sides of the spectrum, and they used kind of similar terms in weremic scum like they described as liars and manipulators and untrustworthy kind of on both sides. wrap it up. we will thank you, all, for coming. thank you for our panel. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> next we will take you live to center for strategic and international studies earlier than we pay. mike pompeo speaking there come and the event is starting. live coverage on c-span. >> and his people called and said he once to come on thursday afternoon before easter weekend, i said, what the hell?

lots of people are here because this is an norma's opportunity to hear the director. we are privileged to have him here. i would say we are fortunate as a country the director is willing to serve at this time. his life has been about service. he was the highest ranking can that at west point when he graduated from west point and career, hasife, been about service. he has been in and out of government and in the private sector. fortunately, he is willing to thee us as the director of cia. we you please welcome with your warm applause director pompeo. [applause] director pompeo: good afternoon, everyone. thank you for coming to join me. i did pick this place. fornted to thank csis

hosting me today. i'm honored to make some of the first public remarks as director of the cia. -- you laughed appropriately. we had bill webster here. we appreciate it very much. [applause] it is an honor, and i am a little nervous. i thought i would start today by telling you a story. bright, well-educated young man, described as industrious, intelligent, likable, if inclined toward impulsiveness and impatience. at some point he became disillusioned and became angry at his government. he left government decided to devote himself to public advocacy, exposing the intelligence officers and operations that he had sworn to keep secret.

he appealed to agency employees andend him leads suggestions. he wrote in a widely circulated bulletin, where we are particularly anxious to receive copies of u.s. diplomatic lists and u.s. and is the staff. -- embassy staff. ee. man was philip agg in counterspy, richard welch was identified as the station chief in athens. address wasd's home out in the press in greece. wife were and his going home. welch was assassinated by a greek terrorist cell. the time of his death, it was the highest ranking officer killed in the line of duty. life, one thatch

is celebrated with a star on the wall. he was buried at arlington national cemetery. hisip agee propped up occasional starts with a "playboy" interview. today there are still plenty of philip agees in the world and the world and hardly inflict on u.s. institutions and personnel is a serious today as then. thell comes from intelligence community. they do not share the same background or use the same they ares agee, but soul mates. i can they choose to see themselves in a romantic light as he rose buffalo, saviors of our open society. thoughaim to this even

the disclosures often inflict irreparable harm on individuals and democratic governments, pleasing desperate along the way. one thing they do not share with agee is the need for a publisher. all they require is a smart phone and internet access. in the digital environment, they can simulate secrets -- they can disseminate secrets all around the globe to all who seek us harm. our first line of defense against threats like these is the u.s. intelligence community. i feel privileged and am amazed that as cia director i could be part of this great group of men and women. i am the son of a machinist from orange, california. i have never been east of mississippi river before college, working most summers in kansas. to be entrusted with leading the greatest organizations in the world is something i cannot wrap i had around -- my head around.

feel iat west point, i am on the shoulder of giants. after i was nine than they did -- nominated, i talk with every living director. they spoke with the need to call things as you see them and the apolitical nature of the job. above all they spoke about the admiration they had for their time with his workforce and for what -- from what i have seen so far, their assessment is spot on. i am stranded by patriots, men and women who signed up for it life of discretion and impact. these officers have sworn an oath to uphold the constitution. they have signed agreements that quietly go about their work and trying not to get too worked up about it the headlines have including the notion that they spy on their fellows to visit by way of microwave ovens. not the liberty to stand up to these narratives and explain our mission to the people. fortunately, i am.

in my first meeting with the workforce, i promised i would serve them and people home and abroad with the same passion and had as a business owner and as a member of congress representing kansas. that is why i'm here today. the cia does not comment on actresses a purported documents posted online. in keeping with that policy, i will not comment on the authenticity of recent disclosures. but the false narratives that increasingly form her discourse cannot be ignored. there are fictions that demean the achievements of the cia and the intelligence committee. and in the absence of a vocal onestal, these voices, that proclaimed treason to be covered advocacy, gain a gravity they do not deserve. it is time to call these voices out. the men and women of the cia deserve a defense.

