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White House Press Briefing. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 17, 2021 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:03]

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

You have noticed that you had encouraged Americans on the ground there to leave and that many chose not to.

I just wanted to follow up on (INAUDIBLE)'s question. Will the U.S. government commit to ensuring that any Americans that are currently on the ground in Afghanistan get out?

SULLIVAN: That's what we're doing right now. We have asked them all to come to the airport to get on flights and take them home.

That's what we intend to do.

Yes?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Former officials from multiple administrations, Obama administration, the Bush administration have said they are certain Afghanistan will become a safe haven for terrorists.

I know you and the president have disputed that. What do you think those officials are getting wrong? And can you ensure that Americans are safer today because of your actions than we were several months ago?

SULLIVAN: I want to be very clear about what our position is.

Our position is that we are going to have to deal with the potential threat of terrorism from Afghanistan going forward, just as we have to deal with the potential threat of terrorism in dozens of countries in multiple continents around the world.

We have to deal with the threat of terrorism in Yemen and Somalia and Syria. We have to deal with the threat of terrorism across the Islamic Maghreb. We have to deal with al Qaeda and ISISK. And we have to do so using a wide variety of tools, intelligence capabilities, defense capabilities and, yes, in some cases, the support we can provide to local partners to help them deal with the challenge.

And what we have shown is, in many of the countries I just mentioned, among others, we have been successful to date in suppressing the terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland in those countries without sustaining a permanent military presence or fighting in a war.

And that is what we intend to do with respect to Afghanistan as well. So this is not a question about whether we're clear-eyed about the terrorist challenge from Afghanistan. It is about whether the terrorist challenge in 2021 is fundamentally different from the terrorist challenge in 2001.

We believe it is fundamentally different. And we need to be postured effectively to deal with the terrorism challenge as we find it today, as opposed to 20 years.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Just for a minute, can you shed light on the decision to leave behind Black Hawks and other equipment, how that fits in with the contingency plan the U.S. Army had?

SULLIVAN: Leave behind?

QUESTION: Black Hawks and other equipment. Why give the Taliban access to state-of-art equipment that they could either use to bolster their own defenses or to sell off to other countries?

SULLIVAN: This is a -- I think a very good example of the difficult choices a president faces and a secretary of defense and secretary of state and national security adviser face in the context of the end of a 20-year war.

Those Black Hawks were not given to the Taliban. They were given to the Afghan national security forces to be able to defend themselves, at the specific request of President Ghani, who came to the Oval Office and asked for additional air capability, among other things.

So the president had a choice. He could not give it to them with the risk that it would fall into the Taliban's hands eventually, or he could give it to them with the hope that they could deploy it in service of defending their country.

Both of those options had risks. He had to choose. And he made a choice. And from the point of view of that particular narrow example to a much wider range of examples that we contend with, at the end of the day, what the president has focused on all the way through here is trying to take the information that's been presented to him, the risks, costs and benefits and make decisions that were in the best national security interests of the American people.

He has tried to do that. He talked about that at length yesterday. And from that perspective, he believes the decision he made in this context was the right decision.

Yes. QUESTION: Thank you.

The president has not been shy about undoing many of the previous president's policies, many of them. Why not undo this one, particularly since the Taliban have abrogated already what they agreed to back in Doha with President Trump?

SULLIVAN: You're referring to the agreement that President Trump made with the Taliban in February of 2020, which set a deadline, be out by May 1, 2021.

Walking away from that was not just kind of a cost-free proposition for the United States. On May 2, the Taliban offensive was going to start. The Taliban onslaught was going to happen. And the question facing the president was, would increasing numbers of American troops be in the teeth of that offensive, or would we draw a bit down and try and give all the capabilities necessary for the Afghan government and the Afghan army to step up to that?

That is the decision that he took. That is the situation that he was placed in with a mere 2, 500 troops in country when he took over. This was a choice between dramatically ramping up forces to fight or drawing them down to end our military involvement. And that's the choice that he made.

