dod and v.a. knew full well 15 years ago. >> thank you, ms. church. i'm going to go to mr. liermann whose hand was up first and then mr. thampi and mr. brown. mr. liermann, go ahead. >> thank you, chairman. i greatly appreciate it. i want to make a comment in reference to what representative mrvan was talking about v.a. i.t. infrastructure. that's very important. they could hire 10,000 more people to help, but if we don't have the tools to expedite the process now, we're going to be in a world of hurt. there's over 200,000 pending backlog claims today. so in a heavy investment in v.a.'s infrastructure, i.t. systems, and to point to what we saw yesterday, the automation that is being tested out in the boise office for increased claims. we should be heavily investing in that in v.a. so we, one, don't have backlog claims and, two, we never have to hear, well, we can't take care of that because v.a. doesn't have the resources and infrastructure. we should be paying ahead so the system is set up to han

the dod overall new about this. the contractors start the brain pits, make the dod sign a letter stating that the dod never go back and pursue against the contractor for the burn pits. here is the list of the known effects of toxic exposures they're going to come from these burn pits that could further cause -- the dod is the one signing these contracts. to protect the contractors because they know how bad these are. >> thank you. >> thanks mr. chairman. i want to respond to congressman cawthorn, he asked for my input on his question as well. it can't be too early to start telling people about these issues. no matter how good, especially the tens issue program, it is always going to be too much information. you have to continue to tell them afterwards. these are questions the primary care doctor should be having with them. it is never too early but it is during and after as well. the backlog this could potentially create, we don't like the v.a. to have backlog, when there's no reason. some backlogs are good backlogs

i mean, does dod have any strategies? mr. kirby: a strategy? reporter: yes, towards china and north korea? mr. kirby: i don't know of any new strategy with respect to china and north korea and whatever statements they might have made in support of what mr. putin is doing. we're focused on, again, trying to find a diplomatic path forward here. so that doesn't involve into conflict over ukraine. and to make sure that we're shoring up our contributions to the nato alliance, which we take very seriously. i'll always say what i've said before, i mean, these two countries, russia and china are , not countries with a whole lot of friends. and aren't part of broader alliance systems that they can rely on. and every indication that we've seen in recent days this is more , of a partnership of convenience, if anything else between xi and putin. and these are not two countries that are uniformly aligned on every issue. so, they can speak for themselves and what they put out in their little communique. that's fine, we're focused on making sure that we are c

considering the resources of the dod. should we look at ways the dod could take on a larger role. if so, what could that entail? >> yes, ma'am, thank you for the questions. it's a great point. dod has decades and decades of experience in biosecurity. that they've had to do to prepare for a war and protect war fighters. so, i agree, there's a tremendous number of lessons learned and research and efforts at the department of defense na can be learned by the domestic agencies like the department of homeland security and usda. i will say this though, while the technology, i think, would be helpful and the coordination would be great. applying some of these technologies in the homeland is actually, i think, one of the biggest challenges because while basic research is part of the solution, when you apply these technologies to train stations and subway stations and crowded places in this country. it's very, very different in terms of the way it needs to work and, for example, you know, you just can't have false alarms. that doesn't work. if you have to evacuate a subway station, so, it'

forces had to engage with russian forces. >> any sense what will hear from the dod this week regardings? >> i suspect it's going get pretty low profile and stay mostly the same to see what happens on the un side. i do see some of these things like the letter we sent last week will gain any traction. what kind of response there will be. i think all of us want to know what is on the negotiating table. and so until both sides come to some kind of agreement i don't think you're going to be seeing anyyo sort of movement from the dod and less of biden decides to send a couple of those units just to have them in place in case. >> our gas a senior pentagon correspondent for defense won her workk and without defense one.com, terra cop joining us for this conversation. thanks for your time. >> thank you for having me. ♪ ♪'s he spent unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including charter communication. >> broadbent is a force for empowerment. that is why charter has invested billions, building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportun

