Daily Press Briefing
John Kirby
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
November 9, 2015
Index for Today's Briefing
JORDAN
BURUNDI
SIERRA LEONE
SECRETARY KERRY
JORDAN
SYRIA
IRAN
RUSSIA/EGYPT
EGYPT
DEPARTMENT
AFGHANISTAN
TRANSCRIPT:
2:07 p.m. EST
MR KIRBY: Good afternoon, everybody. A few things at the top and then we'll get right to it. I am going to have to try to be down by about 2:40 this afternoon, so we're going to have to try to clip through this if we can.
On today's shooting in Jordan, we can confirm that two U.S. citizen trainers were killed and two U.S. citizens were wounded in a shooting incident today – two U.S. citizen trainers also wounded. So two U.S. trainers killed, two U.S. trainers wounded in a shooting incident today at the Jordan International Police Training Center. We understand that others were also killed and that additional individuals were wounded. Our heartfelt condolences, of course, go out to the families of all the victims. The investigation is ongoing – in fact, has just begun – and it's too – it's premature to speculate on motive at this point. We are, as you might imagine, working closely with the Government of Jordan and local security services on this full and comprehensive investigation. We, of course, deeply appreciate the cooperation and support received from our Jordanian partners.
On Burundi, the United States remains concerned about the potential for additional violence in Burundi connected with recent inflammatory rhetoric. Secretary Kerry called African Union Chairperson Dlamini-Zuma this weekend in support of the African Union's efforts for a resolution to Burundi's ongoing crisis. The Secretary also deployed his Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa Thomas Perriello to stress the urgent need for dialogue. The United States calls on both government and nongovernment actors to refrain from violence. We continue to stress the urgency for leaders in Burundi and across the East African Community to call for calm and support the immediate convening of an inclusive, internationally mediated dialogue to resolve the current crisis. As with any fluid situation, we are closely monitoring events on the ground there in Burundi and are taking all appropriate measures to ensure the safety of embassy personnel and their families.
In Sierra Leone, the United States congratulates the people of Sierra Leone on reaching the important milestone marked by world – the World Health Organization's announcement that the current outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone has ended, after having gone 42 days without any new cases. This is a historic milestone that comes after more than 17 months of intense efforts to end the worst-ever Ebola outbreak in history. This achievement is attributed to the Government of Sierra Leone's sustained response in combating and containing the disease, and to the efforts of the international community, donors, and nongovernmental organizations who assisted in this response. We urge the people of Sierra Leone to continue to be vigilant as the threat of a renewed Ebola outbreak will remain in the region until all the affected countries reach the equivalent milestone. The United States will remain fully engaged in a partnership with West Africa to build the capacity within the region to prevent, detect, and respond to future outbreaks before they become epidemics.
And finally, a traveling note: Secretary Kerry will travel to Tunis, Vienna, and Antalya from November 13th to November 17th. While in Tunis, the Secretary will participate in the second U.S.-Tunisia Strategic Dialogue and meet with a range of government officials and civil society leaders. In Vienna, the Secretary will hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with foreign counterparts to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria. And then he will travel to Antalya, Turkey to join President Obama at the G20 Leaders Summit. As always, you can follow news from his travel on our website at state.gov.
QUESTION: Can you give us those dates again? I'm sorry, I missed it.
MR KIRBY: The 13th to the 17th.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: We leave Thursday night, come back very late on Monday night.
QUESTION: Before we go back to the Vienna portion of that trip, just on Jordan: I don't imagine that you're going to have a whole lot more to say about this, but can you say what this program was that these people were involved – what were they training? What kind of program is it? And --
MR KIRBY: Right. The --
QUESTION: -- who actually do they work for – do these people – the dead and injured work for? The Americans.
MR KIRBY: The training is done at the International Police Training Center in Jordan. It's a Jordanian-owned facility. The training is predominantly arranged for Palestinian security forces, to teach them basic police and security skills. It's been in place since 2008, and it is coordinated and run and funded from here at the State Department in partnership with Diplomatic Security as well as the – our INL Bureau.
QUESTION: Okay. Well, but these – the trainers were contracted? Or what's their relationship to the U.S. Government?
MR KIRBY: These are – these individuals, the two that were killed were what we call monitors. They were contractors contracted through the State Department as trainer/monitors for these – for this curriculum.
QUESTION: But they work for – they actually work for a private company?
MR KIRBY: They work for a private company.
