he was joined by general joseph oh tell -- votel. they spoke at this 25 minute briefing. >> a good afternoon everyone. for today's briefing we are joined by secretary of defense general votel.d we will start with opening remarks and then proceed directly to your questions. we are planning to go for around 30 minutes. with that, mr. secretary. >> we are on right now? register, we are life. >> thank you ladies and gentlemen. i previously released a statement on the united states the syrian regime's use of chemical weapons. i thought this was a good time votel to update you. the syrian regime attacked its own people using chemical weapons against their own people. i have personally reviewed the intelligence and there is no doubt the syrian regime is responsible for the decision to attack and for the attack itself. in response to the attack, our government began a deliberate process to recommend diplomatic and military options to the president. we met over several days and i spoke with some of our allies. the national security council con

i thought this was an appropriate time for general votel and i to update you.ast tuesday, the syrian regime attacked its own people using chemical weapons. i have personally reviewed the intelligence and there's no doubt the syrian regime is responsible for the decision to attack and for the attack itself. in response to the attack, our government began a deliberate process led by the national security council to recommend diplomatic and military options to the president. we met over several days and i spoke with some of our allies. the national security council considered the near century old international prohibition against the use of chemical weapons. the syrian regime's repeated violation of the international law and the ruthless murders the regime had committed. we determined that a measured military response could best deter the regime from doing this again. our actions were successful. based on these considerations, on 6 april, the president directed military action consistent with our vital national interests to deter the use of chemical weapons. this

following up on that press conference with the secretary of defense and general votel.sage is the syrians were clearly behind this chemical attack and chemical weapons were used in this attack. no explanation as to how even after a u.n. crack down on the chemical weapons, if serial had them and what role the russians played, even if they knew they had them. general mattis was guarded on that. all of this coming with a clear warning that if they used chemical weapons again, we will respond the same way if not more for now after

general votel: i think we're seeing it play out every day. obviously the secretary and i and others are in consultation over what the additional resources are. i will leave it at that. >> they hate you for skipping the rest of them. >> mr. secretary, i wanted to clarify something. it is an important point. is it your contention that chemical weapons with the use of a nerve agent -- is that chlorine and a barrel bomb -- is that the distinction you are making? i want to make sure i am understanding the point you were making earlier. secretary mattis: i want to say very clearly that the use of chemical weapons, contrary to the geneva convention that syria signed up for, using chemical weapons that syria removed from their arsenal, those chemical weapons that the russian certified were gone -- if they used chemical weapons, they will pay a very stiff price. >> thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. we appreciate your time here. thank you very much. in ♪

earlier this month more ballistic and general votel work.e have seen russian jets operating and certainly their cooperation to prop up the regime and give them new life here and i think we should be concerned about that. this week there was president visit moscow with a sign of ties between nations. >> russia and i ran coordinate in every step of isis and al-nusra to stabilize the situation in syria. >> votel said they are trying to undermine the united states and afghanistan. >> i prepared to assume they may be providing some time of support in terms of weapons or other things that maybe there and i think that's a possibility. we have seen russian activity vis-À-vis the taliban. i'm not willing to say at this point if that is manifested in the weapons in that sort of thing but certainly what they are up to their night of other activities is concerning. i ran is accused of -- general votel said they are interrupting iranian backed fighters raising questions about what comes next after isis. the pentagon lucas tomlinson "fox news." juliette p

following up on that press conference with the secretary of defense and general votel. the message is the syrians were clearly behind this chemical attack and chemical weapons were used in this attack. no explanation as to how even after a u.n. crack down on the chemical weapons, if serial had them and what role the russians played, even if they knew they had them. general mattis was guarded on that. all of this coming with a clear warning that if they used chemical weapons again, we will respond the same way if not more for now after that. kevin clark at the white house with the latest. it's very that the intelligence is very clear. they don't doubt it a bit. >> no question. neil, i had a chance to sit in on a background briefing and the administration laid out step by step this idea that not only do the syrians use chemical weapons, it's entirely possible that their partners in moscow have known about it. based on what we listento today and based on what we're learning, even the many days after the fact, there are more questions, new questions about what the russians

