“I thought kurds were kind of the local good guys, why would Obama arm them unless it is just a way to get Turkey into the conflaguration”
Actually, Turkey and the Kurds in Northern Iraq have come to terms with each other and have allied for the moment against ISIL’s attempted push into Kurdish territory. The reason for this alliance is, of course, oil. The Kurds have it, the Turks want it. And there is a pipeline plan (or maybe it already exists, can’t remember) down into Turkey from the Kurdish territory for shipment of oil to and through Turkey.
So, the Kurds and Turkey are momentarily allied and Turkey has come to terms with the idea that there may be a Kurdish state formed, as long as they can do mutually beneficial business together.
My understanding is that the pipeline for Kurdish oil through Turkey is already in use. Also a Kurdish Turk ran (was allowed?) against Erdowan in the election. Apparently we are arming the Kurds as well as Bagdad. Regarding the Yazidi/Christian problem, when we bombed ISIS that opened a small corridor which enabled some to walk 12 miles to Kurdish Syria area where they were transported to a bridge to walk back into Kurdish Iraq. One man had to leave his elderly parents and wife and 3 day old baby behind. Some supplies were dropped between refugees and ISIS and not recoverable. Hope helpers get dropped to help the helpless dying of thirst and starvation. This link has over 60 photos showing refuge church in Irbil, as well as people struggling toward rescue. Check out the link that shows detailed map of mountain, Yazidi villages, and ISIS positions. Also over 200 comments.