Daily Press Briefing
Mark C. Toner
Deputy Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
March 24, 2016
Index for Today's Briefing
TURKEY
THE HAGUE
YEMEN
BELGIUM
YEMEN
SYRIA
NORTH KOREA
CHINA
IRAQ
DEPARTMENT
TRANSCRIPT:
1:46 p.m. EDT
MR TONER: Good afternoon, everyone. I'll beg your patience at the top, because I've got a number of toppers to get through.
So beginning with Turkey and Deputy Secretary Blinken's visit there. U.S. and Turkish interagency delegations led by Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Turkish Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs Feridun Sinirlioglu met March 23rd in Ankara to discuss our joint efforts to combat terrorism, to support a political transition in Syria, and to strengthen regional security. Deputy Secretary Blinken also met separately with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss a range of topics in our bilateral relationship. Deputy Secretary Blinken and our Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey John Bass also paid their respects at the sight of the March 13th terrorist bombing in Ankara's Kizilay neighborhood in which nearly 40 people lost their lives.
Paris, Beirut, Bamako, Grand-Bassam, Ankara, Istanbul, and now Brussels – the attacks in all of these places – and on a daily basis in Iraq and Syria – underscore the nature of the threat that we are facing and reinforce our determination to work closely with our partners and allies, the Turkish people and government, as well as other international partners, to defeat Daesh and other terrors.
Very briefly, too, I did want to speak about the – today that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Radovan Karadzic of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. With the trial chamber's conviction, we move one step closer to closing another painful chapter in the story of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. We'll never forget the horrors of genocide in Bosnia or the many other crimes committed on all sides of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, nor will we ever stop honoring their victims and survivors. We urge the members of the international community to cooperate with the ICTY and respect its decisions.
Third one. This is on Yemen talks and a ceasefire announced. The United States welcomes the announcements by the UN special envoy for Yemen that parties have agreed to a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Yemen beginning April 10th in advance of the next round of peace talks, to start April 18th in Kuwait. The time for fighting in Yemen to end – the time for the fighting in Yemen to end is now. We urge all parties to take steps to de-escalate violence as soon as possible. It's imperative that all honor the upcoming cessation of hostility and – or risk, frankly, protracting this conflict at further cost to human life.
We urge parties to return in good faith to the UN-led talks, because it's only by returning to a peaceful political transition process that Yemen can address the urgent humanitarian crisis and rebuild the economy to create the better future the Yemeni people desperately want and deserve. The – a cessation of hostilities will allow for the delivery as well of critically needed relief throughout Yemen, and we urge all to facilitate the entry and delivery of essential relief items to the civilian population, including urgently needed food, medicine, and fuel through all of Yemen's ports, and to allow for the unhindered access of humanitarian – for humanitarian organizations to reach the people in need.
Then the last one; it's just an update, where we stand in terms of injured and missing Americans in Belgium. So the Belgians have shared information with us on U.S. citizens potentially injured by the attacks. This includes the names of U.S. citizens who are known to be injured, and the names of unaccounted-for individuals. The Belgians are still in the process of identifying the deceased. We are centralizing all information that we have on affected U.S. citizens from all sources. That includes information the Belgians have shared with us, information provided directly to us from family members and loved ones, as well as media reports. And we're making every effort to locate U.S. citizens who are unaccounted for. Our embassy staff is providing all possible emergency consular assistance to U.S. citizens. Belgian privacy laws place certain restrictions on our access to hospitals that are treating the injured, but we are making every effort to visit, meet with, and assist those American citizens who have – or have been affected by the attacks, as well as, obviously, share information that we get with their loved ones.
At this time, we are aware of approximately a dozen U.S. citizens who have been injured in the attack. So that number has not changed since yesterday. Also at this time, we are not aware of any U.S. citizen deaths. We must emphasize that a number of U.S. citizens remain unaccounted for and Belgian authorities have not yet released nationality information for reported fatalities.
Now for – with regard to our own international U.S. Government accountability, that is still ongoing for two individuals. And we're making every effort to account for the welfare of both chief of mission personnel as well as, as I mentioned, U.S. citizens in the city.
Yeah. Over to you, Brad.
QUESTION: All right. Can you say anything more about those two individuals, or is that – are you restricted at the time?
