The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, recently
beheaded two American Journalists in Syria.
Journalists who had been held by ISIS for
an extended period prior to their execution.
Which brings up a troubling question: How
many Americans are currently being held by
terrorist groups or hostile states?
The answer, however unsettling it may be,
is that we simply don’t know.
The United States Government’s official
policy is to not negotiate with terrorists.
That policy is intended to discourage people
from kidnapping civilians, by taking the possibility
of a reward out of the equation.
Which is great in theory, but not that effective
in practice.
Kidnapping westerners can be a very lucrative
business, and US nationals working in hostile
areas are kidnapped fairly regularly, although
the general public isn’t usually given a
lot of information about it.
As of right now, these are the American citizens
who we know - for sure - were kidnapped abroad,
and are most likely still being held hostage
today.
American Citizen Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian
husband have been held by the Taliban in Afghanistan
since 2012, presumably along with their newborn
baby.
Caitlin was pregnant at the time of her abduction.
Former FBI Agent and current CIA contractor
Robert Levison was kidnapped in 2007 in Iran,
by an unknown group, though there are indications
that the Iranian Government was involved.
The Iranian government has been holding Catholic
missionary Saeed Abedini since 2012, for charges
stemming from his missionary work.
They’ve also been holding former U.S. Marine
Amir Hekmati since 2011, who they accuse of
being a US spy.
USAID contractor Warren Weinstein was taken
from his home in Pakistan by Al Qaeda in 2011.
He’s most likely being held in the mountainous
region bordering Afghanistan.
USAID contractor Alan Gross has been imprisoned
in Cuba by the Cuban government since 2009.
They accuse him of being a CIA operative.
The North Korean government is currently holding
three Americans in captivity, with similar
accusations of spying or subversive acts.
In Syria, freelance journalist Austin Tice
(Tise) was kidnapped in August 2012, most
likely by the Syrian government.
Reports are still unclear, though, and no
demands have been made by any group.
Also in Syria, ISIS is holding at least two
other Americans, and while we don’t have
a lot of information on who they are or how
they were captured, we do know that one of
them is a 26-year-old female humanitarian
worker.
Jeffrey Ake (“Ache”), a water bottling
contractor, was kidnapped in Iraq in 2005.
Demands were made, but we can’t be sure
who was making them - and the trail has since
gone cold.
7 other American citizens were also kidnapped
in Iraq around the same time, all of whom
are now presumed dead.
That is by no means a comprehensive list.
As we said at the top, the US does not officially
negotiate with terrorists.
So, a lot of the information on abducted individuals
is kept from the general public.
But the problem is very real.
One estimate from a Men’s Journal article
recently published claims that at least 86
journalists of varying nationalities have
been kidnapped in the past three years in
Syria; more than 20 of whom are still unaccounted
for.
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