general votel says there are 100,000 iranian backed fighters in iraq raising question what comes next isis. >> chris: what many people sees a a power grab is prompting violent protests prots in venezuelala. the country's supreme court has stripped the opposition controlled congress of much its power. that has sent critic into the streets. national guardsman and caracas swird buck shot and swung batons at demonstrators. nicholas has seen his approval ratings plunge amid widespread food shortages and triple digit inflation. up next we will tell you who is behind a wave of deadly recreational drugs that may be headed to your town. first, here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox five in atlanta where authorities say repairs to both sides of interstate 85 will take several months. a fire led to a bridge collapse last night. no one was hurt. but atlanta's already famously gridlocked traffic will be even more of a problem until repairs can be made. k fox 14 in el paso, texas, where democratic congressman o'rourke announced his candidacy for the sen

general votel, it's a great honor to be with you. it's some i'm with you, reassuring and i'm also so grateful for the american people hear your service. i appreciate it as a member of appreciated also i it as a fellow veteran but i particularly appreciate your military dad. i always like to recognize your meant so much to our family. my oldest son served for a year, artillery in iraq. my second son was a navy doctor, the rangers in iraq. my third son, signal officer, in egypt and i'm grateful our youngest son was an engineer afghanistan so we certainly cover the centcomm area of times weion and at all appreciate your leadership. wife fore credit to my training these guys but thank you. as the iraqi security forces continue to make progress toward liberating mosul, what is the the operation? and what have been the keys to success? army's >> thank you, congressman. on behalf of centcomm, we appreciate all the contributions from team wilson and we are very grateful for it. mosul, the iraqi security forces are making, i think, good progr

central command, general joseph votel testifies on security challenges in the middle east. he also talks about a new investigation started by the military to determine if the u.s. was responsible for recent civilian casualties in mosul, iraq. this hearing was held by the house armed services committee. it is just under two hours. >> committee will come to order. today >> today we turn our attention to military power has been engaged since 1991.

. >>> general joseph votel on security challenges in the middle east. >> while we consider and establishility over our actions in this incident it is important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life, and does attempt to use civilian casualty allegations as a tool to hinder our operations. >>> martha mcsally at the american israel policy committee conference. >> today the state of israel is a modern day david and the goal eye agent is the arsenal missiles by terrorist and hezbollah and hamas. this time israel has a major upgate in technology that will help it take down the major giant. [ applause ] >> amen. the david sling defense systems and the american defense contractor raytheon. >>> c-span.org on our home page and by searching the video library. >>> in the supreme court oral argument in mur versus wisconsin a case on private compensation for private land owners t

i would suggest that it was probably delegated down to general votel. and they said i can use this weapons system, it's unprecedented. let's keep the secretary of defense informed and let those guys notify the big guys, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. i guarantee you that's probably the process that took place because it was actionable intelligence and it was the right time. >> what about in terms of damage, colonel leighton? there's the actual physical damage and from what i've been reading, one of the reasons behind conceiving this bomb was for psychological operations. apparently they wanted to create a bomb of this magnitude that would maybe rattle iraqi troops. do you think that still holds true today? >> i think in part it does, brooke. i was actually involved even as far back as desert storm in the movement of the father, if you will, of the mother of all bombs and there were a lot of things that went into this process. but one of them is the psychological effect of this kind of bomb. when a bomb like this drops, what it does is not only s

a very interesting briefing, opening statements by both secretary mattis and general votel, let's say this at the outset, you saw in action a superb press corps that covers the pentagon. they are most if not all of them experts in the field. you also saw the secretary calling on all of the journalists, most of them on a first name basis. they spends a lot of concentrated time in those hallways and a lot around the country and around the world covering our military. medal of honor recipient, u.s. army colonel jack jacobs has been watching here with us in the studio. what stood out to you? >> there are four things that came immediately to mind. the first was a question about no fly zones and safe zones. and he said no, we're not going to do that the reason he said that because you can't do that without the assistance of the russians. they are there, the iranians are there. they are not going to be any safe zones or no fly zones unless there's an agreement between us and the

