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Pentagon Update as Biden Approves Sending New U.S. Troops to Europe; Mayor Speaks About NYPD Officer Killed in the Line of Duty. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 02, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: There could be other movements inside Europe, intra-theater moves that we would speak to. We're not ruling that out. We're also not ruling out the possibility that additional forces from the United States could get to Europe. All we can speak to today are the troops that we've announced. And as decisions get made, if there is a need, as I said in my opening, we're constantly looking at the conditions there. If we believe the conditions warrant, if we believe consultations with the allies also would demand additional U.S. force capability, we'll entertain those discussions and we'll make those decisions and we'll announce them.

Lou Martinez?

REPORTER: Are they on higher alert right now?

KIRBY: Sorry, I cut you off, I think.

REPORTER: Are there additional troops in the U.S. who are on higher alert right now?

KIRBY: Paul McLeary -- I'm sorry, Louie Martinez?

REPORTER: Hey, John. My question is about your comments earlier, saying that NATO matters. Are you saying that these troops are going under unilateral U.S. control, U.S. this is a U.S. mission? Are you inferring that these troops would immediately transition to NATO control should NATO decide to activate the NATO response force?

And another question as well about the -- there is a deployment ongoing right now in Estonia of some F-15s. Have they been extended beyond the current end date of this week? Thank you. KIRBY: I don't have anything on the F-15s, Louie. I can ask about that, but my hunch is that, no, there is no plans to extend them, but let me just check on that.

And then to your other question, these forces are going under bilateral arrangements between the United States and the countries in question, in this case, Poland, Germany and Romania. And they will remain under U.S. chain of command. That is a separate and distinct mission than the NATO response force, which we've talked about our contribution to that, being the bulk of that 8,500 that we talked about last week. That would be under NATO command and control structure.

I'm not going to hypothesize or speculate about the future of these U.S. units and what it's going to look like going forward. There is no expectation at this time that they would necessarily have to fall under some sort of NATO command and control. They are going as a U.S. contribution in consultation with the allies in question to help bolster their defenses and to prove and to show and to demonstrate our commitment to the defense of our NATO allies. And, again, I don't foresee any command or control changes for them going forward.

Paul McLeary?

REPORTER: Hi, John. Is the United States prepared to negotiate with the Russians over agents to shore sites in Poland and Romania, or possibly allow for Russian inspections of those sites?

KIRBY: Look, I'm not going speak to the -- I'm not going to -- certainly not going to negotiate here in public. We have laid out a very serious set of proposals diplomatically to Russia. As I said at the outset, a European news outlet decided to publish that proposal. You can go look for it yourself. But it demonstrates what we've said publicly is the same as what we've been saying privately to the Russians, that we are willing, with an eye towards reciprocity, to consider addressing mutual security concerns on the European continent. And I'd leave at that and refer you to my State Department colleagues. Again, I'm not going to negotiate here in public. We can go back into the room. Jenny (ph)?

REPORTER: Thank you, John. On Crimea issues, was it important that the United States and South Korea are coordinating the post-deployment of joint exercises? And you know that North Korea continues to conduct military exercises. Why United States and South Korea exercises is always postponed or canceled? Can you comment on that?

KIRBY: Jenny (ph), I mean, as I've said many times, we take our readiness on the peninsula very, very seriously, decisions about how we preserve that readiness and maintain it, our decisions we make in lockstep with our South Korean allies, and that includes training events.

You talk about it as if we've not done any or we're not doing any or that we're not taking training seriously. That is not the case. But as we do anywhere in the world, we do the same in Korea.

[10:35:04]

We constantly evaluate and review our training exercises, our training events, training in education and adapt it as conditions warrant. And that's no different than what you're seeing on the Korean Peninsula.

REPORTER: One more question, please?

KIRBY: Sure.

REPORTER: And South Koreans want additional, further missile deployment into Korea to defend against the North Koreans' missile threats. Of course, China is -- didn't want this (ph). Are you considering this?