QUESTION: Do you know what --
MR KIRBY: DynCorp.
QUESTION: DynCorp.
MR KIRBY: Yeah.
QUESTION: Okay. And that's all the people at this facility, not just those who were – not just the – not just those killed and wounded. All the Americans who are at this facility training the police work for DynCorp?
MR KIRBY: I don't know that I could go so far as to say all the Americans and monitors at the facility work for DynCorp, but the two in question did.
Yeah.
QUESTION: What about the two who were wounded?
MR KIRBY: I don't have more information on them. As you might imagine, we have – the privacy considerations are a little bit more stringent for those that are still living.
QUESTION: And then, John, there's been – there have been conflicting reports on the number of dead from this incident. The Jordanian information minister, I am told, has said that there were a total of five people killed including the shooter. There have been other numbers going up – I've seen six and then I've also seen eight. What is your understanding of the number of people of all nationalities who died in this incident?
MR KIRBY: I think the farthest I'm comfortable going right now is to say that we understand several people were killed, but I'm reticent to give a whole number right now because as you've rightly pointed out, Arshad, the numbers have changed a little bit throughout the day and my experience with incidents like this is that that's to be expected, that it's going to be a little fluid, and regrettably, some people who are wounded could perish from those wounds. I just don't know. So I know that several were killed, not – obviously, not all were Americans. We know that two Americans were among the dead. We understand that, as I said in my opening statement, others from other countries were also killed. But I am really reticent to give a whole number right now while the investigation just got started and while we still have people that are being treated for wounds.
QUESTION: And can you tell us – the two Americans who died, you said that they were contractors from DynCorp contracted by the State Department. Did they work for INL? Was that the contract? Or did they work for Diplomatic Security or some other branch of the State Department?
MR KIRBY: The – I'm not an expert on the program. As I understand it, it's run out of both DS and INL, Diplomatic Security and INL. Both administer this. Who exactly – which of those bureaus might have let the contract? I don't know, Arshad. It is a State Department contract. I mean, so we do have purview over the contract. I just don't know exactly which bureau, if any, which might have actually let the contract. But it's a State Department program.
QUESTION: John --
QUESTION: Can you speak to the nature of the injuries at all? We've heard that the injuries – the Americans are in critical condition. Do you know where they're being treated?
MR KIRBY: They're being treated there in Amman. I do not have additional information on the status – their health status or the status of their injuries.
QUESTION: Do you have any more detail about how the incident played out without saying things you can't confirm? But I mean, what time of day was it? Where exactly was it? Was it – anything about the setting in which this occurred.
MR KIRBY: I really rather would not get into specifics on the circumstances here. As you can imagine, now there's an investigation ongoing and I want to make sure that we preserve the sanctity of that. So I'm not going to get into additional details.
QUESTION: Was the shooter one of the trainees, to the best of your knowledge?
MR KIRBY: Again, I don't want to get ahead of the investigation, Said.
QUESTION: All right.
QUESTION: Who's leading the investigation?
QUESTION: This is strictly for training Palestinians? Is that what you said?
MR KIRBY: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: This is strictly for training Palestinian security?
MR KIRBY: That's the purpose of this program, yes.
QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Your question was?
QUESTION: Who's leading the investigation? Obviously, the Jordanians, but from the U.S. side?
MR KIRBY: The Jordanians are leading the investigation. I can tell you that Diplomatic Security will be assisting in the investigation, as you might expect they would, and that's all I can speak to from the State Department. There could be other U.S. Government entities assisting in the investigation, but I can't speak for them.
QUESTION: But to be clear, the shooter is believed to be Jordanian, correct?
MR KIRBY: I don't know that for a fact, Justin.
QUESTION: The – okay.
MR KIRBY: I mean, we've seen reports that the shooter may have been wearing a Jordanian uniform. I can't confirm that and I – again, I wouldn't not get ahead of an investigation that's just now starting.
QUESTION: Could you – you don't know --
QUESTION: I wouldn't not get ahead of --
QUESTION: -- for example, whether he was a Jordanian military officer?
MR KIRBY: Huh?
QUESTION: You don't know whether he was a Jordanian military officer?
MR KIRBY: I do not know that for a fact, no.
QUESTION: Do you know if he killed himself as has been --
MR KIRBY: I do not know. What was your question? Or was this – were you correcting my English?
QUESTION: I – it was an odd double negative. I don't know. "I wouldn't not get ahead of" --
MR KIRBY: I won't get ahead of the investigation.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR KIRBY: Thank you for correcting my (inaudible).
