Raqqa's Dirty Little Secret

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6 years 4 months ago #306126 by Reacher
I am curious what your thoughts are on this:

A BBC story on the evacuation of Raqqa

I've been unplugged from this for a bit, so I don't know any specifics. I'm curious to know who decided to go that route, how, and why. It seems like an attempt at balance...but at what cost to the future? I hope this is part of a release-and-catch effort similar to those police departments that avoid danger to the public by avoiding high speed chases - only to catch the offender later in a safer environ.

I suppose time will tell.

Jedi Knight

The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.

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6 years 4 months ago #306130 by
Replied by on topic Raqqa's Dirty Little Secret
I don't know if I have much to add to this conversation and I'm also not sure what I really think of this story. I have also been very distant from the movements of IS but the story you linked here was frightening in a way. The fact that IS have something planned that we don't know about becomes very frightening out of fear of the unknown.
One take away I have from this is that if I feel like they need to be stopped then there must be millions of people that agree with me. I place my faith in the Force to guide the Men and Women who are fighting this real-life nightmare. Again, I don't have much to share but i would like to see if there is something we can do as a people to help those fighting those in danger. Would be interested to know if you can donate to certain charities that help out those affected.

Thank you for sharing!

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6 years 4 months ago #306135 by Adder
Replied by Adder on topic Raqqa's Dirty Little Secret

In light of the BBC investigation, the coalition now admits the part it played in the deal. Some 250 IS fighters were allowed to leave Raqqa, with 3,500 of their family members.

“We didn’t want anyone to leave,” says Col Ryan Dillon, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the Western coalition against IS.

“But this goes to the heart of our strategy, ‘by, with and through’ local leaders on the ground. It comes down to Syrians – they are the ones fighting and dying, they get to make the decisions regarding operations,” he says.

While a Western officer was present for the negotiations, they didn’t take an “active part” in the discussions. Col Dillon maintains, though, that only four foreign fighters left and they are now in SDF custody.


I guess perhaps they can only focus on those they can easily prosecute, hence the focus on 'foreign' fighters. They might well have let local fighters leave..... I guess, and let the enroute and destination countries deal with the passage and presence as it happens when it happens if it happens. Certainly not ideal, but given the exodus away from the Russian-Syrian campaign efforts (seemed to be mass destruction)... I'm not sure the Coalition forces had enough resources to manage the flood of refugees (legitimate and illegitimate) escaping the fall of the Syrian rebellion.

Knight ~ introverted extropian, mechatronic neurothealogizing, technogaian buddhist. Likes integration, visualization, elucidation and transformation.
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6 years 4 months ago #306199 by
Replied by on topic Raqqa's Dirty Little Secret
Adder, this particular exodus was from Raqqa, the self proclaimed capital of the Caliphate. The city was bombed to rubble by coalition aircraft in support of the YPG led SDF. The SAA backed by Russia were occupied elsewhere in Raqqa province.
The Daesh fighters were likely provided passage out by Turkeys military. ISIL has support corridors through Turkey and many sympathizers in Government and Military. Otherwise Daesh fled the city hidden among refugees. Many were caught by YPG and are currently detained.
The UK Home Office expects many hundreds of Britons will return to the UK. Arrangements are already being made to provide them with accommodation and financial assistance. It appears that the UK Home Office feels that this might dissuade returning Jihadis from carrying out attacks on British soil. Brits who served in the YPG in Rojava (Syria Kurdistan ) and Peshmerga (Iraq Kurdistan) are being hounded by UK authorities on return home.
It is no secret that the west played a sort of game where they hit ISIL enough to hurt but not enough to reduce their capacity to fight Assad. In addition the Kurds were only really armed in the last year with Obamas departure. The previous administration provided air support but were mindful not to arm the Kurds to the extent that it angered Turkey. The Turks view the YPG as terrorists. I have friends from the UK, US and Australia who serbed with the YPG and were bombed by Turks while fighting ISIL.
Soon the Kurds will face Turkey and Assad and fight for their survival. The west will abandon and betray them. It already did to the Kurds in Iraq by arming the Iranian backed Hash’d Militia and giving Baghdad the nod to attack Kirkuk after the referendum.
Everyone criticizes Russia for it support of Assad however at least the Russians stick by their allies and take active measures to broker peace in Syria. The US and UK have done nothing but flame the war from the start and throw money and weapons to “moderates” we used to call Al Qaeda. Meanwhile throwing crumbs to the Kurds who are the only side keen for a pluralistic, inclusive, gender equal and secular democracy.

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