MR TONER: I can't, at this point in time. Certainly as we establish ultimately their whereabouts we will obviously update you. And when we have – we have to, obviously, operate under Privacy Act considerations as well.
QUESTION: And the – you say the Belgians still haven't given any identifications for the deceased.
MR TONER: So they have not. Yes, that's correct. They have not released nationality information for reported fatalities. And they're still, frankly, in the process of identifying the deceased --
QUESTION: Are these families --
MR TONER: -- all of the deceased.
QUESTION: -- that are waiting for word --
MR TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: I mean, are you pressing them to do this as fast as possible?
MR TONER: Of course.
QUESTION: It --
MR TONER: Of course, Brad.
QUESTION: Is it a problem that they haven't been able to identify them, the individuals and their nationalities, or they are choosing not to at this point?
MR TONER: Our understanding is that this was a mass casualty event – everyone realizes that – with a number of fatalities but also a number of injured. And with regard to some of those fatalities, identification is a problem. It's hard; it's difficult. Also many of the injured were taken to various hospitals around Brussels, and so we understand that internally the Belgians are also trying to come up with the identity, identify all these individuals, and then release that information to the appropriate embassies – not just the United States, but other embassies or other missions that may have been effected.
QUESTION: Mark --
MR TONER: Please, yeah. Hey.
QUESTION: Hi. It's good to see you.
MR TONER: Good to see you.
QUESTION: You're saying – sorry – that you're not aware of any U.S. deaths at this point, but there are still two Americans unaccounted for?
MR TONER: That's correct. Two – so just – so there are a number of U.S. citizens writ large who have been – are not accounted for. And – excuse me – we've not been giving out a precise figure on that for obvious reasons. As I said, when any kind of mass casualty event – and I tried to talk about that a little bit – whether it's a natural disaster or whether it's a terrorist attack, it just takes a matter – it takes some days to accumulate all the names, to come up with a credible list. And that's what we're in the process of doing right now.
With regard to official Americans, that's – we have identified two individuals who are not yet accounted for.
QUESTION: Mark --
MR TONER: Yes.
QUESTION: -- on this point – I mean, I heard on the news today the parents of one American, a missionary – they are going to Brussels to look for him.
MR TONER: That's right.
QUESTION: And the other – a couple actually, a husband and wife – their parents were also on radio saying that they're on their way to Belgium to look for their kids. So --
MR TONER: And we're --
QUESTION: -- there are three. So you --
MR TONER: Excuse me. I'm aware of both of those cases.
QUESTION: Right. But --
MR TONER: I just can't speak to them because of Privacy Act considerations. Now, that said, there's a number of cases like that, every one of them heartbreaking and difficult for these families. They want information about their loved ones who are missing. We have folks on the ground – and back here, frankly, a small task force that we've established to work these names, to try to find out, again, establish a credible list of names of people who are still unaccounted for. But then also we have folks on the ground – even though today's a holiday, we have these people still available to work with these families, try to get them the information they need.
It's just – and this is not an excuse in any way, but it's just a recognition of the fact that it's still, I know, two days later, very fluid. We're still trying to get accurate information. And we still need to have accurate, precise information before we can share it with these families. We can't give them – we can't report on rumors. We have to have factual information, just like you guys do. So I mean, it's – it takes some time, unfortunately.
QUESTION: Could I just – we stay on Belgium?
MR TONER: Yeah, please.
QUESTION: Can we stay on the terror attack? Yesterday the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had a press conference where he talked about the terror attacks in Brussels. He said that – he said many times that terrorism is not caused by occupation or despair, but in fact by hope, the hope of Daesh in establishing a caliphate all over the Middle East and the hope of Palestinian terrorists in establishing a Palestinian state. Do you agree with that assessment? Is there a connection between the occupation, the Israeli and Palestinian reaction and so on? Is there any kind of connection in your view or in your assessment?
