The mother of a journalist who was tragically executed by the Islamic State group has expressed strong criticism of former President Barack Obama’s hostage policy in her forthcoming book.
Titled “American Mother,” the book narrates the life story of James Foley, a freelance journalist who was kidnapped and ultimately beheaded by the extremist organization in 2012 while covering the Syrian civil war. Co-authored by his mother, Diane Foley, and Irish writer Colum McCann, the book is set to be released in Britain in February and in the United States in March.
Foley’s execution video was used as propaganda by ISIS to promote their self-proclaimed “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq. During his harrowing 21-month captivity, his family tirelessly pleaded with the U.S. government for assistance.
“I was so mad. I quit my job, began traveling to Washington, trying to find help,” Diane Foley revealed during her visit to Paris for the book’s French release. “I was very naive. I didn’t know anything about government really. I just assumed that people were trying to help. And the reality was there was no one whose job it was to bring Jim home,” she lamented.
“They’d send me in circles. They lied to me. They were patronizing, big time.”
The Obama administration steadfastly adhered to its policy of refusing all hostage negotiations, even resorting to legal threats against families who attempted private negotiations.
In “American Mother,” Diane Foley discloses that other nations, including France, secured the release of their hostages from ISIS through covert ransom payments, a practice governments deny due to concerns that it might incentivize more hostage-taking.
Foley recounts a personal encounter with President Obama at the White House three months after her son’s tragic death. Despite the president assuring her that James had been his “number one priority,” she felt that the U.S. hostages had been abandoned by their own government, and her concerns were met with silence.
Over a decade later, she finds a measure of consolation in the fact that her son’s death played a role in changing U.S. policy. In 2015, the Obama administration started permitting negotiations with kidnappers (though not ransom payments), and crisis units were established to engage with hostage families. In 2020, a special envoy for hostages was established with bipartisan support.
Prior to these changes, U.S. policy had focused on attempting hostage rescues through special forces. However, if hostages from other nations were held in the same location, the U.S. would defer to its allies to conduct negotiations before considering rescue operations.
An attempted operation to save Foley and other hostages was made in July 2014, but they had been relocated since the last intelligence on their whereabouts.
Diane Foley also expressed her disappointment with President Obama’s approach, particularly when he extended condolences to her family while on vacation and was subsequently photographed playing golf. She openly acknowledges in the book that her emotions on the subject remain understandably raw.
Hence, she entrusted the writing of the book to Colum McCann, whose previous work, “Apeirogon,” became a bestseller and recounted the true story of two fathers, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who became peace activists after losing their children in the conflict. McCann had noticed a photo of Foley reading one of his books while he was still alive and had closely followed the case.
He emphasized the significance of this story, stating, “It’s an important story – about journalism, compassion, forgiveness, loss of a son, anger, and violence.”
