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U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Transcript |
| Presenter: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis | August 15, 2018 |
Q: -- you used, we'll not stand idly by, we'll defend ourselves in space. Should one interpret that as meaning that you would respond in kind? In other words, with military force?
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES N. MATTIS: No, no. I don't -- I don't tell adversaries in advance what we will do or what we will not do. We will not stand idly by if someone tried to deny us the use of space; we will protect that just like in any other domain.
Q: Okay. So as I was writing that, I was thinking it sounds like he's saying we would respond (inaudible).
SEC MATTIS: (Inaudible) not stand idly by, but we -- there's a lot of things you do in this world. You've seen the way we have reacted to North Korea's provocative missile shoots in order to react to it in such a way that it went back into the diplomats' corner. We reacted with diplomacy, United Nations, economics sanctions -- economic sanctions -- you saw all of that in use.
We did not stand idly by when we saw someone violating the United Nations Security Council Resolutions office but I wouldn't read anything more into it.
Q: Okay. Good. I'm glad I asked.
SEC MATTIS: Yes, yes, yes. Really. Yes, good.
Q: Last night in the hotel, do you hear the shots near the favela?
SEC MATTIS: I was not out, if that's what you're asking.
Q: Was that you?
SEC MATTIS: No, it -- remember, every time you hear one of those shots somebody's life could be changing and so I didn't make light of it. I was sad to hear it, frankly, but the Brazilians are dealing with this. They're trying to stop this, OK?
Q: A lot of time you don't hear shots like this in no traditional area or not in a -- that...
SEC MATTIS: We have some cities in America that we know are tragically having this problem as well. This is -- this is what happens if we don't keep -- I would call it, consensual policing, where the whole community is helping police and able to keep the lawless elements at arm's length. This is not unique to Brazil; Brazil knows it has a problem. It came up in my discussions and we have the problem in cities in the United States; we've seen the problem in London today. I don't have any more details on it than what I've seen from you all.
The military reporting's come in but we, too, don't have any additional details. But just look at this as how you hold civilization together and -- and I don't, you know --
Q: -- what were you told happened? What were you told happened at the hotel?
SEC MATTIS: In where?
Q: At the hotel? Or outside the hotel...
SEC MATTIS: Oh, I -- I -- I wasn't -- no, no, that's...
Q: -- I know you weren't there, but I just wondered what you were told.
Q: Did you hear it real-time, sir?
SEC MATTIS: Pardon?
Q: Did you hear it real-time?
SEC MATTIS: Yes.
Q: Me too.
Q: May I ask you, Secretary, you were -- well, if you want to add anything, sorry?
Q: Yes, I just wondered -- I was just wondering what you were told actually happened?
SEC MATTIS: I didn't ask about it. It was a local law enforcement issue and I try to stay in my portfolio, you know, about it. I -- it would have been -- probably not a professional courtesy to ask about something like that.
Q: ... OK, OK.
Q: ... you were quite tough today with regime of Nicolas Maduro and you were talking about the leadership of Brazil on this issue. What do you expect Brazil to do exactly? What's -- what do you want to see from Brazil?
SEC MATTIS: From who?
Q: From Brazil.
Q: Brazil.
Q: Yes, what -- when you talk about their leadership, what do you expect to see from Brazil in this issue?
Q: In the case of Venezuela.
SEC MATTIS: Oh, Maduro?
Q: Yes.
Q: Yes.
SEC MATTIS: Maduro. You know, I don't want to -- I'd prefer not to comment on this at this point and leave that in the diplomats' hands. That's who's working this issue right now; it's not a military matter.
Q: But you have talk about this issue with, like, your counterparts during this trip?
SEC MATTIS: Yes. About how -- how to at an international group, the Lima Group and the others who are working together, how to diplomatically address this.
Q: And are you -- and are you going...
Q: But that's why I -- that's why I'm a little bit (facile ?); Brazil one month ago said they were in favor of helping or -- against Maduro but that they would refuse or reject any kind of military intervention. So I understand that's -- so I don't quite understand what is the Secretary of Defense doing talking to the Ministry of Defense in this issue?
SEC MATTIS: Yes, sure. So, why were we talking about it? Security for their people is directly impacted by the refuge flows, by the violence in one country. It doesn't stop at the border. We've all seen this in the world. So the resolution of this, and trying to get the -- back to Democratic principles inside Venezuela, so people have a future, they have economic stability and that sort of thing, is in the interest of all the countries of the hemisphere, so that's why we were talking about.
Q: Are you going...
SEC. MATTIS: You've been patient.
Q: Yes. Are you going to talk about that issue in Argentina, too? What's (inaudible) role for Argentina in the in Venezuela situation.
SEC. MATTIS: Thank you. Yes, the regime's actions in Cararacas are of concern all across the hemisphere, from Ottowa to Buenos Aires. This is not what we stand for in -- in the Americas. We stand for -- all of the things I spoke about this morning, democracy, freedom.
We've all been through periods, some of us long, some of us more recently, where people didn't have the personal freedoms at all, so we don't take it cheaply. So this is a matter of a lot of concern, of big concern from the tip of South America all the way up to Canada.
Q: Mr. Secretary, would you meet with Nicholas Maduro if -- if there was an opportunity.
SEC. MATTIS: Yes, I'd prefer not to -- that's -- that situation is firmly in the diplomats' hands right now.
Q: Are you going to sign any kind of agreement in Argentina, cybersecurity or something like that?
SEC. MATTIS: Sergio, I don't think we -- no, what I want to do in Argentina principally is do a lot of listening, find out what we can do to help them as far as any G-20 issues as they prepare security for all of the world's leaders that are coming, make certain that I know where their military is looking, what direction they're looking in, I should say, for their future transformation, the kinds of things that military to military talk about, and we've not been working closely together for some time. So it's kind of an opening opportunity here.
Q: You say the transformation that now the army is allowed to fight with -- against terrorism and...
SEC. MATTIS: This is why I need to go and talk with them.
I mean, at one time we had worked closely together, as you know, and you -- I don't want to be frozen in time thinking about these times in the past. I want to know where they're at today, and again, the kind of -- many of the same issues, as you heard today at the War College in Rio.
Q: Thank you, sir. So...
Q: Anything on Afghanistan you can update us on, the Ghazni situation?
SEC. MATTIS: Yes, the fighting continues. It looks like many of the enemy have run. But some are in the town in homes, fighting from inside homes, with all the danger and the slowness that requires in order to get them out without hurting innocent people.
Q: Does it say anything too about their -- the Taliban's either their capabilities or their intentions, having launched these attacks?
SEC. MATTIS: Yes, it -- to me it's simply a continuation of their willingness to put innocent people in harm's way; nothing new. It's the usual endangering civilians that's part and parcel of what they've done for the last 20 years.
Q: They used Apache helicopters apparently as part of the response. Does that suggest they needed more help than usual, the Afghan forces?
SEC. MATTIS: We'll -- we work together and -- you know, we bring in NATO air support when it's -- there's nothing unusual about it, yes. It's more anytime you're fighting around innocent people -- I used the term this morning, a battlefield when you're fighting among the people. What British (inaudible) generals called wars among the people. Every battlefield is a humanitarian field.
It is sometime -- often time a conventional war, too, but especially so on counterterrorism when you have people who lack any kind of manhood, would fight among innocent people, and use them for protection.
OK, I've got to go back to working you guys. Good to see you.
Q: Well, thank you for swinging by. Thank you. We really appreciate that, sir.
http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1603525/
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