US air support is not enough. We must save Islamic-Christian coexistence and Iraq

Christian refugees from Mosul and Qaraqosh, huddled in churches (Pictured) and on the streets of Erbil; Yazidi families forced to flee under the scorching Iraqi summer sun onto the Sinjar desert: these harrowing images are urging the international community to mobilize a humanitarian and military response, albeit slowly.

For the past three days American aircraft have been striking the Islamic army positions (ex ISIS) near Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, while launching supplies of food and water to those fleeing towards any possible point
of salvation. Just today, the Patriarch of Baghdad Louis Sako pointed out that the US raids are only interested in saving Erbil, capital of Kurdistan, and not Mosul and Qaraqosh from where Christians, Yazidis and Shiites have fled. The US air support is simply an attempt to reduce tension rather than stopping the cruelty and violence of the Islamic Caliphate.

Some in the United States hypothesize that the US military intervention is motivated by a desire to protect Erbil the administrative capital of Kurdistan home to a quarter of Iraq's oil. The Kurds argue that in the case of independence, their state would be ninth in the world in terms of oil reserves.

For some time now, the United States (and Israel) has been flirting with Kurdistan's claim for independence. Having now made ​​ aircraft available at the request of the Kurds - and not at Prime Minister Al Maliki's first request a month ago - Washingtin seems to be leaning towards closer ties with Erbil and abandoning Baghdad.

The problem is not saving Kurdistan, the problem is we need to stop ISIS.