i intend to do that state. first and foremost we should note the intelligence organizations engage solely in foreign espionage. we steal secrets from terrorist or his agents, and we are private. soanalyze this intelligence our government can better understand our adversaries that we face in a challenging and to -- dangerous world. we make no apologies. it is hard stuff and we go at his heart. when it comes to overseas threats, the cia is aggressive in our pursuit of information. toutilize our whole toolkit employ the capabilities the congress, courts, and the executive branch have provided to us. because it isings our job. it is what we signed up to do. it is what our president needs. if we did not have a tough time justifying our budget to the taxpayers, that would be inappropriate. noted, theof a firm cia appears to be doing exactly

what we pay them to do -- export specific targets with limited attacks to support america's national interests. our mission is simple in concept, yet incredibly difficult in practice. i have seen that in a few short weeks. we were to provide the best information possible to the president and his administration so they can advance our national interests and protect our country. the mission at the cia has three out for years quietly and effectively, competent remain congressman'sa remain classified as you can come up in a few are known to the work. the cia was a player in the global campaign against nuclear proliferation and continues to be today. we helped unravel a smuggling in gatheringsted at 10 militants to persuade -- intelligence to persuade libya. we have been on the cutting edge of technological. the u2 aircraft has been

developed. we have push the ball -- boundaries. cia technology in 2003 lead to google earth. my first months on the job have only reaffirmed that this spirit and attitude are alive and well. i would like to talk about what the cia does not do. we are a foreign intelligence agency. oncollect information foreign governments, organizations, and the like, not americans. a number of roles keep us centered on that mission protect the privacy of our fellow americans. the cia is exam, prohibited from spying on people through electronic surveillance in the united states. to not having anyone's phone in wichita.

i know the there will always be skeptics and we need to build trust with them. i also know first hand from what i saw as a member of a committee and from what i see now as a director, the cia takes its responsibility's to the optimist -- with the utmost seriousness. we have an empowered independent office of inspector general. moreover, regardless of what you see on the silver screen, we do not pursue covert action on a whim and without the approval or accountability. there is a process that starts with the president and consists with many levels of review. when it comes to covert action, there's oversight and accountability every step of the way. and i'd heralded an agency that has respect for the rule of law and the constitution. it is embedded in the fiber of the people that work at the cia. despite fictional depictions meant to sell books or tickets,

we are not an untethered agency. awesome capabilities, officers do not operate in areas against targets that are legally off-limits. at our core we are an organization that is committed to uncover the truth and getting it right. we devote ourselves to protecting our tray. we work hard to maintain global coverage. he spent hours putting oringmation and p over reports. we have failed to live up to standards of our citizens have been catalogued well over the years, even by our own government. mistakes are -- public. they are public to the extent that any other nation could never match him what it is our duty to get at right. that is one of the reasons we celebrate wikileaks to be

perplexing and troubling. while we do our best to collect information on those who does real threats to our country, individuals such as julian assange and edwards noted seeks to use that information to make a name for themselves. as long as they make a splash, they care nothing about the life they put at risk or the damage they caused to national security. hostiles walks like a intelligence services and talks like a hostile intelligence service. it has encouraged its followers to find jobs at the cia in order to find intelligence. it directed chelsea manning in her set of specific information. it seeks support from anti-democratic countries and organizations. it is time to call out wikileaks for what it is, a nonstate hostile intelligence service often assisted by countries like russia coul.

gru obtained through cyber operations against the democratic national committee, and the report found that the primary program again that collaborated with wikileaks. for those who read the editorial page of "the washington post," yesterday you saw a piece by mr. assange. you would have read a mass of words where he compares himself to thomas jefferson, dwight eisenhower, and cool surprise-winning work of "the new york times" and "the washington post." because you have an admiration for america and the idea of america. this man knows nothing of america and our ideals, nothing of our president -- our third president, and he knows nothing

of our 34th president, a hero from kansas who helped liberate europe from fascism and guided america in the early years of the cold war. i'm confident that had assange hen around in the 1930's, would have found himself on the wrong side of history. and histhis because he ilk make common cause with dictators today. they tried to cook them in their -- they try to cloak themselves in liberty and action. their mission, personal self and aggrandize meant and the destruction of western values. they do not care about the causes of the people they represent. if they did come a would focus on autocratic regimes in this world that suppressed free speech and dissent. exploit theo secrets of democratic governments, which have so far

proven to be a much safer approached and provoking tyrants. these individuals are not especially burdened by conscience. because assange has been more than cavalier in disclosing personal information of scores of citizens around the globe. we know this because the damage they've done to the security safety of the free world is tangible. the examples are numerous. owden goes to rush, his treachery -- despite what he claims that he was no whistleblower. true whistleblowers use discrete processes in place to voice grievances. they do not put american lives are screwed the national security agency recent explained try than a thousand targets to change how they community as a direct result of snowden's

disclosure. a staggering number. it became harder for u.s. intelligence to keep americans safe. it became harder to monitor communication of terrorist relations that are bent on bringing budget our shores. the disclosures help these groups find ways to hide themselves through crowded digital forests. even in those cases we will able to regain our ability to collect the damage that has already begun. we work with time constraints, and the effort to give back access meant we had less time to look at new threats. his actions have devoted -- have created a devoted following. and al qaeda in the arabian peninsula member thanked wikileaks for providing a means to fight america in a way they had not previously envisioned.

