08:59,071 --> 00:09:03,342
and leaders in Congress as
we move

215
00:09:03,342 --> 00:09:06,444
on this important foreign policy priority.

216
00:09:06,445 --> 00:09:08,447
The Press: So dialogue,
but no need

217
00:09:08,447 --> 00:09:09,448
to ask for authorization.

218
00:09:09,448 --> 00:09:11,651
Is that a correct
understanding of that?

219
00:09:11,651 --> 00:09:13,652
Mr. Earnest: Well, I think
the way

220
00:09:13,653 --> 00:09:15,655
the President described it is he
believed that

221
00:09:15,655 --> 00:09:17,622
it was important to understand
what the plan

222
00:09:17,623 --> 00:09:22,094
is, to have buy-in, to debate
it, and engage in the kinds

223
00:09:22,094 --> 00:09:24,330
of consultations that this
administration

224
00:09:24,330 --> 00:09:26,332
is leading right now. And that --

225
00:09:26,332 --> 00:09:27,333
The Press:
Debate it does

226
00:09:27,333 --> 00:09:28,334
not mean vote on it.

227
00:09:28,334 --> 00:09:30,335
I'm just clarifying if
that's what that means.

228
00:09:30,336 --> 00:09:32,305
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
President

229
00:09:32,305 --> 00:09:34,372
is not in a position where he
sets the legislative floor

230
00:09:34,373 --> 00:09:34,740
calendar for either the
House or the Senate.

231
00:09:34,740 --> 00:09:36,175
The Press: But he's in a
position of asking

232
00:09:36,175 --> 00:09:39,178
for them to authorize
or not authorize.

233
00:09:39,178 --> 00:09:42,381
Mr. Earnest: Well, he's
not just in a position

234
00:09:42,381 --> 00:09:44,382
of asking, he's also in a
position of consulting

235
00:09:44,383 --> 00:09:46,385
and trying to be as candid as
possible with leaders

236
00:09:46,385 --> 00:09:48,387
in Congress about what he's
contemplating

237
00:09:48,387 --> 00:09:50,388
and what the policy implications
are of some of the decisions

238
00:09:50,389 --> 00:09:52,858
that he is prepared to make.

239
00:09:52,858 --> 00:09:55,728
And it's important in the
mind

240
00:09:55,728 --> 00:09:58,731
of the President for Congress to
be a partner in these decisions.

241
00:09:58,731 --> 00:10:00,800
They have a solemn
responsibility

242
00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:02,801
as the elected representatives
of the American people

243
00:10:02,802 --> 00:10:04,070
to be engaged in this process.

244
00:10:04,070 --> 00:10:06,872
But ultimately, it is the
responsibility

245
00:10:06,872 --> 00:10:11,610
of the Commander-in-Chief to
make the kinds

246
00:10:11,610 --> 00:10:16,015
of decisions related to our
military

247
00:10:16,015 --> 00:10:17,984
that rest on the shoulders of the President.

248
00:10:17,984 --> 00:10:19,986
The Press: He also said
that there might

249
00:10:19,986 --> 00:10:21,220
be a need for more resources.

250
00:10:21,220 --> 00:10:24,890
Can you address what
kind of money request

251
00:10:24,890 --> 00:10:27,126
or funding request he might

252
00:10:27,126 --> 00:10:29,728
end up submitting to Congress as well?

253
00:10:29,729 --> 00:10:32,098
Mr. Earnest: I don't have
any sort of any funding

254
00:10:32,098 --> 00:10:33,766
request to preview
at this point.

255
00:10:33,766 --> 00:10:37,435
I would remind you in a
speech that I believe

256
00:10:37,436 --> 00:10:39,438
that you covered, Jeff, when
the President traveled

257
00:10:39,438 --> 00:10:41,774
to West Point, he talked
about his interest

258
00:10:41,774 --> 00:10:42,775
in the creation

259
00:10:42,775 --> 00:10:46,345
of this Counterterrorism Partnership Fund.

260
00:10:46,345 --> 00:10:48,547
And this is a core
component of the

261
00:10:48,547 --> 00:10:50,549
President's strategy for
dealing with

262
00:10:50,549 --> 00:10:54,286
this and other issues like it
around the globe.

263
00:10:54,286 --> 00:10:56,287
That is additional
resources that

264
00:10:56,288 --> 00:10:58,391
can be used by the United States
to build up effective

265
00:10:58,391 --> 00:11:00,392
partners so that when
the United States

266
00:11:00,393 --> 00:11:02,395
has to confront threats like
this, that

267
00:11:02,395 --> 00:11:05,031
we have well-trained,
well-equipped,

268
00:11:05,031 --> 00:11:07,665
effective partners that we can
work

269
00:11:07,666 --> 00:11:09,668
with to confront these problems.

270
00:11:09,668 --> 00:11:12,438
Ultimately, we need to get
into a position

271
00:11:12,438 --> 00:11:14,807
where the United States is not
solely responsible

272
00:11:14,807 --> 00:11:18,744
for dealing with these kinds
of emerging threats;

273
00:11:18,744 --> 00:11:21,814
that we want to be able to work
closely

274
00:11:21,814 --> 00:11:24,717
with partners around the globe,
partners who have better

275
00:11:24,717 --> 00:11:26,886
knowledge of the local politics,
who have better knowledge

276
00:11:26,886 --> 00:11:30,956
of the local terrain, who in
some cases

277
00:11:30,956 --> 00:11:34,393
can prevent some of these
situations from becoming

278
00:11:34,393 --> 00:11:39,765
so urgent and so severe.

279
00:11:39,765 --> 00:11:42,435
And that is one example of
a funding request

280
00:11:42,435 --> 00:11:44,536
that the President has made to
members of Congress

281
00:11:44,537 --> 00:11:46,539
that I think that members of
Congress have talked

282
00:11:46,539 --> 00:11:47,540
about but have not voted on.

283
00:11:47,540 --> 00:11:49,541
And the President would
certainly like to see

284
00:11:49,542 --> 00:11:51,544
those kinds of resources
be provided because

285
00:11:51,544 --> 00:11:53,545
it would strengthen the hand
of this President

286
00:11:53,546 --> 00:11:55,548
and future Presidents for
dealing with urgent

287
00:11:55,548 --> 00:11:56,816
situations like this.

288
00:11:56,816 --> 00:11:58,818
Let's move around
just a little bit.

289
00:11:58,818 --> 00:11:59,117
Zeke.

290
00:11:59,318 --> 00:11:59,985
The Press: Thanks, Josh.

291
00:11:59,985 --> 00:12:00,786
You mentioned earlier the
President's

292
00:12:00,786 --> 00:12:03,521
longstanding commitment to
counterterrorism

293
00:12:03,522 --> 00:12:06,492
operations -- one of them,
but one the administration

294
00:12:06,492 --> 00:12:07,526
doesn't like to talk
about

295
00:12:07,526 --> 00:12:10,396
a lot was the assassination of
Anwar al-Awlaki.

296
00:12:10,396 --> 00:12:11,464
And given the
administration talks

297
00:12:11,464 --> 00:12:13,599
a lot about the 100 American
citizens

298
00:12:13,599 --> 00:12:18,237
who are fighting alongside ISIS
and potentially

299
00:12:18,237 --> 00:12:20,171
could come back here and pose a
threat here,

300
00:12:20,172 --> 00:12:21,674
I was wondering whether the
President has sought

301
00:12:21,674 --> 00:12:23,476
out any sort of legal
justification

302
00:12:23,476 --> 00:12:25,411
like he did in that case and is
considering

303
00:12:25,411 --> 00:12:29,214
the use of -- using whether
drone strikes or direct

304
00:12:29,215 --> 00:12:31,484
airstrikes on potentially
American citizens?

305
00:12:31,784 --> 00:12:34,787
Mr. Earnest: Well, Zeke,
I don't have any sort

306
00:12:34,787 --> 00:12:37,089
of policy announcement to
make along these lines.

307
00:12:37,089 --> 00:12:39,892
I would point out the
administration

308
00:12:39,892 --> 00:12:42,161
has sought, at the President's
direction,

309
00:12:42,161 --> 00:12:44,363
to try to provide additional
insight to the American

310
00:12:44,363 --> 00:12:46,165
public and to working
journalists

311
00:12:46,165 --> 00:12:49,168
about the legal justification
and the decision that

312
00:12:49,168 --> 00:12:57,776
was made to strike threats in
Somalia and Yemen.

313
00:12:58,677 --> 00:13:02,114
But as it relates to ISIL
more generally,

314
00:13:02,114 --> 00:13:06,852
we are concerned about the
threat that is posed

315
00:13:06,852 --> 00:13:07,853
by these foreign fighters.

316
00:13:07,853 --> 00:13:12,290
There are -- it is
believed by some analysts

317
00:13:12,291 --> 00:13:15,561
that there are dozens of
individuals

318
00:13:15,561 --> 00:13:17,897
with American passports who have
traveled to the region

319
00:13:17,897 --> 00:13:21,667
and taken up arms to
fight alongside ISIL.

320
00:13:21,667 --> 00:13:23,669
Now, there are some
reports that indicate

321
00:13:26,372 --> 00:13:28,907
that there is a risk that those
individuals could

322
00:13:28,908 --> 00:13:30,910
return to the West, whether it's
the United States

323
00:13:30,910 --> 00:13:32,944
or one of our allies, using
their Western American

324
00:13:32,945 --> 00:13:36,982
passport to travel either
completely unimpeded

325
00:13:36,982 --> 00:13:40,118
or relatively unimpeded in a
way that poses

326
00:13:40,119 --> 00:13:42,121
a threat to the American people.

327
00:13:42,121 --> 00:13:44,122
And the President will
not hesitate

328
00:13:44,123 --> 00:13:46,125
to take the actions that he
believes are necessary

329
00:13:46,125 --> 00:13:47,126
to protect the American people.

330
00:13:47,126 --> 00:13:49,093
The Press: And following
up there,

331
00:13:49,094 --> 00:13:51,096
there's potential legislation on
Capitol Hill

332
00:13:51,096 --> 00:13:53,098
in terms of either stripping
citizenship

333
00:13:53,098 --> 00:13:55,099
or taking action on passports of
Americans

334
00:13:55,100 --> 00:13:58,571
who are serving -- who are
fighting alongside ISIL.

335
00:13:58,571 --> 00:13:59,805
Is that a measure we can
expect

336
00:13:59,805 --> 00:14:01,640
to hear more from the President
about on Wednesday?

337
00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:03,074
And is that something
he would support?

338
00:14:03,342 --> 00:14:05,843
Mr. Earnest: I've read
about some

339
00:14:05,844 --> 00:14:07,046
of those proposals; I haven't
looked

340
00:14:07,046 --> 00:14:07,913
at them specifically.

341
00:14:07,913 --> 00:14:08,981
I don't think that we've
taken a position

342
00:14:08,981 --> 00:14:10,082
on them at this point.

343
00:14:10,082 --> 00:14:11,383
But as I mentioned to
Jeff,

344
00:14:11,383 --> 00:14:15,888
the administration certainly is
interested in working

345
00:14:15,888 --> 00:14:17,957
in a partnership with members of
Congress,

346
00:14:17,957 --> 00:14:20,559
Democrats and Republicans, as we
confront this threat.

347
00:14:21,227 --> 00:14:22,060
Viqueira.

348
00:14:22,261 --> 00:14:23,127
The Press:
Thank you, Josh.

349
00:14:23,128 --> 00:14:25,798
The President wants to
degrade and destroy ISIL,

350
00:14:25,798 --> 00:14:27,866
but he doesn't want to
put boots on the ground.

351
00:14:28,167 --> 00:14:30,069
Mr. Earnest: American
combat boots

352
00:14:30,069 --> 00:14:31,737
on the ground.

353
00:14:31,737 --> 00:14:33,738
The Press: American combat
boots on the ground.

354
00:14:33,739 --> 00:14:35,741
Yesterday, in response to
Chuck Todd of NBC News --

355
00:14:35,741 --> 00:14:37,742
Mr. Earnest: I've
heard of that guy.

356
00:14:37,743 --> 00:14:39,044
The Press: -- the
President --

357
00:14:39,044 --> 00:14:41,947
Chuck asked him, well, who is
going to go into Syria,

358
00:14:41,947 --> 00:14:44,683
and the President said Syrians
like the Free Syrian Army

359
00:14:44,683 --> 00:14:46,685
are going to occupy that
space --

360
00:14:46,685 --> 00:14:48,654
assuming the President is
successful

361
00:14:48,654 --> 00:14:51,123
in pushing ISIL back from its Syrian strongholds.

362
00:14:51,123 --> 00:14:53,826
The Free Syrian Army, the
administration

363
00:14:53,826 --> 00:14:55,828
has been reluctant to arm them
all along;

364
00:14:55,828 --> 00:14:57,829
you've been reluctant to allow
countries

365
00:14:57,830 --> 00:14:59,198
like Saudi Arabia to send them

366
00:14:59,198 --> 00:15:02,901
shoulder-launched ground-to-air
missiles, the MANPADS.

367
00:15:02,901 --> 00:15:05,503
Some of the equipment that
has been transferred

368
00:15:05,504 --> 00:15:08,907
to them has reportedly shown
up in ISIS hands in Iraq,

369
00:15:08,907 --> 00:15:11,343
fighting against American,
Kurdish and Iraqi forces.

370
00:15:11,343 --> 00:15:14,179
Why is the Free Syrian
Army now a more viable

371
00:15:14,179 --> 00:15:16,180
and trustworthy fighting force
than

372
00:15:16,181 --> 00:15:18,017
it was just a few months ago?

373
00:15:18,017 --> 00:15:20,085
Mr. Earnest: Well, there
is one aspect

374
00:15:20,085 --> 00:15:22,087
of your question that I want to
quibble with just

375
00:15:22,087 --> 00:15:24,089
a little bit, which is that we
have for more than

376
00:15:24,089 --> 00:15:27,426
a year now been providing both
non-military

377
00:15:27,426 --> 00:15:28,460
and military support.

378
00:15:28,460 --> 00:15:30,462
The Press: Lethal
military support?

379
00:15:30,462 --> 00:15:32,464
Mr. Earnest: We've been
providing military

380
00:15:32,464 --> 00:15:33,465
support is the term of our --

381
00:15:33,465 --> 00:15:35,467
The Press: But I'm
assuming now you're going

382
00:15:35,467 --> 00:15:37,468
to provide them with
lethal military support

383
00:15:37,469 --> 00:15:39,471
if they're going to be
actually carrying

384
00:15:39,471 --> 00:15:41,473
a fight as a proxy for
this coalition.

385
00:15:41,473 --> 00:15:43,474
Mr. Earnest: Well,
I'll get to that.

386
00:15:43,475 --> 00:15:45,477
Let's start with that it's
important

387
00:15:45,477 --> 00:15:47,478
for people to understand that
support from the Obama

388
00:15:47,479 --> 00:15:48,480
administration has been
flowing

389
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,482
to the moderate Syrian
opposition for more than

390
00:15:50,482 --> 00:15:52,483
a year now, and that includes military support.

391
00:15:52,484 --> 00:15:54,453
The President has sought
-- and this

392
00:15:54,453 --> 00:15:56,454
was in the context of the West
Point speech that

393
00:15:56,455 --> 00:15:58,457
I mentioned in response to
Jeff's question

394
00:15:58,457 --> 00:16:00,459
a little bit earlier -- the
administration has sought

395
00:16:00,459 --> 00:16:01,459
additional resources,
using

396
00:16:01,460 --> 00:16:03,996
our Title 10 authority, to ramp
up that assistance

397
00:16:03,996 --> 00:16:07,266
to the Syrian opposition.

398
00:16:07,266 --> 00:16:10,669
And that certainly would,
we would hope and expect,

399
00:16:10,669 --> 00:16:13,605
improve their capacity
and success in taking

400
00:16:13,605 --> 00:16:19,211
the fight to the Assad regime
and to ISIL

401
00:16:19,211 --> 00:16:24,717
to essentially -- or to
effectively wage that battle

402
00:16:24,717 --> 00:16:27,686
on behalf of the citizens of
their country

403
00:16:27,686 --> 00:16:30,255
to try to retake their country.

404
00:16:30,255 --> 00:16:32,424
So there is an effort that
has been underway

405
00:16:32,424 --> 00:16:33,425
for some time.

406
00:16:33,425 --> 00:16:35,426
We have, as you point out,
sought

407
00:16:35,427 --> 00:16:37,463
to increase or ramp up that assistance.

408
00:16:38,097 --> 00:16:40,098
Now, the question you're
asking though

409
00:16:40,099 --> 00:16:41,734
is a somewhat more complicated

410
00:16:41,734 --> 00:16:43,736
one, which is the question is, why?

411
00:16:43,736 --> 00:16:44,737
Why them, right?

412
00:16:44,737 --> 00:16:45,738
The Press: And why now?

413
00:16:45,738 --> 00:16:46,739
Mr. Earnest: And why now.

414
00:16:46,739 --> 00:16:47,740
The Press: And who else?

415
00:16:47,740 --> 00:16:48,741
Mr. Earnest: And who else.

416
00:16:48,741 --> 00:16:50,742
So I guess you have three
complicated questions.

417
00:16:50,743 --> 00:16:51,744
(laughter)

418
00:16:51,744 --> 00:16:53,746
The Press: Well, I mean,
you were just --

419
00:16:53,746 --> 00:16:55,747
to point out there are no
American boots on the ground.

420
00:16:55,748 --> 00:16:57,750
So who are the
boots on the ground?

421
00:16:57,750 --> 00:16:58,751
Mr. Earnest: I was, I was.

422
00:16:58,751 --> 00:17:00,752
I'm not suggesting --
it's complicated

423
00:17:00,753 --> 00:17:01,754
but not illegitimate.

