conversations with general joseph votel. by event will be moderated michael. a minuteive folks just to take your seats. a couple of courtesy reminders. first, kindly make sure that your phones are sent -- set to silent. do not necessarily have to turn your phone off. you can join the conversation on twitter. tv,ou are watching on please feel free to visit our website. toe again, it is a pleasure welcome today general votel to discuss the crisis' in the middel east. east. -- middle

we are honored to have michael here moderating. he is the author of too many books to list. michael, thank you for moderating the conversation today. i would ask you to please join me in welcoming general votel. [applause] thank you, chris. good afternoon, everyone. i will give a brief introduction . i believe many of you are familiar with his great work around the world. in 1980.mmissioned he growth in st. paul, minnesota. he went to west point. he went that he spent a lot of time in various ranger activities earlier in his career and thereafter. he also spent a lot of time in europe including bosnia.

backdrop in the kind of situations that perhaps we have slightly seen foreshadowed by the balkans. of course, he was the combatant .perator -- commander he is now the combatant commander for central operations. votel, you are-- widely looked up to. i think many of you know that he has 20 countries to worry about in central command. that is a smaller number than the average command, but it might be a slightly higher average headache ratio. so, i think it at up to a rather robust portfolio. i hope we could begin with a number that's with a word on a number of countries --

essentially working from west to east. veryt want to have a point on very focus egypt. thatstrike me as a country as a nation we have a dilemma in our relationship. the leader there is in power by virtue of a coup. we are in this uneasy position of that relate knowing how to relate for influence his government. how do you think through this issue on how to make egypt a full partner. not only just in specific counterterrorism initiatives, but more widely and strategically. you for thethank question. as i came into this position, i took the opportunity to reach out to a number of officers that have been in command to get their advice. when of the common themes i took

away from it, was the importance of egypt in the region. i received a strong encouragement from all of them to make that egypt is one of the first countries that we visited. it was. it was one of the countries we when i fill this position. i think the importance of egypt -- certainly, there are some challenges as you have highlighted here. the way that i am trying to think about egypt is through a longer-term relationship with them. what they have meant to us over a lengthy. -- lengthy period of time. challengesertainly that the president and his team are dealing with on a regular basis there economically. also security challenges. is -- weve tried to do

have tried to listen to what they are telling us. i do hear a concern from them about ensuring that they are stable. that they have established civility with indy -- established security. i think it is a priority for them, and it is something we have to recognize. he is very concerned about making sure the country is stable and has a stable security environment. we have to look at the over anship with egypt much longer. -- longer period of time. one of the things i was reminded of was the important role that egypt plays in our activities throughout the middle east. support we received from

europe for our transmission of ships is extraordinary. we get what i would describe as "premium service." tod of the line privileges move our resources through. that is a key aspect. so, we need to take a longer-term look at egypt. we need to recognize the importance that they play in the region. we have to recognize the relationship we have had with them in the past. withve to continue to work them through the current political challenges we are dealing with. we have to look long-term with them. they are an important player in the region. they have been and will continue to be. they are the most populous country in the region. we have to recognize that. so, we are looking for ways to cooperate with them.

we are looking for opportunities big and small where we can work with them. i think that is extraordinarily important. as we have looked at things like , i presence in the sinai think we have been able to do some things with them that has helped to ensure stability and security with that mission -- that critically important mission in the sinai. we have to like opportunities to move forward with them, and we have to whether through the political ways that take place. moderator: one or two follow-ups on egypt before getting over to the arabian peninsula. we have had a complicated period of dealing with egypt from 2011 two 2013. everything from the midst -- mixed signal about the president

standing down -- i realize some of this is getting into the broader relationship, but in some ways you are the highest level american official dealing with death. i know all of these issues are on your mind. the follow-up question would be -- do you see consequences or fall out that affects the united states or egypt during that period that has pushed them away from us? gen. votel: certainly, we have. we have seen some outreach to russia lately. that is of some concern to us. we ought to look at what that means for us long-term. i do not know if that is particularly helpful to what we are trying to accomplish in the region. to payhink we do have attention. i think those are good examples

