Obama: US government let down hostages’ families

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama conceded Wednesday that the US government had let down the families of Americans held hostage by terrorists and promised they would not face criminal prosecution for paying ransoms to their loved ones’ captors.

The review was sparked by sharp criticism of the Obama administration from families of Americans kidnapped by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other groups. Families have complained about receiving confusing and contradictory information from the government and bristled at threats of prosecution for considering paying terrorists to secure the release of hostages.

“These families have already suffered enough and they should never feel ignored or victimized by their own government,” Obama said as he detailed the results of a six-month review of US hostage policy.

Four Americans have been killed while being held by the Islamic State since last summer: journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

Sotloff, who was Jewish and grew up in Miami, published articles from Syria, Egypt and Libya in various publications, including Time, the World Affairs Journal and Foreign Policy. He had deep roots in Israel, and held Israeli citizenship.

After the release of gruesome videos showing the beheadings of some hostages, Obama approved an airstrike campaign against IS in Iraq and Syria.

A number of Americans being held by jihadists have also been killed during US military actions in the region, including Warren Weinstein, an American held by al-Qaeda, who was accidentally killed by a US drone strike against a terrorist compound in Pakistan.

Al-Qaeda claimed the Jewish aid worker had converted to Islam in captivity before his death in April.

Luke Somers, an American journalist kidnapped in Yemen, was killed during a failed US rescue attempt.

Obama indicated his government would still refuse to pay ransoms, fearing that would help fund extremist organizations like the Islamic State group and would make US citizens more of a target.

But his administration will no longer oppose talks with captors or threaten families with prosecution if they try to raise a ransom on their own.

“There have been times where our government, regardless of good intentions, has let them down,” Obama said after hosting around 40 former hostages and relatives at the White House.

“I promised them that we can do better.”

Some have complained that the government’s policy has cost American lives, and that hostages from some European countries are often freed because ransom payments are made.

“Families feel that they’ve been threatened for exploring certain options to bring their loved ones home. That’s totally unacceptable,” said Obama.

Around 30 American hostages remain in captivity, held by drug cartels, criminal gangs and by prominent Middle East jihadist groups.

By clearing the way for payment of ransom without fear of criminal charges, Obama is essentially allowing families to take actions the US government has long said put Americans at risk. While the government will continue to abide by prohibitions on paying ransoms or making other concessions to terrorists, the Justice Department indicated it would ignore the law in situations involving families.

European governments routinely pay ransom to win the release of hostages. However, Obama and his predecessors have argued that policy provides terrorists with funds to fuel dangerous activities and puts Americans at greater risk of kidnapping.

Critics of the White House review argue that allowing families to do what the government will not could lead to those same troubling consequences.

“We have had a policy in the United States for over 200 years of not paying ransom and not negotiating with terrorists,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “The concern that I have is that by lifting that long-held principle you could be endangering more Americans here and overseas.”

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he, too, worries that paying ransom could encourage terrorism. But McCain, who met Wednesday with the family of Mueller, an Arizona woman killed after being kidnapped by the Islamic State, added that “to tell a family member — as this administration did — that they could go to jail is unconscionable.”

In addition to participating in a humanitarian mission to Syria, Mueller worked with Arab communities throughout the West Bank and Israel. The jihadist group claimed Mueller was killed by a Jordanian airstrike.

White House officials drew a distinction between the concessions private individuals could make to terrorists, which are largely financial, and the more wide-ranging deals the US government could strike, including military activity and other foreign policy priorities.

Still, officials acknowledged that allowing some concessions and banning others could be perceived as a contradictory policy.

“There’s no doubt that the payment of ransoms fuels the very activity that we are trying to stop,” said Lisa Monaco, the president’s top counterterrorism adviser. “At the same time we’ve got a responsibility to stand with families as they make the most difficult decisions we could ever imagine.”

Ahead of his public comments, Obama held an emotional private meeting with former hostages, as well as families of Americans currently being held and those who have been freed or killed in captivity.

In his remarks, Obama apologetically relayed a litany of complaints from victims who felt lost in government bureaucracy, facing uncoordinated departments and conflicting information.

“Today my message to anyone who harms Americans is that we do not forget. Our reach is long, justice will be done,” he said.

Despite the ban on the US government making concessions to terrorists, the Obama administration did negotiate with the Taliban last year to win the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured after walking away from his post in Afghanistan. Five Guantanamo Bay detainees were exchanged as a condition of his release.

White House officials say those negotiations were permissible because Obama sees a special responsibility to leave no American service member behind on the battlefield.

The Mueller, Kassig and Sotloff families issued a joint statement saying they “have faith that the changes announced today will lead to increased success in bringing our citizens home.”

“The changes are a step in the right direction; we’re hopeful they will make a difference for families and their friends and loved ones facing this horror currently and in the future,” they said.

Foley’s parents released a statement Wednesday night saying: “We want to commend the hostage review team for their in-depth evaluation of the American hostage issue. We applaud their willingness to examine the previously inadequate response to the kidnapping of American citizens abroad.”

In a step aimed at streamlining communications with families, Obama also announced the creation of a “Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell” that will coordinate recovery efforts among various government agencies. Some families had pushed for the new office to be based at the White House, but it will be at the FBI.

The president said it was “totally unacceptable” that hostages’ families had felt lost in the bureaucracy and he said the fusion cell would be an important step in rectifying that problem.