[14:05:03]

Yes?

QUESTION: Thanks, Jake.

The president said yesterday that he urged Afghan leaders to engage in diplomacy and seek a political settlement with the Taliban, but -- quote -- "This advice was flatly refused."

Does the president feel he had a willing partner in President Ghani?

SULLIVAN: Look, I would just say the president was reporting the facts as they unfolded. I'm not going to characterize anything about President Ghani at this point, who is no longer a factor in Afghanistan. And I don't think there's much merit in me weighing in more deeply on him.

Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. Sullivan (OFF-MIKE) here, but we're speaking to Afghan citizens who supported the American mission in Afghanistan who are now terrified for their lives.

Can you confirm that, when it gets to August 31, and your troops leave, will you abandon them, or will you stay (AUDIO GAP)

SULLIVAN: Our plan is to safely evacuate the people who worked with the United States who are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas, which is a generous program set up on a bipartisan basis by our Congress. We have identified those individuals and families. We are making

provision to have them come to the airport and get on evacuation flights out of the country. That is what we are going to do between now and the end of the month.

Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Thank you, Jake.

One question going back to President Ghani. Have any top officials of the Afghan government, the former Afghani government, made requests for asylum in the United States? And would President Ghani and Vice President Abdullah, among others, be welcomed in the U.S.?

SULLIVAN: I'm not familiar with any such requests. And I'm not going to get into hypotheticals.

Yes.

QUESTION: Thanks, Jake.

With the president at Camp David, can we, the American people, expect to hear from him in the coming days as the operation to get people out continues?

SULLIVAN: I will leave it to Jen to answer that. But I -- yes, you will hear from him in the coming days, yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) caused by the previous administration (OFF- MIKE).

The way the withdrawal was carried out added new strains to the alliance. How severe is this damage? And what you will tell your allies?

SULLIVAN: President Biden has a long and deep history of solidarity and commitment to the NATO alliance. He's -- commitment to Article 5 is rock solid and sacrosanct.

We just had a very successful NATO summit where we committed to a new strategic concept and a new way forward on the emerging threats we're going to face. He believes in his personal bonds with the leaders of NATO. And he believes in the institutional bonds between the United States and NATO.

And I would just note also that our secretary of state and our secretary of defense went to repeated ministerial meetings of NATO for consultations on this decision, and ultimately secured an agreement of the North Atlantic Council for it to be carried out along the timetable that was laid out. All of the allies signed up to that.

What the president also committed to was making sure that every last NATO troop on the ground in Afghanistan -- and there were more NATO troops in Afghanistan than American troops when Joe Biden took office -- would get out safely and securely without incurring a single casualty. And he executed that.

And then, finally, he's committed to facilitating the flights of our NATO allies and partners to get their civilians out and to get others out. And he is in the process of doing that. In fact, planes from NATO countries have landed and taken off with their personnel over the course of the past 24 hours.

QUESTION: Mr. Sullivan, I think your previous answers are not enough to assure these allies and partners, because, first, Korean War broke out as a civil war. If the United States commit only to places that -- without civil war, how can you ensure allies that the United States will defend them in the crises that can be described as a civil war?

For example, if the People's Republic of China attacks Taiwan, the Chinese can argue that it is a civil war among the Chinese. And how can you just -- how can you justify the U.S. involvement in Taiwan and South Korea?

And I also understand the United States did not want to make sacrifice, but, at the same time, leadership requires sacrifice. And how can you just claim to be a global leader without making sacrifice?

SULLIVAN: So, I want to start where your question ended, because the United States made an extraordinary sacrifice in Afghanistan; 2, 448 Americans lost their lives in Afghanistan. Tens of thousands of Americans were injured in the war in Afghanistan over 20 years trying to help that country stand up and being able to defend itself.

[14:10:07]

The United States spent more than a trillion dollars of its resources in Afghanistan. The amount of sacrifice and solidarity and commitment to Afghanistan to trying to give it a chance was immense. And it wasn't just the United States. Many other countries joined us and had their own sacrifice.