. >> secretary mattis probably presented several courses of action after discussion with general votel and others in the area saying this is what the president wants to do, give us a couple of course of actions. they probably took at least two, probably four. and as we've seen, wolf, it was a bold, tactical strike. but again, you have to consider what is going to be the operational and strategics objective. one of the things, just listening to don and spider and fareed talk about, they talk about the advancement of the political dynamic. what are we trying to achieve? there's the political piece, there is certainly the psychological piece because when they wake up in the morning, you know, both in syria and in russia, they're going to say holy smokes, america, the united states, is now involved in this. but then there's the physical piece. what construction actually occurred. it sends a message but the they fact that we have entered this war. there's going to be a new mindset but not on in syria but in other nations like iran and russia and many other countries in the middle east in te

the most fascinating part of what was a very fascinating press conference by the secretary and general votelthe stabilization phase is what takes place after you've achieved battlefield success, after you've taken mosul, after you've taken raqqah, what do you do to make it less likely you've got to go back and do it again. it's a wonderful marker that the secretary of defense has put down. i mean on a dark day, you could call the stabilization phase nation building. i'm sure the secretary wasn't referring to that. but what he was trying to say, trying to prepare the department, the administration, and frankly i think the american people for, was that you just can't roll through raqqah with armor and go home. you've got to change the facts on the ground. otherwise you've got to go do this again. i thought it was a magnificent statement. >> finally, you lost an old football coach this week, americans know him as an ambassador, americans knew him, dan rooney, as the chairman of the pittsburgh steelers, but he was actually your coach in, what, sixth, seventh grade? >> sixth, seventh and eighth g

i also want to make it known that secretary mattis and general votel, who is the commander of centralommand will be giving a full briefing on the strike in syria that occurred today at the department of defense at 3:30. then at 4:00, i'll be back up here, for an off camera briefing with director mulvaney of the office of management and budget and omb senior adviser linda springer regarding the president's executive order on reorganizing the executive branch. that gives us three briefings and this today. not to get you real excited but another one tomorrow morning, in advance of the nato meeting with the secretary general. this afternoon's briefing we'll be discussing the plan on reforming the federal government and reducing the size of the federal civilian work force that omb was directed to produce by executive order. so we'll be spending a lot of quality time together over the next 48, 24 hours. with that, i would be glad to take a few questions. ken? >> sean, russia to start, does the administration believe that russia had any advanced knowledge of this chemical attack in syria and

nicholson went to his boss and said hey, i'm about to do this, recommend you allow me to do it and general votel said g. it was a choice they made. their target was a concentration of isis fighters in a consolidated area, underground tunneled area and it was used for the passage both in and out of pakistan and afghanistan. this i would call link-up point became target rich. you probably had a very large concentration and it made perfect sense based on the time of day they were going to attack that they could have a massive kill in this area not putting any special operators or any conventional forces at risk. so you drop this moab. it explodes above the ground at a distance depending upon what type of a shape and a blast you want to have, and as described, it's a concussive blast. so everybody underneath that thing is either obliterated, ears are bleeding, or they're completely destroyed. the key thing at this point is to go do battle damage assessment. there are multiple ways you can do that. you can do it through offset, through technical means. you do it by imagery. what you'd like to be able

. >> general joseph votel on communication relationship in the middle east. >>ty thi i think it is important to recognize that the enemy does use human shields and have little regard for human life. >> arizona congresswoman mart martha mcsally. >> but, this time israel has a major upgrading technology that'll help it take down the next giant. amen. [ applause ] >> the david sling missile defense system which was codeveloped by israel's after real advance defense system and the american defense contractor, raytheon. >> c-span program are available on c-span.org and search our library. >>> a hearing on border security and immigration enforcement. witnesses including a former immigration judge and immigration policy experts who discussed sanctuaries of city policies and federal enforcement operations. this is a little over two hours.