MR TONER: Look, I think what you're seeing – and again, let's be very clear that even though Daesh or ISIL has claimed responsibility for this attack, we don't have confirmation of that. The investigation is still underway. Certainly, it looks – bears all the hallmarks of a Daesh effort, but – unfortunately, there's other terrorist groups who are also keen on these kinds – carrying out these kinds of attacks. Let me finish, sorry. But again, without being able to get into the minds of those who carry out these attacks, I think it reflects more of an effort to inflict on who they see as Western or Westerners, whether it's in places like Turkey, but also in Belgium and Paris, and to sow fear that they can carry out these kinds of attacks and to attempt to lash out. I don't know if this is about establishing a caliphate beyond the territorial gains that they've tried to make in Iraq and Syria, but it's another aspect of Daesh's kind of warped ideology that they're carrying out these attacks on Europe and elsewhere if they can.
QUESTION: Well, I'm really more interested in --
MR TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- the Palestinian angle of this thing.
MR TONER: I'm sure you are.
QUESTION: Because he went on to say, basically – he went on to say that the occupation is there to prevent --
MR TONER: So --
QUESTION: -- acts like the one that happened in Brussels.
MR TONER: Sure. So in --
QUESTION: So do you see any connection with that? I mean, is that --
MR TONER: So in response to that – look, I'm not going to parse, certainly, Prime Minister Netanyahu's words. We've been very clear that no violence is justified. Whether it's the hopes or the dreams or the aspirations of a certain people never justifies violence. What we have been very clear about is that we need to see affirmative steps by both sides, Palestinians as well as the Israelis, to get back to a place where we can talk about a peace process and a two-state solution.
QUESTION: I just want you to indulge me for a minute. You agree or you disagree that the occupation prevents – the occupation – the Israeli occupation of the West Bank prevents acts of terror in Europe and elsewhere. Do you agree with that?
MR TONER: One more time. The occupation of the West Bank promotes --
QUESTION: Do you agree with the suggestion made by the Prime Minister of Israel that the occupation – the Israeli occupation in the West Bank prevents or serves to prevent acts of terror in Europe and elsewhere? Do you agree with that notion?
MR TONER: I – I'm just not going to give that kind of assessment except beyond what I just said, which is what we need in the Middle East is a credible steps – or credible, affirmative action on both sides to get us back to a place where we all agree they need to be, which is to be able to start a peace process towards a two-state solution. That's the challenge before them. So no violence would ever justify that. Excuse me.
QUESTION: And my last question --
MR TONER: Sure.
QUESTION: -- is on the role of mosques and so on, and actually, sort of --
MR TONER: The role of?
QUESTION: Of mosques in Europe --
MR TONER: Okay.
QUESTION: -- and basically inciting that kind of violence. There was a report today in The Washington Post that the grand mosque in Brussel actually create that kind of sentiment and so on. It's a mosque that was financed by Saudi Arabia. The land was given by the king of Belgium some years back in the '70s to his Saudi monarch and so on and they built that mosque. And it says that a lot of those who frequent this mosque are Moroccans. They come from the mountains. They're not – they're quite tolerant and so on, but they get radicalized through incentives or going to Mecca and Medina and free education and so on. I wonder if you really have any comment on that.
MR TONER: Well, I mean, certainly --
QUESTION: It's alleged in The Washington Post in this article.
MR TONER: No, I understand, and I read the article myself. Look, I mean, countering violent extremism is a significant part of trying to root out the type of radicalization that we're seeing in many places in Europe and elsewhere, and that – those efforts need to continue. Whether it's through the internet, whether it's through social media, whether it's at the mosque or other institutions, we need to be very mindful, and we're working with many of these communities as well as many governments in Europe to address some of these challenges.
Yep.
QUESTION: Can we go back to the two official Americans?
MR TONER: Yeah, sure.
QUESTION: I completely understand that you don't want to get into detail about them, but could you, I guess, clarify a little bit the term "official Americans," just in terms of practically how we can describe them? Are these government employees? Are these – could this include their family members? Just could you clarify --
MR TONER: So they would be – if I can just characterize very broadly, these would be individuals who were either the dependents of or under – or employees of the U.S. Government, and that would include military as well.
QUESTION: Okay. So not necessarily State Department employees --
MR TONER: Not necessarily State Department employees.
QUESTION: -- not necessarily embassy employees, not even necessarily employees, could be their families?
MR TONER: That's correct.
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION: Mark --
MR TONER: Are we ready to move off – do you want to – Belgium? Are we done with Belgium? Belgium? Belgium?
