WEBVTT 00:01.471 --> 00:03.204 - [Interviewer] Today we are taking a closer look 00:03.204 --> 00:06.059 at US military operations in Syria and the Iraq. 00:06.059 --> 00:08.758 The 18th Airborne Corps based out of Ft. Bragg 00:08.758 --> 00:11.382 is part of the ongoing battle against enemy forces, 00:11.382 --> 00:13.156 and joining us now to talk about 00:13.156 --> 00:16.755 the current military operations is Colonel John Dorrian, 00:16.755 --> 00:20.142 spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve. 00:20.142 --> 00:23.253 Colonel Dorrian is speaking with us from Baghdad. 00:23.253 --> 00:26.871 If you could sir, give us first an update on the ceasefire. 00:26.871 --> 00:28.305 Where does it stand? 00:28.305 --> 00:32.388 Has ceasefire become somewhat of an oxymoron now? 00:38.228 --> 00:41.478 - Well, there is no ceasefire in place. 00:42.053 --> 00:44.720 The UN has stopped deliveries of 00:46.299 --> 00:49.049 the humanitarian aid into Aleppo. 00:49.220 --> 00:53.387 They've done that because there was a convoy struck 00:53.946 --> 00:55.921 and a lot of people were killed. 00:55.921 --> 00:58.769 So that's just a really tough situation, 00:58.769 --> 01:02.102 a very difficult humanitarian situation. 01:04.598 --> 01:06.270 - And Colonel, about 15 or 20 minutes ago, 01:06.270 --> 01:09.901 the Associated Press reported that the UN says 01:09.901 --> 01:13.270 it will resume the aid convoys within Syria, 01:13.270 --> 01:16.020 but it doesn't give a time table. 01:16.165 --> 01:18.332 Have you heard about this? 01:24.222 --> 01:26.649 - I haven't heard a time table for the resumption, 01:26.649 --> 01:28.216 I know that there's a lot of work 01:28.216 --> 01:29.888 being done on the diplomatic front 01:29.888 --> 01:31.779 in order to facilitate that happening. 01:31.779 --> 01:33.970 Very difficult humanitarian situation 01:33.970 --> 01:37.440 and certainly everyone involved wants to do what they can 01:37.440 --> 01:41.607 to relieve the human suffering that's happening there. 01:43.266 --> 01:45.407 - And the human suffering is just immense. 01:45.407 --> 01:48.112 I've not been there, I've not seen it personally, 01:48.112 --> 01:50.304 but what we see in the refugee camps, 01:50.304 --> 01:53.296 what we see in Aleppo, what we see in so much 01:53.296 --> 01:56.317 of that country is beyond the comprehension 01:56.317 --> 01:59.484 of most everyone in the United States. 01:59.559 --> 02:01.226 Would you not agree? 02:06.486 --> 02:08.847 - Certainly that's the case, and one of the things 02:08.847 --> 02:11.418 that's really caused a lot of the human suffering 02:11.418 --> 02:14.035 is the fact that ISIL has really gotten 02:14.035 --> 02:17.452 a strong foothold in both Syria and Iraq, 02:18.279 --> 02:20.731 and we're here to help the Syrian partners 02:20.731 --> 02:23.742 and we're here to help the Iraqi's rid 02:23.742 --> 02:25.959 their country of the presence of these folks. 02:25.959 --> 02:27.675 Because they're really some of 02:27.675 --> 02:29.187 the worst people in the world, 02:29.187 --> 02:32.287 and they've driven millions of people from their homes. 02:32.287 --> 02:34.536 They've killed tens of thousands of people 02:34.536 --> 02:37.286 in the most barbaric possible way 02:37.314 --> 02:40.314 and really both in Iraq and in Syria 02:41.052 --> 02:44.150 we're hard at work to try to drive these people 02:44.150 --> 02:46.934 from those locations and really put 02:46.934 --> 02:49.815 a stop to the terrorism that's occurred 02:49.815 --> 02:52.898 around the world as a result of them. 02:54.781 --> 02:57.017 - You know, Colonel, during the fog of war, 02:57.017 --> 02:59.571 during the fighting of war, a lot happens. 