-- the great ronald reagan was always correct when he said, the loss of liberty is always but one generation away. >> watch this weekend on c-span2. >> earlier today president trump visited the fenk announce the results of his administration's missile defense review. at the start of the evpbs he spoke about the ongoing government shutdown and offered condolences to the families of this four americans killed in syria. this is 35 minutes. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. mr. president, mr. vice president, senator sullivan, congressman turner, general

silva, and military officers, members of the military and distinguished guests. thank you for joining us as we release the 2019 missile defense review. today the number of new missile programs around the world is growing disproportionately to other capabilities. writ large, the rest of the world is not developing new fighter and bomber aircraft. they are developing missiles. the sheer proliferation of offensive missile capabilities, more than 20 nation states today in 2019, makes this review timely and essential. aligned with president trump's national security strategy, and nested within the national defense strategy and in lockstep with the nuclear posture review,

this threat-driven review is the latest tile in our broader national security mosaic and we re moving out on it. america's competitors, include chige in a and russia, are eveloping capabilities, adding new and sophisticated missiles to their arsenal, including advanced cruise missiles and integrating these more effective into their political intimidation, anti-access, area denial efforts and war planning. while we are forging a new path to peace on the korean peninsula, north korea's missiles remain a significant concern. so do iran's. make no mistake. our current defense capabilities are effective for their purpose. and our competitors know it.

frustrated by our mid course defenses they are aggressively pursuing new technologies to circumvent today's systems. these new technologies pr deuce new threats, and these threats are harder to see, harder to track, and harder to defeat. to our competitor we see what you are doing and we're taking action. the missile defense review calls for necessary investment to maintain our ground and sea-based missile testifieses. for more interceptors to new kill vehicles, to improved coverage of priority regions like the indo-pacific. at the same time we are focused on new capabilities for new threats. this includes hypersonics, space-based sensors and directed energy for boost-phase missile

intercept. it includes a policy shift toward greater integration of offensive and defensive capabilities. because missile defense necessarily includes missile offense. for decades, the u.s. led the world in hypersonics resource and deliptly chose not to weaponize these systems. china and russia have chosen differently. our nation does not seek adversaries but we will not ignore them either. we refuse to be bound by geography. our new space-based sensor layer will give us persistent, timely, global awareness. these cape bts -- capabilities will remove adversary's ability to coerce us or our allies and partners. congress has wisely mandated just such a capability.

rest assured you'll see this priority reflected in our upcoming budget request. we are not interested in keeping pace with emerging threats, we want to outpace them. this requires not just defensive weapons, but a host of enabling technologies that will allow us to integrate missile defense mission across our department. mr. president, we are ready nor task. this is the department of get stuff done. from the missile defense agency to the space force and across the joint force, we are all a part of the missile defense mission now. we will work hand in hand with our industrial base, national labs, and act teema. we will work with our allies and partners from asia to the middle east to europe to broaden the shield. from japanese co-development of a new interceptor to our work

with nato to counter shared missile threats. like us, our allies and part for thes have recognized the threat. with us, they have and will share the burden of answering it. in a time of great power competition we will uphold our solemn duty just as we have done in the past. we will defend the homeland, our deployed forces, and our allies and partners. we will deter potential adversaries and create the diplomatic space to solve complicated problems. i'll close with president kennedy's words from 1962. the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing. today's capabilities are dramatically different but the logic remains the same. that's why president trump has made missile defense a top national security priority.

directing this review in the first week of his administration , along with vice president pence, he has elevated this issue across our government with our allies, but most of all in the eyes of the american people. president trump and congress have given d.o.d. the necessary authorities, resources of support to meet these challenges. and this department will not let him or the american people down. now it is my privilege to introduce vice president pence. [applause]

vice president pence: thank you, acting secretary shanahan. secretary mark els her. -- elsmer. secretary wilson. distinguished members of congress. members of the joint chiefs. the lead ship of the armed forces of the united states and to all of you who wear the uniform of the united states of america. it is my honor to be with you here today at the pentagon. as our president unveiled -- unveils his vision for our renewed commitment to american missile defense. as commander in chief, president trump has no higher priority than the safety and security of the american people. it's frankly the greatest honor of my life to serve as vice president to a president who cares so deeply about the men and women of our armed forces and their families.