QUESTION: No, I'm not trying to --
MR KIRBY: No, no. It's --
QUESTION: -- I'm just trying to figure out what --
MR KIRBY: No, no.
QUESTION: That's exactly what you did.
QUESTION: You don't know --
QUESTION: I don't want to correct him.
QUESTION: But you did correct his grammar.
QUESTION: You don't know if he --
MR KIRBY: I'm always open to self-improvement. That's fine.
Pam.
QUESTION: John, are there any early indications on whether or not this was linked to any sort of broader terrorist activity? And then secondly, also, is this the first incident of its kind in Jordan, the shooting of American, since the Laurence Foley incident back in 2002?
MR KIRBY: I know of no other. And I would not even begin to speculate on motive here in terms of what happened. I think we need to let the investigators do their jobs.
QUESTION: John, what about the Lebanese who was injured in the incident, too?
MR KIRBY: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: The Lebanese citizen?
MR KIRBY: I won't speak for another nation's citizens. As I said, to my answer to Arshad, I'm aware that there were several killed. Two were American; obviously, the others were of different nationalities, but it's not my place to speak for other countries and their citizens.
QUESTION: Can I go to the trip? And I guess a lot of this is probably painfully obvious, but just to make sure that we – this – these bilateral and multilateral meetings that you're talking about that are – he's going to be at in Vienna are the next round of talks on the political transition, correct?
MR KIRBY: That's correct.
QUESTION: And it's on Saturday?
MR KIRBY: Correct.
QUESTION: Is that correct? And you expect the Iranians will be there?
MR KIRBY: I am not in a position to talk about participation right now. I think we'll know a little bit more as we get further on into the week exactly who's going to be at the table and in the various meetings. And there'll be, as you know, several meetings. There will be one multilateral setting where --
QUESTION: Right.
MR KIRBY: -- all the participants are, but I think you can expect that the Secretary will participate in smaller meetings as well.
QUESTION: And would you expect any Syrian representatives to be participating?
MR KIRBY: I'm just not in a position to talk about participation right now.
QUESTION: Okay. The Iranians have said that they are going to go. And Foreign Minister Zarif said earlier that one of the things that the meeting is hoping to achieve is to draw up a list of who's okay and who's not, who – and the way I think he defined it was who is a terrorist and who is not – in other words, who will be subject to any kind of a ceasefire that one might get. And I'm wondering, is that your understanding as well, that that's one of the things that needs to be done?
MR KIRBY: Let me put it this way. Certainly as we work our way through this process, one of the things – and we've talked about this before – that's critically important is getting to a point where the opposition groups can be represented in these discussions, clearly, because they have a huge stake in the future of Syria. As we said last time after Vienna, we don't believe we're at a point right now – in fact, they would tell you they're not at a point right now where they're ready to be a active participant in those discussions. That will come. It will come in time. One of the things that has been routinely talked about since the very beginning of this, way back to Doha in the summer, is – so how do you unify them, and how do you help them self-identify the right players, to be a party to these discussions? And that's been a topic of discussion now for a while. So I fully – I would fully expect that without getting too specific on the agenda items for this round in Vienna, but I would fully expect, as these ministers have in the past, to continue to talk about the composition of the opposition, and the logistics around how do you get the opposition to the table eventually.
QUESTION: Right. But I – you wouldn't dispute what Foreign Minister Zarif said about drawing up kind of who is in and who – not necessarily at the talks, but the armed – the people who have more fighting on the ground – which one of those are going to be fair game to continue to go after --
MR KIRBY: Right.
QUESTION: -- and which ones they should not go – which ones, either the U.S. or the Russians or the Syrian army, shouldn't go after? Is that – that's correct?
MR KIRBY: I don't want to get too specific on agenda items, Matt. But yes.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR KIRBY: You can expect that they will simply discuss opposition groups and the progress that we need to continue to make to get them to be active participants in these discussions.
QUESTION: And is it your understanding that the Syrian Government's position is essentially going to be represented by the Russians? Is that --
MR KIRBY: I do not expect the Assad regime to be represented in these discussions.
QUESTION: No, I know. But you – but the way you have approached this thus far, they have been speaking – I mean, you have asked them to use their influence with the regime, right?
MR KIRBY: Well, they certainly have a relationship --
QUESTION: Right. Okay.