it is a group devoted not only did bring down passenger planes, but ours as well. is a dear of these people is reprehensible. they will continue to do great harm for the long-term. they also threatened the trust we have developed with our foreign partners when the trust is crucial currency among allies. the risk damaging row and who take the high road every day. i cannot stress enough how these disclosures have hindered our ability to keep you safe. not interestedis in improving civil liberties. he has pretended america's first amendment freedoms shield them from justice. they may have believed that, but they are wrong. done a narcissist who has

nothing of value. he is a fraud, hiding behind a screen. there's something about wizards behind screens. i'm not the only one who knows who julian assange really is. fromthose who have benefit his legs have called him out. reportsrcept which disclosures accused wikileaks of disclosing the facts. the intercept added the documents were not worth the concern wikileaks generated by its public comments. so we all face a crucial question -- what can we do about this? what can and should the cia and united states and allies do about this challenge posed by the hostile, nonstate intelligence agencies? . there is no quick fix. there are steps we can take to understand that to undercut --

to undercut the danger. assangethe danger that poses to democracies around the world. ignorance or misplaced idealism is no longer an acceptable excuse for lionizing these demons. there are steps we have to take it home. this is a process we have started. we have to strengthen our systems, secure our own stock. we have to improve our mechanisms that approve our counterintelligence missions, and all of us had a wake-up call after snowden's treachery. while i cannot go into detail steps, our defenses will not be static. our approach to security must be constantly evolving, and we will. we need to be as several as the enemies we face because they will not relent. we will not, either. we cannot eliminate the threat, but we can mitigate it, and this relies on the defense. it depends on a change on how we

problems,gital addressing best practices in real-time. we have to recognize we can no longer allow assange be allowed to use free speech i was against to to give them the space crush us is a perversion of what our constitution calls for. it ends now. we need to get in the trust between the intelligence community and the citizens we ain't to protect. at cia we are committed to earn that trust every day. we know we can never take it for granted. he must continue to be as open as possible for the american people. as the director, it is my duty to uphold the constitution and defend our national security, and as somebody who has practiced law and ran for public understand why nobody should have to place their trust in government. the intelligence

community can never be as transparent as other parts of our government. secrecy is essential. but we can't do better than we have. even if we cannot share everything that we can share it with the president they elected and with congress who oversees our work. connectivity, the director understands the imperative for oversights. doing right by the people is as important to me as carry out -- carrying out our mission. i work with aten langley are patriots, and i am honored to lead them. they have my trust, and as long as i'm lucky enough to have the best job in the world, i promise you that cia be tireless in our mission to keep america safe. thank you all very much. [applause] thank you for saying what we

all wanted to hear. i forgot to say this at the beginning. zarate is going to lead in the question. we will take cards from people. we have people who will collect them, and then we will assemble them. hold up the cards, and you people walking around who will get them collected. >> let's not hold these up like penalty cards. pompeo, what a privilege it is to be with you, to be able to moderate this discussion, your first public discourse, a privilege for me to sit on your transition team and help you as much as i could. you do not need it, friday. full disclosure -- i am a fan of the director's. i'm not here as an unbiased journalist. i want to thank you all for attending. the ground rules, we will have a half an hour discussion.

then by 4:00, please have your questions submitted, and i will take those questions and ask the director. at the end of that -- at 4:30, i asked the you remain seated or standing so the director can move out safely, and we will conclude the event. ok? zarate.an quite a declaration, not only in terms of wikileaks, that a declaration that there are nonstate intelligence services actively working against u.s. interests and working with our adversaries. ?hy talk about this are you worried this is the new phase of counterintelligence work? are you worried russians are continuing to exploit wikileaks, or that the iranians or north

koreans are beginning to look at this model as an effective model? why focus on this issue? i had intended: to make my first remarks sometime in june of 2019. [laughter] one of thempeo: great graces of this role. having had the chance to observe the risk resented by these nonstate hostile intelligence agencies, i wanted to make sure the people understood the threat the way posed us. they may be small, but i mentioned one character a few times, but it is broader than that. i think the united states government has not done enough , our cyberour nation infrastructure, everything that .s at risk we now have this new threat sitting out there, which behaves in a slightly different way, it theas its motive that structure of america in the same way that those countries do. found a model,

thats will actively go out and work, recruit, do everything that intelligence agencies that are hostile to do an online ourselves with nation-state that have a festive interest in that. i want to make sure i clearly articulated that the intelligence community and the united states government in its entirety has an obligation, and i am evident this administration -- administration will pursue them with vigor. yourarate: we can do top-10 threat list. let's do a mix. let's take this idea of nonstate actors come and you mentioned al qaeda in the rape in the -- in the arabian peninsula learning from wikileaks. what are you most worried about in terms of terrorist adaptation and in terms of fighting isis, and frankly what comes next?

