( CNN ) -- `` Where your treasure is , there is your heart also . '' So goes one biblical quote that could be applied to the United States ' intervention in Syria . In a letter to the U.N. secretary-general presented by U.S . Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power , the United States justified airstrikes in Syria as an effort to protect Iraqi citizens from attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and other extremist groups . He did not , however , mention Syrian citizens . It is this omission that goes to the heart of the United States ' misplaced priorities . The numbers underscore the administration 's focus on degrading and ( one day ) defeating ISIS , rather than on providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the victims of the organization 's barbarism . Take , for example , the State Department 's recent announcement that it will provide an additional almost $ 500 million in humanitarian aid to help those affected by the war in Syria . According to the State Department , this brings the total amount of U.S. humanitarian aid to $ 2.9 billion since March 2011 â€ ” or about $ 700 million per year , $ 60 million a month or $ 14 million per week . But while this is a substantial amount , it will very quickly be surpassed by the costs of U.S. military operations . Indeed , only last month , Congress approved roughly $ 500 million to train moderate Syrian rebels , the same amount set aside for additional humanitarian assistance . And this does n't even take account of airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq , which , according to a Pentagon spokesperson , have cost around $ 52 million a week . Expanding the air war to Syria will substantially increase those expenditures , to as much as $ 100 million per week , according to some analysts . This would mean the cost of airstrikes would exceed our investment in humanitarian assistance in just five weeks . This is not meant as an argument against military action . But it does suggest that we are forgetting the reason we are undertaking it . The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates there are more than 3 million Syrian refugees and projects that number will rise to 4.1 million by the end of 2014 . The U.S. State Department suggests the situation is even more dire . More than half of Syria 's population has been driven from their homes and nearly 6.5 million have been displaced within Syria . Nearly 11 million are in need of aid within Syria . If our justification for military intervention is to protect innocent Iraqis ( and presumably also Syrians ) , then U.S. humanitarian assistance should be at least equal to the costs of our military response . The UNHCR 's regional response plan for 2014 catalogs the range of basic human needs of these millions of displaced persons : protection , including protection from sexual violence , shelter , food , health care , water , sanitation and hygiene . Over the long term , the displaced will have to recover their livelihoods . Children will need to resume their basic education to prevent a `` lost generation '' of Syrian children . If the United States is going eventually to `` put boots on the ground , '' providing these basic needs in both the near and long term should be the primary mission of the courageous Americans who deploy to the region . The suffering ISIS -- and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- are inflicting on Iraqi and Syrian citizens might persist for years . If we do not get our priorities right now -- and properly make the case for rebalancing military and humanitarian expenditure in Syria -- then there is every reason to believe the much-needed cash for humanitarian assistance will dry up once the United States declares victory over ISIS and turns its attention elsewhere . That would compound an already horrific human tragedy . The United States has been militarily engaged in Iraq almost continually since the first Gulf War in 1991 , a span that might surprise many Americans . If there is a lesson to be learned from this experience , therefore , it should be that blunt U.S. military power can not stabilize the region , never mind secure peace . Humanitarian assistance on a much larger scale , in contrast , could help ease the suffering of millions who are caught in the vortex of this sectarian conflict . That is where our hearts should be -- and our treasure also .
U.S. airstrikes against ISIS costing around $ 52 million a week , # ##ey notes . United Nations says there are more than 3 million Syrian refugees . U.S. must place greater emphasis on humanitarian aid in Syria , he says .