it's long past time that dod addresses the harms that u.s. military operations have caused and implement meaningful reforms that de-emphasize lethal force and prioritize civilian lives. i have already asked president biden to incorporate these ideals into his upcoming counterterrorism review. but general, if confirmed, i think you're going to have an opportunity to set the standard for protecting innocent lives. and actually implement some real change here. i look forward to working with you. i hope we can make some improvements in this area. thank you. >> thank you, senator. let me recognize senator tillis please. >> thank you, mr. chairman. general, thank you for being here. congratulations on your nomination. i intend to support you as well. oi i don't gamble, but i do bet from time to time, i'm certain i'm going to win it. is so i have to agree with senator ernst. you'll have strong support from this committee. i have a couple questions. one is within your current area of responsibility, but do you believe the decision to deploy elements

today the views and opinions i have are on my own and they're informed by leadership positions in dod, in the pentagon as well as for dhs and recent tour back to hhs at the end of last year. covid has exposed the stark reality that a novel virus can emerge anywhere and spread around the world in weeks with devastating consequences. we knew a pandemic was coming, but it was difficult to predict when, what, where, and how a novel virus would emerge. and despite many acknowledged failures that continue to accrue with the response, i submit that actually we were more prepared for the virus to emerge than critics acknowledge. after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and letters containing that deadly anthrax spores were mailed in 2001. congress appropriated new funds over the years as threats evolved and we accrued some lessons observed and some turned into lessons learned and they make all preparedness enterprise. so we were better prepared than we would have been had sars not occurred and more importantly the work of many dedicated career professionals in government at all levels, in industry

the dod inspector general and independent studies have highlighted important areas for change. our military goes to gate lengthths to avoid civilian casualties. we have an obligation to learn from the mistakes and prevent future mistakes. i hope you will share what steps you would take to ensure they improve openness and transparency. turning to afghanistan, we transitioned to an over the horizon posture. respond using assets outside afghanistan. we achieved the goal of significantly degrading al qaeda and other terrorist groups, but the work is not finished. during testimony to this committee last october, the under secretary of defense assessed isis k and al qaeda have the intent to conduct external operations but neither has the ability to do so. to prevent them from developing this ability, we must bolster our capabilities. share the lessons you learned from your time in afghanistan and how you would ensure we can conduct optimal over the horizon activities. again, thank you, general, for your willingness to serve. i look forward to your testimony. let me recognize the rank

. >> there's room to serve on the planning, budgeting serve as dod's deputy chief and acting personal readiness, service and general counsel of the armed services committee currently serving as a senior fellow at the institute for defense analysis. he previously served as undersecretary of the air force and prior to that, assistant secretary of the air force financial management and vice director of the joint staff who currently serves as director on the board of mercury assistance. leadership team here looks forward to working with mr. levine in their new roles as members of the commission, we are grateful for their willingness to serve the country in this capacity and look forward to the good work the commission will help us with in terms of our programming and budgeting and execution. with that, who will go to questions. >> thank you. one of the things the russians said today was that they boosted their staff at their nuclear sites. i am wondering if there's anything the pentagon has seen regarding changes in the nuclear posture at all next second, can you provide an assessment on

they are informed by serving an executive leadership positions in dod as well as at dhs. covid has exposed the stark reality that ignoble virus can emerge anywhere and spread around the world in weeks with devastating consequences. we knew what pandemic was coming but it was difficult to predict when and what. i submit we were more prepared before sars2 emerge in critics would ignore. after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 congress authorized new programs and appropriated new funds as threats evolved. we were better prepared than we would have been before sars two emerged had not been for the long support of congress and the work of many dedicated career professionals in government at all levels of industry, academia, and ngos. for example the accelerated development of safe covid-19 vaccine's would not have been possible without prior congressional support. this enabled the executive branch to establish new programs and therapeutics research, development, manufacturing and regulatory science. this came with painful lessons learned, but progress was made. ows successful in c