of something we have seen most recently. moderator: one last question. on rest of my focus will be military. one thing i have noticed with egypt is that the president seems to have softened a little in some of his crackdown on the brotherhood. curious -- to what extent do these kind of issues affect you and what you have to deal with egypt? gen. votel: i think they are helpful to us. frankly, i think the military to military relationship, like all relationships, it has its highs and lows. ultimately, i think it has remained steady. we had visited back and forth several times over a relatively short period. things like that if a space to develop a relationship and move

forward. to find opportunities to move forward and try to capitalize on. as i have worked with their military leaders through the chief of defense, i think he agrees with that. is thing we are trying to do get our exercise program back in place. as many of you recall, we had an exercise program that has long been a staple of security cooperation in the region. we stopped doing it back in about 2009 largely due to the tempo of what was going on. so, we are trying to get restarted. they agree and we agree that this is something we ought to investigate. so we are. we are looking for those types of opportunities where we can capitalize. moderator: before we get to the arabian peninsula -- by the way, i didn't have most of the fun with this format. i did to ask most of the questions to start.

however, please still prepare your questions in addition to the ones that i have here. as we think about one more country in that neck of the woods -- i note libya is not under your command, but in picking all about egypt you are 18 -- thinking about egypt, i know you are icky key observer of what is going on in libya. that howany advice well is european command working together on libya? is the system more or less working? you have any thoughts there to share? gen. votel: i think you are hitting on an important point. we have a tendency to think a little more globally. i do not mean that as a critique of any of my partners out there. approach around

the world. i think it is important to recognize that i'm not in this by myself. as you pointed out libya, turkey, russia, india, the sudan, the heart of africa, these are just some examples. they are areas that have challenges, as well. we have to think trans-regionally. we have to look at threats that span the whole region. if we limit ourselves to thinking about how we organize to just bureaucratic boundaries, then we limit our options on how to address those threats that we had. i think there has been some did the done largely through leadership of the chairman to develop a national alternative strategy that capitalizes on the trans-regional aspect of all of

our threats. begin to change how we think about command and control, and how we think about our various relationships with combatant commanders. my advice to the incoming administration would be to build upon that. i think it is the right direction for us to go in the future. moderator: thank you. we now go to the arabian peninsula. ask briefly about yemen. that is an extraordinarily obligated conflict itself. our saudi arabian friends have likely learned the same lessons that we have learned historically. i would be curious as to how you see the evolution of the war in yemen? we have a transition coming up

in the united states. it is important to think about the big story on yemen. where is this conflict and its long-standing history? what opportunities do we have to influence it? gen. votel: it largely remains a military conflict. unfortunately, it remains a military conflict. my personal opinion is that this is an area that will require a political solution at a particular point. we are finding is that both sides are trying to use military means to gain leverage to support their positions. unfortunately, that is sometimes a protracted process. that is kind of how i view the situation right now. it is a struggle for leverage between both sides to try and any kind ofp in

political negotiation that will ultimately address the real problems. moderator: is this a country with united states should think about doing more? i'm using that in a very vague sense. it could mean more things in a special operations friday, or more attempts to influence saudi arabia's behavior, or it could be influencing the negotiation table. is there an option for us to think about doing more? gen. votel: i think we are doing a lot in all three of those areas you just highlighted. areexcellent diplomats actively engaged in the ceasing of hostility negotiations. we have seen that play out with the secretary of state and the ambassadors in the region that are very engaged in that. we certainly have long-term

interests in yemen. i would just remind you that one franchises capable of al qaeda still remains there. has is an organization that demonstrated capability to come after us in the homeland. we have to take that seriously. certainly, the ongoing conflict has been a concern for us. think we are beginning to address that. programy, our strike continues to move forward on that. we continue to put pressure through that. we are working with a variety of other partners. we work very closely with the uae here on an operation focused the macola down in area of yemen.