MR KIRBY: -- with the Assad regime, but so do the Iranians.
QUESTION: So the point of this line of questioning is that both Syria and Iran are identified by this government and have been identified by the U.S. Government for many, many years as state sponsors of terrorism. How is it that you can explain giving these countries – I mean, they would disagree with that, I'm – with your assessment, but how do you explain giving these countries, who you say are state sponsors of terrorism, the ability or a vote or a say on who is or who is not a terrorist?
MR KIRBY: Our view of their support for terrorism hasn't changed. You're absolutely right on our policy with respect to their state sponsorship of terrorism, absolutely right. But nothing about that says that you can't have a dialogue with them. I mean, we wouldn't have been able to get to the Iran deal if the reasoning was well, you can't negotiate with a recognized state sponsor of terrorism.
QUESTION: Well, but – yeah, but that's a completely separate thing.
MR KIRBY: But no, no, no, I'm getting there. Hang on a second, I'm getting there.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR KIRBY: So I recognize that our policy with respect to those two governments hasn't changed, and we are – nobody's turning a blind eye to their continued destabilizing activities in support for terrorists in the region and beyond. And nothing's going to change about the kinds of pressure that we're going to continue to apply to deal with that particular issue. That said – the President has noted this as well as Secretary Kerry – you can't get to a political solution in Syria – by definition you can't get to a political solution in Syria without a transition away from Assad and to a more inclusive representative government, and you can't get to that transition if you can't have a dialogue with those who have a stake in Syria's political future and influence over the Assad regime. And Russia and Iran have both. They have a stake in Syria. Whether we like it or not is immaterial; they do. And they also have influence over Assad. So it would be irresponsible in terms of trying to reach the final outcome if you didn't have them at the table at some point and in some capacity to have this dialogue.
QUESTION: I just don't understand how it is that you are willing to concede to Iran, a country which you say is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, a vote or a say on who or who is not a terrorist in Syria.
MR KIRBY: You --
QUESTION: I mean, it just seems illogical to me if you think that or if you --
MR KIRBY: It seems illogical to us that you wouldn't have them at the table. And you --
QUESTION: No, not to have them at the table, but they're going to be --
MR KIRBY: And the way you're phrasing – the way you're phrasing the question, it's like --
QUESTION: They're going to be deciding who and who does not get --
MR KIRBY: No, no. The way you're phrasing the question is like everybody has this equal vote and it's like --
QUESTION: Doesn't it work by consensus?
MR KIRBY: -- the Continental Congress. It's not. There is a – they will have a series of discussions and, as I said, there will be a consensus view about how to move forward.
QUESTION: Right. So if --
MR KIRBY: So will their voice be heard? Absolutely. But I think – you said it's illogical to have them there. I would argue the opposite, that it's illogical not to have them there.
QUESTION: No, no, no, I'm not saying it's illogical to have them there. I am saying it's – it would seem --
MR KIRBY: So we should have them there and not give them a vote – or a voice?
QUESTION: On who is or who is not a terrorist. It just seem – does that not --
MR KIRBY: I think – but I --
QUESTION: -- seem odd? No? All right, I'll drop it.
MR KIRBY: Not – no, it doesn't seem odd. And the point I'd make is we're mindful of Iran's interests and we're mindful of their activities with respect to terrorism. And that we would just simply accept without criticism, that we would simply just accept without any scrutiny the view of Iran with respect to who is or who isn't a terrorist, I think it goes well beyond what we actually will be. I think, as we've talked about before, the Secretary approaches these discussions from a very practical, pragmatic way. And he's mindful that Iran's view of who is or who isn't a terrorist is certainly going to be different than our view.
And then I'd want to go back to your first question where you said Zarif said, well, this about who is and who isn't a terrorist. I wouldn't characterize the discussions in Vienna that way.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR KIRBY: I'm not going to get into too much of the agenda specifically, but that is not the way the Secretary's viewing this next round of talks.
QUESTION: How, in your view – you said that's not in our view. How, in your view, will you be able to determine who is and who is not a terrorist? Do you have a list of the organization that you can view as a terrorist?
MR KIRBY: You're putting this in more binary conditions than I think warrants at this point. The meeting in Vienna is not about who's on a good list and who's on a bad list, okay? We're not playing Santa Claus. This is about, first of all, making more additional progress – more progress after the last rounds of talks in Vienna is towards a political transition and what that can look like. And there's a lot in that discussion, Said, not just who is or who isn't an opposition member that we can work with. So there's going to be more discussed than just this.
