Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Carol Costello 201701

CNNW CNN Newsroom With Carol Costello January 12, 2017 15:00:00

Aisle, are rightly concerned about how he may respond when tested by russia, iran, north korea, and other transnational threats such as cyber. Considering some of these hotspots in the world in detail, i would like to start with iran, which remains a top concern for this committee. Their behavior with respect to forces across the region has not improved and irans unsafe actions have continued. I believe the joint plan of action is the most effective way to prevent iran from resuming their Nuclear Weapons program. General mattis, while you raise concerns about the jcpoa when it was being negotiated, you stated during a center for strategic and International Studies forum in april 2016 that in your words, there is no going back absent a real violation. I agree with that assessment. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about how we can build upon the jcpoa to address other iranian threats including its malign influence in the region and Ballistic Missile programs. Violent Extremist Groups remain a persistent and likely generational problem. Our actions have made significant gains in recapturing areas once held by Isil Including Operations directed as mosul and raqqah. However, isil continues to find new ways to terrorize innocent civilians and recruit new members. In the long term successful Military Action against isil, al qaeda, and other violent groups must be complemented by nonmilitary efforts by the International Community to address the circumstances that led to the rise of such groups, again, echoing comments that my colleagues mentioned about the complementarity of the State Department and the congress. This decision requires strong leadership to ensure that individual success of the Service Member and the clothive success of their unit and their service. And i expect you to provide that leadership. I remain concerned that too often our Service Members and their families fall victim to financial problems. This is an issue of importance. Soldiers, sailors, airmen or marine hearing from a spouse back home about unscrupulous financial organizations is unacceptable. I and the chairman have made it a strong priority in this committee. Defense budgets should be based on our long term military strategy. However, Defense Spending is subject to the Budget Control Act as the chairman has pointed out. And the Defense Investments that have been made to modernize platforms and equipment are in jeopardy. In addition, we must be aware that simply adding funding to government agencies creates other problems and is not an effective long term solution. One of your first tasks in the new administration will be to submit a fiscal 2018 budget that addresses these issues and goes to the point the chairman made of repealing the Budget Control Act. General mattis, if confirmed, you will manage the Department Of Defense grappling with many extraordinarily difficult challenges and it requires strong civilian leadership. Congress must provide exceptions to the statutory requirement that currently prohibits individuals from being appointed if theyre within seven years of their military service. Earlier this week this Committee Held a hearing that was illuminating and constructive. I hope you will share the actions you will take on civilian control of the military if confirmed. When he assumes office, President Trump will become Commander In Chief of our around forces. I continue to hope that the gravity of the office of the president and the magnitude of the challenges our country embraces will encourage him to be more thoughtful in his comments. However President Elect Trump has made a number of statements addressing north koreas icbm capability, Our Trade Relations with china and expansion of u. S. Nuclear weapons. Most troubling is the President Elects continuing praise of Vladimir Putin and his seeming indifference to his efforts to influence the american election. Many people believe you will be the source that cools the coffin. I look forward to hearing how you will manage the relationship between the nsc and the president. Again, thank you, mr. Chairman, i look forward to hearing from our nominee. Thank you, general mattis. There are standard questions we are required to ask. I would go through those very quickly and point out, in order to exercise its legislative and oversight responsibilities important to this committee able to receive testimony, briefings, and other communications of information. Have you adhered to applicable laws and regulations governing Conflicts Of Interest . I have. Will you ensure that your staff complies with deadlines established for requested communication including questions for the record and hearings . I will. Will you cooperate in providing witnesses and briefers in response to congressional requests . Yes. Will those witnesses be protected from reprisal for their testimony or briefings . Yes. Do you agree if confirmed to appear and testify upon request of this committee . I do. Do you agree to provide documents including copies of electronic forms and communications in a timely manner when requested by a duly constituted committee or to consult with the committee in providing such documents . Yes, sir. Have you assumed any duties russia is raising grave concerns on several fronts, and