KIRBY: We are constantly consulting with our South Korean allies about readiness and capabilities. I have no announcements on missile defense systems to make today.

Pierre (ph)?

REPORTER: Thank you. If I may take you to the readout of the whole of Secretary Austin with the conference of the United Arab Emirates, there is an announcement, in fact, in the readout that (INAUDIBLE) will be deployed and also fifth generation fighter aircraft sent to United Arab Emirates. Can you talk a little bit with some details about what is the mission, what are we trying to achieve, what is the --

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: A notable announcement there from the Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, the U.S. announcing the deployment of more forces to Europe. And what's particularly notable here, these are not the repositioning forces already there. They're going to send, among these new forces, a U.S. 82nd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, as it's known, 2,000 forces from here in the U.S. They're going to be deployed mostly to Poland but also to Germany. That is a combat unit that was not positioned to Europe that is now going to Europe in response to Russian moves along the Ukrainian border.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN NEWSROOM: Yes, the 82nd Airborne Division there coming out of North Carolina. And don't forget, this is in addition to the 8,500 troops that are on standby that you've been reporting on over the last five weeks. So, this is a significant development here and it really shows that among the 30 NATO allies, where has been some division, this is at least the U.S. taking the initiative and cooperation, and I think welcome from some of the countries there, be it Poland, right, in Romania, who really wanted to see this implemented. Well, now, we're seeing it implemented.

SCIUTTO: You might call it something of a coalition of the willing here because U.S. did not have the full 30 members of the alliance on board here. It does, as Kirby noted. France is also going to be sending some further troops to the eastern flank NATO. And, of course, you have those NATO nations, Romania, Poland and Germany accepting these additional forces.

We are joined now by a number of CNN analysts and reporters. I want to go first to you, Lieutenant General Retired Mark Hertling, because you have commanded forces in Europe before. Tell me specifically about the significance of flying from the U.S. to Europe, a new unit, a combat unit, a brigade combat team from the 82nd Airborne, to shore up NATO's eastern flank. How significant, in your view?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's a pretty big deal, Jim. What we're talking about, John didn't mention this specifically, but you're talking about the ready brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division. They have a brigade always on alert, ready to deploy within 24 to 48 hours.

So, these soldiers have their equipment packed, it's always packed, they're ready to go. They will be wheels up with aircraft out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, within 24 hours. So, they get there quickly. They're not up-armored. They're not constrained by getting a lot of equipment on planes, but that's a pretty sizeable force, a thousand infantrymen and their support agencies. So, they can get there quickly. They'll be landing in Poland probably, or Germany, and then busing the rest of the way. I would suspect they'll land somewhere in Poland.

But the other critical piece that I thought was interesting was the JTF -- the proponent of the JTF headquarters from the 82nd Airborne Division. This is something we practice quite a bit in Germany having -- or in Europe, actually, when I was in command, having division headquarters come in and form the basis for a JTF, joint task force headquarters, specifically geared to one task. And, certainly, this is one that can link into a NATO element if that NATO response force comes through and says, hey, we want to pull all the forces together from the various nations. We have a one-star general or a two-star general from the 82nd. They've done this before and they'll be able to do it again.

I'd also add the fact that they're taking the squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment out of Grafenwoehr, Germany, and sending that to Romania. That's a big deal too. But the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, a striker regiment, has moved all over Europe. They're a wheeled outfit. They have much greater firepower.

[10:40:00]

You should consider them somewhere between -- and this is how they were designed, I commanded the striker brigade -- they're somewhere between the fastness of an airborne division and the heaviness of a tank division. So, they're right in the sweet spot middle. They can get around on wheels. They can drive the roads of Europe, they can get there quickly, so they can be into Romania within a day or two. So, you're talking about fast deployment of forces, and it's what Barbara Starr was talking, was discussing in terms mobility within Europe.

