The recent execution of James Foley has raised the debate of whether nations should pay the ransom fees to terrorists in exchange for the safety of those held captive. It is known that several European countries did, in fact, secure the safety of their journalists by paying large sums to the Islamic State; however, the U.S. and the U.K. have firmly refused to do so. That is not to say that there were no efforts given to help the hostages: The U.S. government attempted to save Foley with a secret raid in a bid to save the American journalist and others. The raid unfortunately failed due to the fact that the hostages were not at that given location in that moment of time.
Many critics have argued that the United States of America failed Foley and that more could have been done to prevent his death and that this is a natural reaction. However, the decision not to negotiate with terrorists is the right one. Fear is the most powerful weapon that terrorists use to control other nations, and they want to create a scenario in which they impose the consequences of the decisions made.
Paying the ransom has far more implications than just settling the freedom of an innocent. Research has indicated that kidnapping increases in response to payments. Al-Qaida has seized more than 50 foreign citizens in the last five years, and the price for their releases has progressively increased. A decade ago, it was about $200,000 per hostage, and in recent times the highest stated payment is $10 million. In this particular case, ISIS demanded $132 million for Foley’s release.
It is not even about the money. Although $132 million seems a lot, a human life is priceless. Not paying the ransom fees eliminates a crucial motive for kidnapping foreign nationals to begin with and prevents terrorist groups from obtaining huge sums of money.
Furthermore, one is not just encouraging the kidnapping market by negotiating with terrorists, but also financing ISIS’s war and its brutalities against the civilians. ISIS uses ransom money to fund the full range of their activities, such as recruiting and indoctrinating new members, paying salaries, establishing training camps, acquiring weapons and communications gear and carrying out deadly attacks. Al-Qaida acquired at least $125 million in ransoms within the last five years, with $66 million last year alone. Large sums of money are just the beginning in terms of what these terrorist groups will demand. It has been reported that ISIS have at least another three American hostages that they are threatening to execute as well as a number of Brits. The New York Times has stated that ISIS has “sent a laundry list of demands for the release of the foreigners, starting with money but also [including] prisoner swaps.”
It is impossible to imagine the horrifying circumstances in which these hostages and their families are put through. Despite this, it is evident that every time a ransom is paid for one reporter, it is regrettable to put a price tag on the next one. There is only one option to eliminate this never-ending cycle, and that is to make the kidnapping market worthless. That means refusing to pay.