(CROSSTALK)

SULLIVAN: Excuse me. Let me just finish answering the question.

And so the idea that there was a lack of sacrifice on the part of the American people is belied by the rows of headstones over at Arlington National Cemetery, where people have come home.

When it comes to Taiwan, it is a fundamentally different question in a different context. And so, from our perspective, where we need to focus on -- well, I'm sorry. If I will take the next question if you won't let me answer.

Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: -- the conference earlier by the Taliban, especially the comments that they made about protecting women's rights? Do you have any trust in the fact that they're going to hold up to that? SULLIVAN: Like I have said all along, this is not about trust. This

is about verify.

And we will see what the Taliban end up doing in the days and weeks ahead. And when I say we, I mean the entire international community.

Yes.

QUESTION: The Biden administration has talked a lot of evacuating Americans and Afghans who helped the U.S. in the war.

But there were many foreign nationals, including many Africans, who were there. What is the administration doing to evacuate them safely?

SULLIVAN: So, the United States is also focused on helping third country nationals get out of the country safely.

Yes.

QUESTION: Back in the spring, you and several administration officials committed that civilian and humanitarian aid would continue into Afghanistan.

Now that the Taliban is taking over the government, does that just completely stop? Is there a possibility that would restart at some point?

SULLIVAN: We will have to take a hard look at how we proceed with any -- on any basis at all.

And as I said to one of your colleagues earlier, it's premature to answer those questions. That's something we will have to take a look at after we get through the immediate task of this mission.

Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: What is the status of the Afghan security forces and the U.S. relationship with them?

SULLIVAN: The -- I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?

QUESTION: What is the status of the Afghan security forces and the U.S. relationship with them?

SULLIVAN: The Afghan security forces appear to have essentially -- no longer operate as a coherent entity.

They essentially have given way to Taliban physical security control over the major population centers.

QUESTION: Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) relationship with them?

QUESTION: Follow-up question on -- follow-up question about the Taliban saying they will respect the rights of Afghan women.

What tools does the United States have to hold them to this pledge? And, if not, what does the U.S. plan to do?

SULLIVAN: So, standing here today, I am not going to go into the full panoply of things that we can do.

But there are obviously issues related to sanctions, to marshaling international condemnation in isolation, and other steps as well. But the reason I don't want to go into great detail on it is, I want to be able to have our team communicate directly to the Taliban both what the costs and disincentives are for certain types of action and what our expectations are.

That is a conversation that we will intend to have. And I think many other countries, including like-minded allies and partners, will be having that as well.

Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

President Biden said that there were very few national security interests for the United States in maintaining some peace in Afghanistan. Would you actually reiterate that today? Would you say that there is no interest for us having some presence on the borders of Iran, on the borders of Pakistan, on the borders of -- near China? Would you -- or Tajikistan?

Would you just say that we're -- that we should just give that up?

SULLIVAN: I would say that the president is not believed that the United States should be fighting and dying in a war for the purpose of sustaining American military boots near Tajikistan or Pakistan or Iran.

No, I would say that that is something that is not -- we -- what you just laid out as a national security interest, we would not agree that it is right to ask American soldiers to risk their lives for the purpose of maintaining a presence near Tajikistan.

Yes.

QUESTION: Jake, what happens to the billions of dollars worth of weaponry that the U.S. gave Afghanistan? Does the U.S. have a plan for that, or does it remain in the Taliban hands?

SULLIVAN: We don't have a complete picture obviously of where every article of defense materials has gone.

[14:15:02]

But certainly a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban. And, obviously, we don't have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us at the airport.

Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, Jake.

Has the president seen these images of what seems to be people flying off an airplane yesterday, and then what was his reaction to those images?

SULLIVAN: The president, as he said in remarks -- in his remarks yesterday, has seen -- these images are heartbreaking. And as I have said repeatedly today, the human toll of the end of this conflict in this way is real and it's raw.