On that topic, as I said to Matt, clearly one of the things they have talked about, and you can continue to expect them to talk about going forward, is the opposition itself and how to better unify the opposition in ways they aren't right now. Unify – help unify them so that they can be a voice at the table and an active participant. And they have indicated – some members of various groups have indicated that they want to be, but even they recognize they're not there yet. So this isn't about taking out a sharp pencil and crossing people on the list or putting people off the list.
QUESTION: Well, the reason I'm asking is because your other allies, the Saudis for instance, are fine and perfect with aiding groups like Ahrar al-Sham or even those who are really close to al-Qaida and so on, which you disagree with. How will you convince the Saudis and the GCC countries that are – have been aiding extremist groups that you might categorize as terrorists yourself? I mean, how will you have at least some sort of understanding with your allies on who is and who is not okay?
MR KIRBY: That's why these discussions are so important, Said. We recognize – and we've talked about this many times before – that not everybody has the same shared view about what the future in Syria needs to look like, nor do they have the same shared view about the future of the Assad regime, nor do they have the same shared view about who or who isn't a legitimate opposition group. And that's why it's important to get everybody who has a stake and an influence in Syria at the table to have these discussions. And I guarantee you, folks, that this next trip to Vienna will not be the last such multilateral setting that is conducted with respect to how do we get at a political solution in Syria. Now, where and when the next meeting will be I don't know, but I guarantee you there will be more.
Yeah.
QUESTION: Can I follow on that? John, you said you're not going to talk about the who is going to participate that, but who is the – who has the decisive voice to invite the attendees? Is that U.S. or Russia or Iran? Who is it?
MR KIRBY: I think, as I've said before, when we talk about these meetings, if – when you look at who's in the room when we get to Vienna, I can promise you that those decisions will be made through a consensus approach. It's not about one country having a larger vote than another. Clearly, there are countries that have helped sort of convene these settings. The United States obviously, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey sort of the – they were the sort of first four that started having these multilateral discussions, but as others have joined in – and not all of them are countries; the EU is represented as well as the UN last time – they also have a view that has to be taken into account.
QUESTION: Okay. So --
MR KIRBY: Let's not get hung up on who's licking the envelopes and sending the invitations.
QUESTION: Right, right. No, I was just trying to make sure if there is some complaint from the different states or actors that are not invited, if it's U.S. have the decisive voice so we can ask further questions. But that's fair enough.
MR KIRBY: There's no one decisive voice here.
QUESTION: Okay, fair enough. But if I can follow on the Iranian and your answer to Matt, that your view on Iranian role as a state sponsor of terrorism or their destabilization works in that region has not changed, but it seems it has changed. Since the last six month we have not heard any statements, anything from United States, from the State Department on the human rights violation in Iran, on the political activists, the executions. That's increased. And in the last six months several Iranian opposition leaders, including people coming to Washington, tried to approach you, to the U.S. Government and also State Department officials, to talk about human rights issues, but no answer from your side, from the Administration, since you have the deal. So that means it has – and then you invite them to the talks on Syria. That's a big change in your policy toward Iran.
MR KIRBY: There's no change in our policy on Iran.
QUESTION: But that – these are --
MR KIRBY: I understand people may have a different view. Maybe you have a different view. We don't have a different view of Iran's state sponsorship of terrorism or the destabilizing activities that we know they continue to conduct; nor nothing has changed about the fact that we have tools at our disposal to deal with that, and we'll continue to do that. So I get that there may be people who don't think that, and I understand that maybe I don't stand up here every day and talk about Iran and human rights, but nothing's changed about our policy with respect to Iran in that regard.
QUESTION: Can you state the dates on which the Vienna meeting or meetings would occur?
MR KIRBY: Saturday.
QUESTION: Only on Saturday, not on Sunday?
MR KIRBY: Right now it's slated to be Saturday.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Yeah. Yes, sure.
QUESTION: No, no --
QUESTION: On the same.
QUESTION: Should we expect, John, 19 participants, less or more?
MR KIRBY: I don't have anything for you on participation right now. When I have something more concrete, I'll certainly give it to you.
Yeah.
QUESTION: The refugee crisis is being faced by the European countries and the EU, and so how many European countries are coming, EU, and will this be a major issue on the agenda?
MR KIRBY: I just told you I don't have anything on participation, so I appreciate the multiple efforts to get me to give you the list of people coming. I don't have it for you. And when I do, I will certainly provide it.