that was very successful. examplethat is a good of that type of approach that we will need to take an leverage. we look for opportunities, and we tried to capitalize on that. weapitalize on them, prevail. we secure our interests moving forward. certainly, in working with the air coalition -- arab coalition, we are not taking off targets for them, but we continue to work with saudi arabia and other partners to help improve their partnerships and how they go assistanceding some on some of their general security operations. i do not know if we need to be involved in the civil conflict taking place there, but i think that all the three areas that you touched upon our areas -- are areas where we need to

continue to press the gas pedal on opportunities. moderator: i want to ask you about the broader strategies in both areas. first, i want to know if you would share any technical updates from the fight itself? i'm not asking you for a full classified briefing, but is there anything specific you would like to mention that you think is recently worked highlighted -- worth hi ghlighting? gen. votel: here is the big idea. we want to create momentum and pressure and do it in a variety of different ways. certainly, on the ground with our partners in the targeting of key leaders in the islamic state network. through our targeting of their financial resources. looking at how we improve our capabilities to address their

ideology and the toxic narrative that comes from them, and how we enable partners in the area to do this. what we are trying to achieve, essentially, in a broad sense is prevent the islamic state with a lot of dilemmas they have to deal with simultaneously. , in very broad terms, i think it is working. i think it is beginning to expose the cracks. it is helping us with reducing the size of the physical caliphate. it is something that needs to be addressed in many ways. that, and we will continue to do that in the future. in iraq, the main focus is on mozilla. l.e iraqi security -- on mosu

iraqi security forces are working very closely and executing with the support of the coalition. it is not a perfect plan. it is their plan. we have figured out ways to bring our coalition give abilities to move them forward. they are on track with where they need to be. mostll be a long fight in -- mosul. at the town in syria, it took us 71 days with indigenous forces to take that area. is a huge, urban area. the islamic state has had years to build up their defenses there. it will not be a cakewalk, but when you are seeing is a pretty good plan treated by iraqi security forces. adjustments to it.

we are making adjustments as well with our security resources. that is what we want to try and keep the focus on right now. generally, we are on track. a hard fight will follow in mosul. begun, as youave have seen, isolation in the town -- in the town there. our partners in syria may not be as sick when i, but the coalition is try to do some of that. it is important to try and put pressure there, while at the same time putting pressure on mosul so they do not have the opportunity to move back and forth. i think we are seeing some good effects from that. that will be a long fight, as well. with iraq, we have the iraqi army that we are working with.

they have a well-developed special operations capability, they have federal police, in a variety of other things there that looked similar to what we have in -- to what we have. in syria, we are working with a more indigenous force that picks up partners on the go. it requires a different way of working. these are not people -- teach theireir own -- each has own advantages and disadvantages. we are trying to make for -- make sure we are working at a clean with both our expert we are trying to put as much pressure on the islamic state in as many different locations as we can. like, ir: it sounds heard you write, you would not want us to think about a date in -- a predicted which this will be concluded, but rather -- could this be

months more time needed to liberate mosul? gen. votel: i think it could be a couple more months. we will see. the islamic state is fighting hard right now. then, you have to look at tear they are-- observing -- absorbing with this. haveately, i think we will an accelerated effect on them, and we will be able to move after. but yes, i am not giving any date for this. we are going to move at the pace of our partners and try to keep the momentum going. moderator: my follow-up question on iraq is that -- it is difficult to fight in mosul, as you have already touched on.