And it's hard for any of us. You guys are journalists. I work in government. But we're also people. And this is tough stuff. There's no doubt about it.

But these are hard choices too. And at the end of the day, the president had to make a hard choice about whether to avoid some of those human costs, the United States continues to send thousands of troops to fight, and some of them die and take casualties. That is the decision that he was not prepared to take.

Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, Jake, for the question.

I just want to get your reaction to this special inspector general report on Afghanistan. I know this was planned before the fall of Kabul. But I just want to get your response to that.

And, also, how are you going to ensure that Americans and other people, the refugees, perhaps, have safe passage to the airport? I know you talked about securing the airport, but how are you going to ensure that they can actually get there?

SULLIVAN: So, as I said before, we have been working, engaging, coordinating with Taliban elements on the ground to ensure safe passage. We will continue to work that issue day by day, until we have completed our mission.

And what was your first question?

QUESTION: Yes, I just want to get your reaction to the special inspector general report on the Afghan reconstruction that basically essentially said that administrations were not prepared to come up with a concrete plan for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

SULLIVAN: Look, one of the findings of that report was that 20 years, hundreds of billions of dollars spent, huge number of forces trained, huge amount of capabilities provided, huge amount of advising and assisting, and you had a security force that at the end of the day was not prepared with the will to stand up and fight for itself.

And that is the collection of decisions taken over the course of many years.

Yes.

QUESTION: Jake, thank you.

While we have you, can you address the situation in Haiti? Two questions regarding that. Will a U.S. military presence being necessary to secure the road between Port-au-Prince and the disaster zone for humanitarian aid? And then, secondly, does the earthquake in Haiti affect the administration's view that elections should be held there this year?

SULLIVAN: So, on the second question, it's too early to tell what the impact on the political process of the earthquake is. We are in the process of assessing that.

On your first question, right now, what we're focused on is getting the USAID DART team -- it's been deployed -- out and active and helping address this. We have got U.S. Coast Guard elements. And SOUTHCOM has mobilized with logistical and other support to be able to provide the kind of emergency response that is necessary in a human tragedy and catastrophe like this.

There are no current plans to speak of to deploy U.S. military personnel to Haiti.

Yes.

And I will make this the last one.

QUESTION: Thank you, Jake.

You have said it's to early to say whether the U.S. will recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. Are there any steps you're taking in the meantime around sanctions or foreign currencies or anything? Is there a chance that, if they do take power, that they'd be able to tap into quite a fair bit of money that the U.S. might want to head off the possibility of?

Are there any steps you're taking in that regard sort of preventatively, I suppose?

SULLIVAN: We're working on those options right now. I don't want to get ahead of the president's decision-making on them.

And I will leave it at that.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: If you are working on those options, doesn't that then speak to doubt that you might ever recognize them? And if you don't ever recognize them, how can you be -- how can you ensure that the president's promise of aid continuing to the Afghan people will be enacted?

SULLIVAN: Well, so, I don't want to get into hypotheticals. But I would point out that there are a range of different diplomatic

relationships the United States has with countries around the world, including some very difficult or nonexistent relationships with governments, where we still provide forms of aid to people.

And I will leave it at that, because we're not at a point yet where we can speak directly to how things will play out in Afghanistan, but that's at least a partial answer to your question.

I know you guys have many more questions, but I think probably your patience with me is also wearing a bit thin. So I will leave it at that and get back to work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: COVID-safe.

I just have a couple of additional updates for you, some of which was provided by the Department of Defense this morning. But I wanted to make sure you all had this information as well.

[14:20:08]

As you may have seen, the airport, as Jake noted, is currently open for military flight operations, as well as limited commercial flight operations. And throughout the night, nine C-17s arrived, delivering equipment and approximately 1,000 troops.

Additionally, seven C-17s have departed. These flights lifted approximately 700 to 800 passengers. And we can confirm 165 of these passengers are American citizens. The rest are a mix of SIV applicants and third country nationals.