424
00:17:01,754 --> 00:17:02,755
Why them?

425
00:17:02,755 --> 00:17:03,756
It's their country.

426
00:17:03,756 --> 00:17:05,924
Again, the President --
I think the President,

427
00:17:05,924 --> 00:17:06,925
again, in the interview

428
00:17:06,925 --> 00:17:11,163
that we're all citing, described
it as a profound mistake

429
00:17:11,163 --> 00:17:16,568
to commit American combat boots
to being on the ground in Syria.

430
00:17:16,568 --> 00:17:19,504
This is not a fight that
the United States

431
00:17:19,505 --> 00:17:21,173
can take on for them.

432
00:17:21,173 --> 00:17:23,474
The United States is
willing to be supportive

433
00:17:23,474 --> 00:17:25,877
of the Syrian opposition
as they

434
00:17:25,877 --> 00:17:29,247
try to put in place a government
that reflects

435
00:17:29,248 --> 00:17:30,549
the will of the Syrian people,
and we're going

436
00:17:30,549 --> 00:17:31,750
to continue to support them.

437
00:17:31,984 --> 00:17:32,784
The Press: It was their
country three years ago.

438
00:17:32,785 --> 00:17:35,921
Three years later, 162,000
people are dead,

439
00:17:35,921 --> 00:17:39,091
there are millions of refugees
all over the region.

440
00:17:39,091 --> 00:17:41,427
Again, why not then?

441
00:17:41,427 --> 00:17:43,962
Why wasn't it
effectuated back then?

442
00:17:43,962 --> 00:17:48,600
Mr. Earnest: Well, I would
say, again,

443
00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:49,601
a couple of things about that.

444
00:17:49,601 --> 00:17:51,069
The first is the United
States

445
00:17:51,069 --> 00:17:53,071
has been engaged in an effort to
support them, and we have

446
00:17:53,071 --> 00:17:57,609
been for some time -- for more
than a year, at least.

447
00:17:57,609 --> 00:18:01,013
Separately, the concern
that was expressed

448
00:18:01,013 --> 00:18:03,014
by the administration at the
time and has been --

449
00:18:03,015 --> 00:18:05,017
is something that's been
often repeated,

450
00:18:05,017 --> 00:18:11,023
is a concern that we didn't
want to provide assistance

451
00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:16,360
to every individual who
said that

452
00:18:16,361 --> 00:18:18,764
they were fighting Bashar al-Assad.

453
00:18:18,764 --> 00:18:20,998
Had we done that without
thoroughly vetting them

454
00:18:20,999 --> 00:18:23,001
and building the kind
of relationship that's

455
00:18:23,001 --> 00:18:25,003
necessary to understand
who we're

456
00:18:25,003 --> 00:18:28,774
providing weapons to, we would
have inadvertently

457
00:18:28,774 --> 00:18:30,775
provided weapons to the very people

458
00:18:30,776 --> 00:18:31,777
we're now fighting in Iraq.

459
00:18:32,644 --> 00:18:37,716
So there was a question of
who exactly was included

460
00:18:37,716 --> 00:18:39,717
in the Syrian opposition,
and which

461
00:18:39,718 --> 00:18:43,755
of those elements were
interested in putting

462
00:18:43,755 --> 00:18:45,424
in place a government that
actually reflected

463
00:18:45,424 --> 00:18:47,192
the will and diversity of the
Syrian people,

464
00:18:47,192 --> 00:18:51,964
and which of those were members
of the opposition

465
00:18:51,964 --> 00:18:54,466
who were actually extremists,
who were hoping

466
00:18:54,466 --> 00:18:58,337
to use the power vacuum that's
been created by this civil

467
00:18:58,337 --> 00:19:03,075
war in Syria to try to carry
out their own vision

468
00:19:03,075 --> 00:19:06,078
of an Islamic caliphate
in this region.

469
00:19:06,545 --> 00:19:10,315
So the reason that the
administration

470
00:19:10,315 --> 00:19:15,954
was interested in carefully
vetting the individuals

471
00:19:15,954 --> 00:19:18,357
who were part of the
Syrian opposition

472
00:19:18,357 --> 00:19:20,359
is because we wanted to make
sure that

473
00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:23,529
our assistance was landing in
the hands of the people

474
00:19:23,529 --> 00:19:26,865
who were trying to create a
government that

475
00:19:26,865 --> 00:19:29,601
reflected the will of the Syrian
people

476
00:19:29,601 --> 00:19:32,104
and not to create an Islamic
caliphate that

477
00:19:32,104 --> 00:19:34,106
was carrying out acts of violence

478
00:19:34,106 --> 00:19:35,107
throughout the region.

479
00:19:35,107 --> 00:19:38,844
So this challenge of
vetting

480
00:19:38,844 --> 00:19:43,715
the opposition certainly
contributed to the policy

481
00:19:43,715 --> 00:19:47,285
of this administration to ramp
up our assistance

482
00:19:47,286 --> 00:19:50,188
to that opposition over time
after we had established

483
00:19:50,188 --> 00:19:51,790
some relationships and had the
opportunity

484
00:19:51,790 --> 00:19:54,259
to vet these individuals and get
a better sense

485
00:19:54,259 --> 00:19:55,894
about what their intentions
actually were.

486
00:19:56,361 --> 00:19:57,930
Jon.

487
00:19:58,196 --> 00:20:00,032
The Press: Josh, Jeff
asked you a series

488
00:20:00,032 --> 00:20:02,900
of very direct questions and I
didn't

489
00:20:02,901 --> 00:20:04,369
hear a direct answer.

490
00:20:04,369 --> 00:20:05,536
So can you just --

491
00:20:05,737 --> 00:20:06,538
Mr. Earnest:
I'll try again.

492
00:20:06,538 --> 00:20:07,272
(laughter)

493
00:20:07,406 --> 00:20:08,807
The Press: Please help
me with a yes or no.

494
00:20:09,041 --> 00:20:09,541
Mr. Earnest: I'll try.

495
00:20:09,741 --> 00:20:14,312
The Press: Does the
President intend

496
00:20:14,313 --> 00:20:19,518
to ask Congress for
authorization to expand

497
00:20:19,518 --> 00:20:21,653
his campaign against ISIL?

498
00:20:21,653 --> 00:20:23,388
Just a yes or no?

499
00:20:23,555 --> 00:20:24,957
Mr. Earnest: The President
was asked

500
00:20:24,957 --> 00:20:27,225
this direction question and he --

501
00:20:27,225 --> 00:20:29,226
The Press: Didn't give
a direct answer either.

502
00:20:29,227 --> 00:20:30,228
(laughter)

503
00:20:30,228 --> 00:20:31,229
So I'm asking
if you can give

504
00:20:31,229 --> 00:20:32,230
me, seriously, a yes or no.

505
00:20:32,230 --> 00:20:34,199
Because I don't know
what buy-in --

506
00:20:34,199 --> 00:20:36,201
I covered Congress for years; I
don't know what

507
00:20:36,201 --> 00:20:38,203
you mean by you saying you want
to have congressional buy-in.

508
00:20:38,203 --> 00:20:40,205
Buy-in, it seems to me,
would imply a vote

509
00:20:40,205 --> 00:20:42,206
of some kind, either a vote on
appropriations

510
00:20:42,207 --> 00:20:44,209
or a vote on an authorization
or a sense of Congress

511
00:20:44,209 --> 00:20:46,211
resolution, but
some kind of a vote.

512
00:20:46,211 --> 00:20:48,213
Is that what you want from
Congress --

513
00:20:48,213 --> 00:20:49,214
a vote on this?

514
00:20:49,214 --> 00:20:50,215
Yes or no?

515
00:20:50,215 --> 00:20:52,216
Mr. Earnest: Well, again,
if you want

516
00:20:52,217 --> 00:20:54,219
to get some insight into the
President's current

517
00:20:54,219 --> 00:20:56,221
thinking about this, then
I would refer

518
00:20:56,221 --> 00:20:58,223
you to the answer that he gave
to Chuck

519
00:20:58,223 --> 00:20:59,224
in the interview 48 hours ago.

520
00:20:59,224 --> 00:21:01,226
But the other thing that
I would point

521
00:21:01,226 --> 00:21:03,228
out that's also part of your
question

522
00:21:03,228 --> 00:21:05,230
is if the President decides to
expand the operation.

523
00:21:05,230 --> 00:21:09,101
And these are the kinds of
questions that

524
00:21:09,101 --> 00:21:11,103
are best answered after the
President

525
00:21:11,103 --> 00:21:13,372
has made some fundamental
decisions about what

526
00:21:13,372 --> 00:21:17,009
he wants to do there -- that if
there is an expansion

527
00:21:17,009 --> 00:21:19,011
in the operation that takes
place,

528
00:21:19,011 --> 00:21:21,013
what consequences are there for
a whole range of things:

529
00:21:21,013 --> 00:21:23,014
for our diplomatic
relationships,

530
00:21:23,015 --> 00:21:24,983
what kind of assistance are we
going to seek from our partners;

531
00:21:24,983 --> 00:21:27,119
what kind of assistance would we
seek from regional governments

532
00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:29,120
in terms of the role that
they could play here;

533
00:21:29,121 --> 00:21:31,123
and what role does
Congress have.

534
00:21:32,157 --> 00:21:35,092
So it's hard to -- unless
we're talking about

535
00:21:35,093 --> 00:21:37,295
a very specific order from the
President,

536
00:21:37,295 --> 00:21:39,998
it's hard to talk in very
specific terms about what

537
00:21:39,998 --> 00:21:40,999
we want Congress to do.

538
00:21:40,999 --> 00:21:43,301
But as a general matter,
what I can say is that

539
00:21:43,301 --> 00:21:45,704
the President is interesting
in their buy-in,

540
00:21:45,704 --> 00:21:47,706
is interested in a
congressional debate,

541
00:21:47,706 --> 00:21:51,376
and is interested in
consulting closely

542
00:21:51,376 --> 00:21:54,579
with the leaders in Congress so
that they feel bought

543
00:21:54,579 --> 00:21:56,581
into this process and they feel
like the partners

544
00:21:56,581 --> 00:21:58,582
that they actually are, as the
elected

545
00:21:58,583 --> 00:22:00,585
representatives to the American people.

546
00:22:00,585 --> 00:22:01,586
The Press: Because
we remember

547
00:22:01,586 --> 00:22:03,588
that the President did make a
decision on airstrikes

548
00:22:03,588 --> 00:22:05,590
on Syria under very different
circumstances

549
00:22:05,590 --> 00:22:07,591
but previously, and his
decision at that point

550
00:22:07,592 --> 00:22:09,661
was that he needed
congressional

551
00:22:09,661 --> 00:22:12,130
authorization or that
he wanted

552
00:22:12,130 --> 00:22:13,265
congressional authorization.

553
00:22:13,265 --> 00:22:16,435
If he were to go in that
direction again

554
00:22:16,435 --> 00:22:20,839
and decide that some kind of an
extended air campaign

555
00:22:20,839 --> 00:22:24,909
against ISIL targets in
Syria were necessary,

556
00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:27,345
is it safe to assume he would
have the same

557
00:22:27,345 --> 00:22:30,816
view that he would need, want
congressional authorization?

558
00:22:30,816 --> 00:22:32,818
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
situation from

559
00:22:32,818 --> 00:22:35,087
last year is a little bit
different than the situation

560
00:22:35,087 --> 00:22:37,789
this year; that the situation
from last year

561
00:22:37,789 --> 00:22:40,459
was related specifically to this
issue of chemical weapons

562
00:22:40,459 --> 00:22:42,461
being used by the Assad regime
against the Syrian people.

563
00:22:42,461 --> 00:22:44,730
The situation right now is
related directly

564
00:22:44,730 --> 00:22:50,135
to the protection of American
citizens in the region.

565
00:22:50,135 --> 00:22:51,603
The President does believe
that

566
00:22:51,603 --> 00:22:52,971
he has all the authority

567
00:22:52,971 --> 00:22:54,973
necessary as the
Commander-in-Chief

568
00:22:54,973 --> 00:22:56,975
of the United States to order
the kind of military

569
00:22:56,975 --> 00:22:59,043
action that's necessary to
protect American citizens.

570
00:22:59,044 --> 00:23:01,813
The Press: Including
strikes in Syria?

571
00:23:01,813 --> 00:23:05,484
Mr. Earnest: But again, if
there is an expansion

572
00:23:05,484 --> 00:23:08,620
of the President's military
orders, or if there

573
00:23:08,620 --> 00:23:12,456
is an expansion of the scope
of operations

574
00:23:12,457 --> 00:23:13,859
that the President is willing to
consider,

575
00:23:13,859 --> 00:23:17,294
at the point that the President
has made that decision

576
00:23:17,295 --> 00:23:19,297
we can start making decisions
about what

577
00:23:19,297 --> 00:23:21,666
sort of congressional role or
authorization

578
00:23:21,666 --> 00:23:22,667
is required, if any.

579
00:23:22,667 --> 00:23:24,668
The Press: Give me a sense
on the timeline

580
00:23:24,669 --> 00:23:25,670
for a decision on this.

581
00:23:25,670 --> 00:23:26,671
Is this something the
President

582
00:23:26,671 --> 00:23:27,672
is considering right now?

583
00:23:27,672 --> 00:23:29,074
I mean, is this something
we should expect

584
00:23:29,074 --> 00:23:30,776
in the next day or two, or is
this something

585
00:23:30,776 --> 00:23:32,410
over a course of weeks?

586
00:23:32,410 --> 00:23:33,478
Mr. Earnest: When you say
"this" --

587
00:23:33,478 --> 00:23:35,447
The Press: The decision on
whether or not to expand

588
00:23:35,447 --> 00:23:36,747
military operations that

589
00:23:36,748 --> 00:23:37,449
you just referred
to.

590
00:23:37,449 --> 00:23:38,884
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
President

591
00:23:38,884 --> 00:23:42,687
has been regularly consulting
with his national

592
00:23:42,687 --> 00:23:43,687
security team for weeks now.

593
00:23:43,688 --> 00:23:46,525
And when they are having
these meetings,

594
00:23:46,525 --> 00:23:49,094
they're talking about our
broader strategy

595
00:23:49,094 --> 00:23:51,096
for confronting the threat
that's posed by ISIL.

596
00:23:51,096 --> 00:23:53,098
And there are a range
of elements that

597
00:23:53,098 --> 00:23:55,100
we've discussed quite a few
times here in terms

598
00:23:55,100 --> 00:23:57,769
of our diplomacy with the Iraqis
trying

599
00:23:57,769 --> 00:23:59,671
to form a central government.

600
00:23:59,671 --> 00:24:01,673
They've made tremendous
progress on that over the

601
00:24:01,673 --> 00:24:03,675
next last couple weeks,
and we're hoping

602
00:24:03,675 --> 00:24:05,644
that this week they'll make some

603
00:24:05,644 --> 00:24:10,248
additional important progress in
forming a cabinet.

604
00:24:10,248 --> 00:24:11,249
There's important work
that's

605
00:24:11,249 --> 00:24:13,385
being done by the Secretary of State.

606
00:24:13,385 --> 00:24:15,387
He's traveling to the
region this week

607
00:24:15,387 --> 00:24:17,389
where he's going to be
consulting

608
00:24:17,389 --> 00:24:18,389
with regional governments.

609
00:24:18,390 --> 00:24:20,392
I think the President
was pretty

610
00:24:20,392 --> 00:24:22,561
powerful in explaining the role
that these governments

611
00:24:22,561 --> 00:24:24,963
in the region have and the
stake that they

612
00:24:24,963 --> 00:24:26,965
have in resolving this conflict.

613
00:24:26,965 --> 00:24:29,234
The President highlighted
that so often

614
00:24:29,234 --> 00:24:31,235
these Sunni-dominated
governments

615
00:24:31,236 --> 00:24:35,173
perceive Shia-led governments as
the principal

616
00:24:35,173 --> 00:24:38,476
threat to their ability to lead
their country

617
00:24:38,476 --> 00:24:40,145
and to remain in power.

618
00:24:40,145 --> 00:24:42,147
It's the President's view
-- and I think that there

619
00:24:42,147 --> 00:24:44,149
is some justification for
this based

620
00:24:44,149 --> 00:24:46,150
on the facts that we see on the
ground there --

621
00:24:46,151 --> 00:24:48,153
that they actually face a great
threat from more

622
00:24:48,153 --> 00:24:51,022
extremist Sunni elements that
have demonstrated

623
00:24:51,022 --> 00:24:55,427
significant capacity to wreak
havoc in their region.

624
00:24:55,427 --> 00:24:56,628
There's also a
diplomatic

625
00:24:56,628 --> 00:24:57,629
effort to engage

626
00:24:57,629 --> 00:25:00,465
the international community here.

627
00:25:00,465 --> 00:25:02,466
There are a number of
intelligence efforts

628
00:25:02,467 --> 00:25:04,469
that the President has
already ordered.

629
00:25:04,469 --> 00:25:06,471
We've talked quite a bit
about how the President

630
00:25:06,471 --> 00:25:09,040
at the beginning of this
situation ordered

631
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:13,311
an increase in intelligence
assets

632
00:25:13,311 --> 00:25:15,580
to get a better sense of what
sort of --

633
00:25:15,580 --> 00:25:18,884
to get a better sense of what
actually was happening

634
00:25:18,884 --> 00:25:20,886
on the ground and to better
assess the capability

635
00:25:20,886 --> 00:25:24,022
of both ISIL but also the Iraqi
security forces.

636
00:25:24,022 --> 00:25:27,192
But also, as you point
out, the other element

637
00:25:27,192 --> 00:25:30,328
of this strategy is the
use of military force.

638
00:25:30,328 --> 00:25:31,495
That is part of
the strategy.

