
A deal that let hundreds of IS fighters and their families escape from Raqqa - throwaway8184
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/raqqas_dirty_secret
======
status
People are still in denial of the double game US government is playing in
Syria. The same way one couldn't deny that US government trained and supplied
Talibans with stinger rockets. The very same people that now US condemn as
terrorist and fight with. The Talibans were the good freedom fighters when
they fought with Russia now they are the bad once what is this?

"It also seems like you're willfully ignoring the history about the US allying
with the Taliban during the Soviet invasion." Nope you are ignoring the fact
that US is applying military force to keep the pro-western government in
Afghanistan otherwise it will be long time gone. Isn't that an invasion?

~~~
tryingagainbro
No Iranian and no Russian influence. ISIS and others may seem as a temporary
thing that will go away after a few bombings but keeping Russia out of ME and
Iran contained is very important. Israel wants the same, coincidentally ;)

~~~
Udik
What they really want is having no semblance of a state that might have
interests conflicting with those of a few friends, namely Israel and Saudi
Arabia. Anything else, including pure chaos, terrorism, misery and starvation
seems to be a perfectly acceptable alternative.

------
frandroid
Basically, either you let ISIS escape, or you completely flatten the city to
get rid of them. I mean considering the way Raqqa looks now, I'm not sure it
was effective in preventing much destruction, but if you have an opportunity
to save a large city, you try to.

~~~
odiroot
How about arrest and question them?

~~~
konart
You'll have to fight and most likely kill them in the process. Not to mention
they are using human shields

------
jacobr
This was an agreement between local tribes and the Syrian Democratic Forces to
limit the already immense destruction of Raqqa and protect civilians that were
held as human shields.

If the Syrian Democratic Forces and the US to just say "No survivors!" and
release the MOAB they would likely have a very hard time gaining the trust of
the local tribes and communities in the future.

"This was a local solution to local issue. Coalition did not fully agree, but
respected our partners decision." \-
[https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/930166228727066626](https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/930166228727066626)

~~~
w458cmau
Is it a local issue if those who were let go (with weapons and ammunition)
immediately take up their weapons in a different part of the region?

------
alain_gilbert
I cannot find any specific date on this article.

I wonder if it is the same convoy. [http://www.bestgore.com/murder/video-isis-
convoy-safe-evacua...](http://www.bestgore.com/murder/video-isis-convoy-safe-
evacuation-raqqa-thank-wp-cover-us-military/)

I would say no since the article says:

    
    
        No flags or banners would be allowed to be flown from the convoy as it left the city, the deal stipulated
    

Otherwise, this kind of escape date from june 13, 2017.

Edit: The article says "But when he and his fellow drivers assembled their
convoy early on 12 October"

~~~
arlk
This is an old video from Deir Al-Zoor and it says in Arabic 'Caliphate army
mobilizing to assist Deir Al-zoor'. Not from Raqqa. Citing Al-Masdar
propaganda website should be enough to know how credible is this.

~~~
alain_gilbert
I'm not very knowledgeable about all of this.

But looking at the map, it seems like Deir Al-zoor is more or less where they
said the convoy went. (Sections of convoy later spotted here)

Saying "mobilizing to assist Deir Al-zoor" sounds better (on a IS point of
view) than "evacuating Raqqah".

------
gumby
Did anyone even read that article? You have to scroll a lot to get a tiny
fragment of text, so I gave up.

It must be depressing to be a BBC writer and then see your hard work shredded
into tiny chunks.

------
thebiglebrewski
I was listening to this on NPR and saw that they also allowed them to take 10
trucks of weapons with them...I mean...couldn't they have just targeted those
trucks once the convoy left? I don't get it.

------
Dolores12
It was so nice of United States to make sure none of ISIS fighters were
harmed. It is just unbelievable. They make deals with terrorists.

~~~
chmod775
I never understood how any armed muslim automatically becomes a "terrorist" in
the eyes of the world. Most ISIS fighters aren't terrorists.

~~~
type0
> Most ISIS fighters aren't terrorists.

What are they then, freedom fighters?

~~~
chmod775
They're a militant group, and they claim to be a state, though they are
unrecognized.

I don't even understand how the label "terrorist" applies to the lot of them.

It's like everyone has forgotten what the term terrorist means. We might as
well change the dictionary definition to "armed muslim" now.

~~~
walshemj
Burning people alive, attacking civilian targets to cause fear and panic and
lack of trust in the civilian authorities - that's exactly what classic
terrorism is.

------
cloakandswagger
Not sure how much of a secret this really was. One of these convoys got stuck
in the Syrian desert on its way to Iraq and was widely reported on.

~~~
ezconnect
That's a different convoy, from Lebanon and it's in southern Syria.

------
jankotek
> _US jet flew very low and deployed flares to light up the area. IS fighters
> shat their pants._

.....%$#%^