china is shedding trust along its periphery. Increasingly we see islands of stability in our hemisphere. Democracies here, in europe, and in asia under attack by nonstate actors and nations that mitchly see their security in the insecurity of others. Our armed forces in this world must remain the bestled, the bestequipped, and the most lethal in the world. These demanding times require us to put together a Strong National Security Team here in washington. If confirmed, i will lead the Department Of Defense and be a forthright member of that team. I recognize that i will need to be the strongest possible advocate for military and civilian personnel and their families. I will foster an atmosphere of harmony and trust at the department with our interagency counterparts and the awesome determination to defend herself. Working with you, i will endeavor to keep our unique allvolunteer force second to none. We open the door to all patriots who are eligible and meet the standards, provide them with the training, equipment, and leadership essential to their success, and ensure all Service Members are treated with dignity and respect. I recognize my potential civilian role differs in essence from my former role in uniform. Civilian control of the military is a fundamental tenet of the American Military tradition. Both the Commander In Chief and the Secretary Of Defense must impose an objective strategic calculus in the National Security decisionmaking process and effectively direct its actions. Civilian leaders bear these responsibilities because the esprit decor of our military and its obedience to civilian leadership reduces the inclination and power of the military to oppose a policy if it is ultimately ordered to implement. If the senate consents and if the full Congress Passes an exemplifies to the sevenyear requirement, i will provide strong civilian leadership of Military Plans and decisions in the Department Of Defense. I recognize under the constitution it is the congress that raises, sustains, and supports our armed forces through annual authorizations and appropriations. For many years i have watched you in action and testified before you. I look forward to collaborating closely for the defense of our nation. I am mindful of the extraordinary privilege it is to be nominated for this position. I will hold Service Members, civilians, and their families foremost in my thoughts and work to give the department the best chance for victory if you confirm me. Finally, on a personal note, i have worked at the pentagon twice in my career. A few people may know im not the first person in my family to do so. When in the wartime spring of 1942, my mother was 20 years old and working in military intelligence. She was part of the first wave of Government Employees to move into the stillunfinished pentagon. She had come to america as an infant and lives today on the banks of the Columbia River in the pacific northwest. Little could she imagine in her youth that more than 90 years after she immigrated to this country and 75 years after she first walked through the doors of the war department, one of her sons would be sitting here before you today. Thank you. May i take your questions. General, i neglected, would you like to introduce members of your family who are here with us today . Thank you, senator. Theyre safely west of the rockies as well right now. [ laughter ] very quickly, our uniformed military leaders have said that have testified before this committee that the Budget Control Act has put the men and women serving in uniform at greater risk. Do you agree with that . I do, sir. I believe that we are in serious trouble in afghanistan, as the taliban is able to attack regions; is that a fair statement . They have made advances and eroded some of our successes, mr. Chairman. And the afa is sustaining unsustainable losses . I need to review the Casualty Figures and recruitment, sir, but i believe thats correct. Do you believe that we have a strategy that will allow us to regain control of raqqah . I believe we do, sir. However, i believe that strategy needs to be reviewed and perhaps energized on a more aggressive timeline. It seems to me that some of the actions, were taking 50 troops here, 200 there, smacks of mission creep. Is there do you think that there is some aspects of that . Chairman, im not current on this issue. If confirmed i will get current very quickly. I just returned from a trip to the baltics, georgia and ukraine. They are incredibly worried about our commitment to them. And one of the major priorities that the baltic countries have is a permanent u. S. Military presence, not a base, but a Permanent Military presence in the baltics. Do you agree with that . Chairman, once the new National Security team is confirmed, i want to sit down with them and come up with a coherent, integrated strategy that uses diplomacy i understand. Im specifically speaking of the baltics. I do, sir. On a trip that i took with Senator Graham and senator klobuchar, we went close to the front lines, with the president of ukraine, where we took part in various ceremonies and meetings with these brave ukrainians, 10,000 of whom have been slaughtered by Vladimir Putin in his invasion of crimea and ukraine. And i know you can appreciate the fact that there was a ceremony where the president of ukraine gave their highest award to the mother of a young man who had just been killed