QUESTION: Yeah, Belgium
MR TONER: Belgium.
QUESTION: The family that says that they were given wrong information by the State Department – have you – were they given wrong information and have you gotten back in contact with them to correct that information? And just – if you could from the podium, just for their friends and friends and friends and friends and family --
MR TONER: Sure. Yeah.
QUESTION: -- just give them a sense of – that you're doing everything possible to find these missing people.
MR TONER: So very aware, obviously, of the case that you raise, and I certainly don't want to – that family is undergoing an ordeal that few of us can imagine. They're seeking information; we're trying to respond and get them accurate information. They're trying to get it from other sources as well. We understand that. It's incumbent on us to really try to get accurate information, and we just – we don't have that yet. And so, certainly, we don't want any misunderstandings. And we're very sensitive to not just this family but the concerns that so many of the loved ones and family of the missing are going through.
So I do want to be clear that in terms of U.S. citizens in Belgium, if you haven't been in contact – and this is clearly a common-sense rule – but if you haven't been in contact with your friends and family, please do so. Let them know you're okay. And U.S. citizens injured by the attacks should also contact the Belgian Crisis Center by dialing 1771 or simply reach out to the U.S. embassy, and I can give the number, but – 028114000. There's a team at the embassy of consular officials who are basically there simply to track down these missing Americans but also provide whatever information they can to some of the families who are on the ground, who are calling in to look for updates.
All I can say is that – and recognize this is several days after the attack, but I can say that with – we're working this issue very hard. We're trying to get accurate information. It's – partly it's getting this information from Belgian authorities. As I said, many of the injured went to a broad swath of hospitals, and trying to get information – accurate information – on the nationalities and the identities of these – some of these injured has been tough. We're trying to do that. As soon as we have an accurate – accurate information, we'll obviously be back in touch with those families.
QUESTION: Yeah, I'm sure they'd understand that wrong information can be gotten, but I just wanted you to confirm that they were given wrong information and that effort should be made to contact --
MR TONER: And if there was any misunderstanding, we certainly apologize for any misunderstanding in that regard.
Anything else on Brussels? Yeah, please.
QUESTION: I know this was discussed briefly yesterday, but given the location of the attacks and other details that are coming out, is there any reason to believe that American interests were targeted in these attacks?
MR TONER: We still don't have any determination or any kind of better understanding of who the exact target was or whether it was just – I mean, as everyone can imagine, walking into an airport or walking into a subway station and simply detonating a bomb is going to cause mass casualties among civilians. We don't at this point have any credible evidence that suggests it was targeting Americans. We just don't.
QUESTION: Staying on Brussels.
MR TONER: Please, go – yeah.
QUESTION: You just mentioned 10 injured and two not traced or not --
MR TONER: So about a dozen injured.
QUESTION: Oh.
MR TONER: And when I say that, Tejinder, I'm talking about broadly American citizens. I know it's confusing.
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR TONER: And there are a number of American citizens who are unaccounted for.
QUESTION: You don't have that number?
MR TONER: I can't – no, I can't give a precise figure. Frankly, they're working right now to really compile a more precise list.
QUESTION: And you said that the names are not being released. Have the Belgians given you their names and asked not to release them, or can we have the names? What is it?
MR TONER: So we can't. I mean, we don't have – and certainly in the case of – so certainly in the case of private citizens, and especially ones who are missing, we're not able to in most cases get the kind of Privacy Act waiver that we are obligated to get in order to publish those names.
QUESTION: No wwhat about the 12 that you have – the injured?
MR TONER: Again, we're trying to access – and some of them we have – where they're at in hospitals. Not all of them are in hospitals, of course. I don't have an accurate count of – normally when we walk in, whether it's – and I'm just speaking broadly now – whether it's an American citizen held in prison in whatever country or whether it's an American citizen injured in an attack or a natural disaster, when we make contact with them, a consular officer will explain what we – services we can provide to them, but also say, if you would wish, we can share your information publicly. You have to sign this Privacy Act waiver. Some decline, some sign. I don't know if anybody has signed in this particular instance. I don't have any names to read out.
