Question about how much Air Relief drop of food and water to Mount Sinjar (Iraq -- Azidi refugees) -- Press Conference excerpt

from WHITE HOUSE dot-gov posting : Questions from REPORTER: Okay, so that's (for 8,000) a small subset of the 40,000 estimated who are there. Is it part of the U.S. mission to try to address the needs of all 40,000 and we should assume that these humanitarian missions will be ongoing until all of them have at least got some crack at this food and water? And is there any sense of how long these supplies -- even for the 8,000 that are to receive them, theoretically, will last? Then there was a reference at the top of the call to a new prime minister in Iraq in the coming days. Can you be any more specific about that? And what dynamic do you think the completion of the Iraqi government will have on the willingness and the efficacy of the Iraqi Security Forces to get back into the fight? Because without a government, clearly, they haven’t been there. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I’ll take a crack at that, and then my colleagues will, I’m sure, want to add to it. With respect to the estimates, we cannot give a firm number of how people are on Mount Sinjar. There have been estimates in the thousands, and then there have been estimates that go into the tens of thousands -- 40,000 would certainly be I think at the very far end and higher than I think the assessed population on the mountain. But needless to say, however, we’re going to continue providing airdrops as we see a need. And I would expect that need to continue. So this 8,000 is an immediate source of relief in terms of food and water, but we’ll continue to have the capability to provide additional drops. I’d add that the Iraqi government and the Peshmerga have also sought to provide humanitarian assistance, and other countries have offered to, as well. So it may be that we’re able to draw on additional resources beyond just U.S. resources. And as a general matter, we’re working to facilitate Iraqi support for the population on the mountain, and an important part of that is breaking the siege as well. I’d just say on your second question, we’ve always believed that forming an inclusive government would provide a stronger foundation for Iraqis to then turn their attention to the threat of ISIL. They’re already dealing with it, of course. Iraqi Security Forces and the Peshmerga are engaged in hostilities with ISIL. But we believe that part of the context for Iraq’s challenges has been a sense of division within Iraq’s different communities -- between Iraq’s different communities. And an inclusive government I think would give confidence to Iraqis that there is a national authority in Baghdad that can represent all of Iraq’s communities. That is Sunni, Shia, and Kurds, but also Iraqi minorities. And that provides a strong basis and a foundation for Iraqi Security Forces to take the fight to ISIL. And the United States is already providing support. But I think with a new and inclusive government, we’ll be better able to marshal not just U.S. support, but support from some of the countries in the region that have wanted to see that formation of an inclusive government, so that Iraqi Security Forces are getting additional resources. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/08/background-briefing-senior-administration-officials-iraq