people have said that will be the more manageable proposition compared to what follows in the days after. from general petraeus to many others, they have argued that it is really about building that enduring consensus that will be the challenge. arealize that is going to be challenge for many people and not just you. one part that i think is within central command purview is how towork with sunni tribes build up police forces or national guard to give them more sense of protection for their own people. you see any headway in that general proposition? gen. votel: i do. admittedly, it has come a little bit late here. but i do see some decisions being taken by the prime minister lately that have divided the means to develop

those elements to allow them to hold and be a part of the security plan afterward. so, i do see some progress. it is something we will continue to keep our eye on and encourage them to move over with. as we approached the plan for mosul, it was not just about the military plan. it was about the political plan and the humanitarian aid plan. thise months leading up to , it came up constantly in our discussions with our partners. all of these things needed to be addressed at the same time. while we will continue to work on all of these, one is not independent of the other. so, i think we have tried to do as good of a job as we can. proud of thearly job that united nations has done

on the humanitarian side. they are handling what they are dealing with right now. , i do not want to jinx myself, but it will become more challenging as we get further into the city. however, they are handling it right now. i will tell you there has been an extraordinary level of operation between the regional government and the government of iraq both militarily and politically. they are talking on a regular basis. they recognize the same concern about what happens next. it is not something unique to us. they recognize that. with help of our diplomats, they are continuing to address that. moderator: so no progress on an iraqi national guard? you are muslim just talking about police or a tribal cooperation? gen. votel: that's correct. moderator: on syria, i will two

things. doing with thewe front that continues to rename itself there? has been youress picking them from those for neighborhoods in east aleppo that it continued to be bombarded. in the absence of a promising plan to share power with the sunnis, it looks like president assad is trying to hold on to power. he is winning on the battlefield it would appear. it does not seem likely that he is talking about a clinical transition, -- eight political transition -- a political transition. maybe by that point, donald trump has said something that makes us seem complacent and everything. how does that and without the enemy aing

chance to regroup? you havel: i think identified a key challenge for the upcoming administration. as we look at this -- in terms of the enemy, i would agree this is an organization to be very concerned about. this is al qaeda. they have long-term designs. we have to be very concerned about that. to the extent that we can, we have been addressing them. we have been principally trying to disrupt their network and key capabilities. i think we have been modded early -- we have been moderately successful in that. civilian, these are organizations, and we can expect they will respond. the idea of constant pressure is important.

this is an organization that we have to be concerned about long-term and how we address them. long-term and how we address them. them.how we address moderator: i realize that president-elect trump is not yet in the white house, and the advice you will get his -- give him is not the advice you would get in front of us. i will ask, is there anything that you would say to him about civilians there being important allies? thatave done other things however modest or local have been important contributions. we do not want to desert just because we are focusing like a laser beam on al qaeda. should we ratchet back some of our support for the more questionable groups that stay

loyal to the ones that have been good friends? gen. votel: i certainly hope so. i can think of a number of groups that we are working with that have been very good partners. they had worked closely with our coalition support. so, i would hope that we will continue to do that. moderator: moving right on to iran and then we finish up in south asia for we go to audience questions. a broad question about iran, is there any updates you want to give? it seems that people are debating the future of the joint cover has a plan of action. observers have said it is being implemented reasonably well. whether you like it or not, it is being incremented well -- implement it well. anything to add? it is not:

necessarily my job to monitor that, but i do think it is being implemented appropriately. i think it has addressed one of the the bigger concern for me and they have not changed iranian behavior. it is not changed regime behavior. the other concerns we have with the broader iranian threat problem remains, whether it is cyber activities, use of surrogates, their facilitation of legal aid, build up of missile capability and other access capabilities in the region, or they are unprofessional and aggressive activities in the persian gulf. i think these are all things that remain very, very concerning to me. one of the principal interests we have in this area is

chokepoints and criticality of those. -- straitsfor moves of hormuz. in the future, i am concerned about the continued maligned activities of iran. >> would you describe that level activities relatively steady since the signing and initial and limitation of the plan of action or have you seen an uptick or a downtick is a ron gets more resources and is able to potentially so more mischief. gen. votel: we have seen them intervene in yemen and in the country of iraq. shiave seen 100,000 plus militia members that are there.

