Evening Edition: Sec. Austin On Supporting Both Ukraine And Israel
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I'm Ben Domenech. I'm Ainsley Earhart. I'm Trey Gowdy, and this is the Fox News Rundown.

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024. I'm Jennifer Griffin. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sat down for an exclusive interview with Fox News in Rome just hours after returning from his fourth trip to Ukraine as defense secretary, warning about what Russia's aims would be should the U.S. stop funding Ukraine's defense. There's no question in my mind that if Putin is successful, he will continue to do what he's done.

And, of course, all of the Baltic states are very concerned about that. They rightfully feel that they would be next on the menu. This is the Fox News Rundown Evening Edition.

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Defense Secretary Austin told me new intelligence that North Korea is sending thousands of troops to train and possibly fight with Russia in Ukraine indicates Vladimir Putin is weak, having suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties in Ukraine. What's at stake is, of course, Ukraine's security, Ukraine's future, but as important, NATO's security.

and therefore the United States of America's security. We are speaking with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about his concerns should the U.S. stop funding Ukraine's defense, and about the expanding war in the Middle East. You know, we don't want to live in a world where a tyrant can wake up and decide to erase his sovereign neighbor's border, where a world where right makes right, or right makes right, and rules don't matter. So,

I would make the argument that we cannot afford to not support this effort. There's no question in my mind that if Putin is successful, he will continue to do what he's done. And of course, all of the Baltic states are very concerned about that. They rightfully feel that they would be next on the menu. So,

This matters to America's security as much as it does to NATO and to Ukraine. So I think it's important that we do continue to support Ukraine. There's an increasing move towards isolationism in the U.S. Does this concern you? Of course it does. You know, we are a global power. We have interests all around the globe. And we're going to need to continue to do what's necessary to protect those interests.

Some argue it's too expensive to keep supporting Ukraine and the U.S. needs to preserve its weapons stockpiles for future conflicts, for defending Taiwan, for instance. Senator J.D. Vance has been one of the loudest opponents of aid to Ukraine, arguing that the U.S. defense industrial base can't produce enough to keep supporting Ukraine and Israel. Does he have a point? Is he right?

What we've seen in the last two and a half years, Jan, is that, you know, we asked our industrial base to pick up the pace and expand production, increase capacity, and they've done that, and they continue to do that. We've seen an increase in production in artillery shells, anti-tank weapon systems, and a number of things. And not only that, we're working with our NATO partners and partners around the globe, actually,

to work with them to begin to co-produce munitions and weapons and co-purchase things. And so I think this has brought the community closer together and everybody recognizes that we're going to have to work together going forward. So our industrial base has picked up the pace. They are expanding production, but allies and partners are also, globally, are also doing the same thing. So you're not running out of stockpiles right now?

No, of course, every grenade that we take out of our inventory has got to be replaced by something else, either that type of munition or something better. Now, every time that we draw down a capability out of our inventory, we replace it with something, and those munitions, those weapons are made in the United States of America.

And that means good jobs for people in a number of states in this country. And I think this is an investment that we actually benefit from. Former President Trump says he can end the war on day one by simply negotiating with Putin. Is that possible? You know, Jan, Putin can end this war today. All it takes is for him to get his forces out of Ukraine. This was an unprovoked war.

unjust invasion of his sovereign neighbor, he could end this today. But again, this is a complicated situation and I won't speculate or comment on anybody's plan of action. I would just say that this is Putin's choice.

And it would be wise if he chose to not continue to do the things that he's doing in Ukraine. You mentioned some of the states that are making weapons, and some Americans think that the U.S. is just sending $100 billion in cash to Ukraine and they worry about corruption. Which are some of the states that are benefiting from the defense industry?

industries that are building weapons for Ukraine. And how does this work? There are a number of states from north to south, Ohio, Texas, Alabama, you name it. There are a number of states that benefit directly.