not go up to the pentagon it was made by general nicholson, the top general in av ban stand and general votel who command, kind of overseeingal operations across the middle east. >> and are we likely to deploy this bomb in other places? or is it specific for a place like afghanistan? >> it is not really specific to afghanistan. and really i think the question is where this bomb and why now? >> rose: that's a very good question. >> yeah. i was talking to a colleague that covered the pentagon for years kind of at the outset of the iraq war and he noted that back then reporters were regularly asking have you used this bomb yet. have you used this bomb yet. and for a variety of reasons they never did back then. primarily i think because the explosion is so big that it's much harder to control civilian casualties nsm a place like afghanistan on a mountainside like this, i think there is much less risk of somebody, of civilians being in the area. >> and anything from the military or the pentagon as to whether they plan to use this bomb in other circumstances in afghanistan? >> no real sense for whe

i want to make it known secretary mattis and general will giveeneral votel a full briefing on the strike in syria that occurred today at the department of defense at 3:30. at 4:00 i will be back here for an off-camera briefing with director mulvaney. and we will also talk about reorganizing the executive branch. that is three briefings. we will have another tomorrow morning in advance of the nato meeting with the secretary-general. this afternoon's briefing we will talk about reducing the size of the federal and civilian workforce. we will be spending a lot of quality time together over the next 48, 24 hours. i would be glad to take a few questions. >> does the administration believe russia has any advance knowledge of -- did they believe [indiscernible] mr. spicer: i believe there was a background briefing earlier discussed. at this time, there is no consensus in the intelligence community that that is the case. >> any thoughts within the intelligence community? mr. spicer: there was no consensus within the intelligence community that there was involvement. >> trump officials accused ru

meantime, at the pentagon, defense secretary james mattis and central command's top general, joseph votel reiterated that the u.s. focus would be the fight against isis. mattis was asked why the u.s. acted after the chemical attack, but not after conventional strikes that kill syrian civilians. >> there is a limit to what we can do. we knew we could not stand passive on this, but it's not a statement that we could enter full-fledged, full-bore into the most complex civil war on the planet. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, i'm margaret warner. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, north korea issued a fiery new warning to the united states. state tv threatened nuclear strikes on american military bases in south korea and elsewhere, if the u.s. makes any aggressive move. the report noted that a u.s. aircraft carrier group is moving toward the region for military exercises with the south. >> ( translated ): the united states's dispatching of its nuclear carrier task group in the waters off the peninsula proves that its reckless moves for invading north korea have reached a serious phase. i

. >> general joseph votel on security challenges in the middle east. >> while we consider and establish accountability over our actions in this incident, i think it is also important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life, and does attempt to use civilian causality allegations as a tool to hinder our operations. >> arizona congresswoman martha mcsally at the american-israel public affairs committee policy conference. >> today the state of ids yale is a modern day david and goliath is the arsenal of hundreds of thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at the jewish state by terror groups like hezbollah and hamas, but this time israel has a major upgrade in technology that will help it take down the next giant. amen. the david-slaying missile defense system, which was co-developed by israel's rafael advanced defense systems and the american defense contractor. >> c-span programs are available at c-span.org, on our home page, and by searching the video library. >>> the american israel p

. >> general joseph votel on security challenges in the middle east. >> while we consider an established accountability over our actions in this incident, it is important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life, and does attempt to use civilian casualty allegations as a tool to hinder our operations. >> arizona congresswoman martha mcsally at the american-israel public conference. >> today, the state of israel is a modern day david, and goliath is the arsenal of hundreds and thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at the jewish same by terrorist groups like hezbollah and hamas. this time israel has a major upgrade in technology to take down the next giant. [ applause ] amen. the david slaying defense missile system, co-developed by israel and america. >> c-span programs are available at c-span.org. >>> the american-israel public affairs committee held a conference last week. in this portion, they talked about why they support israel. then u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley talked about how she plans on approaching middle east poli

he was joined by general joseph oh tell -- votel. they spoke at this 25 minute briefing.