QUESTION: And how many of these 12 are U.S. Government employees or --
MR TONER: So none of those dozen or so injured, to my knowledge, are U.S. Government employees.
QUESTION: They're private citizens?
MR TONER: Private citizens.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR TONER: Please --
QUESTION: Other subject?
MR TONER: Yeah. Wait, let's finish --
QUESTION: Just one last thing --
MR TONER: Yeah, that's okay.
QUESTION: -- on Brussels.
QUESTION: I thought one individual was injured, was from – was an Air Force --
MR TONER: Thank you. That's right.
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR TONER: Thank you. Thanks, Brad.
QUESTION: I wanted to ask you whether you were able to verify what the Turkish president alleged yesterday, that they gave information --
MR TONER: I'd refer you to the Belgian authorities.
QUESTION: -- but the -- since the Belgians have refuted that.
MR TONER: No, we're not able to – we're not able – sorry.
QUESTION: So you have not been able to establish --
MR TONER: No, and I mean, that's for Belgian authorities to speak to, and I believe they have.
QUESTION: Was that perpetrator arrested --
MR TONER: So --
QUESTION: -- and turned over to Belgium and --
MR TONER: So look, again --
QUESTION: I mean, what is the story?
MR TONER: Again, without parsing the words of the president of Turkey, we certainly don't have any reason to doubt what he said. The Belgian authorities have responded to it and said they didn't have enough evidence or information about whether he had – this individual had terrorist ties. That may well be the case. We simply don't have the details.
That said, it does speak to the ongoing challenge of tracking these individuals, and that has been something that we have been working with Belgium, with France, and with other countries in Europe at how you track these individuals, border control, watch lists, whatever you want to call them. But as these people move from country to country, and indeed in Europe, it's a challenge because it's a quote/unquote "borderless" union. It's something that we are actually working and have been working with Belgium for some time, and especially in light of the attacks in Paris in February, we have stepped up those efforts. And so we're going to continue to work with Belgium as long – as well as other countries in Europe to better improve passenger screening, security checks, all those things that can help tighten up the net, I guess is how I'd put it. So --
QUESTION: But Mark --
MR TONER: Yeah, please.
QUESTION: Mark, we talk about that yesterday.
MR TONER: We did.
QUESTION: But do you call – do you call your European allies to do more in terms of counterterrorism, to share more intelligence not only between them but also with the U.S.? Since we talk about it yesterday, former Secretary Clinton was speaking out against Europe and saying that European countries were not doing enough. Do you share --
MR TONER: Sure, I would --
QUESTION: -- her view?
MR TONER: Yeah. I mean, so as I said, we've already seen a significant increase in coordination with our partners in Europe. And as I said, that includes adding suspects to watch lists, sharing – and sharing that information more broadly. But we all have to continue to increase our bilateral and our multilateral cooperation against terrorism. And that's partly just to close the gaps in our ability to identify these individuals and to prevent the next attack.
QUESTION: Sorry to harp on this point --
MR TONER: It's okay.
QUESTION: -- but on this hydraulic effect, I mean, there are – we are inundated with commentary how as the ground shrinks from underneath Daesh fighters in Syria and Iraq, they find their way back to Europe, especially that maybe 5,000 fighters and so on join and there are now, like, 400 who are in Europe somewhere. I mean --
MR TONER: We've seen those reports.
QUESTION: -- so is Europe being lax in its cooperation with you and others or coordinating with one another?
MR TONER: Again, I'm not going to give an assessment one way or the other. I'm not going to give Europe a grade. As I said yesterday – and I mean no disrespect to the many security experts who have discussed or given their assessments of Europe's ability to deal with this threat – but there's always a degree of Monday morning quarterbacking, to use an American expression, after an event like this, and that's natural. Where our focus is and has been, frankly, for some months now is working with these governments – not just Belgium but including Belgium – to really tighten the gaps, improve capacity, build capabilities to increase that kind of border security. Is that going to be able to prevent every case of self-radicalization or homegrown when people haven't been to Syria or Iraq or train directly with ISIL? Certainly not. But it's part of the solution. Ultimately, the solution is to destroy Daesh, but even then we still have the threat of terrorism. We've recognized this. We live – it's a reality of the times we live in that these individuals are always going to be out there who want to carry out these kinds of attacks. And we need to do everything we can – and that's the U.S., it's Europe, it's countries around the world – to try to prevent that, to tighten up the net, to try to disrupt these networks. But it's a challenge.