as a result of that, dod instructions and dod guidance was promulgated which required that commanders no longer use their indigenous or organic resources to investigate sexual assaults. and that all sexual assault allegations would be referred to military criminal investigative organizations, such as the office of special investigation for the active duty air force or cid, the criminal investigation division for the army. but unlike those active and reserve components that serve under title x, guardsmen and women do not have access to that due to their service in nonfederalized status. so to fill that gap, we created the office of complex investigation, which would help in instances where local law enforcement, which is our first line of defense against sexual violence allegations, is either unwilling or unable to investigate thoroughly those allegations. in those limited instances, the office of complex investigation steps in and provides an investigative tool for the 54 adjutants general. these investigations include only sexual assault allegations, but we're using the department of

you are a dod advisor. what is happening and who was pushing this?gainst the democrats pushing for identity politics. this is the democrats trying to think having this wokeness entering into the military will somehow enable themselves to be more dough might get more votes. this is appeasement to the radical left. this is not about america's safety and security or increase of capability for prediction of the national security. this is certainly not about strengthening america on the world stage to make sure we can answer the call if anyone threatens us at any time. >> todd: what i don't understand presumably at the highest levels of the military you have a lot of stars on your coat, you got into this not to be a bureaucrat at the end of your career. you got into it because you wanted to defend your country and you wanted to fight, quite frankly. how do these individuals push this get so political in the first place? >> well i will tell you right now, this has been going on for a long time. the differences big-time generals, generals, secretaries of de

reporter: does dod consider russian movement a new incursion? mr. kirby: yes. reporter: can you elaborate on what secretary austen's thinking was for pulling the national guard trainers out of western ukraine? mr. kirby: we said clearly it was an abundance of caution, given the mosaic we've been given over the last 48 hours in the information we continue to receive as early as today, it's not the safest place for them to be. so he ordered them taken out of the country over the weekend. an abundance of caution here. i said two weeks ago when you guys were asking me about this, if and when he believe the safety and security of those individuals was going to be at risk, he would make the decision to remove them, and he did that. reporter: there's a small contingents of -- contingency of military in the country, some special forces there. can you say all u.s. military forces deployed in ukraine have been taken out or ordered out? mr. kirby: there remains a small amount of military personnel in support of our diplomats and they remain in the country. reporter: anyon

does dod have any defense trainers on the ground in ukraine? >> no. >> does dod ask a russian movement into the donbas a new encouragent? >> yes. >> and you can elaborate on what second austin's thinking was pulling the national guard trainers out of state? >> we've said it was an abundance of caution, given the mosaic we've been given in the last 48 hours and it's obviously not the most safest place for them to be. he ordered them taken out of the country over the weekend. again, abundance of safety -- abundance of caution here. i said, what, two weeks ago when you guys were asking me about this. if and when he believed the safety and security of those individuals was going to be at risk, he would make the decision to remove them. and he did that. >> courtney. >> there's a small contingency of u.s. forces there. can you say that all u.s. forces in ukraine have been taken out or ordered out? >> i will tell you there remains a small amount of military personnel in support of our diplomats and they remain in the country. >> other than security gu

with information and dod records that would indicate potentially significant security concerns.could not locate some afghan evacuees whom ngic personnel identified as having crossing tore information. now, to date. in biden has resettled afghans across 46 states and a whole lot of them we don't know who they're, where they have come from or what they may be up to. jesse? >> jesse: seems like whether you have a crime wave, might be risky to lose track of a bunch of terror-tied afghan refugees, what do i know? i'm just a tv host. thank you very much, kevin. >> you bet. >> jesse: times square used to be a place where tourists and locals could take their kids to have some fun. maybe get a picture with spiderman, stop at the m&m store. you know, go shopping. not anymore. it's no longer safe for children. not even in broad daylight. last thursday a 4-year-old boy was enjoying times square with his family when a deranged man punched him in the head. look at that. creep just walks up to the kid out of nowhere, clocks him in the face. walks away. it took a couple of mothers to take him d