today, along with all of you, our hearts and our prayers are with the families of the fallen american heros who were lost in syria yesterday as well as those service members who were wounded. we honor their service. and we will honor the memory of the fallen. and the families in our armed forces should know their sacrifice will only steel our resolve that as we begin to bring our troops home, we will do so in a way that ensures that the remnants of isis will never be able to re-establish their evil and murderous caliphate. [applause] it's in that same spirit of resolve that we gather here today. from day one of this

administration, president trump has taken decisive action to make the strongest military in the history of this eworld stronger still. working with members of congress in both parties, we're rebuilding our military. restoring the arsenal of democracy. and last year, president trump signed the largest investment in our national defense since the days of ronald reagan, including the largest military pay raise n nearly a decade. [applause] at the president's direction, we released a national security strategy that puts america first, pursued the modernization of our nuclear arsenal, and president trump has taken decisive action to extend american dominance on land, at sea, in air, and in cyberspace. and even called for the establishment of a sixth branch of our armed forces to ensure

american dominance in space. in the last two years, our president has made great progress to provide for the common defense and today, by unveiling our new strategy for missile testifies, president trump will take another critical step to enhour the -- ensure the safety and security of the american people and our very way of life. this president knows that the american people believe that america first begins with peace through strength. so now it is my high honor and distinct privelebling to introduce your command for the chief, the 45th president of the united states of america, president donald trump. [applause]

president trump: that's really nice, you're only going doing that because i gave you the greatest and biggest budget in our history and i've now done it two times. [applause] and i hate to tell the rest of the world but i'm about to do it three times. so that's the only reason you gave me such a nice welcome. thank you very much. thank you to vice president pence for that wonderful introduction. it's an honor to be at the pentagon with so many

distinguished military leaders and i especially want to recognize our acting defense secretary, patrick shanahan. he's been fantastic, wherever you may be, patrick. thank you. thank you. we were talking just as i came on, i said, pat, i have to go now, we're talking defense and we're also talking offense, can't forget offense either, can we? we have the finest weapons in the world and we're ordering the finest weapons in the world. that you can be sure of. we're here to present the results of my administration's missile defense review. our goal is simple. to ensure that we can detect and destroy any missile launched against the united states, anywhere, any time, any place. as we all know, the best way to keep america safe is to keep america strong and that's what we're doing. stronger than ever. joining us for today's

presentation, great champions of missile defense in congress, senator dan sullivan, my friend, thank you, dan, very much. and representative mike turner. thank you, mike. thank you very much. also joining us from the department of defense are acting deputy secretary of defense, david norquist, david, thank you. secretary mark esper. secretary heather wilson. thank you. undersecretaries of defense, michael griffin, ellen lord, and john ruud. general paul selva, thank you, general. general mark millie. thank you, mark, thank you. thank you. and congratulations. ery prntly, congratulations. general joseph lembings engle

and jennifer james mccarville. thank you very much, everybody, thank you. before presenting the results of our missile defense review i want to take a moment to express my deepest condolences to the families of the brave american heros who laid down their lives yesterday in selfless service to our nation. these are great people. great, great people. we will never forget their noble and immortal sacrifice. this morning, i also would like to briefly address another matter of critical national security. the humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. without a strong border, america's defenseless, vulnerable and unprotected. i also want to thank the military for helping us out during the big caravan period but now you have more caravans forming and they're on the way up.

thousands and thousands of people. we don't know where they're from, who they are, nothing. e need strong borders. we need strong barriers and walls. nothing else is going to work. everyone knows it. everybody is saying it now. just a question of time. this should have been done many years ago. should have been done by -- really by other presidents. and it wasn't. just like many of the other things we're doing that could have been done many years ago. whether it's our negotiations with north korea, moving the embassy to jerusalem, so many things were supposed to have been done many years ago and they weren't but we're doing them. a wall has to be built. we need security at our southern border. drugs flow in. tremendous percentages of the drugs coming into our country come from the southern border.

