President Biden, it’s time to bring our hostages home

August 19 is the ninth anniversary of the brutal beheading of my son, journalist James W. Foley, by ISIS. His public murder sent shockwaves around the world, as ISIS’s brutality exposed the vulnerability of U.S. nationals working and traveling internationally.

As it happens, Aug. 19 is also the first anniversary of the sentencing of El Shafee Elsheikh, one of the ISIS terrorists who kidnapped and tortured Jim before his beheading. It was a rare but decisive moment of accountability for a hostage-taker, and the best of American justice.

I felt deep gratitude for the FBI agents and prosecutors who brought him to justice but angst for other American families whose loved ones are still being held captive overseas.

The intentional targeting of U.S. nationals and their subsequent kidnapping or wrongful detention abroad continues to be a national security threat. It is a growing crisis, with nation states now the leading culprits and the U.S. government without a national deterrence strategy.

Jim was kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day 2012 while reporting in northern Syria. He was tortured for two years before his murder. While Jim and three other Americans were being held by ISIS, the U.S. government refused to engage with their captors. As the French, Spanish and Italian governments successfully negotiated the freedom of their citizens held by ISIS, the U.S. effectively abandoned its own citizens.

Thanks to the moral outcry of many Americans, then-President Barack Obama ordered a comprehensive review that resulted in the creation of a U.S. “hostage enterprise,” a structure that has successfully brought home 122 American captives over the last nine years. 

Nevertheless, the threat to Americans traveling or working abroad continues. Americans are now increasingly targeted and wrongfully held by nation states, particularly our adversaries: China, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela. Recent unlawful arrests of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and Olympic athlete Britney Griner in Russia illustrate the challenge. 

We must continue to ask: Will our government prioritize the return of innocent Americans targeted and kidnapped abroad for nothing more than being American? Can our country put its people above policies and politics? 

We ignored the plight of the four Americans taken hostage by ISIS in Syria from 2012 through 2014. They were the very best of America. My son Jim and fellow freelance journalist Steven Sotloff reported the ground truth of Syrians’ fight for freedom, while aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller helped those suffering amid the conflict.

The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation firmly believes that our country could and should do better to prioritize the freedom of our people held captive abroad. 

The Foundation’s research reveals 59 publicly acknowledged cases of innocent U.S. nationals held captive abroad, with hundreds more that are kept private. Ninety percent of these cases are wrongful detentions. Additionally, our people are being held longer. For example:

• China has wrongfully detained the Rev. David Lin for 16 years, Mark Swidan for 11 years, and Kai Li for seven years. 
• Iran has held Iranian American businessmen Siamak Namazi for eight years and Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz for five years each. These three are now under house arrest and may be part of a reported prisoner exchange. Shahab Dalili, after seven years, remains in prison.
• Russia is wrongfully detaining Paul Whelan, holding him for five years, and Evan Gershkovich has been in custody since earlier this year. 
• Venezuela holds attorney Eyvin Hernandez, computer expert Jerrel Kenemore, and Airan Berry and Luke Denman — both former Green Berets.
• Syria has held journalist Austin Tice for 11 years and psychologist Majd Kamalmaz for six.
• The United Arab Emirates has held businessman Zach Shahin for 15 years.

These vulnerable Americans are counting on us to bring them home.

It breaks my heart to witness the continued anguish of families with loved ones held hostage or wrongfully detained. The desperation of ever longer imprisonment of our citizens and legal permanent residents prompted 15 families last year to launch the Bring Our Families Home campaign. To help advocate for their loved ones, this group designed a Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag (akin to the POW flag) that we challenge Congress to make an official symbol. 

This Oct. 18 would have been Jim’s 50th birthday. Let us come together as a country to raise awareness of our compatriots wasting away in prisons overseas. We must have the moral courage to prioritize the safe return of our people. We must have the courage to persistently engage in shrewd dialogue with our adversaries. We must have the audacity to use all tools – ransom as lure, prisoner exchanges, whatever it takes — to bring our people home and relentlessly seek accountability and increase deterrence. 

Jim aspired to be a man of moral courage. Let us be inspired by the moral courage of Jim, Steven, Peter and Kayla and — as a nation — make the freedom of our people our highest priority. 

Diane Foley is the founding president of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation.