# The failed Syrian rescue op - why make it public? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049 "2014-08-21T00:07:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049/21 "2014-08-25T10:45:24Z")
It seems a bit strange (the announcement) in that it has flagged to the terrorists that missions are underway to rescue captives. Would it not have been better to keep quiet and not alert them? ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049/22 "2014-08-25T10:55:30Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > It seems a bit strange (the announcement) in that it has flagged to the terrorists that missions are underway to rescue captives. Would it not have been better to keep quiet and not alert them? I have the feeling that the terrorists in question will assume by default that the US will try and rescue its nationals if it can. There are precedents, and with things like the mission to kill Bin Laden fresh in everybody’s memories… I think that acknowledging a past operation won’t be telling the terrorists anything they were not assuming anyway. (I understand that the mission failed because Foley’s captors moved him away to some other place than the one he had been before – obviously they were expecting some kind of action on the part of the US). ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049/23 "2014-08-25T13:44:01Z")
Any overt action taken by any governing body falls broadly within the sphere of Public Policy. So the contentious issue is the order to conceal something from the public which is, by its very nature, a matter of public concern. Everything the government does is, by definition, public, and explanations are only required when a public policy is removed from public view. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049/24 "2014-08-25T14:40:09Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Well now we find out how Obama missed the opportunity to get Foley… And if he’d authorized the mission 29 days earlier and a helicopter had been shot down you’d be decrying his cavalier attitude to being commander-in-chief. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049/25 "2014-08-25T15:25:15Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > It was secret for a while, there were no rumors of it, it wasn’t about to be disclosed due to a leak AFAIK The first story I read about this said it was about to be disclosed. ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049/26 "2014-08-25T18:38:43Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > It seems a bit strange (the announcement) in that it has flagged to the terrorists that missions are underway to rescue captives. Would it not have been better to keep quiet and not alert them? On the other hand, now they know that they might be targeted with a mission by US Special Forces - it may cause them to think twice before taking US citizens hostage. It may not stop it, but it may reduce them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-failed-syrian-rescue-op-why-make-it-public/696049.md?page=1)