00:00I'll give you a few minutes to address those, and then we'll take a few more.
00:03Well, the opening question is a very good one.
00:06It's a fair one.
00:08When an incoming administration comes into the world the way that it is,
00:13existing set of threats, I mentioned deferred maintenance,
00:17and as a result, we never would and have not turned our back on existing relationships,
00:23existing responsibilities, existing threats.
00:25So when it comes to the very tailored operation we had against the Houthis,
00:33which easily could have expanded into something else if we did not maintain focus on what the end state was,
00:40freedom of navigation was our goal from the beginning.
00:42We used unrelenting military force to execute that,
00:46provided capabilities in order to protect our troops and forces in the region in the process,
00:50which requires some trade-offs, but intentionally kept the scope narrow so that it didn't spiral into something bigger,
00:59and we could ensure we maintain combat power or other potentialities.
01:04We stand prepared to ensure that Iran does not get a nuclear bomb.
01:10We're committed to peace.
01:11We believe that's the most fruitful process, and there have been great signs,
01:14but it would be irresponsible for the Department of Defense not to posture to protect our forces and our allies and our bases in the region.
01:23So that requires trade-offs in the short term.
01:26But that's our job.
01:27I started working with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and others to ensure globally we're looking at the entire picture
01:32and allocating resources at certain times and certain places with a specific end state,
01:40with an understanding that eventually we need to make choices that shift to our priority location.
01:48I'll note that the border, from our perspective, our border is not a deviation from that at all.
01:54President Trump has made that key from the beginning, securing our skies, our southern border.
01:59When you have 21 million people whose intentions you don't know what they are enter your country,
02:04we call that an invasion.
02:06That's unacceptable, and that's why we focused on that from day one,
02:10and we will use all resources necessary to secure that southern border.
02:17Subscribe to One India and never miss an update.
Comments