Now that Ed straightened his collar, I think we can start.

(laughter)

Mr. Earnest: We're alays watching.

Let me begin with a quick statement here,

and then we'll get started with your questions.

On Friday, September 12, the President will deliver remarks

at a nationwide AmeriCorps Pledge ceremony on the South

Lawn of the White House to mark the 20th anniversary

of the national service program.

This event will kick off a year of service for

75,000 AmeriCorps members from coast to coast,

and recognize the 900,000 Americans who have served

through AmeriCorps over the last two decades.

Additional details on the President's participation

in the ceremony will be released as soon

as they become available.

So that will be something to look forward to here

in a couple weeks.

Nedra, do you want to get us started?

The Press: I will.

Thanks, Josh.

Now that the President has met with Secretaries Hagel

and Kerry, can you give us an update on the timeline

for his thinking on Syria?

Is there a decision imminent?

Mr. Earnest: Well, Nedra, I'm not in a position

to read out those meetings.

The President does on a regular basis meet with his Secretary

of Defense and Secretary of State when they're in town.

He does that weekly.

But there are obviously a couple of things that

they are discussing.

The President and his team are closely watching the situation

in Iraq and monitoring the ongoing military activities --

U.S. military activities against ISIL in Iraq to protect

American citizens and interests in that country.

We're also carefully watching the efforts of Iraq's

political leaders to form an inclusive government.

It's important for the Iraqi people and for Iraq's political

leaders to unite that country to face down the threat

that's posed by ISIL.

We have said all along that that is a key component

of the comprehensive strategy that the President is going

to put in place, and has put in place, to deal

with this situation.

There is not -- while this obviously is something that

drives news coverage and captures the attention

of the public, military action alone will not

sufficiently confront ISIL and deal with that threat

on a sustainable basis.

Certainly there's a very important role for the American

military to play and they can make a substantial contribution

to stabilizing the security situation in that country.

But for us to have a sustainable solution it's critically

important for Iraq's political leaders to unite the country

so that they can have a united front as they confront ISIL.

That will allow them to have an integrated,

sophisticated security force -- both an Iraqi

security force and a Kurdish security force that can

be on the ground fighting ISIL.

The United States is also deeply engaged in conversations

with regional governments who obviously have a very clear,

vested interest in the outcome.

The United States is also in touch with our partners

in Western Europe and around the globe to engage

the international community in this effort.

So all of that is ongoing.

And the President, in the course of the conversations that he had

with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense over

the last couple of days, talked about this ongoing effort.

But I'm not in a position at this point to give you with

a whole lot of detail much insight into the kind

of specific guidance that the President has received,

or specific updates that the President has received

on this situation.

The Press: Because he does often talk about wanting

an international coalition, does he want to have a decision

on Syria before he goes to NATO to discuss it with

other world leaders?

Mr. Earnest: Well, I would anticipate -- without previewing

the meeting, I would anticipate that the threat that's posed

by ISIL will be a topic of some conversation at that meeting.

There obviously will be leaders of some countries

that have a vested interest in that outcome.

We also will have the leaders of some countries that

we believe can and have already demonstrated their willingness

to play a constructive role in dealing with this challenge.

But I would not, at this point, set up a time frame

for a presidential decision.

The Press: Has the President seen the video that Steven

Sotloff's mother made appealing to ISIL?

Mr. Earnest: I don't know if the President has seen that video.

It popped shortly before I came out here.

I have seen the video and I've seen the news reports

about the video.

And obviously the thoughts and prayers of everybody here

at the White House and the Obama administration

are with the Sotloff family as they endure this

very tragic situation.

As you know, this administration is deeply engaged and doing

everything we can to seek the return of every American

who is currently being held in that region.

But I don't have an update in terms of the President's --

whether or not the President has seen

the specific video in question.

The Press: Do you know if she ran that by anybody in the U.S.

government, and if so, if she was discouraged or encouraged

to do that?

Mr. Earnest: Well, I know that the members of this

administration have been in touch with the Sotloff family

on a regular basis, but I don't have anything to share in terms

of guidance that was offered to them about the wisdom

of doing a video like this.

The Press: Do you think it was wise for her to do this,

or could this put her son in more danger?

Mr. Earnest: I wouldn't venture an analysis on that question.

She obviously, as is evident from the video,

feels desperate about the safety and well-being of her son,

and understandably so.

