After hostage rescue fails, no-negotiation policy is questioned

December 8, 2014 

Nancy A. Youssef 
McClatchy Washington Bureau 
Displayed with permission from MCT Information Services 

 

 WASHINGTON — Two days after an American hostage was killed during a failed rescue mission in Yemen, a member of Congress questioned on Monday the U.S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists, saying that approach leaves highly risky military operations as the only means to bring an American back alive.

In a letter obtained by McClatchy, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who\’s pushed the administration to reconsider its approach to hostages, wrote that a lack of communication among the various government agencies involved when Americans are kidnapped overseas — the FBI, the State Department, the National Security Council and the intelligence community — means important information that could improve the chances of an American surviving captivity diminish.