The White House has quietly ordered a review of the way the it handles overseas hostage-taking in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of a string of US citizens by Islamic State extremists in Syria.
Though insisting it will not reconsider a long-standing US policy against paying ransoms, officials revealed on Tuesday that Barack Obama had ordered the review over the summer, most likely following the death of American journalist James Foley in August.
Press secretary Josh Earnest said it was focused on making sure different branches of government coordinated more effectively with the families of American hostages and in seeking their release.
“Given sort of the extraordinary nature of some of the hostage-takings that we’ve seen this year, the president felt it was warranted to direct the relevant departments and agencies who have traditionally been involved in assisting families as they try to recover the safe return of their family members,” he told reporters.
“So, this is something that the Department of Defense, State, the FBI and intelligence community have been reviewing.”
Foley’s family were sharply critical of the FBI’s handling of their son’s capture, and Obama later apologised for appearing insensitive by playing golf immediately after making public comments mourning his death.
But Earnest made a point of stressing that the review, first revealed by The Daily Beast, would not touch on the issue that has most vexed many families.
“This review does not include a reconsideration about long-standing policy of the United States government that ransoms should not be paid to terrorist organisations that are holding hostages,” he said.
“But this is obviously an issue that the president takes very seriously. We have long said, and we continue to take the view, that significant resources have in the past been dedicated to trying to ensure the safe return of American citizens who are being held hostage overseas.”
