“More Questions and Less Answers”: The American Hostage Dilemma

Indianapolis, IN

The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS), or DAESH, resulted in the increased number of American citizens being held hostage and murdered while they were in captivity. These American citizens include Butler University's Peter Abdul-Rahman Kassig, James Foley and Kayla Mueller. All of these citizens died in captivity. This research will provide a brief history on American policy regarding hostage negotiations and how American policy has changed through history and ignored in recent history. This research will include primary sources, conversations between the hostages, quotes received from media sources and peer reviewed secondary sources. Following the brief history of hostage negotiations from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror, this paper will provide a policy argument on the merits of negotiating with hostage seekers in order to free all American citizens held in captivity throughout the globe.