Friday, September 12, 2014

Brother of Beheaded American Journalist James Foley: State Department Threatened Us

In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly last night on the Kelly File the brother of beheaded American journalist James "Jim" Foley, Michael Foley, expressed disappointment over how the Obama administration is handling the threat of terror army ISIS and in the administration's handling of his brother's capture leading up to his death. - Katie Pavlich/Townhall

In reacting to President Obama's speech earlier this week, Foley said he wanted to see a more involved strategy put on the table to stabilize the region. Further in reaction to a question posed by Kelly about whether the Obama administration did everything it could to bring James Foley home, especially after the Bowe Bergdahl swap and comments by Obama saying Americans leave no man behind, Michael Foley said his family is "appalled" by the situation. Foley also talked about how he was threatened directly by the State Department and said that when the family tried to get information from the U.S. government or from other allies, they were stonewalled.
Kelly: I'm wondering if you feel he [Obama] and the administration did all they could to get Jim back.

Foley: No, no. We're appalled by the situation and you know, it went past not doing everything they could, they were actually in impedance and got in our way and that's what really bothers me to the core. We were, I was specifically threatened by the Department of State about raising funds toward ransom demands for my brother. We were smart enough to look past it but it slowed us down. We lost a lot of time trying to regroup.
Paying ransom: the families versus the governmentNeoneocon/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

Therein lies the terrible ethical, emotional, and practical dilemma. By paying ransoms, the behavior of the terrorists is rewarded, more kidnappings of Americans occur, and our enemies grow richer. Plus, there is no guarantee that a group such as ISIS is actually serious about such negotiations.

Every now and then the Obama administration gets it right, and this is one of those times. However, Obama’s staff being who they are, they were probably especially cold and insensitive in communicating with the families. That being said, it’s not clear that under the circumstances there would have been any acceptable way to say “no,” or that any approach short of complete cooperation would not raise the families’ ire and frustration....