And I would also note that, in addition, our -- the intention is to have additional flights out this morning. There's obviously going to be operational updates that will be provided on a regular basis by the Department of Defense.

But, as you saw them brief out, our focus over the last 24 to 48 hours has been securing the airport and ensuring that we can begin to expedite flights of both American citizens, SIV applicants and others out.

I also just wanted to note that, this morning, on a different topic, Biden administration officials joined a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors to discuss our eviction prevention efforts. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky provided an update on the state of the pandemic. And Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta reiterated ways that mayors across the country can work closely with state and local courts to set up eviction diversion programs in their city.

This meeting is just the latest in our efforts to communicate and work with local officials to ensure we're getting assistance out to keep people in their homes. I know we have been here a while, but I know there are lots of topics

out there.

Go ahead, Josh.

QUESTION: Thanks, Jen.

With regard to the booster shots, how many shots do you have available for boosters? And will supplying boosters have any impact on U.S. vaccine donations around the world?

PSAKI: So, let me first note that, tomorrow, the COVID-19 team and our health and medical experts will host a briefing, and we will discuss next steps as it relates to boosters.

I would also note for your planning that you can expect to hear from the president on this topic as well following their briefing. So, I will leave it to them to provide additional details and to answer what I know are your good questions about data and an understanding of what leads to decisions along those lines.

On the supply component of that, I'm sure they will address that, Josh. But one of the things we have said repeatedly and I will note I said back in May, Jeff Zients said again in July, is that part of our operational focus was ensuring we had enough supply to provide booster shots, should that be a decision made by the FDA.

So that has been in our planning processes for months now. And, certainly, we have planned for this contingency. And we will wait for a formal announcement.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Does the president plan and the first lady plan to get booster shots?

PSAKI: Certainly, if they are recommended, once a formal announcement or a briefing is done, they will certainly plan to follow the guidelines, of course.

QUESTION: What's the rest of his week look like? He's up at Camp David now. Is he still going to Wilmington? What's the schedule?

PSAKI: Well, I know -- I think Rachel (ph) asked this earlier. So the president will return to the White House, I don't have an exact time for you.

But, tomorrow, he will both be doing an interview with George Stephanopoulos for ABC. And he will also -- where he will, of course, I'm certain, be speaking to the situation the ground in Afghanistan. He will also be delivering some remarks on COVID as well.

In terms of additional portions of the schedule next week, we're still working those through. So I don't have an update for you at this moment in time.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you.

On COVID, is the White House concerned that moving forward with boosters could make it that much harder to get more unvaccinated Americans to get that initial shot?

PSAKI: Well, one of the pieces that I expect our COVID team to speak to tomorrow is our operational plans as it relates to ensuring we are making sure everybody is vaccinated and following FDA and CDC guidelines.

I think what you can expect to hear from them is that we are going to follow some of the best practices we have used to date, which is providing access, providing information. And, right now, we're in a place where we have -- we are focused on providing access, of course, to vaccines around the country and communities around the country through a range of mechanisms.

So we're actually at an easier operational point in this regard than we were several months ago. But, yes, we understand it's going to take a significant operational focus, educational focus, and P.R. focus to get the information out once it's finalized.

QUESTION: Thank you.

One more on Afghanistan. Has the president or any administration official been in contact with former President -- Afghanistan President Ghani?

PSAKI: Not that I'm aware of.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Jen, thank you.

You mentioned at the top that about 700 people have been evacuated in the past 24 hours. Pentagon officials, including press Secretary John Kirby, expect that number to increase to 5,000 to 9,000 a day.

PSAKI: Yes.

QUESTION: Can you talk about what needs to happen between now and then to ramp the number up and when you expect to hit it?

PSAKI: Sure. We -- and it's a good question.

[14:25:00]

I think what I had been referring to just a few minutes ago was the fact that our focus has been on securing not just the perimeter of the airport, but also operational capacity at the airport, which, of course, is a Department of Defense operation they're overseeing, in coordination with the State Department.

