President Barack Obama's authorization of air strikes on ISIS targets in Iraq serves as an opportunity to remind ourselves which countries are bankrolling the deadly terror group.

The answer; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey and Qatar ? three of the United States' biggest allies in the region.

Last night Obama announced limited air strikes to slow the advance of ISIS fighters and help members of the Yazidi religious minority group who were forced to flee into a mountainous region in the north of Iraq to avoid slaughter.

However, the administration has failed to put pressure on several Gulf states that are directly responsible for helping ISIS gain a foothold in Iraq in the first place.