we know we are preparing to weack the capital in syria, have seen the attacks in europe, most recently in europe, st. petersburg, stockholm. where is the terror threat going and what is our strategy to go after it? director pompeo: the threat from radical islamic terrorism is real and continuing and going to be around for as long as i am in this position. strides, in great iraq, taking back a great big piece of the original caliphate. we're making great strides in syria, electively, not just the united states. but this threat continues to change. we have seen it in their cyber operations. he had seen it in their capacity to inspire threats inside our country. we spent a lot of resources attacking this problem and have made great progress frankly in 9/11., 16 years now from

there is no doubt about that. he had the capacity to identify these in many many instances, but you have to achieve protect -- perfection to keep people safe. i worry about what comes after, where these terrorists will go. the europeans, i literally turned from london this morning early -- returned from london this morning early. they are much closer to them and a much easier place to travel. all of our allies have to continue to stay one step ahead of these terrorists. you're making progress, but the fight is continual. thezarate: do we have allies on the ground to do this work the question in syria, whether we have the right partners, whether or not there is a relevant force not only to take on isis, what to do with the reconstruction afterward, what happens in iraq -- do we have the partnerships that you as the cid director need, but

that cia director needs, but the country needs with these nonstate actors? director pompeo: i tend not to focus just on isis. they had a good run, almost up and through baghdad and erbil. but this threat is so much bigger. you saw what happened today in afghanistan. have to engage with everyone, and i think we do. i think we have a good set of partners. this administration has done a good job. i current our gulf state partners to work alongside us in ways that they had previously not been prepared to do, and that will provide able work for bulwark for us. mr. zarate: your first trip abroad was to turkey and the gulf why did you go there first. and what did you hear? director pompeo: we have important intelligence partners there who help america each and

every day stay safe, and i want to thank them for that. i expect more. we need increased assistance, and those pockets that still remain in those places that are fighting terror or educating terrorists in their mosques, i want them to note this is an administration that want them to think about that differently and to be true partners in this defeat of terrorism in the middle east. i got great reception. i had good conversations with my colleagues from the gulf states, intelligence chiefs from the gulf states, who redoubled the commitment to help the united states achieve what is frankly in our joint interests. mr. zarate: are you worried about the violence in turkey question mark there is a big election there this weekend. what worries you? director pompeo: they are a nato partner and me them to behave as such. they need to be a partner in lots of dimensions. you think about issues that are

related to intelligence, finance flows have done better work of g terroristsentin from going to syria. there been pockets where they have helped us, but there are places where they have not been the most productive ally. they let us participate in exercises that are important, but we need them to be a full-fledged partner against this threat. mr. zarate: with respect to the gulf partners, i have heard and relationshipse and contacts in the gulf have been thirsting for a resurgence of american leadership and strength in the region. is that something that you heard in the gulf when you met with your partners there? yes.tor pompeo: i would say i golf. one of the things that surprised me is how much time i spend with my leaves and -- liaison partners.

and what they are to many is american leadership. they are not looking for the itty second airborne. they are not looking for us to it invest of the norma's amount amountscan -- enormous of american treasure, but they think america is the country that has the leadership that can solve many problems, and they are thirsty for that. mr. zarate: let's turn to syria, because in some ways syria represents the change in the foreign policy of the administration. you may argue differently. at least the perception of a change from and perception that the u.s. is willing to enforce redlined in the context of these chemical weapons. i will ask you a couple questions, but one interesting question that has not been commented on too much is the speed and rapidity of the assessments that were made. with so much baggage for the intel community around past failures the need to get the assessments right, how was this

done? take us behind the scenes around the intel assessments and how that played into the decision making of this administration? director pompeo: well -- let's see -- where to begin -- you can imagine the very first question it,what happened, who did can we prove that, how confident are we that the scope of what they undertook and under whose authority they took it? i may have missed a question there. there are a series of questions that came to the intelligence immunity. and in remarkable order, one of the most impressive things is we were able to develop several of hypotheses around that and develop patterns which either supported or rejected that the office -- the hypothesis. we were able to deliver an

assessment that it was the syrian regime that had launched google strikes against its own people. -- i will not say exactly how long it took. we were good. the team. i do not mean just the cia. intelligence community. ourselves.ed we were challenged by the president and his team. we wanted to make sure we had it right. there's not much like when the president says, come po -- pompeo, are you sure, when he is basing his action on information you are providing? we got it right, and i'm glad the team did to help the president make the decision. mr. zarate: what do you make of the russian's disputation of those conclusions? ssad just now in the last 24 hours calling this a fabrication, the entire event.