QUESTION: Can we move on?
MR TONER: Yeah, please. I'm sorry. Samir, I so rarely, so --
QUESTION: No, no, no. It's on Yemen. On Yemen.
MR TONER: Oh, Yemen, good. All right.
QUESTION: Go on, it's --
MR TONER: Oh, I'm sorry, Brad. I didn't mean to --
QUESTION: No, no, no.
MR TONER: Okay, I'll get to you, Brad. I just – if it's Yemen, cool.
QUESTION: I just --
QUESTION: Okay. Do you know if --
MR TONER: Perfect.
QUESTION: Do you know if Iran played any helpful role to achieve this agreement on a cessation of hostilities in Yemen?
MR TONER: I don't. I mean, I – I mean, obviously – excuse me. The Saudis were – played a role in this as well as the GCC. I don't really have an assessment of what, if any, role Iran did play in that. I just don't.
Brad, back to you, over to you. I'm sorry.
QUESTION: Oh. I wanted to give you another crack on Syria from yesterday. It seems that the Syrian army backed by the Russians has pushed into Palmyra now. Are you hoping that they push Daesh out of the city or do you have no position on who controls the city and its ancient ruins?
MR TONER: Thank you for giving me another crack – (laughter) – a do-over, right? So, a couple thoughts: First of all, as you well know, and I think you – didn't you travel to Palmyra at one point? Yeah.
QUESTION: Palmyra, yes.
MR TONER: I mean, it's a long-suffering place, and ISIL invaded the city in 2015, the Assad regime responded with increased airstrikes causing many civilian casualties, it suffered from ISIL's atrocities, and that includes the gruesome murder last August of Khaled Assad – and the Secretary's spoken about this – he was beheaded. Its history and culture have been systematically wiped out by ISIL. It looted – it just looted its historical sites.
So all of that under consideration, we – of course our priority – and I said this yesterday – is defeating and destroying Daesh. That remains our priority. And yet we also recognize that replacing one or replacing Daesh's barbaric rule with Assad's tyranny is not a great tradeoff or a great solution. The Syrian people should not have to decide between ISIL and Assad, and that's, again, what I was trying to convey yesterday, which speaks to the fact that that's why we need to advance this UN-led negotiations, we need to establish a ceasefire, we need to end the civil war, get a transitional government into place, and then we can talk about cooperation against Daesh.
QUESTION: It just seems a little --
MR TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- a little strange because two of the things we've heard --
MR TONER: Sure.
QUESTION: -- over the last many months was, one, that Assad wasn't fighting Daesh properly and that he was mainly fighting the Syrian – moderate Syrian opposition --
MR TONER: And that's true.
QUESTION: -- and that carried over to what the Russians were doing as well.
MR TONER: And that's true.
QUESTION: So now that they seem to be doing some of that. Shouldn't that be lauded, in your estimation? And then the second thing --
MR TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- was that – well, you can answer the first thing --
MR TONER: Okay.
QUESTION: -- while I remember the second.
MR TONER: So I'm not going to laud it, and I'm not going to laud it because it's important to remember that one of the reasons Daesh is in Syria is because Assad's brutal crackdown on his own people created the kind of vacuum, if you will, that has allowed a group like ISIL or Daesh to flourish. Just because he's now, given the cessation of hostilities, willing and/or able to divert his forces to take on Daesh doesn't exonerate him or his regime from the gross abuses that they've carried out against the Syrian people.
Again, it is a – it reflects, I think, the complex state of affairs that is Syria today, and it's why we need a political transition away from Assad to a transitional government that's supported by all the Syrian people, because we do have to deal with Daesh. So at the same time we support any effort to destroy or dismantle Daesh, I think we have to keep our eyes on the longer-term goal, which is a peaceful transition and political future for the people in Syria.
QUESTION: A related question?
QUESTION: Could I follow up on Brad's?
MR TONER: Pam and then you.
QUESTION: Yeah, please, Pam. Yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: A related question.
MR TONER: Sure.