639
00:25:31,496 --> 00:25:33,498
But the reason I'm running
through

640
00:25:33,498 --> 00:25:35,500
this long list here is to
illustrate to you that there

641
00:25:35,500 --> 00:25:37,502
are -- that this broad
strategy that

642
00:25:37,502 --> 00:25:39,504
the President has put in place
to deal with this

643
00:25:39,504 --> 00:25:41,606
is something that is regularly
discussed among his team.

644
00:25:41,606 --> 00:25:43,608
And they're discussing
every element

645
00:25:43,608 --> 00:25:45,610
of this strategy at each
of these meetings.

646
00:25:45,610 --> 00:25:47,611
The Press: But in his
speech on Wednesday --

647
00:25:47,612 --> 00:25:48,580
and first of all, is this a
primetime address

648
00:25:48,580 --> 00:25:49,481
or a daytime speech?

649
00:25:49,481 --> 00:25:50,148
Mr. Earnest: We're still
working

650
00:25:50,148 --> 00:25:53,217
through the logistics of the
speech that

651
00:25:53,218 --> 00:25:53,985
the President wants to give.

652
00:25:53,985 --> 00:25:54,886
And so once we have some
more details

653
00:25:54,886 --> 00:25:55,587
on that, we'll let you know.

654
00:25:55,587 --> 00:25:57,589
The Press: But is the
purpose of the speech

655
00:25:57,589 --> 00:26:00,725
to announce a new phase in
this military

656
00:26:00,725 --> 00:26:03,528
operation, or to outline what he
has already outlined

657
00:26:03,528 --> 00:26:05,530
in different venues --
the interview

658
00:26:05,530 --> 00:26:06,798
over the weekend, the press
conferences

659
00:26:06,798 --> 00:26:13,238
on his last trip -- what his
strategy is vis-à-vis ISIL?

660
00:26:13,238 --> 00:26:15,507
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
speech isn't written

661
00:26:15,507 --> 00:26:17,509
yet, so I don't want to get
ahead of describing

662
00:26:17,509 --> 00:26:19,844
a speech that hasn't been
written yet. But generally --

663
00:26:19,844 --> 00:26:20,845
The
Press: But trying to go forward,

664
00:26:20,845 --> 00:26:21,346
is the
purpose to explain

665
00:26:21,346 --> 00:26:22,948
what he's already doing or to
announce something new?

666
00:26:22,948 --> 00:26:25,850
Mr. Earnest: Well, I
wouldn't

667
00:26:25,850 --> 00:26:27,851
rule out that there might be
something new in the speech.

668
00:26:27,852 --> 00:26:28,853
But the principal
goal here

669
00:26:28,853 --> 00:26:31,289
is to make sure that people
understand what the clear

670
00:26:31,289 --> 00:26:34,592
stake is for the American people
and our nation

671
00:26:34,592 --> 00:26:40,198
in this ongoing violence that
we're seeing in Iraq and Syria.

672
00:26:40,198 --> 00:26:42,367
He also wants to describe
what sort of tools

673
00:26:42,367 --> 00:26:44,369
are at the disposal of the
American government

674
00:26:44,369 --> 00:26:46,370
as they try to protect our
interests

675
00:26:46,371 --> 00:26:47,639
and our people in the region.

676
00:26:47,639 --> 00:26:49,607
And the President wants

677
00:26:49,607 --> 00:26:53,645
to try to lay that out pretty clearly.

678
00:26:53,645 --> 00:26:54,646
Does that mean the
President

679
00:26:54,646 --> 00:26:56,648
may have something new to
say in the speech?

680
00:26:56,648 --> 00:26:57,649
He might.

681
00:26:57,649 --> 00:26:59,650
But I'll wait until the
speech is written

682
00:26:59,651 --> 00:27:02,554
before I start guessing about
where he's going to end up.

683
00:27:02,554 --> 00:27:03,555
Major.

684
00:27:03,555 --> 00:27:06,524
The Press: Josh, when you
were asked a moment

685
00:27:06,524 --> 00:27:07,191
ago, has the President decided
to expand

686
00:27:07,192 --> 00:27:08,526
the air war into Syria, you said
the President said

687
00:27:08,526 --> 00:27:10,161
he will go wherever is necessary.

688
00:27:10,161 --> 00:27:12,797
That sounded like a very
near confirmation

689
00:27:12,797 --> 00:27:14,032
that he has decided that.

690
00:27:14,032 --> 00:27:15,233
Should that be
interpreted that way?

691
00:27:15,233 --> 00:27:16,801
Mr. Earnest: No -- because
if the President

692
00:27:16,801 --> 00:27:19,236
has made a specific decision
like this to expand

693
00:27:19,237 --> 00:27:22,273
our military operations, then
you can expect

694
00:27:22,273 --> 00:27:24,109
that the President himself would
announce

695
00:27:24,109 --> 00:27:25,909
a decision like that, not just
little old me here.

696
00:27:25,910 --> 00:27:26,311
The Press: How should we
interpret

697
00:27:26,311 --> 00:27:27,912
your answer that he'll go
wherever is necessary?

698
00:27:27,912 --> 00:27:28,747
Mr. Earnest: That is
a statement

699
00:27:28,747 --> 00:27:30,849
of the President's view in terms
of what sort

700
00:27:30,849 --> 00:27:32,649
of authority he has as the
Commander-in-Chief

701
00:27:32,650 --> 00:27:34,252
to confront these challenges.

702
00:27:34,252 --> 00:27:35,286
And the President is
determined

703
00:27:35,286 --> 00:27:38,490
to act where necessary to
protect American

704
00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:41,393
citizens both in the region, but
here in the homeland.

705
00:27:41,393 --> 00:27:42,394
And the President has
demonstrated

706
00:27:42,394 --> 00:27:44,629
a willingness to do that on a
number of occasions already,

707
00:27:44,629 --> 00:27:49,501
and that principle continues
to apply

708
00:27:49,501 --> 00:27:51,536
in this situation, as well.

709
00:27:51,536 --> 00:27:52,537
The Press: So it's not a
matter of whether,

710
00:27:52,537 --> 00:27:54,372
it's just a matter of timing?

711
00:27:54,372 --> 00:27:56,775
Mr. Earnest: Well, again,
if and when the President

712
00:27:56,775 --> 00:27:58,043
has made a decision along
these lines,

713
00:27:58,043 --> 00:27:59,244
it will be something that the
President will announce.

714
00:27:59,244 --> 00:27:59,878
The Press: Is that the
purpose

715
00:27:59,878 --> 00:28:00,178
of Wednesday's speech?

716
00:28:00,178 --> 00:28:01,946
Mr. Earnest: No, the
purpose of the President's

717
00:28:01,946 --> 00:28:03,715
speech on Wednesday
is broader than that.

718
00:28:03,715 --> 00:28:06,117
Again, military action
is one element

719
00:28:06,117 --> 00:28:07,786
of our strategy, and the
President

720
00:28:07,786 --> 00:28:09,988
does have this integrated
strategy that relies very

721
00:28:09,988 --> 00:28:17,395
heavily on America's forceful
diplomatic might

722
00:28:17,395 --> 00:28:19,397
and a range of other assets that
we have at our disposal.

723
00:28:19,397 --> 00:28:21,399
And the President is
going to use all

724
00:28:21,399 --> 00:28:21,800
of them to deal with this
specific challenge.

725
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:22,033
The Press: So let's just
say,

726
00:28:22,033 --> 00:28:24,269
for the sake of argument, I was
an American who watched

727
00:28:24,269 --> 00:28:25,403
the President's press
conference

728
00:28:25,403 --> 00:28:27,105
at the end of the NATO Summit
and watched

729
00:28:27,105 --> 00:28:28,540
the interview yesterday.

730
00:28:28,540 --> 00:28:30,308
After seeing
Wednesday's speech,

731
00:28:30,308 --> 00:28:32,010
will I say to myself, wow,
there's

732
00:28:32,010 --> 00:28:35,379
like 70 percent brand new?

733
00:28:35,380 --> 00:28:37,882
Or is it going to be
like

734
00:28:37,882 --> 00:28:38,216
-- (laughter) --

735
00:28:38,216 --> 00:28:40,918
Mr. Earnest: That is a
particularly creative

736
00:28:40,919 --> 00:28:42,020
way to ask that question.

737
00:28:42,020 --> 00:28:47,192
I think what I would say
is I would encourage

738
00:28:47,192 --> 00:28:49,627
that American citizen that
you're describing

739
00:28:49,627 --> 00:28:51,663
to tune into the speech and
evaluate for themselves

740
00:28:51,663 --> 00:28:52,964
to see how surprised they

741
00:28:52,964 --> 00:28:54,165
are by the President's remarks.

742
00:28:54,165 --> 00:28:55,100
The Press: Come on, you
can give

743
00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:55,265
us something better.

744
00:28:55,266 --> 00:28:56,101
Mr. Earnest: At this
point, I can't.

745
00:28:56,101 --> 00:28:57,135
It's a little
early for that.

746
00:28:57,135 --> 00:28:57,735
The Press: I mean, you
more or less

747
00:28:57,735 --> 00:28:59,070
said to Jonathan it's mostly
going to be what

748
00:28:59,070 --> 00:29:01,239
we've heard before; there might
be something new.

749
00:29:01,239 --> 00:29:04,676
I mean, is it to try
to gather

750
00:29:04,676 --> 00:29:06,010
the American people's attention

751
00:29:06,010 --> 00:29:08,012
and say, in case you haven't heard --

752
00:29:08,012 --> 00:29:10,014
(laughter)

753
00:29:10,014 --> 00:29:10,948
--
here's what I'm thinking

754
00:29:10,949 --> 00:29:13,351
about, here's the context,
but this isn't

755
00:29:13,351 --> 00:29:16,287
the declarative speech on how
I'm going to ratchet

756
00:29:16,287 --> 00:29:18,823
up this conflict to a higher
military level,

757
00:29:18,823 --> 00:29:21,059
and I need Congress to approve
it, and here's how much

758
00:29:21,059 --> 00:29:23,328
it's going to cost, and here's
the timeline I've sort

759
00:29:23,328 --> 00:29:27,264
of put together to envision
achieving goals X,Y and Z?

760
00:29:27,265 --> 00:29:29,267
Mr. Earnest: We're still a
couple days

761
00:29:29,267 --> 00:29:31,369
away from the speech, and so I'm
not in a position

762
00:29:31,369 --> 00:29:34,004
to provide additional guidance
to you right

763
00:29:34,005 --> 00:29:36,007
now of what the President may
or may not say.

764
00:29:36,007 --> 00:29:38,843
So we'll have the
opportunity to try this

765
00:29:38,843 --> 00:29:40,845
again tomorrow and maybe
I'll be prepared

766
00:29:40,845 --> 00:29:42,847
with a little bit more
to say about this.

767
00:29:42,847 --> 00:29:44,849
Look, the President and
his team

768
00:29:44,849 --> 00:29:47,185
are working on the speech as we speak.

769
00:29:47,185 --> 00:29:49,154
So as we get some more
details locked down,

770
00:29:49,154 --> 00:29:51,356
I will try -- I'm probably
over-committing myself

771
00:29:51,356 --> 00:29:54,025
now -- but I will try to
provide at least

772
00:29:54,025 --> 00:29:57,529
a little bit greater insight for
you and your viewers

773
00:29:57,529 --> 00:29:58,830
about what the President
intends

774
00:29:58,830 --> 00:30:01,366
to talk about on Wednesday.

775
00:30:01,366 --> 00:30:04,869
The Press: I want to
follow up on immigration

776
00:30:04,869 --> 00:30:06,870
for a second, because I
just want

777
00:30:06,871 --> 00:30:07,572
to be clear -- what the
President decided Saturday

778
00:30:07,572 --> 00:30:09,640
was that he wouldn't take any
executive action

779
00:30:09,641 --> 00:30:12,844
until after the November
election, right?

780
00:30:12,844 --> 00:30:15,680
Or has he decided to
revisit

781
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:17,882
the entire question of taking
executive

782
00:30:17,882 --> 00:30:19,884
action until after the election?

783
00:30:19,884 --> 00:30:22,320
Because to my mind, and
many advocates

784
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:23,321
who have been pushing for this,

785
00:30:23,321 --> 00:30:24,422
they are very different things.

786
00:30:24,422 --> 00:30:26,424
Mr. Earnest: I appreciate
you giving

787
00:30:26,424 --> 00:30:28,426
me the opportunity to clarify
this --

788
00:30:28,426 --> 00:30:30,428
to the extent that there is any
ambiguity here.

789
00:30:30,428 --> 00:30:31,429
The President has decided

790
00:30:31,429 --> 00:30:33,431
that he will take executive
action within

791
00:30:33,431 --> 00:30:37,835
the confines of the law to fix those aspects

792
00:30:37,835 --> 00:30:40,705
of the broken immigration system that he's able

793
00:30:40,705 --> 00:30:43,140
to fix before the end of the year.

794
00:30:43,141 --> 00:30:45,276
And that is a decision
that he has made,

795
00:30:45,276 --> 00:30:47,845
and that is something
that will occur.

796
00:30:47,845 --> 00:30:51,516
Now, some of the static
that you might

797
00:30:51,516 --> 00:30:54,452
say in the media over the
weekend was related

798
00:30:54,452 --> 00:30:57,555
to the President's earlier
commitment to acting before

799
00:30:57,555 --> 00:30:58,289
the end of the summer.

800
00:30:58,289 --> 00:31:00,992
What the President has
decided is that

801
00:31:00,992 --> 00:31:02,726
he will act now before the
end of the year.

802
00:31:02,727 --> 00:31:06,197
The President has not
in any way altered

803
00:31:06,197 --> 00:31:09,900
his commitment or interest in
taking executive action --

804
00:31:09,901 --> 00:31:11,903
again, within the confines
of the law --

805
00:31:11,903 --> 00:31:14,606
to solve to act where Congress
hasn't, and more specifically,

806
00:31:14,606 --> 00:31:16,741
to act where congressional
Republicans

807
00:31:16,741 --> 00:31:20,245
have blocked congressional action.

808
00:31:20,245 --> 00:31:21,312
And the President's
commitment

809
00:31:21,312 --> 00:31:23,481
to acting on this before the end
of the year has not changed.

810
00:31:23,481 --> 00:31:25,483
The Press: He said
yesterday that the reason

811
00:31:25,483 --> 00:31:26,684
for that is he needs to
explain

812
00:31:26,684 --> 00:31:27,552
it to the American people.

813
00:31:27,552 --> 00:31:29,520
Why does he need until the
end of the year

814
00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:30,622
to explain something?

815
00:31:30,622 --> 00:31:35,159
Isn't it true that the
dominant factor --

816
00:31:35,159 --> 00:31:38,129
if you want to call it static --
was static from Senate

817
00:31:38,129 --> 00:31:40,665
Democrats saying this is a
-- maybe you think

818
00:31:40,665 --> 00:31:44,369
it's a good idea, but it's
terrible politics

819
00:31:44,369 --> 00:31:48,005
for us and we want you to wait
until after the election?

820
00:31:48,006 --> 00:31:50,108
The President clearly
doesn't need nine

821
00:31:50,108 --> 00:31:52,110
weeks to explain this to the
American people.

822
00:31:52,110 --> 00:31:54,111
If he wanted to explain
it, he could explain

823
00:31:54,112 --> 00:31:56,114
it -- just like he's going
to try to explain

824
00:31:56,114 --> 00:31:57,115
the strategy on Wednesday.

825
00:31:57,115 --> 00:31:59,917
It seems to me the only
rational explanation

826
00:31:59,917 --> 00:32:02,120
for this is an intervening
midterm election

827
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:04,822
and fears from Senate Democrats
that they did not want

828
00:32:04,822 --> 00:32:07,158
to take this issue on in the
teeth of an already

829
00:32:07,158 --> 00:32:08,158
tough political environment.

830
00:32:08,159 --> 00:32:10,161
Mr. Earnest: Major, the
reason that the President

831
00:32:10,161 --> 00:32:13,498
has made the decision to
delay his announcement

832
00:32:13,498 --> 00:32:15,667
about executive actions
that he's going

833
00:32:15,667 --> 00:32:19,203
to take is specifically because
he is concerned mostly

834
00:32:19,203 --> 00:32:22,206
about ensuring the solution
that he offers

835
00:32:22,206 --> 00:32:24,207
is both sustainable and enduring.

836
00:32:24,208 --> 00:32:26,210
The Press: But if it's an
executive action,

837
00:32:26,210 --> 00:32:28,212
it is sustainable by definition
until

838
00:32:28,212 --> 00:32:29,213
the end of his presidency.

839
00:32:29,213 --> 00:32:31,215
He doesn't have to
worry about Congress.

840
00:32:31,215 --> 00:32:32,216
That's the whole point.

841
00:32:32,216 --> 00:32:34,217
Mr. Earnest: What the
President wants

842
00:32:34,218 --> 00:32:36,220
to do is he wants to ensure that
all of the work that

843
00:32:36,220 --> 00:32:38,222
has been done over the last
several years

844
00:32:38,222 --> 00:32:40,224
to build this powerful
bipartisan coalition in support

845
00:32:40,224 --> 00:32:42,627
of immigration reform
is sustained.

846
00:32:42,627 --> 00:32:47,197
And by injecting an
executive action

847
00:32:47,198 --> 00:32:49,534
in the midst of this
hyper-partisan,

848
00:32:49,534 --> 00:32:51,536
hyper-political
environment shortly

849
00:32:51,536 --> 00:32:54,839
before the midterms, that will
have a negative impact

850
00:32:54,839 --> 00:32:58,042
on the broader public support

851
00:32:58,042 --> 00:33:01,846
and on the sustainability of immigration reform.

