Obama orders review of US hostage policy

After James Foley, an American journalist working in Syria, was beheaded by members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in August, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., wrote to President Barack Obama urging him to do more to save the lives of other American’s still in captivity abroad.

“I have repeatedly urged you and the Defense Department to direct a long-term position within the Pentagon … to guarantee we are maximizing our recovery efforts,” Hunter said in the letter dated Aug. 20, 2014 and published by several news sites this week.

On Monday, the White House confirmed that Obama has ordered a review of how the U.S. government handles the cases of Americans detained abroad.

Since Foley, two more Americans have been executed by ISIL, along with a British aid worker. Most recent was Peter Kassig, an American who had converted to Islam and was doing humanitarian work for refugees in Syria. The group is reportedly still holding a 26-year-old American woman.

The U.S., along with Britain and Australia, refuse, as a matter of policy, to pay ransoms to secure the release of citizens held hostage. While Obama’s review has yet to conclude, his administration is unlikely to change that policy.

In a Nov. 11 response to Hunter, Christine Wormuth, the Undersecretary of Defense, said the review would focus specifically “on examining family engagement, intelligence collection and diplomatic engagement policies.”

“This review will seek to integrate innovative and non-traditional solutions to result in recommended actions to improve interagency coordination,” Wormuth wrote, adding that the government “will continue to leverage all feasible means to secure the release of U.S. persons held abroad.”

Following Foley’s death, his parents John and Diane have criticized the U.S. government’s handling of their son’s case.

“Along the way, we would have appreciated more in-depth communication with respect to his status,” John Foley said. “We were told for a year and a half that Jim’s situation was a high priority, that everything possible was being done, but they couldn’t tell us anything because it was all classified.”

Addressing John Foley’s concerns, National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey said the U.S. was in some cases bound by the classified nature of intelligence.

“While we are not in a position to detail every effort or every tool we are using to try to bring American hostages home, we will continue to bring all appropriate military, intelligence, law enforcement and diplomatic capabilities to bear to recover American hostages.”

Still, John Foley has said that cooperating with ISIL by paying the millions of dollars in ransom the group demanded in return for his son might not have changed the outcome.

It may never have been ISIL’s desire to release the Americans, Foley said last month. “Their hate is so deep that it just may have wanted to terrorize and taunt us. So, I can’t say for sure. But without the effort, without the willingness to negotiate, we really don’t know.”

A rift has grown between some European governments and the British and U.S. administrations over the Europeans’ apparent agreement to pay ransoms to free their citizens. “The Europeans have a lot to answer for. It’s a completely two-faced policy,” former U.S. diplomat Vicki Huddleston told the New York Times. “They pay ransoms and then deny any was paid.”

David S. Cohen, U.S. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Treasury Department, said recently that "kidnapping for ransom has become today's most significant source of terrorist funding because it has proven itself a frighteningly successful tactic," and that it provided incentives for more kidnappings to occur. Already, the State Department has warned Americans traveling abroad to be aware of possible kidnapping attempts by ISIL members.

According to the New York Times, France has spent the most on ransoms, over $58 million, followed by Switzerland, with $12.4 million. Qatar and Oman together spent $20.4 million on behalf of European countries, and Spain some $11 million.

“I think we really need to have a serious discussion to review these policies,” John Foley told reporters in October. “Are they the right path in this point of time? This issue of kidnapping is not going to go away. I would hate to see other young men and women sacrificed arbitrarily based on a policy.”