what do you see in those terms, in part because it is a battle of legitimacy and proof? there areompeo: things that we cannot reveal. that is always tricky. he had done our best. over time we can reveal more. every saw the open source photos. we had reality on our site, too. i think they are on their six or seven story now -- none of which have an ounce of truth to them. for anyone who for a moment think this is a credible man, i will remind you what he said about the airplane that was shot down, the malaysian airplane. go look at what he said about the fact that there were no little green men in ukraine, when he said later himself that it was his team. i think to this day he continues to claim there are no russians in eastern ukraine.

this is a man or whom ferocity does not translate into english. mr. zarate: do we think the russians know about the chemical attack or maybe were complicit in it? director pompeo: i do not have much to add. the white house put out a statement. i do not have much to add. mr. zarate: one more question on rush and syria. russia and syria. do you think the russians feel cornered at this point? is this a moment of opportunity for diplomacy? director pompeo: we presented the president alternative scenarios for how lots of parties there might respond. iranians, syrians themselves, the syrian chemical weapons program, more particularly, what other options folks might take there in syria. i do not know what the russians will conclude. i have had a chance to see about how to meetings went there yesterday. i hope it is the case that the

russians join the rest of the world community in condemning the attacks that took place there. we have not seen that yet. but as the rector, one has to live and hope. mr. zarate: you mentioned iran a player in the syrian context, but more broadly concern to the united states. when you a congressman you talked critically about the jcpo away from a roll about whether iran was complying with terms of the nuclear deal. what is your sense of that, is a run complying -- is iran complying with terms of the deal? director pompeo: i do not want to say much about their compliance. i would prefer to present that to the present let him communicate that. you should know we are engaged in a lot of work to assist the

president, making sure he has an understanding of where the iranians are and where they might be. we are mindful given what has taken place in syria, after reading the jcpoa, declared facilities, undeclared facilities, how much access, very distinct groups, and that might suggest any level of certainty we might hope to resent the commander in chief. ecting the a rainy and, in march, whether the enormous missile capacity to deliver missile systems, the work they have done to support the houtis, to fire missiles against the saudis, the list of transgressions has increased radically since the jcpoa was signed. mr. zarate: do you see the iranians using nonstate proxies

as influence? director pompeo: sure, in each of those places. what do we do to push back or deal with that? director pompeo: making sure we assist have our partners us in doing that, whether it is do inrk that the -- can certain pockets, the places where israel can help us, the other gulf states can provide assistance, not simply focused on kinetic assistance. these are nations with great treasure and wealth and capacity to reach into places that america cannot always reach. we also have other our, the europeans, for whom the threat from iran is great. will argue something like the activity that was taken last week in syria would have to have been noticed by the iranians.

mr. zarate: very good. let's also talk about another party that may have paid attention to that, north korea. director pompeo: i want to clean that up a little bit. but not much. i may double down into trouble. what i mean by that is this is a decision-making process that was and trulythoughtful, based on a factual understanding of the geostrategic importance of the things that are facing our nation today. we have someone violent a chemical weapons treaty. this is not insignificant. so i do think the arabians ought to take note of the fact that this administration that is prepared to engage in a 50's that aren't from what america has been doing these past few years. mr. zarate: was there a calculus to do this at a time when there was a meeting with the chinese leadership in florida?

director pompeo: you know, how much more time do we have ve?stion mark -- we had this isin fact something we worked as quickly as we could to respond in a way that was connected to the threat that was presented. connected, to was the attempt we were attempting to push back against. the administration has talked about the strategy of strategic patients being over, concern about the development of the missile program, continued development of the nuclear program, the potential of another nuclear test based on the anniversary, 105th anniversary of the founder of north korea's birthday/

what concerns you most about north korea, and why has that become such a hot button and central issue for the administration? director pompeo: yeah, just progress. audible administrations have tried to do with the threat of ballisticntinental missile capable of putting a warhead in the united states, and we are closer now than we have ever been at any time in north korea's history. what is different, unique, new, maybe nothing other than each step along the way, each task, each efforts, at the knowledge base increases and the capacity to deliver that increases and draws closer, it reduces the options to prevent it and makes more likely that you get a bad decision, tough day, from the leader of north korea. mr. zarate: what are the intelligence gaps?