852
00:33:01,846 --> 00:33:03,815
So I guess the short
answer to your question

853
00:33:03,815 --> 00:33:05,817
is, the President is
willing to take

854
00:33:05,817 --> 00:33:09,287
a little political heat from the
pundits, from some of the

855
00:33:09,287 --> 00:33:12,724
advocates in the Hispanic
community in particular,

856
00:33:12,724 --> 00:33:15,927
in order to ensure that
the policy that

857
00:33:15,927 --> 00:33:18,862
he puts forward is one that
can be sustained.

858
00:33:18,863 --> 00:33:23,301
And the fact is we haven't
seen a similar

859
00:33:23,301 --> 00:33:25,503
willingness from congressional
Republicans

860
00:33:25,503 --> 00:33:27,739
to take a little heat to do
what's in the best interest

861
00:33:27,739 --> 00:33:28,740
of the country.

862
00:33:28,740 --> 00:33:30,742
In fact, we've seen
congressional

863
00:33:30,742 --> 00:33:32,744
Republicans do exactly the opposite.

864
00:33:32,744 --> 00:33:34,745
They've been in a
situation where

865
00:33:34,746 --> 00:33:36,714
they don't want to take any
political heat, even though

866
00:33:36,714 --> 00:33:38,716
they know that acting on
bipartisan immigration

867
00:33:38,716 --> 00:33:40,784
reform would create jobs,
it would expand

868
00:33:40,785 --> 00:33:44,155
economic growth, it would
reduce the deficit.

869
00:33:44,155 --> 00:33:46,157
That's why it's strongly
supported

870
00:33:46,157 --> 00:33:48,326
by the faith community, by the
law enforcement community,

871
00:33:48,326 --> 00:33:50,661
by the business community,
by the labor community.

872
00:33:50,661 --> 00:33:52,663
These are all reasons why
comprehensive

873
00:33:52,663 --> 00:33:54,665
immigration reform should
move forward.

874
00:33:54,665 --> 00:33:56,667
That's why it passed with
bipartisan

875
00:33:56,667 --> 00:33:57,968
support in the Senate.

876
00:33:57,969 --> 00:34:01,639
But there is a small
but vocal group among

877
00:34:01,639 --> 00:34:02,740
congressional Republicans

878
00:34:02,740 --> 00:34:04,809
in the House of Representatives
who are blocking

879
00:34:04,809 --> 00:34:05,810
this kind of reform.

880
00:34:05,810 --> 00:34:07,812
And that's the only reason
we're having

881
00:34:07,812 --> 00:34:08,813
this question right now.

882
00:34:08,813 --> 00:34:10,815
The Press: So not doing
what he said

883
00:34:10,815 --> 00:34:11,716
he was going to do on the
timeline, he said he was going

884
00:34:11,716 --> 00:34:13,116
to do it as an act of courage.

885
00:34:13,117 --> 00:34:15,353
Mr. Earnest: Well, what
the President has done --

886
00:34:15,353 --> 00:34:18,156
I mean, look, Major,
it's a not a surprise

887
00:34:18,156 --> 00:34:19,157
to anybody at the White
House,

888
00:34:19,157 --> 00:34:21,159
or it certainly isn't a surprise
to me -- I won't speak

889
00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:23,127
for my colleagues -- it's not a
surprise

890
00:34:23,127 --> 00:34:24,762
to me that there were some
people in the newspaper over

891
00:34:24,762 --> 00:34:26,531
the weekend who were critical of
the President's decision

892
00:34:26,531 --> 00:34:32,437
to announce these executive
actions before

893
00:34:32,437 --> 00:34:34,304
the end of the year as opposed
to the end of the summer.

894
00:34:34,304 --> 00:34:38,109
That criticism was not a
surprise;

895
00:34:38,109 --> 00:34:40,311
that criticism was anticipated.

896
00:34:40,311 --> 00:34:42,313
But the President is
willing to take

897
00:34:42,313 --> 00:34:46,984
on that criticism so that we can
ensure

898
00:34:46,984 --> 00:34:48,920
that the executive action that
the President takes

899
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:50,988
is sustained, that it's
enduring, and that we continue

900
00:34:50,987 --> 00:34:52,790
to have public support for it.

901
00:34:52,790 --> 00:34:55,560
Look, for all the
disagreement

902
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,395
that there may be around this
one issue, there should

903
00:34:58,396 --> 00:35:02,066
be no disputing the fact that
injecting this issue

904
00:35:02,066 --> 00:35:05,602
into the current political
environment

905
00:35:05,603 --> 00:35:07,605
would be really bad for the issue.

906
00:35:07,605 --> 00:35:09,607
There's some disagreement
about whether

907
00:35:09,607 --> 00:35:11,609
or not, well, maybe it would
help some Democrats,

908
00:35:11,609 --> 00:35:14,078
maybe it would hurt some others,
maybe it would galvanize

909
00:35:14,078 --> 00:35:16,614
base Democratic voters,
maybe it would energize

910
00:35:16,614 --> 00:35:19,183
Latino supporters,
maybe it would provoke

911
00:35:19,183 --> 00:35:21,185
Republican candidates into
doing outrageous

912
00:35:21,185 --> 00:35:23,187
things like shutting down the
government

913
00:35:23,187 --> 00:35:25,189
in a way that would benefit Democrats.

914
00:35:25,189 --> 00:35:27,191
There are a lot of people
with a lot of different

915
00:35:27,191 --> 00:35:29,192
views about what possible
impact

916
00:35:29,193 --> 00:35:31,195
this could have on individual races.

917
00:35:31,195 --> 00:35:32,163
But there is no arguing
about

918
00:35:32,163 --> 00:35:36,534
the fact that injecting this
issue into this sharply

919
00:35:36,534 --> 00:35:38,736
political, polarized environment
would

920
00:35:38,736 --> 00:35:40,304
be bad for the issue.

921
00:35:40,304 --> 00:35:42,306
And the President believes
ultimately that

922
00:35:42,306 --> 00:35:44,742
that's the most important thing
-- that making progress

923
00:35:44,742 --> 00:35:47,445
on this issue is the
most important thing.

924
00:35:47,445 --> 00:35:49,947
No one in Washington,
D.C. has invested

925
00:35:49,947 --> 00:35:52,116
more in trying to get this done

926
00:35:52,116 --> 00:35:53,884
than President Barack Obama.

927
00:35:53,885 --> 00:35:56,687
And if that means the
President has to take

928
00:35:56,687 --> 00:35:59,589
on a little bit more heat here
for a few weeks until

929
00:35:59,590 --> 00:36:01,626
we announce our decision in
order to make

930
00:36:01,626 --> 00:36:04,896
it more likely that these
solutions

931
00:36:04,896 --> 00:36:07,932
will be enduring and sustained
and successful,

932
00:36:07,932 --> 00:36:09,933
the President is happy to take
on that heat in order

933
00:36:09,934 --> 00:36:10,935
to get that done.

934
00:36:10,935 --> 00:36:12,036
Let's move around
a little bit.

935
00:36:12,036 --> 00:36:13,037
Justin.

936
00:36:13,037 --> 00:36:15,071
The Press: I guess I
wanted to just

937
00:36:15,072 --> 00:36:17,475
follow on that and maybe argue
with the idea that --

938
00:36:17,475 --> 00:36:19,243
Mr. Earnest: That's
why we're here.

939
00:36:19,243 --> 00:36:20,278
(laughter)

940
00:36:20,278 --> 00:36:21,578
The Press: --
that injecting

941
00:36:21,579 --> 00:36:24,215
that into the current political
climate

942
00:36:24,215 --> 00:36:25,016
is bad for the issue.

943
00:36:25,016 --> 00:36:27,018
I mean, we just went
through a year

944
00:36:27,018 --> 00:36:29,387
of you guys saying time and
again that House Republicans

945
00:36:29,387 --> 00:36:31,689
haven't moved on the issue, it
seems legislatively

946
00:36:31,689 --> 00:36:33,257
dead in every possible way.

947
00:36:33,257 --> 00:36:36,661
And so the only X factor
out here seems

948
00:36:36,661 --> 00:36:37,995
to be control of the Senate.

949
00:36:37,995 --> 00:36:41,432
So I'm wondering if
you can maybe explain

950
00:36:41,432 --> 00:36:45,202
explicitly why an
executive action

951
00:36:45,202 --> 00:36:48,139
would make -- if it were to come
this week,

952
00:36:48,139 --> 00:36:51,542
would be less enduring than one
that happens five weeks

953
00:36:51,542 --> 00:36:54,478
from now -- if it's not what I
think

954
00:36:54,478 --> 00:36:56,247
we're all dancing around, which
is that it helps

955
00:36:56,247 --> 00:36:59,383
Senate Democrats to retain
control of the chamber.

956
00:36:59,383 --> 00:37:04,187
Mr. Earnest: The reason
that immigration

957
00:37:04,188 --> 00:37:06,824
reform over the last five years
has made so much progress --

958
00:37:06,824 --> 00:37:08,326
The Press: Has
it made progress?

959
00:37:08,326 --> 00:37:09,560
Mr. Earnest: Well, it
passed the Senate

960
00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:10,695
with bipartisan support.

961
00:37:10,695 --> 00:37:14,332
We got 14 Republicans to
vote for it, and every

962
00:37:14,332 --> 00:37:16,334
single Democrat in the Senate
voted for it.

963
00:37:16,334 --> 00:37:18,336
We also know -- although
we haven't tested

964
00:37:18,336 --> 00:37:20,337
the proposition -- but I think
everybody in here --

965
00:37:20,338 --> 00:37:22,340
let me know if you disagree --
but I think everybody

966
00:37:22,340 --> 00:37:24,342
is willing to stipulate that
if this legislation

967
00:37:24,342 --> 00:37:26,344
that passed through the Senate
in bipartisan

968
00:37:26,344 --> 00:37:28,346
fashion were put on the floor of
the House of Representatives,

969
00:37:28,346 --> 00:37:30,348
that it would also pass
with bipartisan

970
00:37:30,348 --> 00:37:32,350
support, with a bipartisan
majority,

971
00:37:32,350 --> 00:37:34,352
the President would certainly sign it.

972
00:37:34,352 --> 00:37:36,520
That's evidence of
significant progress.

973
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:38,823
I mean, it's not ancient
history

974
00:37:38,823 --> 00:37:41,993
to cite the experience of 2006
where you had Democrats

975
00:37:41,993 --> 00:37:45,029
and Republicans on both sides
of the issue reluctant

976
00:37:45,029 --> 00:37:46,731
to engage in a debate about

977
00:37:46,731 --> 00:37:49,166
it, let alone reluctanct to vote for it.

978
00:37:49,166 --> 00:37:51,969
So we have made a lot of
progress

979
00:37:51,969 --> 00:37:52,670
over the last five years.

980
00:37:52,670 --> 00:37:55,172
The reason for that
I think is twofold.

981
00:37:55,172 --> 00:37:59,510
The first is, it's become
clear what the facts are.

982
00:37:59,510 --> 00:38:02,146
The facts are that it
would be good

983
00:38:02,146 --> 00:38:03,180
for job creation.

984
00:38:03,180 --> 00:38:05,182
It would be good for
economic growth,

985
00:38:05,182 --> 00:38:06,183
it would reduce the deficit.

986
00:38:06,183 --> 00:38:07,184
So the facts are clear
about

987
00:38:07,184 --> 00:38:10,287
why Congress should take action on this.

988
00:38:10,287 --> 00:38:12,490
The second thing is, a lot
of very difficult

989
00:38:12,490 --> 00:38:14,524
work was done between Democrats
and Republicans

990
00:38:14,525 --> 00:38:16,527
to try to find some common ground.

991
00:38:16,527 --> 00:38:18,529
That is harder than it's
ever been in this town.

992
00:38:18,529 --> 00:38:20,898
But thanks to the dutiful
efforts of members

993
00:38:20,898 --> 00:38:23,367
of this administration,
Democrats and Republicans

994
00:38:23,367 --> 00:38:25,636
in the Senate, they brokered
some common-sense common

995
00:38:25,636 --> 00:38:28,471
ground and cobbled together a
legislative proposal

996
00:38:28,472 --> 00:38:30,474
that would do a lot of
good for the country.

997
00:38:30,474 --> 00:38:32,443
It meant that neither side
got every single

998
00:38:32,443 --> 00:38:34,445
thing that they wanted, but they
were able to arrive

999
00:38:34,445 --> 00:38:37,348
at a piece of legislation that
everybody

1000
00:38:37,348 --> 00:38:39,517
acknowledges would be really
good for the country.

1001
00:38:39,517 --> 00:38:42,653
So there is painstaking
work that

1002
00:38:42,653 --> 00:38:46,457
was put into striking that compromise.

1003
00:38:46,457 --> 00:38:49,593
Now, what we have also
seen in the context

1004
00:38:49,593 --> 00:38:53,731
of these midterm elections is
a pretty gross distortion

1005
00:38:53,731 --> 00:38:56,834
about the facts of our
immigration system.

1006
00:38:56,834 --> 00:38:58,102
The Press: So that's
going to change

1007
00:38:58,102 --> 00:38:59,270
after the midterm elections?

1008
00:38:59,270 --> 00:39:00,671
Mr. Earnest: Well, what
will change

1009
00:39:00,671 --> 00:39:02,373
is that we'll be past it.

1010
00:39:02,373 --> 00:39:04,141
I don't think any of the
Republican candidates --

1011
00:39:04,141 --> 00:39:04,909
The Press: (Inaudible.)

1012
00:39:04,909 --> 00:39:05,743
Mr. Earnest: Well, but listen --

1013
00:39:05,743 --> 00:39:06,210
think
about it, Justin.

1014
00:39:06,210 --> 00:39:06,977
I don't think any of the
Republican

1015
00:39:06,977 --> 00:39:08,279
candidates right now are
contemplating

1016
00:39:08,279 --> 00:39:12,316
a six-figure ad buy the third
week in November.

1017
00:39:12,316 --> 00:39:13,951
Are they?

1018
00:39:13,951 --> 00:39:15,286
If they are, I hope
they'll spend their money

1019
00:39:15,286 --> 00:39:16,587
that way, but
they're not going to.

1020
00:39:16,587 --> 00:39:23,561
So the tone and heightened
nature

1021
00:39:23,561 --> 00:39:25,830
of the debate will just be different.

1022
00:39:25,830 --> 00:39:26,931
Will there still be
Republicans

1023
00:39:26,931 --> 00:39:28,933
who are against common-sense
immigration reform?

1024
00:39:28,933 --> 00:39:29,934
Yes.

1025
00:39:29,934 --> 00:39:31,936
I readily concede
that that's the case.

1026
00:39:31,936 --> 00:39:33,938
But will they be in less
of a position

1027
00:39:33,938 --> 00:39:39,143
to distort the facts about what
that position actually is?

1028
00:39:39,143 --> 00:39:40,277
Yes, I think they will.

1029
00:39:40,277 --> 00:39:42,279
The Press: Well, why
does that affect

1030
00:39:42,279 --> 00:39:44,949
the sustainability of the
President's eventual --

1031
00:39:44,949 --> 00:39:46,951
Mr. Earnest: Because the
reason that

1032
00:39:46,951 --> 00:39:49,019
the President feels confident
about --

1033
00:39:49,019 --> 00:39:51,020
well, let me take that in two ways.

1034
00:39:51,021 --> 00:39:54,158
The first is we want to
preserve the strong

1035
00:39:54,158 --> 00:39:56,160
public support that currently
exists

1036
00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:59,997
for immigration reform; that we
have worked hard

1037
00:39:59,997 --> 00:40:02,366
in painstaking fashion to cobble
together this coalition

1038
00:40:02,366 --> 00:40:05,336
of Democrats and Republicans
in Washington, D.C.

1039
00:40:05,336 --> 00:40:08,138
and business leaders and labor
leaders and faith leaders

1040
00:40:08,139 --> 00:40:10,274
and leaders in the law
enforcement community

1041
00:40:10,274 --> 00:40:12,877
all across the country in
support of this proposal.

1042
00:40:12,877 --> 00:40:15,913
But by injecting it
into the highly charged

1043
00:40:15,913 --> 00:40:20,050
political debate six or
eight weeks before

1044
00:40:20,050 --> 00:40:26,257
the midterm elections is to
subject this issue

1045
00:40:26,257 --> 00:40:28,759
to gross distortion and
partisanship

1046
00:40:28,759 --> 00:40:31,195
that could alter that balance.

1047
00:40:31,195 --> 00:40:32,863
And we don't
want to do that.

1048
00:40:32,863 --> 00:40:33,897
And that means the
President is willing

1049
00:40:33,898 --> 00:40:36,867
to take on a little heat
and be criticized

1050
00:40:36,867 --> 00:40:39,136
by -- certainly by Republicans,
but even by members

1051
00:40:39,136 --> 00:40:42,139
of his own party in order to
protect the issue --

1052
00:40:42,139 --> 00:40:44,141
because ultimately
that is the goal.

1053
00:40:44,141 --> 00:40:46,143
We've said for quite some
time that

1054
00:40:46,143 --> 00:40:48,145
the President's goal here is
solving problems

1055
00:40:48,145 --> 00:40:49,113
and not playing politics.

1056
00:40:49,113 --> 00:40:50,413
The Press: Just to square
the last circle

1057
00:40:50,414 --> 00:40:55,619
in this maybe, why is this
diffused as an issue

1058
00:40:55,619 --> 00:40:58,355
if, as you just said maybe
15 minutes ago,

1059
00:40:58,355 --> 00:41:00,491
you're pledging to take this
executive action

1060
00:41:00,491 --> 00:41:01,659
by the end of the year?

