I've been considering this since the weekend and I am slightly puzzled and concerned. I watched the women of the Kurdish militias who are fighting ISIS on the ground in admiration while simultaneously recognising that their strength can also only lead eventually to a resurgent Kurdish independence movement. Where does it stop?
According to Wikipedia and The Guardian [which admittedly doesn't mean anything giving it's totally conflicting reports] the pre-war population of Raqqa was 220,000 people [census 2004 & 2012] though the province [7500 sq m] was almost 1m
220k
www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/30/raqqa-isis-capital-crucifixions-civilians-suffer-jihadis-red-bull
1m to 400k
www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/21/islamic-state-capital-raqqa-syria-isis
So let's assume for a second that the 400k population is erroneous and the 220k is correct. The place has been bombed to bits for years and anecdotal evidence suggests that Isis have tortured the residents there for some time over every real or imagined transgression. You have to assume that those with the means and/or working legs have left.
The population of Syria in 2010 was 22m and the number of refugees 12m so over 50% of the population have left??
www.worldvision.org/news-stories-videos/syria-war-refugee-crisis
[don't google Raqqa images unless you have a very strong stomach]
So my best case estimate is that there is at most 100k people still living in Raqqa and perhaps as few as 75k. Isis are estimated at sub 8,000 personnel in broadsheet reports.
Even with precision bombing that's a lot of civilians still to avoid. What they want in terms of support is unknown. A ground war is clearly an intolerable solution for western nations due to the casualties that would ensue in another middle east war, not to mention what President Asad's forces might do with an invading force with a clear intention to replace Asad while destroying Isis. There is no right answer but bombing from the sky above can only breed a new generation of people who hate the west for the death of their loved ones, regardless of how well targeted those bombs are.
I wish I could come up with a view that is unconflicted and straightforward so I could support a side, change my facebook profile to the French flag temporarily and not be too embarrassed to do so given the widespread lack of similar support for middle east nations who deal with this sort of thing daily.
The only positive thing that I feel I can contribute is to support the refugees in any way I can so that when the time is right to return if they wish, they can build a better Syria. While the numbers on the borders of Europe are enormous, the Lebanon and Jordan are overwhelmed. Millions of people are living in dire poverty without proper homes, education and opportunity. This is likely to persist for years and international efforts to assist and the long term benefits of doing so must be acknowledged?