we are witnessing capability. what concerns you about intelligence gaps as you try to provide the best intelligence to the president? director pompeo: i spent a lot of time worrying about that. we will produce great project, provide really good information to the president, but i worry every day about something weakness, something we did not have access to, some pocket we pick.ot tak we do not have a complete enough understanding of what is taking place. i would not limit that to north korea. israelis -- the israelis have talked about a zone of immunity, where they would reach a certain amount of capability to the point at which nothing could be done about the program. are we reaching a zone of

immunity with respect to north korea? director pompeo: certainly a risk. we have to keep in mind as intelligence matter we understand this is not only a nuclear threat, not uni dimensional. , whatontinental missile we are talking about a pretty significant military. they can do harm to a major city in the world is not far off. a very complex problem. the reason why appreciate -- previous ministrations have not president trump has said that we haven't obligation to prevent that from occurring. this is a final call for questions. let me ask a series of three questions that are more washington center.

-- washington centric. talking about the tension between the white house and the intelligence community and where that is going. you have been an important bridge and a leader and a trusted member of the white house team in the early days of the administration. how do you describe what the relationship is between the white house and the intelligence community? director pompeo: it's fantastic. i can only give you my observations. with theing i was president giving him his daily brief. when i am out of town my deputy is there, the vice president is there almost every day. -- they are voracious consumers of the product we develop. they ask hard questions.

we get lots of hard questions about the product how we sourced the product. -- it is completely appropriate. i just left a gap in where their activities underway but almost all of them hinge on our capacity to deliver to the president the intelligence he needs. we do our best to deliver it. the relationship is, in my sense, fantastic, the word i use, because the president is prepared to hear things that run counter to the hypothesis here that happens to me, too. ,f i ask really hard questions we see that and we deliver to ,im each day our best analysis what he is most interested in everyday and the things we think he needs to know. mr. zarate: there is a lot of concern -- information about how we consume information in this

elect more visual information? have you adapted the way he consumes information? this issuempeo: consumes washington, to. it will surprise anyone that after my nomination i spent time trying to understand how you deliver that product. the president is our first customer, but we deliver information to the department of , among others.ay there is a broad audience. reading made it clear to me that every individual has consumed their information a different way and take it at different times, with different durations with less or more consistency that other presidents. i guess i will say this.

we deliver the president his problem, he consumes it. there have been days i thought -- werethere and are surprised -- sometimes we only need a few minutes, and sometimes we need a great deal of the president times and each casey has permitted myself and all of the intelligence community has the window that we work able to help him understand what we thought would be very important to him. -- howate: you mentioned do you see that relationship? director pompeo: the acting director was happy -- i think. i think the relationship will be great. we checked plenty to do, different spaces, different domains.

i am thrilled to have him aboard beginning to help to make sure that agencies are delivering a comprehensive product through the president. product thatve makes sense for the president. mr. zarate: before we turn to other questions, i'm a positive note. -- on a positive note. cia obviously presents information about threats, attacks, itchemical presents potential opportunities. where do you see potential opportunities for u.s. national security moving forward? where are some opportunities

that you and the agencies have looked at and maybe even brief the president about? alongor pompeo: two of -- with general kelly, we presented some options were we think we can do some good work in mexico and central america. not a lot of resources but a lot of for it -- focus to do good there. i think we are going to head down that path. real opportunities in africa as with places where, along our partners begin to develop a set of relationship, there is big counterterrorism's out there. -- if we present a more organized solution, i am hopeful. -- about some of the larger threats with china and russia, we can get to a place where we can find places

where we are not constantly in conflict. i think there are a handful of those. mr. zarate: do you think there is hope that the chinese will give influence to the north koreans to slow or suspend their nuclear program? director pompeo: i am counting on it. mr. zarate: i'm ready for the question. thank you. thank the only transnational threat project , judge webster is the chair of the steering committee and now run by tom sanderson. they do remarkable work. i was part of a three-year study with tom and his team, looking at the evolution of --. i want to thank you, tom, for

hosting. russia. , thisestigations proceed person is curious, what are the big upstanding russians for you? what would you look to know that you don't? is there any evidence that russia continues to try to interfere or use active measures to interfere in the u.s. democratic process. director pompeo: i don't have any comment on the investigations. we will do our duty and provide -- we will give information they need to they can conduct their in guest occasions. -- investigations. it will continue, it has been

going on for decades. this is not a new problem. i was in europe this weekend, and they are very worried about it. it is not imaginary, it is. it will take an anonymous amount of creativity. measures, itto the is harder in a democracy. there are important and tricky issues to push back against the information wars. we have to redouble our efforts to do so. we have to preserve the american democracy against this threat. it poses a real risk to our democratic values. our allies are worried about it. mr. zarate: i have to hear bureaucratic questions, one relates to whether or not there is a plan to restructure the intelligence community.