i think iran has had some role in raising and developing. probably say it's a bit of an uptick. >> let me ask you about afghanistan and pakistan. on afghanistan, president obama decided to hold force level study at roughly 8400. brookingsew of us at with a few your predecessors and friends to the paper over the summer. we suggested it should be a broad range of options considered by a new administration that can imagine a few more thousand forces from the united states and coalition and maybe some expanded authorities in the use of air power. i don't know if you want to comment on if we should have a proper view of that type that would consider different options or are we on a steady path you are comfortable with. gen. votel: nothing is on cruise control. i would encourage we don't take

that approach. we should be looking at what is happening for opportunities to change our footprint, whether it is increasing or decreasing activities. i think we should always be looking at what is happening in assessing that. i think the president's decisions have been fortuitous. 5500,osed to going on the which is where we would generally be right now and keeping it at a much higher level. one and8400 was a wise it sent a strong message to the coalition and a strong message to the afghan forces and the people of afghanistan. and the additional authorities granted us have helped us immensely and the afghans immensely. i am keen to get that going into the future as we continue to assess the environment and all the things we might need to do keep the afghans going. i think afghanistan is a country

worth fighting for. who went withber the first wave of forces in october of 2001 i remain hopeful about it. i know it is a challenging environment. there is a lot of things to address, but i think it is important for us to see this through. >> how would you describe where we are with battlefield trends in afghanistan over the last one or two years? there has been concern that taliban temporarily occupied hormuz last year. they may a lot of headway in the province. there are some areas of the rural east that have always been in flux but maybe a little less favorable to us at this juncture. i have not personally detected a systemic collapse either. it seems like there is sort of 5% or 10% of the country that may have shifted in terms of population and territory. is her anyway you would describe the last 22 years? gen. votel: an equilibrium in

favor of the government right now. as you point out, there have been a number of attempts by the taliban as part of their strategy to seize a population center. they have attempted it a number of times, maybe seven or eight times since august. since they have gained -- they may have gained initial success, the afghan forces with the support of the coalition has been successful in addressing that and bringing it back under the control of the government. i am concerned about the casualty rates the afghans are taking and we are addressing that as we look now to move from one season to another. nicholson hasl done an excellent job in looking at how we can refit and address these challenges with our capabilities to keep the afghans moving forward. i think they are holding their

own and is the president described, 2015 was a europe survival. they did -- was a year of survival. they did and they solidified that a lot of the more. a challenging security situation is out there. that does fluctuate 5% or 6% either way. the better part of 60% is under the control of the government of afghanistan. 5% to 10% under direct control the taliban and the rest is contested territory that we will have to continue to work over. >> i realized this may be getting to a detailed question that is best asked general nicholson. any trends in the quality of leadership in the afghan security forces? gen. votel: i think it is improving. i am very encouraged by my interactions with the chief and defense and the minister of defense who i think are very serious individuals, well experienced and are looking at

things not just from a good tactical sense but from a value since. it is not what you do, it is how you do things. i very encouraged. i think the police are an area that we need to look at. i'm encouraged by some of the things the president is doing to address corruption in the ranks. ofre has been the removal some corrupt military leaders in the past. i think that is well received. i think it sends the right message that it needs to be sent. not only to our forces but to those of us contribute to the effort. >> my last question will be on pakistan. it is a big country and a big challenge. i will ask one big broad question. it is sort of the overall trends we see in afghanistan. there are hopeful elements in the sense of a transition within the military leadership. it has been on schedule. there has been ongoing civilian

leadership that has not been overturned by a coup. there is continued pakistani tolerance or even support at times for the taliban. and in the east, to finally extend your zone of immediate concern and responsibility but to go to the border with india. there is a low-grade ongoing skirmish with india right now. gen. votel: this is a relationship that is vital to us . there are ebbs and flows. we have been maybe for the last couple of years at a lower point than we have been in the past. but i think this is a relationship we have to have and we have to maintain as we move forward. i am encouraged by the transfer of leadership that has taken place here. i think it was good. again, there's a lot of potential ways that could have gone.

