Jennifer Rene Psaki

“ We can’t look at things through the 2001 mindset; we have to look at things through the 2021 world.
So we will be monitoring — our administration, our national security teams, in partnership with our NATO Allies and partners in the region. We will be monitoring, of course, and disrupting — and focused on disrupting terrorist networks and operations that have spread far beyond Afghanistan, but also continuing to monitor things in the region.
We’re not going to take our threat off of — the terrorist threat — take our eyes off, sorry, the terrorist threat or any sign of al Qaeda’s resurgence. ”

“ And the discretionary guidance does exactly that; it provides funds with specific requirements, like ensuring law enforcement agencies mirror the diversity of the communities they serve. It also invests in federal programs that hold police accountable through pattern-and-practice investigations and the enforcement of consent decrees.
Now, that’s just a funding component. Right? There are also reforms that the President feels need to be put in place. And the George Floyd Act certainly has a number of those reforms and steps that he supports and he is eager for Congress to move forward on. ”

“ We are looking at what’s in our national interest. We are looking at where we actually see threats around the world but also opportunity. And part of his assessment as Commander-in-Chief is that having a presence there is not in our interest. ”

“ And even if you look at al Qaeda, it is not — it is not being harbored in a safe haven in Afghanistan how it was 20 years ago. We have to have resources, we have to have assets to address the threat where we see it growing, and that is in places like Northern Africa, in the Arabian Peninsula. ”

“ Well, let me say first that all of these incidents that we’re seeing — you’ve mentioned some of them — are just a reminder that, too often in this country, law enforcement uses unnecessary force and too often that results in the death of Black Americans.And the President has repeatedly said that he believes we need police reform, and that’s why he’s calling on Congress to deliver that to his desk. ”

“ But part of what we have seen from the intelligence community also is that the threat has become more dispersed, it’s metastasized around the world: al-Shabaab in Somalia, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Nusra in Syria. ”

“ We do want to see a clear commitment to ending illegal deforestation, tangible steps to increase effective enforcement of illegal deforestation, and a political signal that illegal deforestation and encroachment will not be tolerated. And we believe it’s realistic for Brazil to achieve a real decrease in deforestation by the end of the 2021 fire season. ”

“ And also to emphasize that — and to also raise, I should say, the — our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and concerns about what we see as aggressive behavior on the border, and also to lay out — to lay out the possibility of a meeting in order to move toward a more predictable and stable relationship. ”

“ Republican senators have criticized attaching the withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan to September 11th. They say it’s politically driven. Do you have a response to that? And also, do you have anything to share on who came up with that deadline and why? MS. PSAKI: I think it was the President wanting to send a clear message that this is not going to be an open-ended timeline to withdrawing troops. ”

“ Oh, we will nominate an ambassador to Afghanistan? Q And how — exactly. Have ambassador there before the troops — MS. PSAKI: Well, our intention is to maintain a presence — to secure a diplomatic presence there, and — which was, kind of, a different question. But — so I don’t have a timeline on that, but certainly given we will have a diplomatic presence, I expect we would have an ambassador at some point, or nominate. Q And about the climate summit, how are the discussions with Brazil going? Is President Biden prepared to sign a bilateral climate deal with Brazil next week during the summit? ”

“ I think what we are focused on is working directly with these countries to determine how we can deter travel, deter migrants from making the journey.And we made an announcement, of course, over the last couple of days about stepped-up personnel at the border that these countries are putting in place to — a number of these countries, I should say, in the region are putting in place — in order to deter the journey, in order to reduce the number of migrants who are making it to our border. ”

“ So today, as you well know, the Biden administration and HHS started the reversal of the Trump administration’s ban on abortion referrals at Title 10 family planning clinics.So my first question: Why does the Biden administration insist that pro-life Americans pay for abortions and violate their conscience? ”

“ Back on Afghanistan: Diplomatically — since that seems to be the solution that the President is going to lay out — what role does the United States intend to play after the withdrawal in talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban? MS. PSAKI: You mean in direct engagement? Q Mm-hmm. MS. PSAKI: Well, I would leave that, in part, to the State Department, who would be leading on any diplomatic talks and conversations. We certainly believe that a diplomatic path is the only path forward. There are conversations that are convening, I think, later this week. ”

“ A follow-up on Afghanistan, and then I have another one on the climate summit.You were talking about the diplomatic presence in Afghanistan after the withdrawal. Do you expect the United States will have an ambassador in Afghanistan before the troops leave? ”

“ He asked his team for a clear assessment, he — to make a determination about the best path forward.I will remind everyone that he has been someone who has long viewed our — the — he opposed the surge in Afghanistan. He has long viewed the — the presence, the military presence in Afghanistan, as something that was not a constructive, long-term solution. ”

“ Q So you’ve narrowed the American objective to keeping a terrorist group from being able to launch. And you made the good point they could launch an attack from many other places.Back in 2011, President Obama still was using a broader set. ”