02:59.571 --> 03:01.606 Mistakes happened over the weekend, 03:01.606 --> 03:05.773 US lead airstrikes accidentally killed 60 Syrian soldiers. 03:08.091 --> 03:11.212 How did this happen and what can be done 03:11.212 --> 03:14.295 to prevent this from happening again? 03:19.283 --> 03:21.669 - Well, I think the first thing that we need to do 03:21.669 --> 03:24.602 is understand that situation for what it is. 03:24.602 --> 03:27.852 The whole event is under investigation, 03:27.876 --> 03:31.293 we had no intent to strike Syrian forces. 03:32.481 --> 03:36.481 We believed that we were striking ISIL fighters. 03:36.656 --> 03:38.973 But we really need to get into the investigation 03:38.973 --> 03:41.042 and determine exactly what happened 03:41.042 --> 03:43.293 on the ground that lead to this. 03:43.293 --> 03:46.367 We do coordination with the Russian partners 03:46.367 --> 03:50.534 to make sure that we keep our forces de-conflicted. 03:51.281 --> 03:54.114 In this case, for whatever reason, 03:55.123 --> 03:57.038 there was still an incident. 03:57.038 --> 03:59.917 So we're gonna have to dig into it and do an investigation 03:59.917 --> 04:03.000 and find out exactly what went wrong. 04:04.959 --> 04:06.260 - Colonel, this next question, 04:06.260 --> 04:07.763 I'll make this the last question. 04:07.763 --> 04:09.464 If there was a simple answer to it, 04:09.464 --> 04:13.631 you and I would probably not even be talking today. 04:13.775 --> 04:17.942 Is there a way to minimize what ISIL/ISIS is doing, 04:20.013 --> 04:22.596 who they are, is there a way to 04:23.849 --> 04:27.599 put an end to their destruction to the world? 04:36.839 --> 04:40.600 - Well, that's exactly what the coalition is here to do. 04:40.600 --> 04:42.571 We're supporting the Iraqi's 04:42.571 --> 04:44.622 and we're supporting our Syrian partners 04:44.622 --> 04:47.873 in driving ISIL out of these two countries. 04:47.873 --> 04:50.206 That's a first step in dash, 04:51.077 --> 04:54.494 we call them dash, their ultimate demise. 04:54.505 --> 04:56.922 So they aspire to be a state, 04:58.381 --> 05:00.935 they've taken over vast swaths of territory 05:00.935 --> 05:04.143 within these countries and they've used this area 05:04.143 --> 05:07.905 as a launching pad for terrorism around the world. 05:07.905 --> 05:09.328 So we're in the process of working 05:09.328 --> 05:12.297 with our partners to take that territory away. 05:12.297 --> 05:15.661 It's a first step, it's not comprehensive. 05:15.661 --> 05:18.087 There are a lot of other things that have to be done 05:18.087 --> 05:22.254 through Homeland Security, through defeating the ideology, 05:23.085 --> 05:25.668 but it's a necessary first step 05:25.838 --> 05:28.505 for us to take these areas away. 05:29.298 --> 05:33.298 And we've made a substantial amount of progress. 05:35.327 --> 05:37.666 - Colonel John Dorrian, we appreciate your time. 05:37.666 --> 05:40.296 All the best to you, everyone there in Baghdad, 05:40.296 --> 05:43.803 everyone there who is part of this ongoing battle, 05:43.803 --> 05:47.134 particularly those of the 18th Airborne Corps. 05:47.134 --> 05:49.705 We value your service and our best 05:49.705 --> 05:51.972 to every soldier you see there. 05:51.972 --> 05:54.222 Thank you for your service. 05:58.452 --> 05:59.742 - Well thanks very much. 05:59.742 --> 06:02.075 There's a tremendous amount of good work being done 06:02.075 --> 06:05.591 by the troops from Bragg and we're very proud to do it. 06:05.591 --> 06:07.792 We know that the home fires are lit 06:07.792 --> 06:11.009 and we know that people, that we're in their thoughts 06:11.009 --> 06:14.426 and prayers and appreciate their support. 06:16.585 --> 06:19.002 - Alright Colonel, thank you. 06:22.758 --> 06:23.841 - Sure thing.