1061
00:41:01,659 --> 00:41:03,794
Why aren't we going to see
a six-figure

1062
00:41:03,794 --> 00:41:06,663
ad buy from a Republican going
up against

1063
00:41:06,664 --> 00:41:09,934
a vulnerable Democrat, saying
the President

1064
00:41:09,934 --> 00:41:12,870
not only is still going to do
this but now he's playing

1065
00:41:12,870 --> 00:41:13,971
politics to hook the issue.

1066
00:41:13,971 --> 00:41:16,006
Have you really diffused
this or taken this

1067
00:41:16,006 --> 00:41:18,942
out of the political discussion?

1068
00:41:18,943 --> 00:41:21,011
Or have you just kind of
punted it and kept

1069
00:41:21,011 --> 00:41:24,248
it alive as an issue but now
people aren't

1070
00:41:24,248 --> 00:41:26,250
kind of getting the relief that
they would otherwise?

1071
00:41:26,250 --> 00:41:28,252
Mr. Earnest: I think there
is a difference

1072
00:41:28,252 --> 00:41:30,254
between the President indicating
a willingness

1073
00:41:30,254 --> 00:41:32,623
to act and -- or a commitment

1074
00:41:32,623 --> 00:41:35,793
to act even, and actually
announcing what that action is.

1075
00:41:35,793 --> 00:41:37,795
I think that there is a
tangible difference

1076
00:41:37,795 --> 00:41:42,900
there in a way that will reduce
the amount of incoming,

1077
00:41:42,900 --> 00:41:45,336
if you will, that the
issue will take.

1078
00:41:45,336 --> 00:41:46,971
And I think that's
ultimately

1079
00:41:46,971 --> 00:41:49,974
what's driving this decision.

1080
00:41:49,974 --> 00:41:50,975
Olivier.

1081
00:41:50,975 --> 00:41:51,976
The Press:
Thank you, Josh.

1082
00:41:51,976 --> 00:41:52,977
I've got a couple for you.

1083
00:41:52,977 --> 00:41:54,979
The first is that the last
sentence in the latest

1084
00:41:54,979 --> 00:41:58,281
War Powers letter that the
President sent

1085
00:41:58,282 --> 00:42:00,284
to the Congress says, "I
appreciate

1086
00:42:00,284 --> 00:42:02,286
the support of the Congress in
this action."

1087
00:42:02,286 --> 00:42:04,288
How and where was that
support here expressed?

1088
00:42:04,288 --> 00:42:06,290
Mr. Earnest: Well, I think
that we've seen

1089
00:42:06,290 --> 00:42:08,292
a number of public comments from
Democrats

1090
00:42:08,292 --> 00:42:10,895
and Republicans indicating that
they support the decisions

1091
00:42:10,895 --> 00:42:13,230
that the President has made to
order military action

1092
00:42:13,230 --> 00:42:15,232
in Iraq to protect American
citizens there.

1093
00:42:15,232 --> 00:42:17,234
The Press: But that's not
Congress speaking

1094
00:42:17,234 --> 00:42:19,236
as -- I mean, he didn't say, I
thank

1095
00:42:19,236 --> 00:42:20,237
some Republicans and Democrats.

1096
00:42:20,237 --> 00:42:22,840
He is explicitly assuming
full congressional

1097
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:24,975
support for what he's done, right?

1098
00:42:24,975 --> 00:42:27,444
Mr. Earnest: I don't have
the War Powers

1099
00:42:27,444 --> 00:42:28,946
report notification
in front of me.

1100
00:42:28,946 --> 00:42:29,846
If you want to read it to
me again, I --

1101
00:42:29,847 --> 00:42:31,515
The Press: "I appreciate the
support of the Congress

1102
00:42:31,515 --> 00:42:32,149
in this action."

1103
00:42:32,149 --> 00:42:34,652
Does he consider the
leadership

1104
00:42:34,652 --> 00:42:35,586
to be sufficient?

1105
00:42:35,586 --> 00:42:37,520
I mean, I'm getting back
to this whole notion

1106
00:42:37,521 --> 00:42:39,924
of a vote or not a vote,
obviously,

1107
00:42:39,924 --> 00:42:40,925
but he seems to be assuming it.

1108
00:42:40,925 --> 00:42:42,927
Mr. Earnest: Well, we have
seen public comments

1109
00:42:42,927 --> 00:42:44,929
from rank-and-file Democrats
and Republicans

1110
00:42:44,929 --> 00:42:46,931
as well that indicate their
support

1111
00:42:46,931 --> 00:42:48,966
for the President's decision to
order military action

1112
00:42:48,966 --> 00:42:51,335
to protect American
citizens in Iraq.

1113
00:42:51,335 --> 00:42:53,938
But I'm willing to
stipulate that,

1114
00:42:53,938 --> 00:42:55,940
yes, they have not voted on this
at this point,

1115
00:42:55,940 --> 00:42:59,376
and voting on it is different
than them talking about it.

1116
00:42:59,376 --> 00:43:02,713
But in terms of them
articulating support

1117
00:43:02,713 --> 00:43:05,149
that the President appreciates,
we've seen

1118
00:43:05,149 --> 00:43:07,151
many Democrats and Republicans do that.

1119
00:43:07,151 --> 00:43:09,153
The Press: So in the past
couple weeks we've

1120
00:43:09,153 --> 00:43:11,154
had senior officials say -- I
think

1121
00:43:11,155 --> 00:43:14,325
one on CNN and some elsewhere --
that this conflict to degrade

1122
00:43:14,325 --> 00:43:16,327
and destroy the Islamic State
could

1123
00:43:16,327 --> 00:43:19,463
run three years or more.

1124
00:43:19,463 --> 00:43:22,933
And we had news over the
weekend of airstrikes

1125
00:43:22,933 --> 00:43:25,736
on targets that I don't
understand

1126
00:43:25,736 --> 00:43:29,707
how it fits the President's
contention that this

1127
00:43:29,707 --> 00:43:31,709
is a mission about safeguarding
the security

1128
00:43:31,709 --> 00:43:33,810
of American personnel and
installations in Iraq

1129
00:43:33,811 --> 00:43:35,913
when you're striking targets
like IS around

1130
00:43:35,913 --> 00:43:37,982
the Haditha Dam, for example.

1131
00:43:37,982 --> 00:43:40,117
It seems like the
President,

1132
00:43:40,117 --> 00:43:42,820
for all his public comments
about mission creep,

1133
00:43:42,820 --> 00:43:45,556
is overseeing a fairly steady
expansion

1134
00:43:45,556 --> 00:43:50,661
of a conflict in scope and now
in duration as well.

1135
00:43:50,661 --> 00:43:52,663
Is that an incorrect
assessment?

1136
00:43:52,663 --> 00:43:53,664
Mr. Earnest: It is.

1137
00:43:53,664 --> 00:43:55,666
The reason for that is
that there

1138
00:43:55,666 --> 00:43:59,336
is a direct threat that's posed
by ISIL taking control

1139
00:43:59,336 --> 00:44:05,341
of the Haditha Dam to American
personnel in Iraq.

1140
00:44:05,342 --> 00:44:09,146
There also is this broader
effort to support

1141
00:44:09,146 --> 00:44:13,917
the Iraqi security forces as
they are engaged

1142
00:44:13,917 --> 00:44:15,519
in taking the fight to ISIL.

1143
00:44:15,519 --> 00:44:19,089
That's an example of our
efforts to try

1144
00:44:19,089 --> 00:44:21,792
to support them in a way that,
again, safeguards

1145
00:44:21,792 --> 00:44:25,194
the American citizens who are
already there.

1146
00:44:25,195 --> 00:44:27,197
The Press: What's the direct
threat

1147
00:44:27,197 --> 00:44:28,198
to American personnel from --

1148
00:44:28,198 --> 00:44:29,199
Mr.
Earnest: Well, the way

1149
00:44:29,199 --> 00:44:31,201
that it's been described
to me is that there

1150
00:44:31,201 --> 00:44:33,937
is a threat that if ISIL
decided to destroy

1151
00:44:33,937 --> 00:44:37,607
the Haditha Dam, that it could
threaten --

1152
00:44:37,608 --> 00:44:39,610
or would threaten the airport
downstream from the dam.

1153
00:44:39,610 --> 00:44:44,615
I'm told that that was
true of Mosul Dam,

1154
00:44:44,615 --> 00:44:46,917
as well, and is true
in this case.

1155
00:44:46,917 --> 00:44:52,356
Move around a little bit.

1156
00:44:52,356 --> 00:44:53,323
Jared.

1157
00:44:53,323 --> 00:44:55,325
The Press: Josh, when
you're talking about

1158
00:44:55,325 --> 00:44:57,327
the -- and I want to follow up
on Olivier --

1159
00:44:57,327 --> 00:45:01,131
because the buy-in phrase
sounds squirrely.

1160
00:45:01,131 --> 00:45:03,133
When you're talking about
buy-in, it sounds

1161
00:45:03,133 --> 00:45:05,002
like you're going to give
Congress just enough

1162
00:45:05,002 --> 00:45:07,837
authority, just enough of
a role to agree with

1163
00:45:07,838 --> 00:45:11,008
the administration's position
but not enough to say no.

1164
00:45:11,008 --> 00:45:14,044
Does the administration
intend to give Congress

1165
00:45:14,044 --> 00:45:17,580
a role to shape policy about
ISIS,

1166
00:45:17,581 --> 00:45:18,849
to shape policy and action?

1167
00:45:18,849 --> 00:45:22,286
Or is it just to buy into
the administration's position?

1168
00:45:22,286 --> 00:45:24,254
Mr. Earnest: Well, I would
say, Jared,

1169
00:45:24,254 --> 00:45:31,028
that the level of consultation
that this administration

1170
00:45:31,028 --> 00:45:33,997
has demonstrated a commitment
to indicates

1171
00:45:33,997 --> 00:45:37,734
our genuine interest in a
dialogue with members

1172
00:45:37,734 --> 00:45:41,705
of Congress about our policy in
Iraq and Syria,

1173
00:45:41,705 --> 00:45:44,575
and our policy more broadly for
confronting ISIL.

1174
00:45:44,575 --> 00:45:49,379
I think that is evidenced
by the fact

1175
00:45:49,379 --> 00:45:51,748
that we're having continuous
conversations.

1176
00:45:51,748 --> 00:45:53,750
Some of the conversations
have occurred

1177
00:45:53,750 --> 00:45:56,820
before the President has made
important decisions.

1178
00:45:56,820 --> 00:45:58,822
There have been regular
consultation

1179
00:45:58,822 --> 00:46:01,191
from the Department of Defense
and the Department of State,

1180
00:46:01,191 --> 00:46:03,192
other senior members of
the President's

1181
00:46:03,193 --> 00:46:04,194
team here at the White House.

1182
00:46:04,194 --> 00:46:06,396
So there has been
intensive consultation,

1183
00:46:06,396 --> 00:46:09,933
and that is evidence of
our genuine interest

1184
00:46:09,933 --> 00:46:13,737
in members of Congress
partnering

1185
00:46:13,737 --> 00:46:16,740
with this administration as we
develop a policy

1186
00:46:16,740 --> 00:46:19,142
to degrade and ultimately
destroy

1187
00:46:19,143 --> 00:46:22,246
ISIL and to protect American
citizens in Iraq.

1188
00:46:22,246 --> 00:46:24,214
The Press: But when you're
talking about buy-in,

1189
00:46:24,214 --> 00:46:26,549
buy-in kind of exists in
this rhetorical gray area,

1190
00:46:26,550 --> 00:46:29,153
where it's not quite a
vote so you don't have

1191
00:46:29,153 --> 00:46:31,555
them shaping policy -- at
least, again,

1192
00:46:31,555 --> 00:46:33,823
you haven't clarified it,
despite getting

1193
00:46:33,824 --> 00:46:35,025
several questions about it.

1194
00:46:35,025 --> 00:46:37,094
It doesn't seem like
it's quite

1195
00:46:37,094 --> 00:46:40,297
so far as negotiating on policy,
negotiating

1196
00:46:40,297 --> 00:46:42,566
on strategy and voting on it.

1197
00:46:42,566 --> 00:46:44,567
So it's just enough
responsibility

1198
00:46:44,568 --> 00:46:46,603
for Congress to maybe share
some of the blame

1199
00:46:46,603 --> 00:46:48,605
if something were to go wrong
or if something

1200
00:46:48,605 --> 00:46:50,607
were to happen, but not enough
to actually

1201
00:46:50,607 --> 00:46:52,643
say no to the President's policies.

1202
00:46:52,643 --> 00:46:53,777
Is any member of Congress
going

1203
00:46:53,777 --> 00:46:56,613
to get the ability to say no to
the President's policy

1204
00:46:56,613 --> 00:46:59,082
to fight ISIS in
Syria or Iraq?

1205
00:46:59,082 --> 00:47:01,084
Mr. Earnest: Jared, it is
the responsibility

1206
00:47:01,084 --> 00:47:03,520
of the Commander-in-Chief to
make decisions about

1207
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:06,023
the use of our military to
protect American citizens.

1208
00:47:06,023 --> 00:47:08,192
The President believes
that he has

1209
00:47:08,192 --> 00:47:10,761
all of the authorization that is
required

1210
00:47:10,761 --> 00:47:12,763
to make those kinds of decisions.

1211
00:47:12,763 --> 00:47:16,500
That said, we welcome
Congress

1212
00:47:16,500 --> 00:47:19,603
as a partner as we confront some
of these very difficult

1213
00:47:19,603 --> 00:47:22,739
and high-stakes national
security issues.

1214
00:47:22,739 --> 00:47:27,311
And if Congress wants
to participate

1215
00:47:27,311 --> 00:47:33,050
in this process, we certainly
would welcome

1216
00:47:33,050 --> 00:47:37,287
their participation in a
constructive way.

1217
00:47:37,888 --> 00:47:41,391
But our level of
engagement indicates

1218
00:47:41,391 --> 00:47:43,393
our legitimate interest in
congressional

1219
00:47:43,393 --> 00:47:48,298
consultation and in
congressional action

1220
00:47:48,298 --> 00:47:55,504
that is contributing to this
broader effort.

1221
00:47:55,505 --> 00:47:56,206
The Press: But when you're
talking about

1222
00:47:56,206 --> 00:47:57,874
if Congress wants to do this,
it's not like there's

1223
00:47:57,874 --> 00:47:58,975
a sign-up board.

1224
00:47:58,976 --> 00:48:01,211
They have a
constitutional role here.

1225
00:48:01,211 --> 00:48:02,946
And obviously depending on whether

1226
00:48:02,946 --> 00:48:06,984
it's authorization or
appropriations --

1227
00:48:06,984 --> 00:48:08,986
there are different rules for each aspect of this --

1228
00:48:08,986 --> 00:48:10,287
but you're talking about

1229
00:48:10,287 --> 00:48:12,288
something that sounds
volitional.

1230
00:48:12,289 --> 00:48:13,624
Congress has a duty here.

1231
00:48:13,624 --> 00:48:17,261
Is the President trying to
limit their duties

1232
00:48:17,261 --> 00:48:19,963
as it goes against authorization
or appropriation?

1233
00:48:19,963 --> 00:48:21,431
Mr. Earnest:
Of course not.

1234
00:48:21,431 --> 00:48:23,767
I'm merely stating the
fact that the

1235
00:48:23,767 --> 00:48:26,002
President is the
Commander-in-Chief, and that

1236
00:48:26,003 --> 00:48:28,005
means he is the one that is
ultimately responsible

1237
00:48:28,005 --> 00:48:31,575
for making decisions about
ordering military action.

1238
00:48:31,575 --> 00:48:34,444
But you are right --
you're saying something

1239
00:48:34,444 --> 00:48:36,446
that I said early on in
this briefing,

1240
00:48:36,446 --> 00:48:38,649
which is that there is a role
for Congress to play here.

1241
00:48:38,649 --> 00:48:43,587
And how they choose
to play that

1242
00:48:43,587 --> 00:48:45,455
role is obviously up to them.

1243
00:48:45,455 --> 00:48:48,558
They are a separate
branch of government.

1244
00:48:48,558 --> 00:48:50,560
As I mentioned earlier,
the President

1245
00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:52,562
doesn't make decisions about
what pieces of legislation

1246
00:48:52,562 --> 00:48:54,264
find their way to the
floor

1247
00:48:54,264 --> 00:48:55,198
of the House of Representatives.

1248
00:48:55,198 --> 00:48:59,002
It certainly would be a
good thing

1249
00:48:59,002 --> 00:49:00,804
in our view if the President did
have some authority

1250
00:49:00,804 --> 00:49:01,638
over that, but he doesn't.

1251
00:49:01,638 --> 00:49:04,841
It certainly would allow
us to confront some

1252
00:49:04,841 --> 00:49:06,843
of the other problems that House
Republicans

1253
00:49:06,843 --> 00:49:09,011
have refused to vote on.

1254
00:49:09,012 --> 00:49:10,480
But at the end of the
day, we are interested

1255
00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:14,484
in careful and close
consultation with members

1256
00:49:14,484 --> 00:49:15,519
of Congress in both
parties,

1257
00:49:15,519 --> 00:49:18,988
in both Houses of Congress, and
we are interested

1258
00:49:18,989 --> 00:49:21,725
in their buy-in, as the
President described.

1259
00:49:21,725 --> 00:49:23,360
The Press: But there's
no opposite to buy-in.

1260
00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:24,695
Mr. Earnest: Excuse me?

1261
00:49:24,695 --> 00:49:26,396
The Press: There's no
way for them to say no.

1262
00:49:26,396 --> 00:49:27,731
When you talk
about buy-in,

1263
00:49:27,731 --> 00:49:28,899
it's one-directional.

1264
00:49:28,899 --> 00:49:30,500
Mr. Earnest: Well, I guess
I don't

1265
00:49:30,500 --> 00:49:32,636
understand what you mean, Jared.