And I think that's a good thing. And you're right, we do not send cash over to Ukraine. We draw down equipment, whether it be vehicles or weapons or munitions, and we replace those weapons or munitions with something that's probably a little bit more modern and more effective. Sometimes Americans feel they're shouldering too much of the burden.

$100 billion so far. Are the Europeans paying their fair share? They are contributing a lot. And Europeans, you know, I convene a group every month, Ukraine Defense Contact Group. This group is, it consists of 50 countries from around the world, not just NATO countries, but countries from around the world.

And that group has together contributed some $51 billion of direct security assistance to Ukraine over the two and a half years that we've been providing this support. And there are some countries that have dug pretty deep, like Germany, for example. Germany has committed to or has already provided some $31 billion worth of security assistance. And I think that's remarkable.

And there are some smaller countries, as a percentage of GDP, that have contributed more than the United States. So, there are countries that are really digging deep. And you know, Jen, as I met with the defense ministers from NATO,

here over this last week, I see a continued commitment to want to continue to support Ukraine because they know how important this is. It's still not clear that the administration wants Ukraine to win as opposed to simply not lose. You've been accused at times of incrementalism.

Can Ukraine win this war? Ukraine absolutely can win. And we define winning as Ukraine being a sovereign state that can defend its territory and deter aggression in the future. And it is working to do that. And it's well on the way. You know, when we started out, when Ukraine started out some years

two and a half years ago, you'll recall that there were small groups of troops setting tank ambushes in the streets of Kyiv, and ordinary citizens were making Molotov cocktails so they could defend their homes. And we've progressed over time from that picture to a battle-tested military that has much more modern equipment that's being pretty effective on a battlefield.

Why have you and President Biden continued to reject President Zelensky's request to lift the restrictions on firing the long-range weapons, the Atakums, at Russian military targets inside Russia? That would stop, they say, the glide bombs that are causing so much damage inside Ukraine. Isn't this just extending the war by not giving them those permissions? Well, first of all,

The Russians have already moved their aircraft out of the range of, beyond the range of ATACOMs. But Ukraine has a lot of capability that we provided in terms of drones, but they also have the ability to produce their own drones right now that are highly effective. As a matter of fact, we've seen them conduct

attacks or operations that are some 400 kilometers beyond the border and even further. And these are precise operations and very effective. And so what we need to do, Jen, is to invest in more of that type of capability and really focus on the things that work. And again, I think they have the ability to continue to conduct long-range strikes, and they will.

We've been speaking with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin more after this short break. When you traveled to Kyiv in October 2021, in the months before the invasion, did you know that Russia was going to invade at that point? And what did you tell President Zelensky? When I went to Kyiv the first time, the intelligence was not really solidified when I went to Kyiv on the very first visit. But, you know, as time went

moved along, things progressed, we were able to really get a better read of what Putin's intentions were. But at that point in time, Jen, we were working to modernize his military and do some things to help further professionalize his force. And of course, once the fight started, some of the things that we had done up to that point

proved very, very valuable. Some of the people that were fighting in small units, those ambushes that I mentioned earlier, those were conducted by well-trained small unit leaders and troops

that we had worked with prior to the start of the fight. President Zelensky's victory plan, according to his defense minister, who you've just spent a lot of time with, is to force negotiations to expel the Russians, to carry out deep strikes on Russian military targets to serve as a deterrence. And they want a quick entry into NATO if the war ends. Are you in favor of this?

Well, you know, we've said all along that Ukraine will be a part of NATO at some point in the future. But what we need to do now, Jen, and what we're focused on now is making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to continue to be successful in this fight. And that's exactly what we're doing. You know, I just spent some time with my subordinates focusing on the military piece of

President Zelensky's overall strategic plan. As you know, with every strategic plan, there's a diplomatic piece, there's an information piece, a military piece, and an economic piece. And so we were focused on that military piece. We were really developing the action plan, action plan, my words, to support

President Zelensky's strategic plan. And again, it's their plan. And my guys were working with them to just –

review their plan just to get a better understanding of it so we can figure out how to better resource it. South Korea's spy agency says North Korean troops are preparing to fight with Russian troops in Ukraine. And Ukraine's military intelligence chief says nearly 11,000 North Korean troops are in Russia now and will be ready to fight in Ukraine by November 1st. Have you seen evidence of this?