by a russian sniper a couple of days before. Its always very moving, and it brings Home Graphically what the russians have done in ukraine and crimea. Crimea, in blatant violation of the budapest agreement for which they recognized crimea as part of ukraine in return for ukraine giving up its nuclear inventory, what do you think we ought to do about russia, general mattis . Do you think we ought to maybe have sanctions against russia . Or basically sit by, as we have for the last couple of years, and watched their aggression, by the way, including their precision guided weapons against hospitals in aleppo, the list goes on and on of the atrocities that have been committed by Vladimir Putin while we again try a reset. Ive watched three president s commit themselves to new relationship with Vladimir Putin. All three have been an abysmal failure. Should we ignore the lessons of history in our relationship with Vladimir Putin . And what should we be doing . Chairman, history is not a straitjacket. But ive never found a better guide for the way ahead than studying the history. Since yalta, we have a long list of times weve tried to engage positively with russia. We have a relatively short list of successes in that regard. And i think right now the most important thing is to recognize the reality of what we deal with, with mr. Putin, and we recognize that he is trying to break the north atlantic alliance, and that we take the steps, the integrated steps, diplomatic, economic, military, and the alliance steps, working with our allies, to defend ourselves where we must. You are a distinguished student of history. And as we are all aware, that following world war ii, a world order was established which has held for basically the last 70 years. Do you believe that that world order is now under more strain than its ever been . I think its under the biggest attack since world war ii, sir. And thats from russia, from terrorist groups, and with what china is doing in the south china sea. And that would argue for us making sure were adequately prepared to meet these challenges . I think deterrence is critical right now, sir, absolutely. And that requires the strongest military. Do you think we have a Strong Enough military today in order to achieve that goal . No, sir. I thank you. Senator reed. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you, general, for your testimony, and again for your service. As i mentioned in my opening statement, your comments at csis indicated misgivings about jcpoa, in your words, theres no going back. Short of a clear and present violation, that was enough to stimulate the europeans action that we have to Essential Stly Y the course. Is that still your view . Its an arms agreement, senator, its not a friendship treaty. When america gives its word we have to live up to it and work with our allies. As i pointed out and as you have recognized and pointed out much more eloquently, challenges arising from the nonnuclear aspects of iranian conduct. Proxy support, interference with shipping. In fact there was an incident this week of provocation. How do you apply appropriate pressure to the iranians to contain their behavior in these areas without jeopardizing the solidarity of the european and World Community and the durability of the jcpoa . Chairman, once the new National Security team is confirmed, well Work Together. But i think to publicly display what iran is up to with their surrogates and proxies, their Terrorist Units that they support, to recognize the Ballistic Missile threat, to deal with the maritime threat, and to publicly make clear to everyone what theyre doing in the cyber realm, all helps to constrain iran. Thank you. Now, if you are to become the Secretary Of Defense, you will be a critical component of the Intelligence Community. You produced intelligence through the Defense Intelligence agency. You can consume intelligence because it is the basis of almost every recommendation or decision you would make. And we are in a very unique situation where we have a President Elect disparaging the Intelligence Community, questioning its conclusions, and questioning its motivations, suggesting perhaps that there would be some actions taken, perhaps bordering on retribution, for analysis that is being done, we premiusume, i certainly presume, based On Tradecraft and allegiance to the facts and the best judgment they can make. Do you believe if you observe behavior such as that, disrupting the Intelligence Community, disparaging it, undermining it, ignoring it again, i could go on. Do you feel you have an obligation to the country and the committee to inform the committee of those actions . Senator, i can tell new my many years of involvement in the military, i had a close relationship with the Intelligence Community. I could evaluate their effectiveness at times on a daily basis. And i have very, very high degree of confidence in our Intelligence Community. And if you see that Community Being undercut, not debated about their conclusions, but undercut or somehow ignored or selectively being listened to or ignored, again, do you feel you have an obligation to make us aware of this so we can exercise our responsibilities . Ill be completely transparent with this committee, sir. But i would not have taken this job if i didnt believe the President Elect would also be open to my input

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