we're not going to allow it to happen. and that is why our homeland security professionals have asked congress for a steel barrier between the ports of entry, to fund more agents, beds, medical supplies, and technology and to close the ridiculous and dangerous immigration loopholes that no country in the world has but us. the federal government remains shut down because congressional democrats refuse to approve border security. we're going to have border security. it's going to be tight. it's going to be strong. we're going to let people into our country gladly but they're going to come in legally. and that includes for the farmers who need help. and for others. but we are going to have powerful, strong border security.

while many democrats in the house and senate would like to make a deal, speaker pelosi will not let them negotiate. the party has been hijacked by the open borders fringe within the party. the radical left becoming the radical democrats. hopefully democrat lawmakers will step forward to do what is right for our country and what's right for our country is border security. at the strongest level. stop human hijacking. stop drugs. stop gangs. stop criminals. that's what we're going to do. that was my pledge, that's what we're going to do. we're gathered together to outline the steps we must take to upgrade and modernize america's missile defense. so important. in a time of rapidly evolving

threats, we must be certain that our defensive capabilities are unrivaled and unmatched anywhere in the world. all over, foreign adversaries, competitors, rogue regimes are steadily enhancing their missile arsenals. all over. their arsenals are getting bigger. and stronger. and we're getting bigger and stronger. in every way. they're increasing their lethal strike capabilities and they're free throw cused on developing long-range missiles that could reach targets within the united states. as president, my first duty is the defense of our country. first duty. the defense of our country. and defense has many different definitions. and covers a lot of territory.

i will accept nothing less for our nation than the most effective, cutting edge missile defense systems. we have the best anywhere in the world. it's not even close. our new strategy calls for six major changes in missile defense policy. first, we will prioritize the defense of the american people above all else. our review calls for 20 new ground-based interceptors at fort greey -- greeley, alaska, and new radars and censors to immediately -- and sensors to immediately detect foreign missiles launched against our great nation. we are committed to establishing a missile defense program. that can shield every city in the united states and we will never negotiate away our right

to do this. second, we will focus on developing new technology, not just investing more money into existing systems. the world is changing. and we're going to change much faster than the rest of the world. this past tuesday, the iranian regime tested a space launch vehicle which failed that will provide iran with critical information if it didn't fail that they could use to pursue intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities. and a capability actually of reaching the united states. we're not going to have that happen. the united states cannot simply make ore of the same or only incremental improvements.

what we've done to iran since i've become president is rathermy rack louse. i ended the -- is rather miraculous. i end ed -- ended the horrible, weak, iran nuclear deal and i will tell you iran is a much different country today than it was two years ago. it's not the same. and it won't be the same. and i do believe they want to talk. it is not enough to merely keep pace with our adversaries. we must outpace them at every single turn. we must pursue the advanced technology and research to guarantee that the united states is always several steps ahead of those who would do us harm. third, we will protect the american people from all types of missile attacks. in the past the united states lacked a comprehensive strategy

for missile defense that extended beyond ballistic missiles. under our plan, that will change. the u.s. will now adjust its posture to also defend against any missile strikes including cruise and hypersonic missiles. an we are, by the way, very advanced also on hypersonic technology and missiles. we will always be at the forefront of everything. fourth, we will recognize that space is a new war fighting domain with the space force leading the way. my upcoming budget will invest in a space-based missile defense layer. new technology. it's ultimately going to be a very, very big part of our

defense and obviously of our offense. the system will be monitored and e will terminate any missile launches from hostile powers or even from powers that make a mistake. it won't happen. regardless of the missile type or geographic origins of the attack. we will ensure that enemy missiles find no sanctuary on earth or in the skies above. this is the direction that i'm heading. we have some very bad players out there. and we're a good player but we can be far worse than anybody if need be. i've always known and i've

watched and i've seen the stronger you are, the less you will need whatever that strength may be. fifth, we'll remove bureaucratic obstacles to dramatically speed up the acquisition and deployment of the new technology. and sixth, we will insist on fair, burden -- fair burden sharing with our allies. i made it clear, we are protecting many, many wealthy, wealthy, wealthy countries. one country they said has an unsustainable cash flow. in other words they make so much money they don't know what to do with it. i said, send it our way. we're protecting you, send it our way. we protect all of these wealthy countries which i'm very honored to do. but many of them are so wealthy they can easily pay us the cost of this protection. so you'll see big changes taking