and those bio defense enterprise and we pointed out local because then dod has want another what has certainly have not been integrated together. i think part of the problem is the lack of integration but one last look. but then to look at some new innovative surveillance system to monitor covid to get down to the state and local level in the private sector intimate in the pharmacies and things like that. we need to lookk at what we have created did not just get rid of it when covid is under. >> do you have any thoughts? the first case with the cdc confirmed january 21st, 2020 and recent studies from public health officials suggest it was undetected a couple of months previous to that. >> it really comes down to the need to read and envision bio surveillance and take advantage of what we did build. that was recommended with. >> so why did go at the that we need to address that were not just on the public health but in and we do have a national bio defense but i don't believe we ever had a day but what this means and how we could take advantage but it has to be one hell of an approach

dod, the biden administration, deny it for weeks when it turns out innocent civilians were killed. let me just ask you, and you can tell me if you are not the right person to address this question, but i understand that sometimes in the fog of war, mistakes are made. what interests me is that the spokesperson at dod, john kirby, admitted a significant breakdown in process, those are his words, that led to this drone strike that killed these innocent civilians. yet, there has been no discipline or accountability for anyone involved. involved in the process. it it to put -- typical to have a breakdown in the process with no remedial action? >> i will have to refer to the general. >> i do not know the details. the operation was classified. i'm not on the inside with classified information anymore in my current retired position. what i can tell you is that the people who were on the scope and looking at the events i think actually did believe that this vehicle was about the cause greater harm, was laden with explosives and was about the cause much greater harm that they were frantic to

the dod actually tweeted something yesterday that goes like this.s, diversity, equity, and inclusion are necessities in the u.s. military. now, this had a lot of people extremely concerned, but not the pentagon. >> this argument of wokeness in the military. i was in the military for 30 years and i can tell you things like diversity and inclusion, that makes us a better military because it brings to the fore somebody else's lived experiences might actually make a smart on the battlefield. >> laura: is he criticizing his 30 years in the military? joining us now, dennis desousa, conservative commentator, and stephen miller, founder of the america first legal and former trump senior advisor. the real threat to this country that they're trying to map out for us are the people of this country who are now overwhelmingly rejecting biden's agenda, so does that mean the 58% to disapprove, they are all potential domestic terror threats at this point? >> what i find really remarkable is that there seems to be an embedded point of view inside the biden administr

again, the also people who are just staying poor and dod trying to inform themselves, actually worse than you are shelter when those sirens are going to a go off again lightly as they did this morning. siren warning, or in fact telling people this is the time that you should look for you closest shelter. and these are similar reports that were getting funny from our other correspondence in the country. also from family and friends. personal messages i been getting from said a different parts of the country, central part of the country, and in the pool, for example, waking up to these explosions. could you tell us, the ukranian president announced he was introducing martial law. what does that entail? martial law is usually introduced in times of crisis that could be could be a natural disaster situation of conflict or i was so what is happening is basically the natural way of things as they proceed in any democratic country to say. so to implement martial law by that also implying to the citizens here, that this is not the time that they should venture out, but they should actually s

to that end faa is working with dhs and dod on the aviation cyber industry. but still as the us upgrades the transportation infrastructure dot must continue to strengthen and secure its it systems and networks while working to improve this effort to respond to increasingly sophisticated malicious cyber campaigns. we remain committed to supporting dot's efforts as it works to remediate the system vulnerabilities and focus on overall cyber security projects. we willcontinue to update you on our work for these and related matters . this concludes my prepared statement. i would be happy to address any questions at this time. >> iq mister dorsey. finally, this is ridiculous. mister marina. >> thank you chairman and ranking member grace for inviting gao to contribute to this important discussion of our critical infrastructure cyber security. our nations infrastructure lies on it systems to carry out operations and the protection of these is vital to public confidence in safety. gao has long emphasized the urgent need for the federal government to improve its abilit

i know dod is interested as well. this is kind of a win/win on two very important ports that actually work very closely together. >> yes, senator, should i have the honor to be confirmed, i look forward to working with this committee in particular to work on port infrastructure development nationwide and, of course, with consideration, thank you for forwarding the study you forwarded to me yesterday, i did review it and look forward to working with other federal entities, dod and others to make progress in building resilience and sustainability across america's port infrastructure. >> let me ask a question i didn't get to ask yesterday. it was news. you and i weren't involved in this. the port of anchorage had this long running lawsuit against merritt on the port. the judge rules in favor of anchorage. my own view has been, we need to settle this and move on. right? i just want to get a commitment from you, there's going to be a damages award element of this. i don't know if it will be $1 or several hundred millions.

