{"id":1307941,"date":"2022-02-17T19:38:21","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T00:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1307941"},"modified":"2022-02-17T19:38:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T00:38:27","slug":"german-reporter-asks-u-s-defense-secretary-if-intelligence-on-russia-can-be-trusted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-reporter-asks-u-s-defense-secretary-if-intelligence-on-russia-can-be-trusted\/","title":{"rendered":"German Reporter Asks U.S. Defense Secretary If Intelligence on Russia Can Be Trusted"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgerman-reporter-asks-u-s-defense-secretary-if-intelligence-on-russia-can-be-trusted%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1307941&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/US-POLITICS-AFGHANISTAN-HEARING-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">A German journalist on Thursday became the most recent journalist to ask the Biden Administration for evidence to back up its claims on Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed at a press conference at NATO headquarters that there were more Russian troops now at the border with Ukraine \u2014 not fewer, as Russia has claimed.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Austin said, \u201cThe Russians say that they are withdrawing some of these forces now that exercises are complete, but we don\u2019t see that. Quite the contrary \u2014 we see them add to the more than 150,000 troops that they have already arrayed on that border, even in the last couple of days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cWe see some of those troops inch closer to that border. We see them fly in more combat and support aircraft. We see them sharpen their readiness in the Black Sea. We even see them stocking up their blood supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bettina Klein from German National Public Radio asked Austin for evidence:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I understand you have the evidence that there\u2019s more troop building, rather than troop withdrawal in Russia. At the same time, I hear some skepticism, certainly of the German public debate. How can we trust this? How can we trust American intelligence? What do you suggest to build more public trust? And would you consider at one point to make more evidence you have publicly available?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Austin responded that the U.S. has been \u201cvery transparent\u201d and would continue to be transparent. He said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I don\u2019t see this as a competition of narratives. I think, you know, we\u2019ve been very transparent about \u2014 about everything that \u2014 that we\u2019ve seen thus far, and we\u2019ve shared what we \u2014 what we know with our allies and partners and we \u2014 we really have done a very, very extensive job of making sure that our allies knew what we knew as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p>But I think in order to address the issues that \u2014 the issue that you \u2014 that you raised, the solution is to continue to be transparent, to continue to, you know, talk to \u2014 to the American people and \u2014 and people around the world, quite frankly, and \u2014 and explain what we\u2019re seeing. And \u2014 and I think, you know, that \u2014 that has been very helpful thus far. We will continue to do that, and we certainly endeavor to do that while we\u2019re in this conference this week.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Klein\u2019s question follows several similar questions from the American press on what evidence the Biden Administration has to back up its claims of a Russian buildup.<\/p>\n<p>The most prominent recent example was the Associated Press\u2019s Matt Lee pressing State Department Press Secretary Ned Price for evidence for his claims that Russia was trying to stage a false-flag attack to justify a military invasion into Ukraine.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Reporter: \u201cIt\u2019s an action that you say they have taken, but you have shown no evidence to confirm that. [\u2026] This is like \u2013 crisis actors? Really? This is like Alex Jones territory you\u2019re getting into now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Must-watch exchange between <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/APDiploWriter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@APDiploWriter<\/a> Matt Lee and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StateDeptSpox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@StateDeptSpox<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RPIPb2zwf5\">pic.twitter.com\/RPIPb2zwf5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Hill (@thehill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thehill\/status\/1489336004637044746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Price suggested that Lee was finding \u201csolace\u201d in Russian propaganda before later tweeting out that he did not mean to suggest that Lee was a dupe.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The renowned <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/APDiploWriter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@APDiploWriter<\/a> and I have had our fair share of sparring sessions, and I have the scars to prove it. Clearly, he\u2019s no one\u2019s dupe, and I\u2019d never want to suggest otherwise. Nothing but respect for him, which I underscored in a call to him after the briefing.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StateDeptSpox\/status\/1489379839404650497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki got similarly prickly when asked about civilian casualties during a recent U.S. strike in Syria to take out the leader of ISIS, and suggested that journalists believed ISIS over the U.S. military.<\/p>\n<p>After a reporter asked Psaki, \u201cWill the U.S. provide any evidence because there may be people that are skeptical of the events that took place and what happened to the civilians?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Psaki fired back: \u201cSkeptical of the U.S. military\u2019s assessment when they went and took out the leader of ISIS? That they are not providing accurate information, and ISIS is providing accurate information?\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Psaki to reporter asking about those &#8220;skeptical&#8221; about civilians killed in raid: &#8220;Skeptical of the U.S. military&#8217;s assessment when they went and took out\u2026 the leader of ISIS, that they are not providing accurate information, and ISIS is providing accurate information?&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7g90mc1x1U\">pic.twitter.com\/7g90mc1x1U<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tommyxtopher\/status\/1489329652908924933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><em>Follow Breitbart News\u2019s Kristina Wong on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/kristina_wong\">Twitter<\/a>&nbsp;or on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kristinawongreporting\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A German journalist on Thursday became the most recent journalist to ask the Biden Administration for evidence to back up its claims on Russia. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed at &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1307941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1307941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1307941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1307941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1307941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1307941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1307941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}