1266
00:49:32,636 --> 00:49:34,638
I mean, again, if members
of Congress

1267
00:49:34,638 --> 00:49:36,640
want to put forward a piece of
legislation

1268
00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:38,642
saying the President should not
act or should

1269
00:49:38,642 --> 00:49:42,011
not order military force to
protect American citizens

1270
00:49:42,012 --> 00:49:44,114
in Iraq and Syria, they're
welcome to vote on that.

1271
00:49:44,114 --> 00:49:46,116
Again, the President
won't have a vote

1272
00:49:46,116 --> 00:49:48,118
and the President doesn't
determine whether

1273
00:49:48,118 --> 00:49:50,120
or not that goes onto the
floor

1274
00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:51,121
of the House of Representatives.

1275
00:49:51,121 --> 00:49:55,659
So Congress does have some
volitional aspect to this.

1276
00:49:55,659 --> 00:49:57,661
We've been clear about
what we would like them to

1277
00:49:57,661 --> 00:49:59,663
do -- or at least
a little clear.

1278
00:49:59,663 --> 00:50:05,535
But ultimately they're
allowed -- they obviously

1279
00:50:05,535 --> 00:50:07,937
-- there are a variety
of ways for them

1280
00:50:07,938 --> 00:50:09,940
to demonstrate their support
or opposition

1281
00:50:09,940 --> 00:50:11,942
to this policy, and that can
range from everything

1282
00:50:11,942 --> 00:50:15,645
from an interview or a piece of
legislation that

1283
00:50:15,645 --> 00:50:17,647
they vote on, and a range of
things in between,

1284
00:50:17,647 --> 00:50:18,648
as you pointed out.

1285
00:50:18,648 --> 00:50:21,017
So what I'm willing to say
at this point

1286
00:50:21,017 --> 00:50:23,754
is we are interested in members
of Congress and Congress

1287
00:50:23,754 --> 00:50:25,956
as an institution working
closely with

1288
00:50:25,956 --> 00:50:28,525
the President as he confronts
these difficult challenges.

1289
00:50:28,525 --> 00:50:30,560
And the reason for that
is really simple, Jared.

1290
00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:32,562
The reason is the
President believes

1291
00:50:32,562 --> 00:50:35,132
that our foreign policy is
more forceful,

1292
00:50:35,132 --> 00:50:37,267
it's more impactful when we can
demonstrate

1293
00:50:37,267 --> 00:50:40,437
to the world that the United
States of America

1294
00:50:40,437 --> 00:50:43,038
is united in support of this priority.

1295
00:50:43,039 --> 00:50:43,740
Ed.

1296
00:50:43,740 --> 00:50:45,207
The Press: Josh, a quick
sidebar issue

1297
00:50:45,208 --> 00:50:46,643
since the briefing started.

1298
00:50:46,643 --> 00:50:48,879
The Baltimore Ravens
have announced

1299
00:50:48,879 --> 00:50:50,881
they've terminated the
contract of Ray Rice.

1300
00:50:50,881 --> 00:50:53,750
I realize you did not know
that, but probably

1301
00:50:53,750 --> 00:50:55,852
have seen or heard about this
pretty dramatic,

1302
00:50:55,852 --> 00:50:58,388
horrific video of him
beating up his wife.

1303
00:50:58,388 --> 00:51:00,824
The President has spoken
out on this issue a lot.

1304
00:51:00,824 --> 00:51:03,126
The Vice President I think
today is having an issue

1305
00:51:03,126 --> 00:51:06,263
-- an event about the
passage

1306
00:51:06,263 --> 00:51:08,365
of the Violence Against Women Act.

1307
00:51:08,365 --> 00:51:10,267
What kind of comment could
the White House

1308
00:51:10,267 --> 00:51:11,401
offer about this situation?

1309
00:51:11,401 --> 00:51:13,236
Mr. Earnest: Well, I
haven't seen

1310
00:51:13,236 --> 00:51:16,205
the news because of what you
just said,

1311
00:51:16,206 --> 00:51:21,044
but let me say it this way: This
administration

1312
00:51:21,044 --> 00:51:23,580
and this President do believe
strongly

1313
00:51:23,580 --> 00:51:26,982
that the scourge of violence
against women is something

1314
00:51:26,983 --> 00:51:28,785
that needs to be aggressively combatted.

1315
00:51:28,785 --> 00:51:31,187
And I don't want to
comment

1316
00:51:31,188 --> 00:51:34,691
on the individual decisions that
are made by, in this case,

1317
00:51:34,691 --> 00:51:38,194
an individual NFL team,
but you have seen

1318
00:51:38,195 --> 00:51:40,197
the President and the Vice
President

1319
00:51:40,197 --> 00:51:42,599
make very forceful public
comments in talking

1320
00:51:42,599 --> 00:51:45,836
about how important it is for
men, in particular,

1321
00:51:45,836 --> 00:51:49,705
to step up and step forward and
make clear

1322
00:51:49,706 --> 00:51:52,075
that violence against women is
something that

1323
00:51:52,075 --> 00:51:58,281
is not and cannot be tolerated,
and that the most important

1324
00:51:58,281 --> 00:52:00,350
thing -- or one of the most
important things that

1325
00:52:00,350 --> 00:52:04,621
we can do to try to end the
scourge of violence against

1326
00:52:04,621 --> 00:52:07,357
women is for men to ban together
and to send

1327
00:52:07,357 --> 00:52:11,294
a very clear signal that it is
unacceptable

1328
00:52:11,294 --> 00:52:14,598
for men to perpetrate acts of
violence against women.

1329
00:52:14,598 --> 00:52:19,134
And we certainly welcome
any strong signals

1330
00:52:19,135 --> 00:52:22,472
by anyone in this country in
support of that value.

1331
00:52:22,472 --> 00:52:23,974
The Press: I want
to go back to ISIS.

1332
00:52:23,974 --> 00:52:27,577
To try to put a finer
point on what you've

1333
00:52:27,577 --> 00:52:28,979
been asked several times,
rather than trying

1334
00:52:28,979 --> 00:52:31,281
to confirm if he is going --
get ahead of the President

1335
00:52:31,281 --> 00:52:34,351
of what he's specifically
going to say,

1336
00:52:34,351 --> 00:52:37,120
will he make decisions by
Tuesday and Wednesday

1337
00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:40,323
about expanding this campaign
against ISIS so that

1338
00:52:40,323 --> 00:52:44,261
he can present a plan first to
the congressional leaders

1339
00:52:44,261 --> 00:52:46,630
on Tuesday and then a plan, a
strategy

1340
00:52:46,630 --> 00:52:48,765
to the American people on Wednesday?

1341
00:52:48,765 --> 00:52:50,767
Mr. Earnest: Well, I don't
want to foreshadow

1342
00:52:50,767 --> 00:52:52,769
any specific Presidential
decisions,

1343
00:52:52,769 --> 00:52:54,770
but the President is interested
in having

1344
00:52:54,771 --> 00:52:56,773
a genuine consultation with the
congressional

1345
00:52:56,773 --> 00:52:58,975
leaders who will be here
tomorrow about what he believes

1346
00:52:58,975 --> 00:53:01,578
is the best path forward for
confronting

1347
00:53:01,578 --> 00:53:04,281
the threat that's posed by ISIL.

1348
00:53:04,281 --> 00:53:05,282
The President is
interested

1349
00:53:05,282 --> 00:53:07,684
in having a conversation with
the American public

1350
00:53:07,684 --> 00:53:10,287
about what sort of tools are at
the disposal

1351
00:53:10,287 --> 00:53:12,721
of the United States of America
to confront this threat.

1352
00:53:12,722 --> 00:53:15,859
Those tools include
intelligence tools.

1353
00:53:15,859 --> 00:53:18,528
Those tools include the
powerful diplomacy

1354
00:53:18,528 --> 00:53:20,529
of the United States of America.

1355
00:53:20,530 --> 00:53:25,135
Those tools also include
the potent arsenal

1356
00:53:25,135 --> 00:53:26,703
of the United States military.

1357
00:53:26,703 --> 00:53:28,705
And all of those things
can be brought

1358
00:53:28,705 --> 00:53:30,707
to bear to confront this situation.

1359
00:53:30,707 --> 00:53:32,709
What's most important for
people to understand --

1360
00:53:32,709 --> 00:53:34,711
both the American people
and for congressional

1361
00:53:34,711 --> 00:53:36,712
leaders to understand
-- is the President

1362
00:53:36,713 --> 00:53:40,016
is steadfastly committed to
ensuring

1363
00:53:40,016 --> 00:53:44,020
that the United States is not
taking this one alone.

1364
00:53:44,020 --> 00:53:45,021
And the President is going

1365
00:53:45,021 --> 00:53:48,391
to use all of the tools of our
diplomacy to ensure that we have

1366
00:53:48,391 --> 00:53:50,393
a central Iraqi government
that's standing

1367
00:53:50,393 --> 00:53:52,862
up and uniting that country to
take the fight to ISIL

1368
00:53:52,862 --> 00:53:55,231
in their own country; that we're
engaging nations

1369
00:53:55,231 --> 00:53:58,101
in the region, particularly the
Sunni-led nations

1370
00:53:58,101 --> 00:54:00,503
in the region who have a very
clear stake

1371
00:54:00,503 --> 00:54:01,504
in this outcome.

1372
00:54:01,504 --> 00:54:03,506
And the President spent a
lot of time

1373
00:54:03,506 --> 00:54:05,575
at the NATO Summit at the end of
last week talking

1374
00:54:05,575 --> 00:54:08,345
to our allies in NATO about what
role the international

1375
00:54:08,345 --> 00:54:09,745
community can play to
support

1376
00:54:09,746 --> 00:54:14,017
this broader effort to
confront, degrade,

1377
00:54:14,017 --> 00:54:16,352
and ultimately destroy ISIL.

1378
00:54:16,353 --> 00:54:17,187
The Press: A
couple specifics.

1379
00:54:17,187 --> 00:54:19,288
A couple weeks ago, Peter
asked you a question

1380
00:54:19,289 --> 00:54:22,025
and you said the President was
not referring

1381
00:54:22,025 --> 00:54:24,461
to ISIS when he dismissed some
terrorists

1382
00:54:24,461 --> 00:54:27,096
in The New Yorker magazine
as the JV squad.

1383
00:54:27,097 --> 00:54:29,099
The Washington Post, I
believe last week,

1384
00:54:29,099 --> 00:54:30,500
gave you four Pinocchios
for that.

1385
00:54:30,500 --> 00:54:31,034
Mr. Earnest: I saw that.

1386
00:54:31,034 --> 00:54:33,603
The Press: The President
yesterday went ahead --

1387
00:54:33,603 --> 00:54:36,139
glad you saw that -- the
President yesterday

1388
00:54:36,139 --> 00:54:38,742
went ahead and doubled down on
it and said,

1389
00:54:38,742 --> 00:54:41,711
I was not referring to
ISIL, he said.

1390
00:54:41,711 --> 00:54:43,712
Why do you and the
President continue

1391
00:54:43,713 --> 00:54:46,082
to say something that has been
proven to be false?

1392
00:54:46,082 --> 00:54:48,084
Mr. Earnest: It's not
proven to be false.

1393
00:54:48,084 --> 00:54:50,086
I'm just going to go back
to the --

1394
00:54:50,086 --> 00:54:52,087
I did this when Peter asked it,
too, but let me just read

1395
00:54:52,088 --> 00:54:53,089
what the President said.

1396
00:54:53,089 --> 00:54:55,091
The President was drawing
distinction

1397
00:54:55,091 --> 00:54:59,162
between core al Qaeda and a
range of local groups.

1398
00:54:59,162 --> 00:55:00,163
What the President
said is,

1399
00:55:00,163 --> 00:55:02,666
"There is a distinction between
the capacity and reach

1400
00:55:02,666 --> 00:55:05,869
of a bin Laden and a network
that is actively planning

1401
00:55:05,869 --> 00:55:08,338
major terrorist plots
against the homeland,

1402
00:55:08,338 --> 00:55:13,009
versus jihadists who are
engaged in various

1403
00:55:13,009 --> 00:55:14,144
local power struggles

1404
00:55:14,144 --> 00:55:17,279
and disputes, often sectarian."

1405
00:55:17,280 --> 00:55:19,282
The point is the President
was describing

1406
00:55:19,282 --> 00:55:23,787
the wide variety of extremist
groups

1407
00:55:23,787 --> 00:55:25,888
that have sprouted up over the
last several years

1408
00:55:25,889 --> 00:55:27,357
in this region of the world.

1409
00:55:27,357 --> 00:55:30,192
Some of them have greater
capabilities than others.

1410
00:55:30,193 --> 00:55:32,762
Some of them do not pose a
threat to the homeland,

1411
00:55:32,762 --> 00:55:35,832
or at least don't have the
capacity to plan

1412
00:55:35,832 --> 00:55:38,067
what the President described as
"major terrorist plots

1413
00:55:38,068 --> 00:55:39,235
against the homeland."

1414
00:55:39,235 --> 00:55:39,869
The Press: Okay.

1415
00:55:39,869 --> 00:55:41,204
But David Remnick told
PolitiFact --

1416
00:55:41,204 --> 00:55:42,572
the interview took place on
January 7th --

1417
00:55:42,572 --> 00:55:46,242
that the President was
referencing a specific event

1418
00:55:46,242 --> 00:55:48,244
that had happened just days
before -- January 3rd,

1419
00:55:48,244 --> 00:55:52,882
when Islamic State raised this
flag, took over Fallujah.

1420
00:55:52,882 --> 00:55:55,819
So in that interview,
in that context,

1421
00:55:55,819 --> 00:55:57,821
the President was referring to
something --

1422
00:55:57,821 --> 00:55:59,823
I understand you're making
this more general.

1423
00:55:59,823 --> 00:56:01,825
But according to David
Remnick, was saying --

1424
00:56:01,825 --> 00:56:03,792
he was referring in the
interview

1425
00:56:03,793 --> 00:56:05,795
to something that specifically
happened four days before --

1426
00:56:05,795 --> 00:56:07,997
Islamic State taking
over Fallujah.

1427
00:56:07,997 --> 00:56:09,566
So that sounds like a
direct --

1428
00:56:09,566 --> 00:56:13,136
whether he used the name
ISIS/ISIL, he was referring

1429
00:56:13,136 --> 00:56:15,705
to an event from four days
before where Islamic State

1430
00:56:15,705 --> 00:56:16,906
took over Fallujah.

1431
00:56:16,906 --> 00:56:19,342
Mr. Earnest: Ed, what the
President was referring

1432
00:56:19,342 --> 00:56:21,344
to was he was referring to
jihadists

1433
00:56:21,344 --> 00:56:23,980
who were engaged in various
local power struggles

1434
00:56:23,980 --> 00:56:26,382
and disputes, often sectarian.

1435
00:56:26,382 --> 00:56:27,517
The President was not
singling

1436
00:56:27,517 --> 00:56:30,553
out a specific group -- that's
why he described jihadists,

1437
00:56:30,553 --> 00:56:35,424
plural; power struggles,
plural; disputes, plural.

1438
00:56:35,425 --> 00:56:37,427
He is talking about the
wide variety

1439
00:56:37,427 --> 00:56:40,430
of groups and indicating that we
don't have to be worried

1440
00:56:40,430 --> 00:56:42,432
about every single one
of these groups.

1441
00:56:42,432 --> 00:56:44,433
Many of these groups
aren't particularly

1442
00:56:44,434 --> 00:56:46,436
sophisticated, don't have
designs

1443
00:56:46,436 --> 00:56:50,807
or the capability of attacking
the United States homeland.

1444
00:56:50,807 --> 00:56:52,808
Some of them are more
influential,

1445
00:56:52,809 --> 00:56:54,811
some of them do have greater
capacity, and some

1446
00:56:54,811 --> 00:56:57,413
of them have built up and
demonstrated that capacity

1447
00:56:57,413 --> 00:56:59,582
over the last several months,
like ISIL has.

1448
00:56:59,582 --> 00:57:01,584
But the fact is, at the
time what

1449
00:57:01,584 --> 00:57:03,752
the President was talking about
is drawing a clear

1450
00:57:03,753 --> 00:57:06,422
distinction between core
al Qaeda

1451
00:57:06,422 --> 00:57:08,825
and the wide variety of groups that are

1452
00:57:08,825 --> 00:57:11,727
extremist organizations that are
operating in this area.

1453
00:57:11,728 --> 00:57:14,130
Even ISIL, which has
demonstrated

1454
00:57:14,130 --> 00:57:16,399
some substantial military
capacity

1455
00:57:16,399 --> 00:57:19,602
as we've talked about, there are
not indications right

1456
00:57:19,602 --> 00:57:22,337
now that they are actively
planning or that they

1457
00:57:22,338 --> 00:57:27,043
have the capacity to carry out a
widespread conspiracy

1458
00:57:27,043 --> 00:57:29,078
along the lines of the
plot that

1459
00:57:29,078 --> 00:57:33,917
was organized by Osama bin Laden
about 13 years ago this week.

1460
00:57:33,917 --> 00:57:34,918
Their capacities are
different,

1461
00:57:34,918 --> 00:57:36,953
and that's the point that the
President was trying to make.

1462
00:57:36,953 --> 00:57:38,955
It means that our policy
for dealing

1463
00:57:38,955 --> 00:57:40,957
with them needs to be different.

1464
00:57:40,957 --> 00:57:42,959
And the President is
putting in place

1465
00:57:42,959 --> 00:57:44,961
a strategy to deal with the
threat that is posed

1466
00:57:44,961 --> 00:57:46,962
by ISIL before they can find
the kind of safe

1467
00:57:46,963 --> 00:57:49,199
haven that would allow them
to eventually build

1468
00:57:49,199 --> 00:57:51,568
the capacity to carry out the
kind of terror attack

1469
00:57:51,568 --> 00:57:53,937
that we saw that was carried
out by Osama bin Laden.