GOLODRYGA: Ambassador Pifer, I can just see the Kremlin and their response, already utilizing one of their favorite go-to words, and that is provocation. It is something we hear from Putin time and time again, never mind that there is over 100,000 troops amassed surrounding Ukraine that Russia put there. That having been said, how much of a surprise do you think this announcement is to Vladimir Putin who, from everything we can assume, had been speculating about division within NATO and division within the United States? Here, we now have support from a bipartisan basis, members of Congress wanting the United States to do more. Here, we have troops going into these eastern countries. What do you expect Russia to do next?

STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Well, I think that's exactly the point. I mean, not only do these deployments, they will reassure NATO allies on the eastern flank, they're also going to make clear to the Russians that while NATO has said it will not fought for Ukraine, that NATO will take every possible action to defend NATO territory.

But I believe that one of the reasons that Kremlins shows to provoke this crisis now with the military buildup around Ukraine was that it thought the west was divided. They thought the west was distracted. And what Mr. Putin and the Kremlin now see is you have the United States, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Spain and others basically taking steps basically to ensure that NATO has a substantial force on its eastern flank.

And this is one area where I think the Kremlin probably miscalculated. They did not expect this.

SCIUTTO: And to be clear, prior to any additional Russian military action, there had been criticism, why isn't the U.S. imposing economic sanctions or making military moves, not in reaction to a further Russian invasion but to deter the possibility up. Here, you have a move in advance.

And one thing that has attracted the attention, I know from speaking to U.S. military officials, Clarissa, for some time, is that Russia, on its side of the border, has been deploying what are known in Russian military terms as battalion tactical groups, basically the equivalent of a brigade combat team. That is a combat unit with all you need to go to war.

You've been on the frontline with Ukrainian forces. There's been a public difference in the assessment as to how urgent this threat is. Is that changing at all from inside Ukraine?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does not appear to be changing yet, but who knows what will happen. We've just heard new satellite images that have been released earlier today showing even more buildup of Russian hardware, heavy weapons along the border with Belarus, along the border to the west of Ukraine and also in Crimea.

When we were on the frontlines and talking with Ukrainian soldiers, they told us that their commanders had to them to be alert and to be prepared, but they were very convinced that there was not going to be any type of all-out invasion. And this is what we have heard Ukrainian leadership say again and again. What's not clear, though, Jim, is what is the Ukrainian leadership's motivation for saying that. Do they genuinely not believe the intelligence and the satellite images that they're seeing or are they just desperately trying to quash any sense of panic that they're seeing inside the country? Because the foreign minister, and my interview with him last week had mentioned that this is bad for the economy, we're seeing foreign investment being withdrawn.

Having said that, I do think the Ukrainian leadership will welcome this latest move, because they have also said to me that Putin does not respect appeasement. He respects strength and a display of strength and defiance. And what they have been asking the U.S. to do for quite some time now, as you mentioned, is this idea of don't wait until he does something to respond. Do something in advance as a deterrent.

So, there is a little bit of a contradiction there in the sort of line of thinking that you hear coming from Ukraine, and it will be interesting to see as soon as we find out what the official reaction to this new move will be.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And to pick up on that point that Clarissa was making, Jim, I mean, it's important to remind viewers that Zelensky was elected, for all intents and purposes, to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine. And his early years in term, in office there, had been working towards that, until, clearly, here we are and things have really blown up.

SCIUTTO: To bring peace and to get the Ukrainian economy back on its feet because there's enormous economic price that Ukrainians have paid to what has been an ongoing war for eight years, 13,000 people killed.

[10:45:07]

GOLODRYGA: Thousands of people have been killed and they don't want to be in a quagmire where they are going to have to sleep effectively with one eye open just to wait for Putin to some sort of move.

Natasha Bertrand, what also stood out from Kirby's presser there was he said these are not permanent moves, that there still is a path to deescalate. So, on the one hand, we are seeing a movement of troops here, an increase there in terms of deterring Putin, but also saying, we're open to talking. And these troops can very quickly come back to where they were.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Or the U.S. can actually deploy even more, just leaving all options open here for the U.S. to be very flexible in its response, because it is just so unclear at this point what Putin intends to actually do. And they don't know whether he's made up his mind to invade Ukraine or what that invasion would even look like at this point, so clearly keeping all options open here.