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the spokesperson at dod, john kirby, admitted there was a significant breakdown in process, his words, break down in process, that led to this drone strike that killed these innocent civilians and yet there's been no discipline or accountability for anybody involved. is that typical to have a breakdown in process and no remedial action be taken, do you know? >> senator, i will probably have to defer to the general on that one. >> general? >> i do not know the details. a lot of that operation was classified. in these hearings -- i'm not on the inside with classified information anymore in my current retired position. what i can tell you is that the people who were on the scope and looking at the events, i think, actually did believe this vehicle was about to cause greater harm, was laden with explosives and about to cause much greater harm that they were frantic to try to prevent. the mistakes that were made i cannot characterize but i think the situation was one that they thought there was a very extensive threat that was about to take place. >> now that all makes sense to me, general

the spokesperson and dod admitted there was a significant breakdown and process.e are his words and that led to this drone strike that killed the innocent civilians. there has been no disciplinary accountability whatsoever anybody involved. is that typical to have a breakdown and process of this magnitude with no remedial action? >> i have to refer to the general on that one. >> i do not know the details. >> in these hearings. i don't know anymore with classified information in my retired physician that i can tell you the people who were on the scope and looking at the events actually did believe that this vehicle was about two kinds greater harm and was laden with explosives cause much greater harm and what they were trying to prevent. the mistakes made i cannot characterize that the situation was one and there was a very extensive threat about to take place. >> . >> that makes perfect sense. here is what is a little more puzzling. we have learned since the intelligence community the cia sent a warning to the military as the striker before the drone strike happen

there is some weird disturbing parallels here given what the dhs and the dod is s saying now. no, america's leftist elites are envious of the chinese system and the ability it provides them to control tat the population. what is truly terrifying rightio now, laura , is that the left has gained control of the secure state. in other words, between doj with the fbi, cia as well as of course the department of homeland security, they're able' to use the security apparatus tore police speech and to police thought they disagree with and l this sounds like it's too hard to believe. ask yourself t how many innocent people were jailed as a result of the russia collusion hoax?an how manyy people were given unequal legal treatment as a result of that they are advancing the idea that law enforcement can be used for expressly political purposes.exs that dhs bulletin should besl taken with utmost seriousness.ri butca all americans who treasure their civil liberties we are heading down a very dark path and that's the stevensau point. the ap just dropped this bombshell a few moments ago. the c

what is the status of the dod review, why is it taking so long? mr. kirby: as for how long it takes, this is not a small decision. we want to make sure we get it right. i don't have a updates for you today. i will check to see if there is a process answer we can provide you. these are not decisions we take lightly. we understand and respect the oversight role of congress. we understand and respect our polish allies and the defense relationship we have with them. i do not have any announcements today. reporter: [indiscernible] is the secretary aware of this? there are some criticisms of the training for hell week maybe too much. mr. kirby: the secretary was briefed on the incident. he sends his deepest condolences to the family. that is the kind of news that no parent wants to get. he knows the navy is looking into this and investigating the cause of death. i think the secretary wants to make sure he gives the navy the time to look at this carefully and thoughtfully before coming to any kind of conclusions. obviously, we don't know what happened. repor