Our intelligence analysts are really looking hard at this. And again, I don't have anything to comment on today, Jen. But if this is true, this is very concerning. And if it is true, it speaks to the point that

Putin must be weakened to a greater extent than most people think. Now, initially we saw him go 10-cupping to North Korea and Iran for munitions and weapons. And so now if he's 10-cupping for people, that speaks to how effective the Ukrainians may have been in this fight. We know that Putin's losing a lot of people. How many?

Well, you've heard me say that he's lost north of 350,000. That number is probably much higher. But in terms of precise number, you know, I don't have one at my fingertips. But I will tell you that he is feeling the pain. George Will recently wrote that this new axis of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea joining forces and sowing discord around the world is evidence that World War III is already underway.

Has the next global war already started and people just don't realize it? I don't think so, Jen. I think, again, it is a very complex world. We see a lot of activity, a lot of competition, but I would not describe it as World War III. I'd like to turn to Israel and the Middle East. There's been growing frustration by you and others in the administration that during the past year, Israel has not been careful enough about civilian casualties in Gaza and now in Lebanon.

The U.S. has been blindsided at times with Israel not telling it in advance about striking certain targets, and that has threatened to spread the war as well as draw the U.S. into a direct conflict with Iran. Is Netanyahu a reliable ally? Yeah, Jen, I won't comment on the prime minister. What I will tell you is that our commitment is that we're going to continue to support Israel in its right to defend itself. Now, you've also heard me say that Israel

protecting civilians in the battle space and achieving military objectives are not mutually exclusive. I think you can do both. And as I've talked to my counterpart, I've continuously emphasized the need to make sure that they're doing the right things to prevent excessive casualties. But I'll tell you, both Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah has made this tough fight in this very tough terrain even tougher by what they're doing in terms of using civilians as shields,

putting their military command posts and ammunition stores underneath hospitals and schools and mosques. It is a tough battlefield to begin with, but that makes it even tougher. But having said all that,

you know, our expectation is that we're doing everything we can. The Israelis are doing everything they can to protect civilian life. And UN Secretary Blinken wrote a letter to your Israeli counterpart suggesting if Israel in the next 30 days did not open humanitarian corridors into Gaza that you would withhold future weapons shipments. Why put this in writing? And are you serious this time? Other

suggestions or threats, if you will, have gone, they've blown past them and not listened. Jen, I won't comment on correspondence between Secretary Blinken and I and our counterparts. What I will tell you is that my concern

on providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians has been there from the very beginning. You've heard me talk about this over and over again. I think it's essential to do what's necessary, Jan, to

to take care of those unfortunate people that are in that combat zone. And I'll continue to say that. So we're going to continue to work with them to do everything we can to encourage them to move in the right direction. And we are seeing some things, some signs that they are...

they're beginning to move things a bit quicker. How concerned were you about the leak of classified information showing the U.S. knew about Israel's preparations to strike Iran? Can you assure the Israelis this was not an intentional leak by the administration? Well, first of all, Jen, you know that I take handling of classified information very, very seriously. And if there's an instance where...

procedures have proper procedures have not been followed. We will investigate that and we are investigating this issue. In terms of our

ability to work with our Israeli counterparts. You know, I talk with Minister Gellant frequently, and I just talked to him on Saturday. And again, we remain committed to supporting each other and being as transparent as possible. And I'll leave it at that. Did you and President Biden encourage the Israelis not to strike Iran's nuclear sites or oil facilities? Why not strike those targets?

John, whatever Iran chooses to do in its targeting is going to be... Israel. Excuse me. Israel chooses to do in its targeting is going to be their choice. But from my perspective, I think if you're conducting a military strike, it ought to be against military targets. That's a military gas speaking. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.

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