Media Availability With Secretary Carter in Incirlik, Turkey

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER:  I'll go quickly, because I've talked a lot, but I'll take a couple of questions, also.

I had an opportunity here, at Incirlik, to visit with our service members and their families in this holiday season -- that's the principal reason for my visit at this time.  To thank them in recognition of the fact that they're not home, they're defending us and creating a better life for our children.

Obviously -- I had a lot of opportunity to thank them for what they're doing to defeat ISIL here in Syria and Iraq.  That's the principle mission of the base here at Incirlik, as well as anchoring the southern part of NATO.

We have great hosts in Turkey, and we have fantastic, fantastic performance by the American air crews and other Americans here.  And I wanted them to know that we are 100 percent behind them as they take the fight to ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

And it's even more than that, because as the meeting -- the visit by the president to the Department of Defense yesterday made clear, we're looking to intensify and accelerate the defeat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

And then of course, that's necessary, but it's not sufficient.  They need to be fought around the world, and also including in the homeland, including the American homeland.  And that's where law enforcement and Homeland Security and other parts of the government are all involved in what is the inevitable defeat of this threat to civilization.

We don't do that alone.  We do that because there are others that are willing to stand up for civilization and stand up to ISIL.  We have here, for example, just to take our hosts, first of all, Turkey.  A long-standing NATO ally and our hosts at this particular base.

The Turks, in addition to hosting us here, are taking some action along their border, and in internal security.  And we welcome the additional steps that the Turks have taken recently.  And we're asking them to take more, to do more, even as we're asking ourselves to do more.

The same is true with others represented here at the base.  Germany just arrived, after a decision by the German government -- which I applaud -- to join the fight itself.  We appreciate what the Germans are doing here, and we want them.

And Spain also represented here, Qatar also represented here.  We appreciate what they're doing, and -- but once again, as with us, we want everybody to do more.

In that connection, I should say -- I should say that we're looking for others in Europe to do more.  We have long been looking for the Gulf countries to do more.  And in fact, contributing countries to the coalition around the world to get in the game militarily and hasten the destruction of ISIL.

I'll say one other thing, which is in addition to that -- of course, in addition to all of those that are contributing to the campaign to defeat ISIL, there are those who are not yet working in the right direction.  And obviously, that includes Russia.  I have said this many times before, Russia got off on the wrong foot.  And instead of combating ISIL, was combating the opposition, which needs to be part of the Syrian political future after a political transition.

And the Russians should be contributing to that transition, not impeding it.  And they should be contributing to combatting ISIL.  We continue to urge them to do the same.  We -- because they're off on the wrong foot, we can't associate ourselves with Russian strategy until it changes.

And in fact, Secretary Kerry is in Moscow today to discuss that very matter with the Russians, getting them from where they've started in this campaign to a place where they can make a more positive contribution.  And important as it is for Russia to make a positive contribution, it's also important that they not impede the operations of the coalition.

That is why we negotiated a memorandum of understanding, so that we would have professionalism in the air.  That is why we're concerned about their supplying the Syrian regime with equipment that it doesn't need and doesn't contribute to the fight against ISIL.  And we have to take the fight to ISIL, and we're not going to be able to tolerate any impediments, and we're not going to have any impediments to the conduct of our campaign against ISIL.

Finally, let me just say that I had the opportunity to meet with the families here as well, with some spouses.  And my wife generally doesn’t travel on these with me because she works, but she did come this time.  And we got to meet with some of the families and spouses here.  And we always recognize that military service is a family affair.  You see that very clearly here at Incirlik, where the -- our gratitude goes to the families, and also -- we constantly watch after the welfare of the families here, and the protection of the families here.

So, with that, let me take a couple of questions, and thank you all for being here.

(inaudible)?

Q:  Saudi Arabia today announced the formation of its 34-state Islamic alliance against terrorism.

Can you tell us what you know in terms of what that means practically?  Does that mean troop commitments or (inaudible) military, and do you see this as being in coordination with the U.S. counter-ISIL --

SEC. CARTER:  Well, we look forward to learning more about what Saudi Arabia has in mind in terms of this coalition.

But in general -- at least it appears that it's very much aligned with something that we have been urging for quite some time, which is greater involvement in the campaign to combat ISIL by Sunni-Arab countries.

We -- they are part of the coalition that we formed a year or so ago.  And I and others have been consistently urging Saudi Arabia and other states to be more active in the effort to campaign -- in the campaign to defeat ISIL, because obviously, they have, being from the region, a better ability than we will have to promote what we know is necessary in the long run for the defeat of ISIL in Iraq and in Syria, which is the replacement of their tyrannical rule with local rule that gives a decent life back to people.

And so, the forming of capable and motivated security forces in the territory of Syria and Iraq, which is one of the key ingredients of our overall strategy, can be enabled by them.

So, that is what I would want to talk to my Saudi counterpart about, and I hope that that's the kind of thing that they have in mind.  But I look forward to learning more.

STAFF:  We've got time for one more.

Q:  (inaudible), what additional steps, specifically, why -- do you think Turkey needs to take to effectively seal the border?

And are there indications that they are prepared to take those steps?

And also, can you just give us an update on what you know about the Turkish troops in Iraq, and whether or not they will be withdrawing?

SEC. CARTER:  Sure, sure.  Well, the Turks, we understand and observe have been doing more on the border.  And it's about stopping the flow in both ways, both directions, that is, the flow of supplies to ISIL from Turkey, and the flow of new fighters into Turkey, into -- excuse me, Iraq and Syria from Turkey.

And it's the flow of people out, and not speaking -- you mostly hear about refugees -- I'm talking about foreign fighters who show up in the capitals of Europe or elsewhere, including the United States.

It's a long border.  There is one piece of it in particular that is not secured on the Syrian side.  We have asked the Turks to do more there, and we're prepared to continue to help them, as we were helping the Jordanians with the security of their own border.

But in general, we need Turkey, like other members of the coalition, to step up and do more.  And because of their geography, we're -- they have a special role to play.

That's why we're grateful to have them hosting here.  They also need to secure the border.

Now, with respect to the -- I -- I don't want to speak for the Iraqi government or the Turkish government, I'll only say this.  We have urged them both to de-escalate the situation.  My understanding at this time is that they're taking steps to do exactly that.

And obviously, we welcome that.  We -- we need people pulling in the same direction, namely to defeat ISIL.  And therefore, we are looking to de-escalate the situation.

Q:  Did you have any new ideas?  Did you hear any new ideas, though, for accelerating the campaign?  Wasn't that why you came?

SEC. CARTER:  I -- I can, it's a very good question.  I did, and I encouraged service members, as I did in Washington, when the president -- (inaudible) -- encouraged our senior commanders to not only themselves devise additional ways that we can intensify the campaign, but make sure that's understood down the chain of command.

And I had the opportunity to say that today, including the air crew, that you see a lot, you have -- you have your own thoughts for how this campaign could be strengthened.

Pass them up.  They will be welcomed.  That's what we're looking for.

STAFF:  All right, thanks everybody.