Bryan Whitman
Bryan Whitman
base changed decisions focus forces ground last mission spike tend trends violence week
The mission and the focus of what our forces are doing has not changed this week from last week or last month. Any spike in violence is unfortunate and is always concerning, but we tend to look at these things broadly and over time, and base our decisions on trends and on what the commanders on the ground feel is an appropriate balance.
filled found gap looked operating operations standard
There were policies, there were standard operating procedures. But we found as we looked at our operations that there was this gap that should be filled by a directive.
armor body deployed service sufficient
There is, obviously, sufficient body armor for every deployed service member.
defense plan sorts states united
This is the United States Defense Department. We plan for all sorts of things.
concern detainees documents harm information personal potential
Detainee personal information was removed from the transcript because of concern about the potential harm to detainees if the documents were made public.
ability control forces government needs overall role security sovereign vital
Any sovereign government needs the ability to control their borders. So the role of the (Iraqi) border-control security forces is one that is vital to the overall security of the country.
despicable practice represent states united values
This does not represent the values of the United States military, ... It's a despicable practice that is unacceptable.
actions address behavior department despicable majority men represent states united values vast women
This does not represent the values of the United States military, and doesn't represent the vast majority of the actions and behavior of our men and women in uniform. It is a despicable practice. It's unacceptable. And the department is going to address it.
defense department humane mandates policy provides treatment
This directive provides the overarching Department of Defense policy that mandates humane treatment of detainees.
clear consistent department force respect somebody
This department has been very clear and very consistent with respect to any adjustments being made to force levels. Somebody tell me where there's daylight.
capability increasing material possible radar strides
It is possible they are increasing their capability in making strides in radar absorbing material and targeting.
appears database left
It appears as if there may have been things that were left in the database that shouldn't have been left there.
consensus difficult expect fair issues legal
I think it's fair to say that these are difficult issues -- they are difficult moral, ethical, legal issues. And one would not expect that everyone would come to a consensus on this.
biological defense forward funding further increasing
I think that you'll see going forward that we'll be further increasing funding for chemical, biological defense programs.