1470
00:57:53,937 --> 00:57:55,705
The Press: Janet
Napolitano,

1471
00:57:55,705 --> 00:57:57,707
the President's former
Homeland Security Secretary,

1472
00:57:57,707 --> 00:57:58,741
said this
morning that

1473
00:57:58,741 --> 00:58:05,148
when she was in office, ISIS was
on everybody's radar screen.

1474
00:58:05,148 --> 00:58:06,282
She left office a year

1475
00:58:06,282 --> 00:58:09,252
ago this month -- September 2013.

1476
00:58:09,252 --> 00:58:11,054
So was ISIS on the
President's

1477
00:58:11,054 --> 00:58:13,122
radar screen at least a year ago?

1478
00:58:13,122 --> 00:58:14,524
And if so, why is he
giving

1479
00:58:14,524 --> 00:58:15,625
a big speech this week?

1480
00:58:15,625 --> 00:58:17,827
Why didn't we get a
strategy a year ago?

1481
00:58:17,827 --> 00:58:18,828
Six months ago?

1482
00:58:18,828 --> 00:58:20,830
Mr. Earnest: Well, let's
talk about

1483
00:58:20,830 --> 00:58:21,831
a couple of things.

1484
00:58:21,831 --> 00:58:24,167
The first is ISIS is
essentially

1485
00:58:24,167 --> 00:58:26,536
the inheritor of al Qaeda in Iraq.

1486
00:58:26,536 --> 00:58:31,975
And these extremists have
been wreaking havoc

1487
00:58:31,975 --> 00:58:34,344
in this region of the world
for a long time,

1488
00:58:34,344 --> 00:58:36,346
so they've certainly been on
the radar screen

1489
00:58:36,346 --> 00:58:40,783
of the national security
professionals,

1490
00:58:40,783 --> 00:58:42,585
national security leadership of
this administration

1491
00:58:42,585 --> 00:58:44,220
for five years.

1492
00:58:44,220 --> 00:58:44,620
The Press: So Janet
Napolitano was right

1493
00:58:44,621 --> 00:58:46,089
that they've been on the radar
screen --

1494
00:58:46,089 --> 00:58:47,056
Mr. Earnest: They were also on
the radar screen

1495
00:58:47,056 --> 00:58:48,758
of the national security
officials

1496
00:58:48,758 --> 00:58:50,593
in the previous administration
because there was concern

1497
00:58:50,593 --> 00:58:54,397
about the threat that al
Qaeda and Iraq

1498
00:58:54,397 --> 00:59:04,741
posed to Americans in the region.

1499
00:59:04,741 --> 00:59:05,742
Now, this is an
organization

1500
00:59:05,742 --> 00:59:07,744
that has evolved, but that
essentially

1501
00:59:07,744 --> 00:59:08,745
is where they evolved from.

1502
00:59:08,745 --> 00:59:10,747
So this is something that
the President

1503
00:59:10,747 --> 00:59:11,748
has been focused on.

1504
00:59:11,748 --> 00:59:13,750
And the reason that the
President is giving this

1505
00:59:13,750 --> 00:59:15,752
speech now is that over
the last couple

1506
00:59:15,752 --> 00:59:17,754
of months we have seen this
organization

1507
00:59:17,754 --> 00:59:19,756
make substantial gains in Iraq
and threaten

1508
00:59:19,756 --> 00:59:20,723
Americans in Iraq.

1509
00:59:20,723 --> 00:59:22,725
And the reason for that is
that the Iraqi government

1510
00:59:22,725 --> 00:59:24,727
-- the core reason for
this is that the Iraqi

1511
00:59:24,727 --> 00:59:26,828
government was governing
along sectarian lines

1512
00:59:26,829 --> 00:59:30,466
in a way that ruptured what had
been a united country.

1513
00:59:30,466 --> 00:59:32,868
And so what we have been
actively engaged

1514
00:59:32,869 --> 00:59:35,271
in for quite some time at a
diplomatic level

1515
00:59:35,271 --> 00:59:37,407
is encouraging Iraq's
political leaders

1516
00:59:37,407 --> 00:59:40,476
to unite that country behind a
central government

1517
00:59:40,476 --> 00:59:43,513
that demonstrates that they are
committed to advancing

1518
00:59:43,513 --> 00:59:45,882
the interests of every citizen
of the nation of Iraq.

1519
00:59:45,882 --> 00:59:47,884
That's a diverse country,
and they need

1520
00:59:47,884 --> 00:59:50,753
a central government that
reflects that diversity

1521
00:59:50,753 --> 00:59:53,289
and demonstrates a commitment
to representing

1522
00:59:53,289 --> 00:59:56,793
the interests of that
diverse population.

1523
00:59:56,793 --> 00:59:57,794
April.

1524
00:59:57,794 --> 01:00:00,129
The Press: Josh, I want
to ask

1525
01:00:00,129 --> 01:00:01,397
you a couple of questions.

1526
01:00:01,397 --> 01:00:04,232
Back on your talking point
today --

1527
01:00:04,233 --> 01:00:11,574
buy-in and also partnerships --
would you say that if you're

1528
01:00:11,574 --> 01:00:15,445
saying buy-in and partnerships
you mean that executive --

1529
01:00:15,445 --> 01:00:18,948
well, the White House
and Congress will either succeed

1530
01:00:18,948 --> 01:00:21,183
or fail together, no
matter what happens?

1531
01:00:21,184 --> 01:00:23,686
Mr. Earnest: What we would
like to see is we would

1532
01:00:23,686 --> 01:00:25,722
like to see Congress be
united

1533
01:00:25,722 --> 01:00:28,291
and to be a partner with this
administration as we confront

1534
01:00:28,291 --> 01:00:30,660
this threat -- for all the differences

1535
01:00:30,660 --> 01:00:33,261
that I do not want to be in a
position of papering over.

1536
01:00:33,262 --> 01:00:36,666
There are differences
between Democrats

1537
01:00:36,666 --> 01:00:38,668
and Republicans, particularly
the Republicans

1538
01:00:38,668 --> 01:00:40,670
on Capitol Hill, and the
Democrats in the administration

1539
01:00:40,670 --> 01:00:42,672
are substantial, that we have
a difference

1540
01:00:42,672 --> 01:00:44,674
of opinion about a range of things.

1541
01:00:44,674 --> 01:00:46,676
But when it comes to
protecting the American

1542
01:00:46,676 --> 01:00:48,678
people and putting in
place a strategy

1543
01:00:48,678 --> 01:00:50,946
that makes good use of our
intelligence capability,

1544
01:00:50,947 --> 01:00:55,118
our diplomatic authority,
and our military might,

1545
01:00:55,118 --> 01:00:57,120
that we should be able
to unite across partisan

1546
01:00:57,120 --> 01:01:00,156
lines in support of that
policy

1547
01:01:00,156 --> 01:01:02,658
and in support of that strategy.

1548
01:01:02,658 --> 01:01:06,395
And we seek that kind of
cooperation,

1549
01:01:06,396 --> 01:01:09,565
consultation and partnership
with everybody in Congress.

1550
01:01:09,565 --> 01:01:11,234
The Press: So even with
uniting across

1551
01:01:11,234 --> 01:01:14,504
party lines, no matter what
happens, successes

1552
01:01:14,504 --> 01:01:18,007
will be shared evenly and
failures will be shared evenly?

1553
01:01:18,007 --> 01:01:20,676
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
President is undertaking

1554
01:01:20,676 --> 01:01:22,979
this effort with the
intention to succeed.

1555
01:01:22,979 --> 01:01:27,417
And the President is
willing to share credit

1556
01:01:27,417 --> 01:01:29,419
with those individuals in
Congress who are going to

1557
01:01:29,419 --> 01:01:31,421
partner with this
administration to

1558
01:01:31,421 --> 01:01:32,422
accomplish these goals.

1559
01:01:32,422 --> 01:01:33,923
The Press: Also, in the
ramp-up to 9/11,

1560
01:01:33,923 --> 01:01:36,859
as we are looking to this next
anniversary,

1561
01:01:36,859 --> 01:01:40,563
there are concerns by many in
the national security field

1562
01:01:40,563 --> 01:01:44,734
that with the threats of
ISIL that something

1563
01:01:44,734 --> 01:01:46,369
could possibly happen here.

1564
01:01:46,369 --> 01:01:49,205
What is the mindset of
this administration

1565
01:01:49,205 --> 01:01:51,240
in the lead-up to 9/11?

1566
01:01:51,240 --> 01:01:54,109
And is there a possibility
of increasing

1567
01:01:54,110 --> 01:01:56,546
the threat level in this country?

1568
01:01:56,546 --> 01:01:58,580
Mr. Earnest: Decisions
about increasing

1569
01:01:58,581 --> 01:02:00,583
the threat level are made by
the Secretary of Homeland

1570
01:02:00,583 --> 01:02:01,984
Security, so you should
consult

1571
01:02:01,984 --> 01:02:03,986
with them about whether or not
they are planning

1572
01:02:03,986 --> 01:02:05,421
to increase the threat level.

1573
01:02:05,421 --> 01:02:07,423
I'm not currently aware of
any plans

1574
01:02:07,423 --> 01:02:09,959
to increase the threat level.

1575
01:02:09,959 --> 01:02:11,961
The second thing that's
important for people

1576
01:02:11,961 --> 01:02:13,962
to understand is the
intelligence

1577
01:02:13,963 --> 01:02:15,965
community continues to assess
that there

1578
01:02:15,965 --> 01:02:19,268
is no active plotting underway
by ISIL for an attack against

1579
01:02:19,268 --> 01:02:21,637
the homeland of the United
States of America.

1580
01:02:21,637 --> 01:02:23,639
The third thing I want to
point out here

1581
01:02:23,639 --> 01:02:25,975
is that we are concerned and
remain concerned about

1582
01:02:25,975 --> 01:02:31,047
the threat of violence that is
posed by foreign fighters.

1583
01:02:31,047 --> 01:02:32,949
And again, they're
ironically

1584
01:02:32,949 --> 01:02:34,951
named foreign fighters because
we're principally talking

1585
01:02:34,951 --> 01:02:37,153
about Americans with American
passports

1586
01:02:37,153 --> 01:02:39,154
who have traveled to Syria and
taken

1587
01:02:39,155 --> 01:02:40,356
up arms alongside ISIL.

1588
01:02:40,356 --> 01:02:43,259
And there is a threat that
those individuals

1589
01:02:43,259 --> 01:02:45,962
pose because they have an
American passport.

1590
01:02:45,962 --> 01:02:48,865
They can freely travel
back to the United States,

1591
01:02:48,865 --> 01:02:50,866
and would therefore be in
a position

1592
01:02:50,867 --> 01:02:53,336
to potentially carry out acts of
violence here in this country.

1593
01:02:53,336 --> 01:02:55,337
That is something that
we're concerned about

1594
01:02:55,338 --> 01:02:57,340
and something that we're
monitoring very closely.

1595
01:02:57,340 --> 01:02:59,342
We're working with the
international community

1596
01:02:59,342 --> 01:03:03,045
to try to monitor the travel
of those individuals

1597
01:03:03,045 --> 01:03:05,982
so that we can try to limit
the threat that they pose.

1598
01:03:05,982 --> 01:03:08,684
The Press: The concern
of those several

1599
01:03:08,684 --> 01:03:11,287
dozen Americans who have those
passports back

1600
01:03:11,287 --> 01:03:14,756
and forth to Syria, that doesn't
make you think

1601
01:03:14,757 --> 01:03:17,593
about increasing the threat
level here at all?

1602
01:03:17,593 --> 01:03:19,462
Mr. Earnest: Well, again, I'll

1603
01:03:19,462 --> 01:03:20,463
say a couple things about that.

1604
01:03:20,463 --> 01:03:23,132
The first is we're
constantly recalibrating

1605
01:03:23,132 --> 01:03:25,134
our security posture here
in this country

1606
01:03:25,134 --> 01:03:27,737
to try to meet the threats
that we perceive.

1607
01:03:27,737 --> 01:03:31,073
And some of the changes to
that security architecture

1608
01:03:31,073 --> 01:03:34,076
are perceptible and
some of them aren't.

1609
01:03:34,076 --> 01:03:37,213
But we are constantly
making sure that

1610
01:03:37,213 --> 01:03:40,550
we have in place a strategy for
protecting American

1611
01:03:40,550 --> 01:03:43,786
citizens and protecting
the homeland.

1612
01:03:43,786 --> 01:03:45,121
I'll do a couple more.

1613
01:03:45,121 --> 01:03:46,122
Michelle.

1614
01:03:46,122 --> 01:03:48,124
The Press: Do you feel
like you have

1615
01:03:48,124 --> 01:03:50,125
a handle on who all these
foreign fighters are?

1616
01:03:50,126 --> 01:03:52,228
We've heard a number
between 100 and 200,

1617
01:03:52,228 --> 01:03:54,997
and that always kind of comes
through other channels.

1618
01:03:54,997 --> 01:03:56,399
So what can the White
House

1619
01:03:56,399 --> 01:04:00,736
say specifically about how
closely you are now able

1620
01:04:00,736 --> 01:04:03,138
to track the foreign fighters?

1621
01:04:03,139 --> 01:04:05,141
Mr. Earnest: The effort
to monitor these

1622
01:04:05,141 --> 01:04:08,110
foreign fighters is something
that is the responsibility

1623
01:04:08,110 --> 01:04:09,445
of the intelligence
community.

1624
01:04:09,445 --> 01:04:11,547
And it's difficult from
this vantage point

1625
01:04:11,547 --> 01:04:13,916
for me to spend a lot of time
talking in detail about

1626
01:04:13,916 --> 01:04:15,918
the actions of the
intelligence community.

1627
01:04:15,918 --> 01:04:18,588
But what I can tell you is
the United States and this

1628
01:04:18,588 --> 01:04:21,424
administration are very
aware of the threat that

1629
01:04:21,424 --> 01:04:23,960
is posed by these
individuals.

1630
01:04:23,960 --> 01:04:26,028
We have been engaged
in an effort both

1631
01:04:26,028 --> 01:04:29,064
at a diplomatic level, at a law
enforcement level,

1632
01:04:29,065 --> 01:04:32,101
but also at an intelligence
level

1633
01:04:32,101 --> 01:04:33,703
to mitigate this threat.

1634
01:04:33,703 --> 01:04:35,705
And that means working
closely with

1635
01:04:35,705 --> 01:04:37,673
our partners in the region, but
also with our allies

1636
01:04:37,673 --> 01:04:38,808
in Western Europe.

1637
01:04:38,808 --> 01:04:41,210
We talked a little bit
earlier last week

1638
01:04:41,210 --> 01:04:44,046
about how there are -- there's
an even larger number

1639
01:04:44,046 --> 01:04:46,048
of so-called foreign fighters
that have

1640
01:04:46,048 --> 01:04:47,917
originated from Western Europe.

1641
01:04:47,917 --> 01:04:49,919
So the threat to these
Western countries

1642
01:04:49,919 --> 01:04:51,921
is, if you just look at the
numbers,

1643
01:04:51,921 --> 01:04:53,923
even larger than the threat that
currently

1644
01:04:53,923 --> 01:04:54,924
is facing the United States.

1645
01:04:54,924 --> 01:04:56,959
But we're going to work
in united fashion,

1646
01:04:56,959 --> 01:04:58,961
in coordinated fashion and
united with

1647
01:04:58,961 --> 01:05:00,962
our allies to confront this threat.

1648
01:05:00,963 --> 01:05:02,965
And I would also say
something that

1649
01:05:02,965 --> 01:05:04,967
I have been meaning to say for
some time but haven't,

1650
01:05:04,967 --> 01:05:06,969
which is that the President is
actually going

1651
01:05:06,969 --> 01:05:08,971
to convene a meeting of the
United Nations Security Council

1652
01:05:08,971 --> 01:05:10,973
to discuss this issue and
to talk about

1653
01:05:10,973 --> 01:05:12,208
what sort of role the U.N.

1654
01:05:12,208 --> 01:05:14,210
and our Security Council
partners

1655
01:05:14,210 --> 01:05:16,212
can play in trying to mitigate
this threat that

1656
01:05:16,212 --> 01:05:18,314
faces not just the United
States, but to our allies

1657
01:05:18,314 --> 01:05:19,315
and interests around the globe.

1658
01:05:19,315 --> 01:05:21,317
The Press: But is there
a confidence that we

1659
01:05:21,317 --> 01:05:23,319
generally know who all
these people

1660
01:05:23,319 --> 01:05:25,321
are at this point and where they are?

1661
01:05:25,321 --> 01:05:27,323
Mr. Earnest: Well, there
are significant

1662
01:05:27,323 --> 01:05:29,325
resources that have been
dedicated to this effort.

1663
01:05:29,325 --> 01:05:31,327
I don't think that I would
be in a position

1664
01:05:31,327 --> 01:05:33,796
to say a whole lot more about
this, but other than

1665
01:05:33,796 --> 01:05:36,265
to say we recognize the severity
and the seriousness

1666
01:05:36,265 --> 01:05:39,535
of this threat, and we have
responded accordingly

1667
01:05:39,535 --> 01:05:41,504
by putting in place the kinds
of policies

1668
01:05:41,504 --> 01:05:44,373
and procedures that we feel
mitigate this threat.

1669
01:05:44,373 --> 01:05:45,474
But it remains something

1670
01:05:45,474 --> 01:05:46,642
that we're concerned about.