now when it's mike parcels, that's what i compared the pastor dod. the deal is cut in half and then turn through a past the machine several times until the dough is nice and flat. yeah, the nice work in the now it comes here. bend the filling is placed on a 3rd of the surface of the do another 3rd is brushed with egg so that the dumplings don't roll up. i carefully fold the doe over itself, shape it into small rectangles with a wooden spoon, and then separate it with a knife. when to convey you half libyan maldon is a good. i was good, but we're not done yet. there are usually i have a vegetable stop boiling now and i'll just drop them out. ashton in it. do you mind if not couple now will make some potato salad to lot. it's not a classic side dish for both a classic night mount washington and those with benched or filling off the pre cooked potatoes are peeled and cut into thin slices. then we add oil. ah vinegar and a little vegetable stock. ah, of course you add salt and pepper and then very important as a teacher and it looks great. and if we writ

the pastor dod, the deal is cut in half and then turn through a past the machine several times until the dough is nice and flat. yeah, the nice work now it comes here ah, bend the filling is placed on a 3rd of the surface of the do. another 3rd is brushed with egg. so that the dumplings don't roll up. i carefully fold the doe over itself, shape it into small rectangles with a wooden spoon, and then separate it with a knife. when to convey you half this way, be in mal doesn't. does a good. oh, good. but we're not done yet. there i usually have a vegetable stop boiling now and i'll just drop them out, ashton, in it. the man is not cattle now we'll make some potato salad to the lot is not a classic side dish for both a classic night. mount washington and those with vegetable filling of the pre cooked potatoes are peeled and cut into thin slices. then we add oil, vinegar, and a little vegetable stock. of course you add salt and pepper and then very important as a teacher and it looks great. and if we written the microphone in class, if not, you can hear it sounds right to the voice sheet

it was dod. um, it could have died for variety of reasons unsuitable for the soul tide or could be being competed for neutral to tetra from the street. but when we're sewing seeds that you'll be sewing with your drones, will be sewing varieties which are particularly suited to the sol, taught that a good thing with drones is that we can monitor, saw a 2 month later, 3 months later with fly the same flight path right, or we can tell how they progressing. now that is one and we will be able to give you a report which says that particular trees healthy this one down the road is not this drone as taking off with seats from a type of acacia tree native to the region. this technology could help plant millions of new trees. if all goes well, a new forest will soon take root. here in ireland, new forests have already been planted. but climate protection isn't the only goal here. landowners, such as brendan lynch and county lead from want to harvest their trees back in the day. lynch's father was able to

and rudy puts in dod voltage album, loft, linen from her own experience. she knows that the disease has cost many lives. however, she doesn't want to get vaccinated against coven 19, even though it will be compulsory for health care workers and germany from much. and that ammonia instead of being vaccinated with the vaccine whose effect i can't assess local, i'd rather catch the virus naming. of course the at that could go badly, but then i would rather excited death on my own tom and i ran kind of video my taught a phone call from him lawmaker and doctor pola p shutter voted for compulsory vaccinations . she wants to prevent patients from being infected by nursing stuff. so this one's a, i was out medicine for all of us working in health care. it is our job that we do not put our patients at unreasonable risk on. and the coven. 19 vaccination is extremely safe, which is why it is acceptable to enforce it to protect our patients. chosen, sabina believes an alternative therapy not in vaccinations, despite all the scientific proof that they work. most health

was a 1st time they went to have a carry. asthma con is revered. indian born british chef confounded dod ceiling express, a popular upscale london restaurant with a team of female chefs. oh, really don't trust me to do this, that i might bonnet, she says the south asian food scene is critically important because of employees. $100000.00 people and contributes $5000000000.00 every year to the u. k. economy. so this is not something that you know, you can dismiss and disregard the thing. is that the impression that awful is chief on chef or ethnic food? snacks up, is it? and i'm saying it because the whole idea that you know, someone's placene is more innovated and more sophisticated, they all tend to be western closings. this really upset me and i wasn't going to have concession. i just priced it really high. ah, perhaps such perceptions exist because the quintessential curry hath experience written is not always a high class affair. indian restaurants established themselves as affordable light night wars, welcoming workers, titans from pub, than not. the word curry was used as an umbrell