QUESTION: Iraqi forces have launched what they say is a first step to overtaking the Islamic State stronghold in Mosul. At this point, how significant would that retake be considering that the Islamic State seems to have spanned out with a presence in Europe and also in places such as Libya?
MR TONER: I apologize, just the last part of your question again? I just didn't hear it correctly?
QUESTION: At this point, how significant would it be for Iraqi forces to retake Mosul from the Islamic State considering that the group has spread out and now seems to have a presence in parts of Europe --
MR TONER: Oh, okay. Sorry.
QUESTION: -- as well as in Libya and other places?
MR TONER: Well – and John spoke about this the other day, I spoke about it yesterday. I mean, we've been steadily chipping away at ISIL-held territory in Syria and certainly in Iraq. This is part of that effort. I mean, we certainly support and share with the Iraqi Government its goal of liberating Mosul as quickly as possible. And that's, as we've long said, is going to be – certainly we're going to support, but this has to be an Iraqi-led effort. The Iraqi forces are taking the fight against Daesh – or to Daesh, rather, in Mosul every week. So this – already this effort has begun. And as I said, we support it.
I don't know how significant it is for the broader or other aspect of Daesh's efforts, which is to export terror to other parts of the world. And we talked about this yesterday. There's kind of like – there's Daesh in Israel – or rather, excuse me, in Iraq and in Syria – taking the fight them. As we do that and put the squeeze on them what we have seen, that I think is related to that, is an effort to establish footholds or affiliates in other places from Afghanistan to Libya. And where we've had opportunities to strike them in those areas, we've taken those opportunities to strike them and target their leadership.
And then a third aspect is this radicalization, this attempt to recruit or to train up individuals who can then go out – small cells, but also networked in some cases – and carry out mass casualty terrorist attacks in different cities in Europe as well as other places. And that continues to be a threat. They're all interconnected. I don't know how much one is the result of another. I just don't.
QUESTION: Just going back to Brad's question --
MR TONER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: -- on the Syrian forces and so on. You don't laud them. I mean, I can understand that. But you do acknowledge that the Syrian forces – government forces – have been basically on the ground fighting ISIS or Daesh more than anyone else with their Kurdish allies. Would you acknowledge that? I mean, all along, all throughout the last three years and so on, they are the ones that are actually on the battlefield, engaging --
MR TONER: I mean, look, there's also been a lot of collusion between them, especially in the oil trade. We talked about that. And it's a mixed record. I'm sorry. I mean, primarily they've been – the regime has been fighting the opposition forces. But I think the regime would recognize that Daesh is just as much a threat to them as the rest of the world. I think, frankly, it speaks to the fact that – even the Syrian regime regards Daesh as an enemy that needs to destroyed and uprooted speaks to just the brutality and the universal recognition of Daesh's brutality that so many disparate forces or entities could be – recognize that and see the need to destroy them.
Please. I can only have a couple more questions.
QUESTION: One last question. I mean, you said that you're talking about the long term.
MR TONER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: But in the short term, you definitely are going to see Daesh completely --
MR TONER: I think I said that with the caveat that we don't want to see – no, I think I said that, Said, rather – we – it's in some ways the lesser of two evils, but we welcome any effort to destroy – we welcome – we – our overarching goal is to destroy Daesh. So if it's the Syrian regime that's doing that, that's not a bad thing.
QUESTION: Can we switch subjects or are we still on --
QUESTION: Still on Syria.
MR TONER: Sorry, (inaudible). Can we – okay. Sorry.
QUESTION: Earlier in the week, the Syrian chief negotiator for the peace talks made some claims that there are North Korean troops fighting in Syria alongside the Assad regime. Is that something you're tracking or --
MR TONER: I'm not – I'm not. I haven't seen those claims. Now granted, I was traveling with the Secretary in Cuba, so I may have missed it. This is – de Mistura who said this or --
QUESTION: No. The Syrian opposition.
MR TONER: Oh, the Syrian opposition said this claim.
QUESTION: Asaad al-Zoubi.
MR TONER: I have not. So I just haven't seen those claims. And I have no information about their credibility. I'd be skeptical, but --
QUESTION: If true, would you be concerned, dismayed, astounded?
MR TONER: I'm not going to just address a hypothetical, with all due respect.