But it is also really interesting that this is something that has complete bipartisan support, really. These deployments to Europe are actually being hailed by Senator Lindsey Graham, who said that he completely supports the Biden administration's decision to send more U.S. troops to bolster NATO allies in the face of Russian aggression. And it is imperative that NATO meet the moment and that we stand firmly against Putin's efforts to divide the alliance.

So, clearly, President Biden is getting by in here from key Republicans in the Senate, and that is going to be important as well to showing Vladimir Putin that this is not a partisan issue in the United States. The support for Ukraine is not a partisan issue and, therefore, it's not only unity among the alliance but it's also domestically.

SCIUTTO: Ambassador Pifer, if I could go to you. There was, on Putin's part, a hope not just to divide Ukraine but, frankly, to divide the U.S., get eternal division here so that there was not a concerted, unified response to this. Has, in your view, based on this move, but also Republican support for this move, as we're seeing from Lindsey Graham, and also the NATO alliance, by and large, staying on this page here, has he miscalculated? There's a tendency to treat him as 12 feet tall, right, and always the smartest person in the room, but he miscalculates as well. In your view, do you believe this shows he's miscalculated?

PIFER: I think Mr. Putin and the Kremlin have made several miscalculations. First of all, nothing has done more to push Ukraine away from Russia and towards the west and Russian policy of the past eight years, the seizure of Crimea, a conflict that's caused more than 13,000 Ukrainian lives.

But I also believe that, again, the timing was chosen both because Mr. Putin and Kremlin saw internal divisions in the west and division between the United States and its European allies. Instead, what he's getting is Republicans and Democrats coming together, because there has long since Ukraine regained independence. There has been strong bipartisan support for Ukraine. So, he's seen a united view here of the United States but he's also seen, I think, between the United States and Europe a unified position supporting Ukraine and readiness to oppose what the Russians are doing to Ukraine.

I think these are bad surprises to the Kremlin but they are the result of miscalculations that the kremlin has made.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and on that note for the last year-and-a-half or so. I mean, Putin has literally been the only man in the room. He's really been isolated, surrounded by just a handful of advisers, as many have described, he is czar there. And it ultimately comes down to whatever he decision he makes.

General, I'm just curious because he really has a lot of animosity specifically with NATO. He is wanted to be seen as an equal with the United States and nothing else. Given this move, it's not all 30 countries, but it's a significant effort by NATO, under NATO the umbrella, with this troop deployment and replacement here to the eastern flank, what message does that send back to Vladimir Putin?

HERTLING: And, by the way, Bianna, and that's a great question, because that kind of thing just doesn't happen. That takes a lot of work behind the scenes, and I think both NATO and the U.S. administration have been doing that work to shore up the alliance.

I'm going to what Ambassador Pifer said, and it's an interesting comment, if I may. In my view, Mr. Putin is not a strategist. He's an authoritarian opportunist. He will continue to attempt to take advantage if people allow him to take advantage. He has done that in the past, over the last decade-plus. Now, he's being countered, and I think that's critically important. The NATO alliance is not only drawn together with all 30 partners just yet. But as you just said, there is a whole bunch of them coming who are coming to the aid.

And, again, I also think that's why some of these forces have been deployed earlier, the 82nd, the striker brigade. They're waiting for the NATO response force to potentially call up if they need to do that. That will be a big deal if that happens, because that's them saying, we are in agreement.

[10:50:04]

We're doing this together. This isn't just the U.S. and several nations acting he alone. This is the force of a security alliance bringing to bear some deterrence. And there're some official actions that are going to take place, I think, soon.