as reports indicated, the white house had hoped to do. related to that, director brennan has launched a large reorganization of the cia and it took the operational focus of away from the agency. do you plan to stand by the reorganization or go back to the more traditional? director pompeo: i'm not going to comment on the second one. i will comment this way rinses the with the transition. i did this twice when i run small businesses. like modernization. in either case, did we nailed did we get it right the first time? we tweaked it and make it better. in some cases we didn't get it right the second time either. changestional structure

to meet the evolving set of fronts. the agency able to take those threats. structuringk to -- i wrote been stated thati have now 10 years plus from the creation of the structure it is worthy of it there -- of a review. i would welcome that kind of review, to make sure we have it right. want the decade scrubbed, it seems to me like a useful undertaking. we will see. this is a related question. it is about the cia directly.

in the changing global threat environment, what will the agency prioritize in attracting the next generation of cia intelligence officials? i am lookingeo: for some brave young men and women who want to go do cool stuff. this agency has a fabulous history, remarkable people. those are the kind of people we are looking for. people who are willing to amount ofan enormous their life to do hard things on behalf of the american people. we will find them and take them from wherever we can peer we need to make sure that the languages, from a cultural context, including the shia

language, so we have the capacity to do some of the things. we have to be cutting edge with respect to our technology as well. work her heart -- to work very hard. mr. zarate: related to your remarks to your nonstate actors playing a bigger interest, we talk about the negative side of the ledger. your remarks touched on it. we talk about terrorists, hackers, but there are also cap ethical -- ethical hackers. what is your view of the rule base of the role of nonstate actors. what are you looking for both internal -- there is an external question as well. director pompeo: i haven't given much thought to that in the cyber realm.

it is the case today that we have great partners who are nonstate actors who are helping america do good things in places all around the world. a week or 10tion days ago i was asked about something a world leader had said that was clearly falls. i was asked what are you doing to disprove that? is was a journalist. and i said tell me what you are doing to disprove it. you are the factfinders. we hear from journalists all over the world. i am hopeful we will get some of the truth telling from some of these people. whether it is our own government , but others around the world who are saying things that are full--false.

this one.: let me ask what if any effort will be made intel moneyore laundering? always more to: do. on with our partners at the treasury and other places, too. to bel continue important. there is always a cyber element and a banking comment to this and almost human -- as well as so you canligence, get to that electronic solution. it is critical that we get that thet so that we can track money flow around the world as well. as a result of that make good decisions about networks, about sanctions and all of the other tools that the president has.

mr. zarate: let me combine a couple more of these questions. islam,ology of radical the first question is is there a clear strategy for dismantling the ideas of radical islam is the question. and what can the cia do to mitigate recruitment of americans online to commit terrorist acts? i don't haveeo: much to say about the first one. it is certainly an aura but not at the center of the mission of the agency that i run. with respect to the second part ,f that, recruitment online enormous amount of resources are brought to bear. i remember three years ago, almost four years ago there was a man in wichita, kansas, who try to blow up the airport and government close.

through the great work of a number of elements in our intelligence community he was boiled at the airport gate. they recruited on line. an aircraft worker who one might not think terrorists got online. made an effort to blow up a --. have a lot of work to do to make sure we are ahead of the game. far too complex a question for today, but the intelligence we get is harder as the encryption making ourme up collection challenges more difficult than they were the day before the encryption to waste. we have an obligation to make sure we don't lose access to those foreign terrorists, and the information he are communicating. mr. zarate: let me ask you a question about the future of intelligence as well as technology.

one asks what is your plan to innovate and adapt to future threats as technology changes faster than governance, policy and apps. ad the second part is giving statements today about the cia needs to be as clever as our enemies. what is your commitment to using the best science that is available? creating the adaptive culture that we need. i will concede: this, it is hard and a government institution to say cutting edge. the agency stood up under my predecessor, devon -- dedicated to digital innovation and our andrts are not only to find hire talented people who can

keep us at the cutting edge, but also to work with technology being developed in other places, and to make sure we are the beneficiaries of the work that goes into other people developing good technology. we have to stay at the forefront , our enemies are, the chinese spend a lot of money, the iranians also spent a lot of money. we have to make sure we continue to do so as well. to dorate: does this have with the pressures on a intelligence community to be more predictive, coming up with predictive technologies and analysis? director pompeo: we do. the agency has spent, and i have put efforts in that very same. there is some interesting work that is being done to give us better capacity to do that. what is a challenge is to make that applicable in the tactical and strategic and technical operation environment that we