but i think it with the way we would have hoped it would have went. i look forward to talking to the general and the couple -- next couple of days and begin to develop a relationship as we move forward. i think it is important with all of our partners across the region here that we take the time to talk with them and listen to what they are telling us and to make sure we understand the situation with granularity. we can't always look at things through our american eyes all the time. we have to understand with her concerns are, what their interests are, and how we try to balance. it is a critical balance. they are very concerned about what is happening on the indian border and cashmere and are concerned about was happening in the federal administered areas. we've got to look at how we balance that back and forth. it will remain a challenge, a complex relationship, but a vital relationship as we move forward. michael: thank you. remarkable breadth of expertise.

i'm honored to have had the chance to ask questions. let's start in the back. identify yourself before asking the general a question. what are the geopolitical and military implications of the right iran nuclear deal? general votel: thanks for the question. i'm not sure what all the ramifications are. as you know, that is an agreement put in place by a number of nations. i won't presume on that. i don't know. i think it is addressing a concern right now. so i don't know what that would mean and how that will be absorbed by iran if we did that. i think we will just have to wait to see. >> what are your intelligence --

[indiscernible] general votel: i think we are always concerned about those types of things, and not just on nuclear arms, but conventional arms in a race that is not helpful to a new thing that we are try to do here. this is something we will continue to watch as we move forward. but i think we just -- we have to let the new administration get in place here and get up to speed on what is actually happening. i'm confident that we will have the ability to provide input to that. >> there is a microphone. >> thanks. kim dozer with the daily beast. the incoming administration has signaled that it would work with russia to find a resolution to the conflict in syria.

the u.s. and russia have had professional military relations in the past, a lot of cooperation, crosstraining across operations. what would that sort of cooperation look like? could russian forces help deconflict assad's forces and keep them apart from u.s. operations? could you give us an idea? general votel: the deconfliction piece happens right now. we have a mechanism to do that. it supports our efforts. it is not coronation. it is not synchronization. it is not collaboration. it's about ensuring safety of our coalition forces on the ground. i think that works and is working for us right now. it is a complex area. so we have to continue to look at that and make sure that we are keeping that properly updated. again, this is a political

decision here that may or may not be addressed. as a military professional we , will look at what happens here and look at how we adjust to that particular situation. in terms of the deconflitction stuff you are talking about, that occurs right now. >> [indiscernible] it sure does. is already a challenge for us. northern syria and airspace over it is a congested area. we are finding our way through that right now, through the deconstruction process. this is something and we are very concerned about supporting

our military objectives. we are concerned about supporting and keeping our forces safe. thatll look at how we do if there are some changes and how we do this. michael: over here please. thank you for the opportunity to speak. there was a question concerning iran again. there have been reports that iran is advancing not the military ways but their influence of politics and culture in america. -- latin america. what are the plans to counter this is nice -- advance? gen. votel: i think that question is probably better answered by -- this i think highlights the concern about iran. -- wek we have to look at

can't confine our look at iran through just a nuclear program or this or that. we have to look at what they are attempting to do. iran has a place in the world and a place in the region. but when that plays out in the line ways and ways that create friction and create conflict and at the instability, that is not helpful. i think what we have to do is look at what that role is going forward. that includes things that may be taking place in our own hemisphere. these are things to be discussed. i favor looking at the challenges and the threats we face out there in a more holistic fashion. that would include looking at what you suggest. michael: in the back row, please. >> cnn.