SCIUTTO: What if in the end of this, what Putin gets out of this, and, by the way, we don't know how it's going to resolve from here, but a more unified NATO, a more unified U.S. in terms of response to Russia, but also more U.S. and NATO forces close to its borders, which he has, of course, said, is the outcome he doesn't. He wants the opposite.

GOLODRYGA: Right. And he has no elections to worry about, right? He could be there for the rest of his life up until at least 2036. So, this is something that we're speculating could begin or end within the next couple of weeks. But who knows, it could drag out longer.

SCIUTTO: Natasha Bertrand, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, Ambassador Steven Pifer, as well as Clarissa Ward, who was there in Ukraine for us, thanks so much to all of you.

GOLODRYGA: Well right now in New York, police officers, family and friends are paying their respects to NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora killed in the line of duty last month. We will take you there live, coming up next.

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SCIUTTO: We're taking you live now to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York there. The New York mayor, Eric Adams, about to eulogize the fallen NYPD officer, Wilbert Mora, one of two killed in the shooting there last month. Let's listen in.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): Thank you, Cardinal Dolan, for the years of using this sacred place to anchor our city and the spirituality that allows us to move from these moments of pain and take them to a mission of purpose. This morning, we gather to mourn the life of Wilbert Mora, our brother officer and brother citizen. We reflect on his bravery, we remember his sacrifice. We bend our heads in solemn prayer. Hear us, Lord, and protect us.

Last night, we were reminded again about the danger and overproliferation of guns that carving highways of death. Even when the bullet hits the body of our citizens, the emotional trauma continues to rip the anatomy of our city and the pathway never ends for generations to come. An off-duty officer was shot and wounded on his way to work. The work of protecting New York is defending our city, the work Officer Mora was doing when he was killed in the line of duty.

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Those of us who have put on the uniform know what happened to Officer Mora could happen to us any day. I'll always reflect my brothers and sisters in the police department. Upon the day of my retirement and walking down and feeling the weight of my mother as she just collapsed in my arms, I realized she did every tour with me every night, every radio run. You wear the blue uniforms but your families feel it every day just as Officers Mora and Rivera family feel it today.

It is why we are bound by our oath and our honor to stand together and salute his service as we commend his spirit. Let us pray for Officer Mora and for his family and friends. Their pain is our pain. Officer Mora was not only a dedicated public servant but an exceptional young man beloved by his family, the youngest of four children.

Someone once stated to me that it is unnatural to lose a child. There's nothing in our English language that is associated with the loss of a child. If you lose a spouse, you're a widow, r a widower. If you lose a parent, you're an orphan. But we do not have anything in our English language that defines the pain and the unnatural existence of losing a child.

To his mother, Amelia, we pray for you. We lift you up in the support that you need. And to his dad, we how intense the pain could be, and it will intensify every holiday, every birthday, every sound of your son. I thank you for sharing your son with our city, and you must know we share your grief and feel your sorrow.

And to Wilbert's sister, Carina, and brothers Wilson and Jonathan, the challenges of losing a baby brother, we are your family now. We will comfort you and embrace you and stand with you in the difficult days to come.

And to the 32nd Precinct, his second family, I watched you at that night at the hospital. I saw how you embraced each other. And I heard you say over and over again, we tried, we tried. Yes, you do try every day. You succeed. You need each other more now than ever as you overcome this painful moment.

Today, we say goodbye to Wilbert, but we also thank him. The city thanks you, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. And every day that I walk the streets of New York, the people of this city reminds me, support our police and let them know we appreciate them. New Yorkers understand the risk and sacrifice you make every day, and we applaud you for that.

Our city is going to do more than thank you. We are going to give you the resources to fight this senseless violence. It is New Yorkers against the killers, and we will not lose. We will protect our city. We want to end the gun violence that has engulfed our city with pain and despair and protect those who put their lives on the line every day, people like Officer Mora and his partner, Officer Jason Rivera.

Rivera was only seven years old when he came to our country, but he knew he wanted to be a member of the New York City Police Department right away.

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He was honored to serve and protect our city.