But absolutely, I don't think there's been a single discussion about Syria and about finding a way through here politically that hasn't included reference to and acknowledgment of the enormous refugee crisis which continues to plague the Syrian people and many of our European friends and partners. Absolutely, that'll be factored in. There's no question about that.
QUESTION: And just another – the White House had announced some 10,000 refugees will be taken into the U.S. When, where, how they are coming?
MR KIRBY: We're still working our way thought that. I mean, the President made very clear his goal. I would remind you that that's for this fiscal year. We're now in Fiscal Year 16 and I can tell you we're working very hard to make sure that we get there, but we just started the fiscal year.
Yeah.
QUESTION: Iran-related. Do you guys have anything new to say about the S-300 sale/transfer, or are you just going to repeat what you have always said in the past, as this has crawled snail-like from signing to deal done to delivery?
MR KIRBY: Look, our position on this is the same, Matt, and we've made clear those objections to any sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran for quite a few years now. We've long objected to that sale – to the sale to Iran of such sophisticated defense capabilities and we're going to continue to monitor this very closely.
I already got you.
QUESTION: On Afghanistan?
QUESTION: On --
MR KIRBY: No. You want to go to Afghanistan too?
QUESTION: I don't. I just want to do one really quick on the plane.
QUESTION: It's not a quick one but go ahead.
QUESTION: But a question. Has there been any request for U.S. assistance? There was some talk at the end of last week about possibly sending some help to search the wreckage for clues about what took the plane down.
MR KIRBY: As I've said before, we have offered assistance. I'm not aware of any acceptance at this point, but I know that an offer has been extended. I think the FBI talked about --
QUESTION: Not even Moscow --
MR KIRBY: -- acknowledging – an offer of forensic assistance. But I don't know where that stands.
QUESTION: You don't know if they're there?
MR KIRBY: I have no idea. I'd refer you to the FBI or to other federal agencies.
QUESTION: Same topic. So Josh Earnest earlier said the U.S. was sharing – has been sharing information with Russia and Egypt on this and are continuing to do so. Do you know anything about when that started, what type of information was --
MR KIRBY: I don't. I mean, I – that's my understanding as well. There has been the sharing of information related specifically to this crash between the United States and Russia and between the United States and Egypt. The details of that I just don't have.
QUESTION: And Reuters reported that the U.S. monitored Russian officials to gather some of that information, so to speak. Is this a preferred method of cooperating? And more seriously, has Russia or Egypt, have they filed a complaint about these reports about this?
And number two, they were upset about leaks last week, assessments about the terrorist attack. Have they registered any complaints, or have you had communication with them?
MR KIRBY: Can you – I did not understand your first question.
QUESTION: It was – the report itself --
MR KIRBY: They're complaining about a Reuters article? What?
QUESTION: Yeah. The report itself is – not to bash anyone – the lede's a little confusing, but it says Reuters reported that the U.S. – that the U.S. monitored Russian officials and that's how they found out – one of the ways they found out that there was a bomb on the plane.
MR KIRBY: Oh, monitored communications?
QUESTION: Yeah, "monitored" is the word.
MR KIRBY: Oh, yeah. I think – look, I think, as you know, I'm not going to talk about intelligence matters from here. Look --
QUESTION: But I was – the State Department, have you heard any complaints from Russia or Egypt about --
MR KIRBY: I wouldn't – we've been in routine communication with the Russian and Egyptian authorities as they investigate this crash. As we've said, we – our offer of assistance was genuine and made in that spirit. I wouldn't speak to the details of discussions and conversations that we've had with them to that end, particularly since this is an ongoing investigation. So I'm not aware of any --
QUESTION: But in general you've discussed this – not this incident, but in general, the crash itself, you've been in negotiations with your counterparts in Russia – the State Department?
MR KIRBY: Have we --
QUESTION: Just on this in general. Yeah, in the last few days.
MR KIRBY: On the investigation?
QUESTION: Investigation, yeah.
MR KIRBY: Yes, of course, we have been in communication with Russian and Egyptian authorities. And as Mr. Earnest said from the White House earlier today, there has been some sharing of information specifically related to the crash itself. So yes, there's been communication with them on this. Yeah. Did that answer your question?
QUESTION: Yeah. Does that information include the satellite data?
MR KIRBY: I'm not going to talk about intelligence matters.
QUESTION: Okay, right.