general votel will provide more information on the strike. general votel: we developed a target strike package with the goal being to eliminate those capabilities including air flames, equipment and fuel supplies that provided offenses military capacity. we did not deliberately target personnel in the strikes. e targeted 50 locations. we assessed this was a launching point for this chemical attack and it has been severely degraded. we are obviously paying close attention to the environment in the wake of the strikes and remain appropriately postured to respond as necessary. meanwhile, we are focused on the did the isis campaign. in closing, i want to commend the exceptional skill and professionalism of all the corporate -- all our military personnel. we are very, them. secretary mattis: we can take our questions now. bob: you mentioned that the feeding isis in syria was your main priority. in light of the chemical attack, is it your view that the u.s. should take additional steps in creating sandstones, no-fly zones or attempting to remove a

general joseph votel. >> while we establish accountability, i think it is also important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life, and does attempt to use civilian casualty allegations as a tool to behinder our operations. >> arizona congresswoman martha mcsally at the american israel public affairs committee policy conference. >> today the state of israel is a modern day david and goliath is the arsenal of hundreds of thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at the jewish state by tefror groups like hezbollah and hamas. but this time israel has a major upgrade in technology that will help it take down the next giant. amen. the david slaying missile defense system which was co-developed by israel's defense system and the american defense contractor ratheon. >> c-span programs are available at c-span.org, on our home page and by searching the video library. >>> congressional leaders are spoke at the recent american israel public affairs committee policy conference in washington. in this portion, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, chuck

. >>> general joseph votel on security challenges in the middle east. >> while we consider and establishountability over our actions in this incident it is important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life, and does attempt to use civilian casualty allegations as a tool to hinder our operations. >>> martha mcsally at the american israel policy committee conference. >> today the state of israel is a modern day david and the goal eye agent is the arsenal missiles by terrorist and hezbollah and hamas. this time israel has a major upgate in technology that will help it take down the major giant. [ applause ] >> amen. the david sling defense systems and the american defense contractor raytheon. >>> c-span.org on our home page and by searching the video library. >>> in the supreme court oral argument in mur versus wisconsin a case on private compensation for private land owners that would prohibit how a land can be used and sold could impact 100 cities and counties that have similar restrictions on land sale and use. >>> we will hear argumen

. >> general joseph votel on security challenges in the middle east. >> while we consider and establish accountability over our actions in this incident, i think it is also important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life, and does attempt to use sixian casualties operations as a tool. >> today the state of israel is a modern day david and ga lie yej is the sars nal of hundreds of thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at the jewish state by terror groups like hezbollah and hamas. but this time israel has a major upgrade in technology that will help it take down the next giant. amen. the david sling missile defense system, which wasco developed by israel's rav phi yell advance systems and the american defense contractor ray thee on. >> c-span programs are available at c-span.org, on our home page and by searching the video library. >> c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you and coming up wednesday morning, florida republican congressman ted yoho will discuss potential u.s. response to t

. >> general joseph votel on security challenges in the middle east. >> while we establish accountability over our actions, it is important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life and does attempt to use civilian casualties allegations as a tool to hinder our operations >>> arizona congresswoman, martha mcsally at the american/israel public affairs. >> today, the state of israel is a modern day david and goliath is the arsenal of hundreds of thousands of rock the questions and missiles aimed at the jewish state by terror groups like hezbollah and hamas. this time, israel has a major upgrade in technology that will help it take down the next giants. amen. the david slaying missile defense system. which was co-developed by israel's raphael advance defense system and the american defense contractor, ray thee raytheon. >>> fbi director, james comey, recently outlined the bureau's strategy and priorities. he spoke at a dinner held in his honor by the intelligence and national security alliance and talked about tension between privacy and pub

. >> general joseph votel on security challenges in the middle east. >> while we consider and establish accountability over our actions in this incident, i think it's important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields, has little regard for human life and does attempt to use civilian casualty allegations as a tool to hinder our operations. >> arizona congresswoman martha mcsally at the american-israel public affairs committee policy conference. >> today the state of israel is a modern-day david and goliath is the arsenal of hundreds of thousands of rockets and missiles aim at the jewish state by terror groups like hezbollah and hamas. but this time israel has a major upgrade in technology to help it take down the next giant. amen. the david-slaying missile defense system, which was co-developed by israel's rafael advance defense systems the american defense contractor raytheon. >> c-span programs are available at c-span.org. on our home page and by searching the video library. >> tonight on c-span a house judiciary subcommittee hearing on the d.e.a. and a.t.f. then se