often work. are that half hours and days to develop solutions. if we have not done the homework before, we cannot deliver the solution. mr. zarate: two questions here that take us back to your remarks. you spoke about the need to limit the lateral movement is such as by using our first amendment rights. how do you plan to accomplish ,hat, and the second question are you reviewing insider threat detention efforts in response to wikileaks? director pompeo: we are constantly revealing insider threat work. if there is one thing that doesn't involve -- there is a long history dating back to mesopotamia. this is a constant challenge and

have to be very vigilant about. the first amendment was an expert. director pompeo: a little less constitutional law and a lot more of a philosophical understanding. julian assange has no first privileges, he is not a u.s. assistant. what i was speaking to is an understanding that these are not to tryrs doing good work to keep the american government on us. are actively recruiting agents to steal american secrets with the sole intent of destroying the american way of life. fundamentally different than a first amendment activity as i understand them. that is what i was getting too. we have had administrations before that half been squeamish

about going after these people after some concept of this right to publish. nobody has the right to actively engage in the theft of secrets from america with the intent to do harm to it. mr. zarate: just reminding the -- here are a couple of questions that you may not want to answer. wasou think al-assad emboldened to use capital weapons after the president said his future was up to the syrian people? director pompeo: i refuse to go there. i think it is enough to know that we know what took place, we know that it was an atrocity and president trump to -- chose to

make it response to that. mr. zarate: what should our policy towards putin's russia be ? director pompeo: i will leave that to somebody else. leave to others some of the challenging questions about the details around policy. department --ate what impact will be imposed to reduction in the budget in personnel, prisons have on the ability of your agency to carry out the mission? director pompeo: we worked closely with the state department nearly every place we operate and it is important that the resources to do that. with respect to the budget fight , i am someone who came from a

policy were who thought government could do better up a little bit less money. i still believe that. mindful toto be ever give value for dollars. what we have to do rather than spend a lot of time thinking about the exact number of dollars we are to talk about the mission set we have and the resources that are required to i am confident that the state department will end up with the resources as well. mr. zarate: this is about elections. we talked about turkey, we have elections in france and in germany. we have elections in iran as well. how does the agency analyzed elections and the political movements? is there anything that concerns you about trends in terms of political movements or these

elections? we performmpeo: intelligence on the elections in the same way with respect to everything else. we try to help the president understand what the election looks like and what it tells you about the direction that a particular country might take. that is the important thing. we are focused on trying to help the to deliver to the president what changes would be. if you have a big change in ordership in france coming, this thing that stands for an election in iran, you want to make sure you deliver what the future may look like. one last question for you. has there been anything that has surprised to as cia director, something big or small,

surprising or something you did not expect as cia director? director pompeo:, a lot of people show up. i had a feeling for that already let as a member of congress, you spent some fraction of your time on that work and then you have other things that occupy your life as well. i have been doing this full-time for some weeks now, what amazes me is the scope and scale of the work we undertake. the enormous breadth and capacity to deliver really well contextual highly nuanced answers to policy makers in a very short time. it takes a lot of resources to do that. there is no other organization in the world that can pull that off. and is special and unique

perhaps not surprising, something i have enjoyed. director, thank you for the time and thank you for the honor of being here. let's all join and strength of director for his time. applause] -- let's all join and sank the the director for his time.

able to find this discussion with the cia director at c-span. or. earlier today forces in afghanistan struck a tunnel complex in eastern afghanistan with a huge bomb called the "mother of all bombs." the president was asked about it this afternoon in a meeting he was holding with first responders of the atlantic bridge collapse peers here is what he had to say today. this is another successful -- we have a lot of our military. the like we are proud of people in this room, we are so proud of our military. it was another successful event.

when i do is i authorize my military. we have the greatest military in the world and they have done a good job as usual. that is why they have been so successful lately. if you look at what has happened over the last eight weeks and compare that to what has happened over the last eight years you will see there is a tremendous difference. leaders inredible the military and we have incredible terry. this was another very successful mission. thank you very much. can you send a message to north korea? make a difference. north korea is a problem. the problem will be taken care of. i think that china has been working very hard. i have gotten to like and respect the president.

he is a terrific person. we spent a lot of time together in florida. man. a special we will see how it goes. i think he will try very hard area thank you. thank you very much. >> president trump from this afternoon. next up, we will take you live to philadelphia, the constitution center there for their annual freedom day event. the topic today the u.s. constitution and the future of freedom, focusing on what james madison and other framers of the constitution would think of today's residents the. -- today's presidency. george will as well as other officials from various newspapers. it will get underway shortly live on c-span.