place. and we have had -- we've had great talks with country, friendly talks. one of them said, mr. president, yes, we will work with you. but for 30 years nobody has ever asked. i said now we're asking. took a long time. said now we're asking. and that allows us to spend much more money than these incredible budgets where it just -- money going out and not coming back. so wealthy, wealthy countries that we're protecting are all under notice and all cooperating very nicely, i would say they probably liked other presidents more than me but that's ok. i don't blame them. i would too. thrches a recent poll in europe. when i first ran i was one of the most popular people in the world. now they said he's not popular in europe. i shouldn't be.

because i'm asking them to step up. you have countries paying less than 1% in nato. last year, i raised $44 billion more by saying i'm sorry, you have to step up. the year before that, my first year, so i was just getting started, i raised $24 billion with one meeting. and until thatting, it was just going down. it was going down. for 15 years it was going down. the numbers going into nato. and this year we'll also have a good year. they're starting to step up. very unfair when germany pays 1% and we're paying 4.3% at a much larger g.d.p. we cannot be the fools for others. we cannot be. we don't want to be called that. and i will tell you, for many years, behind your backs, that's what they were saying. so there's a big difference.

we're going to be with nato 100% but as i told the country, -- countries, you have to step up, you have to pay. minimum numbers actually. the numbers should be much higher. they said -- set a 2% goal. very few pay that. but they should be much higher than that. if you look at what we pay, it's mass i havely higher than that. so we have very good relationships but countries are now stepping up and they can well afford to. in furtherance of this goal, our plan directs the department of defense to prioritize the sale of american missile defense and technology to our allies and to our partners. we want them to be able to defend. are they willing to pay for the finest missiles in the world, they've already done that, they're stepping up like nobody's ever seen before. actually. we will also leverage a network

of partnerships to share early warning and tracking information and detect missile launches as early as possible. today marks the beginning of a new year in our missile defense program. for too long we have been held back by self-imposed limits while foreign competitors grow and they advance more than we have other the years. part of the reason is we spend so much money on so many other places. now that's changing. we're helping and we're able to spend money on technology and new defense and far beyond defense systems. so those days are history. our strategy is grounded in one overriding objective, to detect and destroy every type of missile attack.

against any american target, whether before or after launch. when it comes to defending america, we will not take any chances, we will only take action. ere is no substitute for american military might. but when i took office, you know it better than anybody in the world, our military was very tired. it was very depleted. i won't even tell you the things that some of our great generals are telling me. and now it's being rebuilt at a rapid rate and very shortly will be more powerful than ever before. and that's the way it has to be. and as i said the more powerful it is, the less likely it is that we'll ever have to use it. but it will soon be more powerful than ever before.

today, we reaffirm that a strong america remains the best way too prevent conflict, promote peace, preserve freedom, and protect our great people. together, we unite behind a noble mission to shield our country with the greatest missile defense systems anywhere on the face of the earth. i want to thank you again to the men and women of the american armed forces, special, special people. and the citizens of our country know that. and acknowledge that. far more so than you would ever know. athave the greatest military any time soon in the history of the world. i want to just finish by saying,

i appreciate your service. you're incredible people. god bless you. and god bless america. thank you very much. thank you. [applause] thank you. thank you. >> tonight in primetime on the c-span networks, at 9:00 p.m. eastern, a look at the history, application, and scope of presidential emergency powers. we'll have that here on c-span. at 9:00 eastern on c-span a

discussion about what's being done to recruit and elect republican women to congress. and at 8:00 p.m. on c-span3, the senate special aging committee holds a hearing on combating scams that target the elderly. >> c-span's "washington journal" live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. friday morning, a discussion of the planned pullout of troops from syria and this week's suicide bombing with seth jones of the center for strategic and international studies. and then republican maryland congressman andy harris talks about the shutdown and border security. and a review of the hearings for william barr. watch washington jurble live at 7:00 eastern friday morning. join the discussion. >> watch c-span for live coverage of two marches in the