And that is why our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Sotloff's

family at this very difficult and trying time.

Roberta.

The Press: You talked about engaging -- the United States

government engaging regional governments and governments

in Western Europe and around the globe on ISIL.

I'm wondering if you can give us a list of countries

that that U.S. has approached to be part

of the coalition.

Mr. Earnest: Well, there are a large number of countries that

the United States has engaged.

We are obviously in regular conversation with many of our

allies around the globe.

We have been in touch with them on this particular issue over

the last several weeks.

The thing that I would point out is that the Department

of Defense just yesterday named seven different

Western countries who are providing urgently

needed arms and equipment to the Kurds.

So that's one example of how our allies have been enlisted

in this effort.

There are a number of other countries both in the region

and around the world that have made pledges

of humanitarian support.

There obviously is a very dire humanitarian situation in Iraq,

a large number of displaced persons within that country.

There are some religious and ethnic minorities in that

country that are still at very grave risk from the violent

extremists in ISIL.

So there are a lot of ways in which countries around

the world and countries in the region can contribute

to solving this problem.

I think the other important role that I should point out here

is there is an opportunity for some of the regional governments

that do have some influence over the Sunni tribes

in western Iraq that can be enlisted and engaged

in the effort to beat back the threat that's posed by ISIL.

And we certainly are interested in those governments in the

region using their influence with Sunni tribal leaders

in western Iraq to engage them in this effort.

There also is an opportunity for regional governments,

as many of them have already, to step up and lend some support

to moderate members of the Syrian opposition who are

fighting ISIL forces in Syria.

So there are a large number of ways that countries around

the world can contribute to this effort, and the United States,

as the indispensable nation in the world,

is playing a leading role in engaging countries around

the world on this topic.

The Press: Has the United States commenced

surveillance flights over Syria?

Mr. Earnest: I'm not in a position to talk about

the operational details of the United States' surveillance

and intelligence programs.

What I think I mentioned yesterday is that there

is an entire wing of the Pentagon that is responsible

for developing contingency plans for the Commander-in-Chief

if and when he should need them.

Those plans are based on a number of things,

including the analysis of intelligence.

But aside from pointing out those facts,

I'm not in a position to discuss or confirm reports of specific

operational details related to America's intelligence programs.

The Press: Lastly, the President met with

his economic advisors this morning.

Can you tell us a little bit about -- more about that?

Mr. Earnest: The President did convene a meeting

in the Roosevelt Room earlier today with members

of his economic team.

This included members of the Cabinet as well

as senior economic advisors who work here at the White House.

They discussed a broad range of things,

including some of the broader trends that we're seeing

as it relates to our economy.

They discussed, among other things,

the labor participation and some of things that we can

do to address the labor participation rate as well

as the long-term unemployment rate.

These are a couple of the issues that are perceived by some who

know a whole lot more about economics than I do that this

is worthy of some attention.

And there was a discussion of some policy options for dealing

with and trying to mitigate some of the negative impacts

that things like long-term unemployment are having

on the economy.

But in terms of specific policy proposals or details,

I'm not in a position to discuss them.

Nadia.

The Press: Josh, you stated that the U.S.

policy is not to pay ransom for any terrorist organizations.

Can you explain to us what's the difference between that and your

negotiating with the Taliban to secure the release

of a U.S. soldier in return for other people being

accused of terrorism?

Mr. Earnest: I assume you're referring to the case

of Sergeant Bergdahl?

The Press: Right.

Mr. Earnest: Let me say a couple of things about that.

The first is that it is the policy of the United States

of America that we do not pay ransom or make concessions

to terrorist groups to secure the release of hostages.

That is a policy that has been put in place for

a couple of reasons.

The first is it's well documented that many extremist

terrorist organizations use the revenue stream

of ransoms to finance their broader operations.

In some cases, that's actually the lifeblood of their

organization -- is being able to collect these ransoms

and to roll that money into broader operations.

Secondly, routinely paying ransoms only puts other innocent

American citizens at risk of being kidnapped

and held for ransom.

And the last thing that we'd want to do is heighten

the risk even more for innocent American citizens.

Now, in the case of Sergeant Bergdahl,

the President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief

and he has a commitment to an unimpeachable value,

which is ensuring that we do not leave men and women in uniform

behind enemy lines in the hands of the enemy.

And the President engaged in an effort that is typical