1671
01:05:46,642 --> 01:05:49,178
The Press: And we've heard
you say "strategy"

1672
01:05:49,178 --> 01:05:51,647
and then that a "strategy
is being formed,"

1673
01:05:51,647 --> 01:05:56,319
and "integrated strategy," but
then, "if it expands"

1674
01:05:56,319 --> 01:05:58,321
and what role will
everybody play.

1675
01:05:58,321 --> 01:06:00,323
So it seems like right now
the strategy

1676
01:06:00,323 --> 01:06:03,491
is to lay the groundwork for
making those decisions, right?

1677
01:06:03,492 --> 01:06:05,494
Because whenever we hear
an explanation

1678
01:06:05,494 --> 01:06:07,663
of what the strategy is, it's a
lot of coalition

1679
01:06:07,663 --> 01:06:10,366
building and putting something
together to make those

1680
01:06:10,366 --> 01:06:12,168
decisions in the future.

1681
01:06:12,168 --> 01:06:13,169
Is that how you would
define

1682
01:06:13,169 --> 01:06:14,703
the strategy right now?

1683
01:06:14,704 --> 01:06:17,907
Mr. Earnest: I would
define the strategy

1684
01:06:17,907 --> 01:06:19,909
in a couple of pretty
clear ways.

1685
01:06:19,909 --> 01:06:21,911
The first priority, as the
President has laid out,

1686
01:06:21,911 --> 01:06:23,913
is supporting Iraq's
political leaders

1687
01:06:23,913 --> 01:06:25,915
as they form an inclusive
government.

1688
01:06:25,915 --> 01:06:27,917
That inclusive government
will be required

1689
01:06:27,917 --> 01:06:30,185
to unite the country to face
down the threat that

1690
01:06:30,186 --> 01:06:33,556
is posed by ISIL and to take the
fight

1691
01:06:33,556 --> 01:06:35,024
to ISIL in their country.

1692
01:06:35,024 --> 01:06:37,727
After all, we need to
start from a place

1693
01:06:37,727 --> 01:06:39,729
where the Iraqi government and
the Iraqi people

1694
01:06:39,729 --> 01:06:41,731
are responsible for the
security

1695
01:06:41,731 --> 01:06:42,732
of their own country.

1696
01:06:42,732 --> 01:06:43,933
The United States stands
ready

1697
01:06:43,933 --> 01:06:46,936
and will continue to support the
Iraqi government

1698
01:06:46,936 --> 01:06:49,405
and the Iraqi people as they try
to secure their own country.

1699
01:06:49,405 --> 01:06:50,873
So that's the first thing.

1700
01:06:50,873 --> 01:06:51,874
The second thing

1701
01:06:51,874 --> 01:06:53,875
is engaging regional governments.

1702
01:06:53,876 --> 01:06:55,878
And when I'm saying
regional governments,

1703
01:06:55,878 --> 01:06:57,480
I'm principally talking
about

1704
01:06:57,480 --> 01:07:00,149
these Sunni-led governments in the region.

1705
01:07:00,149 --> 01:07:01,150
These are individuals

1706
01:07:01,150 --> 01:07:03,152
who for two reasons should be involved.

1707
01:07:03,152 --> 01:07:05,654
The first is they can
play an important role

1708
01:07:05,654 --> 01:07:07,790
in coordinating with the
Sunni tribes

1709
01:07:07,790 --> 01:07:11,794
in western Iraq that can also
take the fight to ISIL.

1710
01:07:11,794 --> 01:07:14,196
The second is that they
have a larger stake

1711
01:07:14,196 --> 01:07:17,600
in this even than the United
States does;

1712
01:07:17,600 --> 01:07:21,537
that so many of these countries
actually are threatened

1713
01:07:21,537 --> 01:07:24,140
by Sunni extremists that are
wreaking havoc

1714
01:07:24,140 --> 01:07:26,674
in some cases on their border
or very near it.

1715
01:07:26,675 --> 01:07:28,778
So they have an interest
in committing

1716
01:07:28,778 --> 01:07:30,980
to this broader effort to
degrade

1717
01:07:30,980 --> 01:07:33,149
and ultimately destroy ISIL.

1718
01:07:33,149 --> 01:07:35,151
The third aspect of this
strategy

1719
01:07:35,151 --> 01:07:37,153
is engaging the international
community, that there

1720
01:07:37,153 --> 01:07:39,154
are resources that can be brought

1721
01:07:39,155 --> 01:07:41,157
to bear by our NATO Allies and by other allies.

1722
01:07:41,157 --> 01:07:43,159
So we've already
seen the U.K. and

1723
01:07:43,159 --> 01:07:45,161
Australia and others
commit military

1724
01:07:45,161 --> 01:07:47,163
resources to providing some
humanitarian relief

1725
01:07:47,163 --> 01:07:49,165
to the religious and ethnic
minorities

1726
01:07:49,165 --> 01:07:51,167
that are being persecuted in Iraq.

1727
01:07:51,167 --> 01:07:53,169
So there's a tangible role
for our allies to play.

1728
01:07:53,169 --> 01:07:55,171
And, yes, there is a role
to play

1729
01:07:55,171 --> 01:07:56,172
for the United States military.

1730
01:07:56,172 --> 01:07:58,174
But it's important for
people to understand

1731
01:07:58,174 --> 01:08:00,176
that that strategy for our
military

1732
01:08:00,176 --> 01:08:02,211
does not include sending combat
troops on the ground

1733
01:08:02,211 --> 01:08:04,245
into Iraq or to Syria.

1734
01:08:04,246 --> 01:08:06,248
But it does mean using
the military might

1735
01:08:06,248 --> 01:08:08,250
of the United States to coordinate

1736
01:08:08,250 --> 01:08:12,388
with our allies in support of
Iraqi and Peshmerga fighters

1737
01:08:12,388 --> 01:08:14,390
that can take the
fight to ISIL.

1738
01:08:14,390 --> 01:08:15,391
So that is the strategy.

1739
01:08:15,391 --> 01:08:17,393
And ultimately what -- let
me finish

1740
01:08:17,393 --> 01:08:18,761
with this just one last thing.

1741
01:08:18,761 --> 01:08:20,763
The thing that's important
for people

1742
01:08:20,763 --> 01:08:22,765
to understand is this is a
different strategy than

1743
01:08:22,765 --> 01:08:24,767
what was previously tried in
Iraq, that previously

1744
01:08:24,767 --> 01:08:26,769
the United States bore the
overwhelming

1745
01:08:26,769 --> 01:08:27,903
brunt of this commitment.

1746
01:08:27,903 --> 01:08:30,940
And ultimately, what we
learned is that

1747
01:08:30,939 --> 01:08:33,642
the United States military --
for all its prowess,

1748
01:08:33,642 --> 01:08:35,877
and for all of the bravery that
was exhibited

1749
01:08:35,877 --> 01:08:38,913
over the course of years by our
servicemen and women --

1750
01:08:38,913 --> 01:08:41,983
cannot solve this problem for
the Iraqi people.

1751
01:08:41,984 --> 01:08:42,985
Ultimately it's going

1752
01:08:42,984 --> 01:08:45,254
to be up to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government

1753
01:08:45,254 --> 01:08:48,524
and Iraq security forces to
secure their own country.

1754
01:08:48,524 --> 01:08:50,526
And the failure to learn
that lesson would

1755
01:08:50,526 --> 01:08:51,527
be a profound mistake.

1756
01:08:51,527 --> 01:08:58,399
And it's easy to -- and I
think it's understandable

1757
01:08:58,399 --> 01:08:59,701
that people pay more
attention

1758
01:08:59,702 --> 01:09:03,439
to what the military component
of our strategy is than

1759
01:09:03,439 --> 01:09:07,309
they do to the diplomatic
element of our strategy.

1760
01:09:07,309 --> 01:09:09,311
But it is critically
important that

1761
01:09:09,310 --> 01:09:11,447
we ensure that the international
community

1762
01:09:11,447 --> 01:09:13,582
and that regional governments
are invested in this

1763
01:09:13,582 --> 01:09:16,151
effort so that the United States
of America and our military

1764
01:09:16,151 --> 01:09:18,153
are not bearing
this weight alone.

1765
01:09:18,153 --> 01:09:20,022
Do you have
more, Michelle?

1766
01:09:20,022 --> 01:09:21,724
The Press: Last one.

1767
01:09:21,724 --> 01:09:23,726
Okay, so all of this
is groundwork-laying, basically.

1768
01:09:23,725 --> 01:09:25,728
And it's hard to imagine
what the President

1769
01:09:25,728 --> 01:09:27,730
is going to do on Wednesday
besides

1770
01:09:27,729 --> 01:09:28,731
lay all this out again.

1771
01:09:28,731 --> 01:09:29,732
We've heard it before.

1772
01:09:29,732 --> 01:09:31,734
So what are you expecting
concretely

1773
01:09:31,734 --> 01:09:33,736
then by the U.N. Security Council

1774
01:09:33,736 --> 01:09:36,438
meeting
from the coalition

1775
01:09:36,438 --> 01:09:38,641
that's been formed?

1776
01:09:38,640 --> 01:09:40,643
Do you have a timeframe
for some kind

1777
01:09:40,643 --> 01:09:41,644
of progress on that?

1778
01:09:41,644 --> 01:09:43,646
Because for weeks now,
it's been

1779
01:09:43,645 --> 01:09:45,648
about building these coalitions.

1780
01:09:45,648 --> 01:09:47,650
So what's the next kind
of benchmark

1781
01:09:47,649 --> 01:09:49,652
for seeing something from
that coalition?

1782
01:09:49,652 --> 01:09:51,654
Mr. Earnest: Well, the
President spent

1783
01:09:51,654 --> 01:09:53,656
a lot of time when he was at the
NATO Summit talking

1784
01:09:53,656 --> 01:09:55,658
to our allies in NATO
about this issue.

1785
01:09:55,658 --> 01:09:58,294
The President also met
with the Prime Minister

1786
01:09:58,294 --> 01:10:02,264
and the incoming President
of Turkey

1787
01:10:02,264 --> 01:10:05,234
to discuss this issue, among other things.

1788
01:10:05,234 --> 01:10:07,236
He also talked to the
King of Jordan

1789
01:10:07,236 --> 01:10:08,237
about this issue.

1790
01:10:08,237 --> 01:10:11,106
The Secretary of Defense
and the Secretary of State were

1791
01:10:11,106 --> 01:10:13,309
there to participate in these
conversations.

1792
01:10:13,309 --> 01:10:15,311
As we speak, the Secretary
of Defense

1793
01:10:15,311 --> 01:10:17,313
is in Turkey talking about some
of these issues

1794
01:10:17,313 --> 01:10:18,314
with his counterparts there.

1795
01:10:18,314 --> 01:10:19,315
Over the course of this
week,

1796
01:10:19,315 --> 01:10:21,450
the Secretary of State will be
traveling to the region

1797
01:10:21,450 --> 01:10:23,452
where he'll be meeting with his
counterparts

1798
01:10:23,452 --> 01:10:25,454
to talk about some of these issues.

1799
01:10:25,454 --> 01:10:27,456
The President's
counterterrorism

1800
01:10:27,456 --> 01:10:29,425
advisor here at the White House,
Lisa Monaco,

1801
01:10:29,425 --> 01:10:30,426
is traveling to the region.

1802
01:10:30,426 --> 01:10:32,494
She was in Yemen and has
trips to Saudi Arabia

1803
01:10:32,494 --> 01:10:34,496
and at least one other country
planned while

1804
01:10:34,496 --> 01:10:36,699
she's in the region this week.

1805
01:10:36,699 --> 01:10:38,701
So these conversations are
ongoing,

1806
01:10:38,701 --> 01:10:40,736
and they will continue.

1807
01:10:40,736 --> 01:10:42,738
You heard from the
President himself

1808
01:10:42,738 --> 01:10:44,740
on Friday indicate that he
was encouraged

1809
01:10:44,740 --> 01:10:47,242
by the reaction that he got from
our partners

1810
01:10:47,242 --> 01:10:49,244
and allies in the context of
those conversations

1811
01:10:49,244 --> 01:10:51,513
about their willingness to
support a broader

1812
01:10:51,513 --> 01:10:56,085
international effort to confront
ISIL and degrade

1813
01:10:56,085 --> 01:10:58,220
and ultimately destroy them.

1814
01:10:58,220 --> 01:10:59,355
Sam, I'll give
you the last one.

1815
01:10:59,355 --> 01:11:00,222
The Press: Well,
two questions then.

1816
01:11:00,222 --> 01:11:01,924
Can you talk a bit more
about the tangible

1817
01:11:01,924 --> 01:11:03,626
things you've gotten from our
international allies?

1818
01:11:03,626 --> 01:11:06,095
I know that they support
in broad the strategy

1819
01:11:06,095 --> 01:11:07,296
that we're doing, but have they
committed

1820
01:11:07,296 --> 01:11:08,897
any specific resources?

1821
01:11:08,897 --> 01:11:09,865
Mr. Earnest: They have.

1822
01:11:09,865 --> 01:11:12,166
And there's a long
factsheet here

1823
01:11:12,167 --> 01:11:14,603
that I won't read from because
we've all been

1824
01:11:14,603 --> 01:11:16,839
here a while, but,
yes, there are.

1825
01:11:16,839 --> 01:11:18,641
I'll just -- I'll do the
first three,

1826
01:11:18,641 --> 01:11:20,009
and they're in alphabetical
order.

1827
01:11:20,009 --> 01:11:21,276
So Albania is first;
they provided

1828
01:11:21,276 --> 01:11:22,911
military equipment to the Kurds.

1829
01:11:22,911 --> 01:11:24,980
Australia participated in
Mount Sinjar

1830
01:11:24,980 --> 01:11:27,249
and Amerli airdrop operations.

1831
01:11:27,249 --> 01:11:29,151
They've pledged $4.6
million

1832
01:11:29,151 --> 01:11:31,487
to the U.N. to address some of
this situation,

1833
01:11:31,487 --> 01:11:34,623
and they agreed to accept 4,400
refugees from Iraq and Syria.

1834
01:11:34,623 --> 01:11:36,090
They've also contributed
significant

1835
01:11:36,091 --> 01:11:37,726
airlift capacity and several
planeloads

1836
01:11:37,726 --> 01:11:38,927
of humanitarian assistance.

1837
01:11:38,927 --> 01:11:39,795
The Press: Would you mind
making that list public?

1838
01:11:39,795 --> 01:11:40,929
Mr. Earnest: Yes,
we'll get that to you.

1839
01:11:40,929 --> 01:11:43,699
But it's lengthy, and it's
an indication that nations

1840
01:11:43,699 --> 01:11:46,201
like Canada, Estonia,
Denmark, Finland, Germany,

1841
01:11:46,201 --> 01:11:48,270
Hungary -- again, it's
alphabetical order,

1842
01:11:48,270 --> 01:11:49,038
so it's a long list.

1843
01:11:49,038 --> 01:11:49,838
The Press: I know we're
running -- not much time.

1844
01:11:49,838 --> 01:11:51,407
Bill Nelson --you say you
want congressional

1845
01:11:51,407 --> 01:11:53,042
input here -- Bill Nelson, a
senator,

1846
01:11:53,042 --> 01:11:55,511
is actually introducing a bill
that would

1847
01:11:55,511 --> 01:11:57,112
authorize airstrikes in Syria.

1848
01:11:57,112 --> 01:11:59,381
Is that something that the White House would/could support?

1849
01:11:59,381 --> 01:12:01,317
Mr. Earnest: I haven't
seen his legislative

1850
01:12:01,317 --> 01:12:02,751
proposal, but I am
confident

1851
01:12:02,751 --> 01:12:04,953
that somebody here in the
administration will

1852
01:12:04,953 --> 01:12:06,655
be in touch with him about his proposal.

1853
01:12:06,655 --> 01:12:09,090
And we're certainly
interested,

1854
01:12:09,091 --> 01:12:12,461
like I said, in getting some
buy-in from Congress

1855
01:12:12,461 --> 01:12:14,863
and are open to considering the
kinds of things that they

1856
01:12:14,863 --> 01:12:18,400
want to move forward to
demonstrate the kind

1857
01:12:18,400 --> 01:12:20,402
of partnership that we'd
like to see between

1858
01:12:20,402 --> 01:12:22,404
the administration
and Congress.

1859
01:12:22,404 --> 01:12:24,373
The Press: Last
housekeeping item.

1860
01:12:24,373 --> 01:12:26,375
Has the President actually
seen or heard

1861
01:12:26,375 --> 01:12:27,376
the Ray Rice video?

1862
01:12:27,376 --> 01:12:28,377
Mr. Earnest: I don't know.

1863
01:12:28,377 --> 01:12:30,379
I have not talked
to him about it.

1864
01:12:30,379 --> 01:12:32,381
He's an avid sports fan,
and this is something

1865
01:12:32,381 --> 01:12:34,383
that has been covered
extensively

1866
01:12:34,383 --> 01:12:37,753
in sports journalism, so I do
know that the President

1867
01:12:37,753 --> 01:12:39,755
is aware of the situation as
it relates

1868
01:12:39,755 --> 01:12:41,490
to the Ravens' running back.

1869
01:12:41,490 --> 01:12:43,492
I don't know if he's seen
the video

1870
01:12:43,492 --> 01:12:45,094
that was just released in the
last 12 hours or so.

1871
01:12:45,094 --> 01:12:46,495
The Press: What about
the Hawks email?

1872
01:12:46,495 --> 01:12:48,664
Mr. Earnest: Again,
he's a big NBA fan.

1873
01:12:48,664 --> 01:12:49,798
I'm confident that he's
aware of the story,

1874
01:12:49,798 --> 01:12:51,366
but I don't know if he's
seen the email.

1875
01:12:51,366 --> 01:12:52,167
So thanks, everybody.

1876
01:12:52,167 --> 01:12:54,167
We'll come back tomorrow.