Major Garrett Hammers Josh Earnest on Whether U.S. Troops Will Be in Combat in Syria

[RUSH TRANSCRIPT] 

GARRETT: “How long will they stay in Syria?”
EARNEST: “Well, Major, we have been quite candid about the fact that this is not a short term proposition. In terms of our counter-ISIL strategy. So what we’re going to continue to do and the instructions the president has given to his national security team is to continually assess our strategy and look for ways to intensify those elements of the strategy that are showing the most promise.”
GARRETT: “So up to 50 or less than 50 will stay there for an open-ended period of time?”
EARNEST: “I don’t have a specific date to give you when they will come out.”
GARRETT: “The reason I ask is because there’s a distinction, I think you would acknowledge, between raids which you have said have occurred, and the permanent positioning of U.S. special operators. There’s a difference, correct?”
EARNEST: “I certainly wouldn’t describe it as permanent.”
GARRETT: “So it’s not an in and out operation?”
EARNEST: “Stipulating that I would not describe it as permanent, I would acknowledge that there is a difference. It reflects the intensification of those elements of our strategy that have shown some promise.
GARRETT: “I want you also to acknowledge, because this is important operationally, will they have air cover if they engage in operations that take them close to the fight? Yes or no?”
EARNEST: “If it’s an operational question, I’d refer you to the Department of Defense.”
GARRETT: “You and I both know every contingency operation for special operators carries with it the implied support of air cover.
EARNEST: “what has been under way for more than a year now is U.S. military pilots and coalition military pilots taking air strikes in coordination with local forces that are fighting on the ground. So that kind of air cover is something that local opposition forces have already benefited from, but in terms of —
GARRETT: “So it would not be denied?”
EARNEST: “For operational questions like this i would refer you to the Department of Defense. We have made clear they will have the equipment they need to keep them safe and I’m confident the Department of Defense has a contingency plan but for what those plans are, you should check with them.
GARRETT: “We can acknowledge that special operators would be not only generally at risk but because they represent the united states government, because they have not been in Syria for any length of time, they have been moving in and out, they will have a target on their back and if they are in some ways either encircled or in jeopardy, they will have military extraction operations to support them if they get into a dicey situation, also correct?”
EARNEST: “There’s no denying the significant risk that they are facing. Is that risk elevated because they wear the uniform of the united states of America? I would allow that that’s probably the case. But what those contingency plans are, check with the Department of Defense.”
GARRETT: “Just for the record, I’m trying to establish they are special operators, not desk people. They are as you just said, the best fighters we have. They will have air cover and they will have extract operations, three levels of combat operations that are implied with their continued staying in operations in Syria. correct?”
EARNEST: “Well, again, what we focused on is what is their mission. They are not in a combat mission.”
GARRETT: “You have, as you have acknowledged, these elements that must support them and always have supported them in what they are trying to accomplish. Are you not going to take those away from them. We have three layers of potential combat operations inside Syria that we did not have when they were moving in and out. The placement of them in Syria for any length of time implies these other levels of protection which are all combat, correct?
EARNEST: “Again, I think what you primarily described are air combat operations that these are military pilots taking military strikes against enemy targets. They have been under way for more than a year. So I’m not sure that this represents a dramatic change in terms of our military air presence. You can check with the department of defense to confirm that or to understand what the impact on that would be. But the idea of our military pilots using weapons to protect fighters on the ground is not new. That’s something that they have been doing for again, for more than a year now.”
GARRETT: “Can you name the local forces we will be working with?”
EARNEST: “For operational security reasons, I can’t.”