White House spokesperson discusses situation in Burma

May 5, 2008 A spokesperson for the White House has discussed the situation in Burma in a recent press conference. He started by saying that "we [the US government] are obviously very concerned about the reports coming out of Burma and we mourn the loss of life." He then explained the aid given by the US in the aftermath of the cyclone in Burma. "The embassy was able to provide an initial package of aid and assistance that goes through the World Food Program, as well as other aid entities." The initial aid package provided by the US government will be worth US$ 250,000.

A journalist then claimed that the initial aid package provided by the US Government was just a "drop in the bucket, " due to the large size of the storm. Scott Stanzel, the spokesperson, responded by saying that "we're [the US government are] in the process of assessing what more we could provide. So we're just in the initial stages, obviously, of this tragedy, so it's something that we're taking a very close look at."

Stanzel finished discussing the Burma situation by saying that "officials at the [US] embassy are in touch with Burmese officials and we want to be as supportive to the humanitarian crisis as we can."

Over 4,000 people are dead and nearly 3,000 are missing and dozens are injured after Cyclone Nargis hit the country of Burma.