MR KIRBY: I appreciate the effort, but --
QUESTION: Can we stay in Egypt for a second?
MR KIRBY: Yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: Just – I'm just wondering if you have any reaction or response to the arrest of this investigative journalist in Egypt over the weekend who's now being held in an unknown location.
MR KIRBY: I think I do. I just have to find it here. I think they put things in here alphabetically.
QUESTION: It's right after D. (Laughter.)
MR KIRBY: Thanks, Matt.
QUESTION: Before F.
MR KIRBY: No, the English grammar lessons are terrific, and please keep them coming. (Laughter.)
We've seen news reports concerning the arrest of Egyptian journalist Hossam Baghat and Salah Diab, the owner of Al-Masry al-Youm. We are closely following both cases. As we've said before, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and upholding the rule of law are crucial to Egypt's long-term stability and prosperity. We continue to have frank discussions with the Government of Egypt about those issues.
QUESTION: One more, it's extremely brief. It's totally unrelated. I'm done after this. And that is you were asked on Friday about this – the story that ran in Politico about the emails and the intelligence and the DNI. Did you ever get to the bottom of this, the – whether the Clinton emails did or did not contain top secret SCI material?
MR KIRBY: As far as I know, as I speak here today this afternoon, we are still not aware of any final resolution by the intelligence community with respect to those emails. Our position obviously stays the same on both.
QUESTION: Well, okay. Well, it said in the story that the State Department had been told by DNI not to concern themselves when you're going through to redact them --
MR KIRBY: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- about anything really super high classified.
MR KIRBY: Again, I'm not aware of any determination by the ICIG or by any communication for us in terms of altering the way things are being redacted.
QUESTION: It sounds like you're refuting the story at this point, then. I mean, I think – wouldn't you have the opportunity to have been made aware of that by now if it were true?
MR KIRBY: I'm sure that if it had happened, we'd be aware of it. And I'm not – I'm simply not aware that that communication has happened.
I got time for just one more. Yeah.
QUESTION: Two questions.
MR KIRBY: I said one more.
QUESTION: They're very small.
MR KIRBY: They're very small. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Last week --
MR KIRBY: We'll see about that.
QUESTION: Last week the DOD held a talk with a foreign journalist and Captain Jeff Davis had stated that the Taliban in Afghanistan are now reconciliatory partners. And then the next day when I contacted him, he denied it. He said he misspoke about it. So my question is: What is the role of Taliban now in Afghanistan? And how do you view the TTP in Pakistan? Because the TTP in the State Department information, it's a terrorist group. But the Taliban in Afghanistan are not and they are in dialogue. So can you explain us the difference between the two --
MR KIRBY: Our views of the TTP haven't changed. And you're asking me – so the Pentagon said something and then they said they misspoke and --
QUESTION: Yeah, they misspoke. They – when I asked --
MR KIRBY: -- took it back, and now you want to know what I think of the mistake that they corrected?
QUESTION: No, they asked me to ask the State Department about the TTP that --
MR KIRBY: So you think if you ask me, maybe I'll give you a different answer than the Pentagon?
QUESTION: No, my question is that if the TTP is a terrorist group, and Taliban in Afghanistan are in a dialogue process, aren't TTP a part of the Taliban?
MR KIRBY: I think I'm – our position on the TTP hasn't changed. We still believe they're a terrorist group. And as for relations between the TTP and the Taliban, you should talk to them. What we have long said is that we support an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned reconciliation process. We've also said that we understand – and we've said this for years – that not every member of the Taliban is reconcilable, and that the Taliban isn't necessarily a monolithic group that has ultimate control over every single member. We support an Afghan-led reconciliation process with those members of the Taliban that are willing and able to participate in that.
And we continue to support President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah as they continue to pursue that in coordination and communication with their counterparts in Pakistan. That's what's really got to happen here. We've also said that if a member of the Taliban is going to commit terrorist acts and continue to commit terrorist acts, then they make themselves legitimate targets of Afghan National Security Forces.
Thanks.
QUESTION: They were --
MR KIRBY: You said you only had two.
QUESTION: In Zabul today, there were 100 people killed in Afghanistan, in Zabul province. There was a fight between the Taliban and the ISS. Can you confirm if this is true?
MR KIRBY: No, I'm afraid I don't have anything on that.
Thanks, everybody. I got to get going. I'm sorry.
(The briefing was concluded at 2:43 p.m.)
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