QUESTION: Also --
QUESTION: So staying on that subject --
MR TONER: Yes.
QUESTION: -- I don't know if you were asked this yesterday, since I wasn't here.
MR TONER: Yeah, of course.
QUESTION: Were you – are you aware of the what seems to be acknowledgement by a Russian general that Russian special forces are involved and on the ground in the offensive in Palmyra? And if so, can you confirm that, and what kind of reaction does the United States Government have to that?
MR TONER: Well, so a couple of things. One is we – I cannot confirm it. But it's not particularly surprising, even with the announced withdrawal I think last week of Russian forces, we still see a number of Russian soldiers, Russian troops on the ground supporting the regime. So all I can say is it's not – it wouldn't be particularly surprising.
QUESTION: ISIL.
QUESTION: I've got one.
QUESTION: Syria.
MR TONER: I really got to --
QUESTION: Can I ask on Korea?
QUESTION: Syria.
MR TONER: Sorry, I would like to move off, unless it's a really – and I apologize, but let's do a couple more.
QUESTION: Yeah, on North Korea.
MR TONER: Yes, please.
QUESTION: It is reported that North Korea has developed a solid-fuel missiles. Do you have any information on that?
MR TONER: Any information about – I'm sorry?
QUESTION: About solid-fuel missiles.
QUESTION: They said they tested a solid --
MR TONER: Yes, I do. Hold on one second. Yeah. A solid – yeah. So we have seen from a North Korean state media report that – of a solid-fuel rocket engine test. Look, our reaction is that North Korea should refrain from any actions and rhetoric that raise tensions in the region and comply with its international obligations and commitments. It continues to, frankly, consistently show that it's reluctant to do that, but UN Security Council resolutions require North Korea to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program and to abandon its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. So I'll leave it there.
Please, in the back.
QUESTION: A White House official announced that President Obama is going to hold a bilateral meeting between U.S. and China top leaders during the Nuclear Security Summit. Are you able to share more information about that meeting? What are the dominating issues that they are probably going to talk about?
MR TONER: So, of course, I wouldn't presume to comment on what is essentially the White House meeting, or bilateral. But I have, of course, seen confirmation that they will meet. It goes without saying that our relationship with China, our bilateral relationship, and our multilateral relationship with China is broad and diverse. It covers a number of issues, anywhere from concerns about Syria, concerns about other global threats out there. And certainly we – in climate change, including COP21. It also includes economic issues, trade issues, cybersecurity issues, as well as concern about – an ongoing concern about human rights. So there's a lot of issues that they'll probably hit on.
Please, sir.
QUESTION: KRG President Barzani said in an interview with the Al-Monitor a couple of days ago that after the scheduled referendum at the end of this year, his region is certainly going for independent. And he said that he's hoping that the United States will stop – stand against that. Will the United States be standing against an independent Kurdistan?
MR TONER: Again, we support Kurdish region as a part of Iraq. We supported its efforts, certainly considerable efforts, to fight Daesh and ISIL and remove it and drive it out of Iraq. I just don't have anything to say. I'm not going to talk about a political process that we still haven't seen or a referendum that we still haven't – hasn't materialized.
Last question. Sir.
QUESTION: Hi. We were told back in February everyone here at the State Department takes the required security training for handling classified information. And if that is true, how come these records from Mrs. Clinton, Huma Abedin, and Cheryl Mill's training have not been made public through FOIA? And then we have, based on new information, Mrs. Clinton skipped a cyber briefing in 2011. Why was that allowed to happen?
MR TONER: So I just simply don't have any information about whether she may have missed a cyber briefing. It's my understanding that, just as this Secretary of State, everybody in this building would receive that kind of – that type of training and awareness.
QUESTION: And if they missed it what type of punishment would there be?
MR TONER: I just – I mean, there's – we all have to undergo that, and it's considered mandatory. I don't know the specifics of this case. Not so much punishment, but access to computers, that kind of thing, might be affected. I'm talking broadly here and generally, not specifically to this case. And I – the first part of your question, I'm not quite sure the status of the FOIA requests that may be being processed.
So thanks, guys.
QUESTION: Thank you.
(The briefing was concluded at 2:29 p.m.)
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