general, in paris, since secretary carter spoke about the joint command taking an expanded role fighting externalizes -- external isis threats can you , set any light on what they would do or how it would help the fight and just what is the external isis threat these days? general votel: thanks. i hate to give this again. that's a really great question for the socom commander. i would encourage, when you have the opportunity, to ask him about that. i think what the secretary talked about is there is -- i mean come as we talked about earlier, the islamic state isn't just limited to iraq and syria. most of these violent extremist organizations are not just limited to specific geographic areas. they do have influenced and do use virtual means to put out a toxic narrative, to influence people, to try to create

disruption and conflict in other areas. i think we have to look at these threats much more trans-regional and we can't limit ourselves to specific areas. i think what the secretary is talking about is making sure that we have a process, both in the military and across the broader government, that allows us to look at this much more holistically. and to bring the power of all of our capabilities, our diplomatic power, our military power, our intelligence community power, our informational power, or economic power, to really address these issues. these aren't just military problems. these have to be addressed on a variety of different ways. i think what the secretary is talking about is a process and a way of looking at these problems that brings it together. one thing we have within the department of defense is the u.s. special operations command, an organization that looks at

this particular problem, that has forces around the globe, that has wall-to-wall capabilities and can be a leader in how we pull all of this together. michael: eric, front row. sorry to get your exercise. eric schmidt with the new york times. this 40% or so of the territory that is contested or held to the television -- taliban, what concerned that international terrorist organizations are taking advantage of the contested space, be al qaeda, isis or other groups? i am not very concerned. 98n you look at the extremist organizations we identified as a designated terrorist organization, if you look at the afghanistan-pakistan

region, you will find 20. 13 are present in afghanistan. we have to be concerned about this. andtaliban pulling together cooperating and collaborating with other terrorist organizations is something we should be concerned about. i am concerned about that and how these voids are filled. how we provide pressure and incentives for them not to grow roots in these particular areas. it is something we will have to continue to contend with in places like afghanistan. michael: we have about five more minutes. we will finish up over here if we have time for all three. >> i have a question about to what extent are the battles in the middle east driven by the fact we have had all these terrorist incidents in europe? is there a coalition of the willing? in iraq we had the coalition of

the willing, for one of the nato countries doing? gen. votel: exactly. we have a coalition of 52 countries that are intervening on a regular basis to all of our operations in iraq and syria. they are doing it in a variety of ways. some contort -- provide economic resources. some support us by providing military capabilities. i think as i look at -- it's easy. -- excuse me. i need to have a drink care. -- here. i think european nations understand this. we have seen this heavy movement of refugees that have moved from places like syria, that moved across southern europe.

they get that aspect and they are very concerned about it and want to address it. what i found is our partners, particularly european partner seven extra ordinarily cooperative and collaborative and what we're doing and they are concerned as we are. ,hey have seen these attacks whether they are directed, inspired, influence taking place in their capitals like we have seen in some of our cities. they are very concerned about that. themnk that does motivate to continue to be conserving members of the coalition -- conserving members of the coalition. michael: right here in the front row. creature. -- green shirt. >> how do you think the recent integration of the pmf into the iraq he army will affect the u.s.'s ability to chordate with the iraqi army.

soundstel: it unvarnished, pretty challenging. ande will be a lot of shia iranian influence of the government of iraq. that the last shoe has fallen on that. there are still discussions and certainly a lot has to be done in terms of how that is implement it. this is not just limited to shia but it is shia sunni and how that gets put together by the government of iraq. i think it will be very important for us to watch. i think others in the region are concerned about that. i think we will have to work with the government of iraq partners in trying to shake that little bit. michael: last question here. >> president-elect trump said he

would ask his generals for a plan to defeat isis within the first 30 days. has that planning a gun and what my begun differently that is already being done? might we be in a fight when he takes over? general votel: again, the president-elect has to be inaugurated. then he becomes a president and then he will give direction and we will do exactly what he tells us to do because that is what we do. again, i would just tell you, nothing is on cruise control with anything that we do in central command and really across the department of defense. we are always looking for ways that we can move forward, to accelerate and do things better, to be more effective against our enemies. we read the papers. i'm thinking about things and how we might do this as well. so there is a lot of thought that has gone into this. we will be prepared to do that. i don't want to get in front of the new administration. i want them to have the opportunity to come in and look