And so because we have had success in that regard, we are hopeful and expect to expedite additional flights out. So, that was not the place where we were at this time yesterday. And given we have made progress in this regard, we are hopeful to increase the number of people, American citizens, SIV applicants and others, that we can get out of the country.

QUESTION: It's our understanding that Americans have been called to the airport, but it's up to them to travel there at their own risk.

Why isn't the U.S. providing any support, any transportation for them to get to Kabul?

PSAKI: Well, I would just go back to what our national security adviser discussed as it relates to the Taliban and discussions with them about safe passage for people who are coming to the airport.

We have also seen -- I don't have an exact number for you -- I'm sure the Department of Defense and State Department can provide that -- but a large number of American citizens and others making their way successfully to the airport over the course of the last 24 hours.

QUESTION: Just one more.

I know we all tried to ask Jake this question, but can you offer any guarantee to the Americans and Afghan allies that, if they remain there past the end of the month, U.S. troops will help them evaluate past the end of the month?

PSAKI: Weijia, our focus right now is on doing the work at hand and on the task at hand. And that is day by day getting as many American citizens, as many SIV applicants, as many members of a vulnerable population who are eligible to be evacuated to the airport and out on planes.

And we're going to do that in an expeditious fashion. That is the focus of the president, of our secretary of defense, of our secretary of state, and everybody on our national security team.

So that is where we will keep our efforts.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you.

There's been some criticism from Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Mark Warner, Bob Menendez, saying -- Menendez saying: "I'm disappointed that the Biden administration clearly did not accurately assess the implications of a rapid withdrawal."

What is the White House's response to those lawmakers?

PSAKI: Well, I would first say that we did assess early on, when the president asked for a clear-eyed assessment, that there would be impacts and there would be consequences of making the choice he made.

He also acknowledged yesterday, and I would just reiterate, that this did happen more rapidly than we anticipated here, than anyone anticipated. I think that accounts for members of Congress and people who are on the ground in Afghanistan.

And what our effort is now is focused on moving as many people out as we can from the country. But I would also note, in regard to anyone who's a critic, that any president has to make difficult choices as commander in chief, as Jake Sullivan just said. And the president made the choice that he was not going to ask U.S. men and women, service men and women to fight a war that the Afghans were not willing to fight for themselves.

It does not mean there aren't going to be impacts that are gut- wrenching, that are heart-wrenching that we're all watching transpire over the last couple of days. But these are the difficult choices you have to make as commander in chief. And that's the choice he made.

QUESTION: And does he still have confidence in his intelligence teams?

PSAKI: He certainly does. He works in lockstep, and he's been briefed on a regular basis, as Jake just outlined, multiple times a day sometimes by members of his national security team. And we're working in close coordination to get the job done each day.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Sort of follow-up on Kaitlan's question about criticism.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Welcome to NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell.

You have been watching the White House press briefing. We heard earlier from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki there, on the situation in Afghanistan.

So they addressed the potential for terror threats, the optics and, in some cases, actual chaos of the withdrawal, and the humanitarian crisis, also while continuing to defend the president's decision to withdraw from the region.

CAMEROTA: OK, so let's discuss this.

With us now, we have retired Brigadier General in the U.S. Army Peter Zwack, CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem, CNN's John Harwood, who covers the White House, and CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Great to have all of you.

General, I want to start with you, I'm sure you were listening in as the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, was talking there. I am still confused about the number of Afghan helpers, the translators, the fixers, et cetera, that are still trapped in Afghanistan, that fear for their lives, and that are trying to get out.

And I found, frankly, Jen Psaki and the national security adviser kind of noncommittal in terms of, even if you can't get them all out at this rate by August 31, can you guarantee them safe passage?

So, you have been on the ground. Obviously, you spent time in Kabul, more than a year. So, how hard, logistically, will it be to save these people?

BRIG. GEN. PETER ZWACK (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Thank you for the question.

This is a -- this is a painfully difficult