provide Syrian Kurds with humanitarian and military support to prevent another human tragedy and to stop Islamic State

A new humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Kurdish areas in Syria as thousands of villagers have fled and taken refuge in Turkey. Kobani, home to 500000 people, is now besieged. Hundreds of thousands are facing massacres and displacements if the region completely falls to the Islamic State. Syrian Kurds should not be left alone during this critical time. This is not their fight only. We urge President Obama to use the power of his office to extend humanitarian and military support to Syrian Kurds; they are indeed facing an existential threat like the Yazidis and other minorities in Iraq. This support is necessary to prevent both the horrors of another humanitarian crisis and to stop the murderous and pernicious expansion of the Islamic State.