at the situation and give us the strategic direction we need and we, as military professionals, will provide the best military advice on how we get there on that. can i exercise my prerogative and ask that we go to this group over here? michael: absolutely. gen. votel: i would be happy to answer a question or two from this group. michael: these two gentlemen almost next to each other. i think we will take them together and they give you one last -- >> thank you for having us. i am jack donahue. from the alexander hamilton society. my question is about russia. it seems that just has drawn a clear line in the sand in syria. putin has invested in blood and treasure, saying that he is not want to let the regime fall. he made that very clear by directly attacking rebel groups that the united states is backing. at that point, what can we expect to accomplish in terms of supporting rebels that are attacking the regime without

leading to a larger sale conflict with russia? and in a broader scale, do you gainingian momentum gaining after crimea, after ukraine and now their success in , syria and given trumps statements that he will be drawing back? do you see russia expanding in this area or other areas? gen. votel: let me just beg off your comment about the new administration. i don't think it is appropriate for me to comment on that. that me say this. i think we are concerned about russia is doing. it has always been a little bit of a mystery for me exactly what they are trained to a cop was -- trying to accomplish year., -- what they are trying to accomplish here. i think they inadvertently struck one of our groups, ones that we control and we have addressed that with them. i think this will be something we will have to pay attention to. again, this is very complicated in terms of how we address this.

the activities that russia has supported on behalf of the regime are horrendous. the atrocities that are being perpetrated against the people of aleppo i think should concern all of us. it is certainly something that has to be taken into consideration as we look to address that relationship. again, as we talked about earlier, i am very hopeful that we will be able to maintain relationships with some of the opposition groups that we have been able to support. michael: one more from my blindside? general votel: sure. >> my name is drake lawn. i'm with the hamilton society. i would like to ask you, you mentioned trans-regionalism. turkey has entered the syrian civil war. what do we know about the military's goals, the turkish military goals, and their

capabilities, especially since this is so unprecedented? and how are we incorporating their actions into our overall strategy for solving the syrian conflict? thank you. gen. votel: thanks for bringing that up. turkey is a native alice -- nato ally to us. they are extremely important partner in the coalition. we could notve -- do what we are doing particularly in syria today, , without the support we get from turkey on a day-to-day basis. turkey has interests and concerns. it is important for us to recognize this. they are certainly very concerned about the islamic state. but it is well-established they are concerned about organizations like the pkk. and what that might portend for long-term security and stability for them.

i see that taking place in the operations. the operations they did along their border were very helpful to us. they took care of an islamic state enclave that exists. they did it with coalition support and the data working with some opposition elements. this is a nato country. their capabilities are well-developed. they have been for a while. it is a country we have had a long military relationship with and we hope to continue to have that in the future. i think it is important to recognize what their other concerns and interests are. again, it highlights the complexity of what we are dealing with right here. as we enter more and more into the heart of the caliphate, rocca, mossule, all of these things, we should expect, these are not unexpected. we expected we would have these challenges and we have to do this. it is a combination of diplomatic discussions and military discussions back and forth and make sure that we are trying to operate as much as we

can in collaboration and coordination with each other towards common goals. at this point, defeating the islamist state. but with the recognition that there are other things that will have to be addressed in the long run. that's a long way of saying it is an externally complex environment. turkey has interests. they are great partners and we could not do what we do without them. and they are a nato ally and that means a lot to us. we can never forget that. michael: thank you, general. please join me in thanking him. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> >> listen to c-span radio today of when pearludio

harbor was bombed. >> a date which will live in infamy. >> in british prime minister winston churchill's remarks to congress. >> the british and american peoples, will, for their own safety, walk together. >> in interviews with veterans who were at pearl harbor the day of the attack. the 75th anniversary of pearl harbor is featured on c-span radio, today on 7:00 p.m. >> i decided to spend more time on the young grants. i spent a week at west point, trying to understand how this 39 could finish 21st out of at west point. and therefore, sometimes viewed by these biographers, eyes and intellectual lightweight. "i mustsaid of himself, apog