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| Obama Ordering Changes in U.S. Hostage Policies | Obama Ordering Changes in U.S. Hostage Policies |
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| WASHINGTON — President Obama will announce Wednesday that the government will no longer threaten criminal prosecution of the families of American hostages who are held abroad by groups like the Islamic State if they try to pay ransom for the release of their loved ones. | WASHINGTON — President Obama will announce Wednesday that the government will no longer threaten criminal prosecution of the families of American hostages who are held abroad by groups like the Islamic State if they try to pay ransom for the release of their loved ones. |
| The change is part of a broad overhaul he is ordering to fix what the administration has acknowledged is a broken policy on United States captives, senior administration officials said. | The change is part of a broad overhaul he is ordering to fix what the administration has acknowledged is a broken policy on United States captives, senior administration officials said. |
| In a presidential directive and an executive order enshrining the changes, Mr. Obama also plans to make it clear that while he is keeping a longstanding federal prohibition against making concessions to those who take hostages, the government can communicate and negotiate with captors holding Americans or help family members seeking to do so in order to ensure their safe return. | In a presidential directive and an executive order enshrining the changes, Mr. Obama also plans to make it clear that while he is keeping a longstanding federal prohibition against making concessions to those who take hostages, the government can communicate and negotiate with captors holding Americans or help family members seeking to do so in order to ensure their safe return. |
| The policy directive will for the first time make official and public what has long been the United States government’s unspoken practice in some hostage cases, but one that has been inconsistently applied and poorly understood both inside federal agencies and among family members desperate to win the release of their relatives. | The policy directive will for the first time make official and public what has long been the United States government’s unspoken practice in some hostage cases, but one that has been inconsistently applied and poorly understood both inside federal agencies and among family members desperate to win the release of their relatives. |
| “There was tremendous confusion” about the policy, previously laid out in classified documents, one senior administration official said, describing the changes on the condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement. “We needed to clarify that even as we have a no-concessions policy, we do not abandon families during a horrific ordeal.” | “There was tremendous confusion” about the policy, previously laid out in classified documents, one senior administration official said, describing the changes on the condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement. “We needed to clarify that even as we have a no-concessions policy, we do not abandon families during a horrific ordeal.” |
| The prosecution threats, the official added, “should never have happened.” | The prosecution threats, the official added, “should never have happened.” |
| American officials negotiated a swap to win the freedom of Bowe Bergdahl from his captors in Afghanistan, trading five Taliban detainees held at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. But they have told the families of hostages held by the Islamic State and Al Qaeda that the “no concessions” policy prevented them even from talking about potential terms of release in those cases, and warned that relatives could face criminal charges for offering ransoms themselves. | American officials negotiated a swap to win the freedom of Bowe Bergdahl from his captors in Afghanistan, trading five Taliban detainees held at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. But they have told the families of hostages held by the Islamic State and Al Qaeda that the “no concessions” policy prevented them even from talking about potential terms of release in those cases, and warned that relatives could face criminal charges for offering ransoms themselves. |
| At times, families were given conflicting messages, as in the case of Theo Padnos, who was held by the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda for nearly two years before his release last summer. His mother, Nancy Curtis, has said the State Department told her she could be prosecuted should she try to pay a ransom, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation offered to help her execute such a transaction. | At times, families were given conflicting messages, as in the case of Theo Padnos, who was held by the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda for nearly two years before his release last summer. His mother, Nancy Curtis, has said the State Department told her she could be prosecuted should she try to pay a ransom, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation offered to help her execute such a transaction. |
| As part of the overhaul, the Department of Justice will issue a written statement noting that the government has never prosecuted a family for paying a ransom and “does not intend to add to the families’ pain in such cases by suggesting they could face criminal prosecution,” a report describing the changes will say, according to the officials familiar with it, who would detail it only on the condition of anonymity. | As part of the overhaul, the Department of Justice will issue a written statement noting that the government has never prosecuted a family for paying a ransom and “does not intend to add to the families’ pain in such cases by suggesting they could face criminal prosecution,” a report describing the changes will say, according to the officials familiar with it, who would detail it only on the condition of anonymity. |
| Still, the overhaul will not fulfill one of the most urgent requests of hostages’ families: that the White House name a single, senior-level coordinator — or “hostage czar” — accountable to the president, with primary responsibility across the federal government for freeing American captives. Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill quickly announced plans to try to create such a position. | Still, the overhaul will not fulfill one of the most urgent requests of hostages’ families: that the White House name a single, senior-level coordinator — or “hostage czar” — accountable to the president, with primary responsibility across the federal government for freeing American captives. Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill quickly announced plans to try to create such a position. |
| “We want one person who’s responsible for implementing the U.S. policies and who can keep the families informed and be available to them,” said Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, who introduced legislation Tuesday with Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, to create the post. | “We want one person who’s responsible for implementing the U.S. policies and who can keep the families informed and be available to them,” said Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, who introduced legislation Tuesday with Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, to create the post. |
| Failing to name a single point person is “a mistake,” said Representative John Delaney, Democrat of Maryland, who like Mr. Cardin represents the family of Warren Weinstein, the American aid worker accidentally killed in January by an American drone strike Mr. Obama ordered to take out his Qaeda captors. | Failing to name a single point person is “a mistake,” said Representative John Delaney, Democrat of Maryland, who like Mr. Cardin represents the family of Warren Weinstein, the American aid worker accidentally killed in January by an American drone strike Mr. Obama ordered to take out his Qaeda captors. |
| As part of the military bill passed last month, the House approved a provision by Mr. Delaney and Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California, creating a hostage czar. | As part of the military bill passed last month, the House approved a provision by Mr. Delaney and Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California, creating a hostage czar. |
| “We’re going to basically drive this into law,” Mr. Delaney said in an interview. “There’s a lot of momentum.” | “We’re going to basically drive this into law,” Mr. Delaney said in an interview. “There’s a lot of momentum.” |
| The president’s announcement will be the culmination of a wide-ranging review ordered by Mr. Obama last fall on how the government treats hostages captured overseas. The phenomenon has emerged as a particularly wrenching one during his presidency with the rise of the Islamic State, whose kidnappings for ransom and videotaped beheadings of captives have focused public attention on the issue. | The president’s announcement will be the culmination of a wide-ranging review ordered by Mr. Obama last fall on how the government treats hostages captured overseas. The phenomenon has emerged as a particularly wrenching one during his presidency with the rise of the Islamic State, whose kidnappings for ransom and videotaped beheadings of captives have focused public attention on the issue. |
| Family members of American hostages who have been vocal critics of Mr. Obama’s policy, some of whom were interviewed extensively as part of the review, are to meet with him at the White House on Wednesday. | Family members of American hostages who have been vocal critics of Mr. Obama’s policy, some of whom were interviewed extensively as part of the review, are to meet with him at the White House on Wednesday. |
| The families have complained that the United States policy on their cases was confusing, and said they felt bullied, neglected and trapped in a bureaucratic vortex of low-level officials with clashing agendas and conflicting information. | The families have complained that the United States policy on their cases was confusing, and said they felt bullied, neglected and trapped in a bureaucratic vortex of low-level officials with clashing agendas and conflicting information. |
| Mr. Obama has grappled in recent months with the dilemma inherent in the American “no-concessions” policy toward hostage-takers, which stands in stark contrast to many European countries that routinely pay ransoms. American officials have said doing so would reward and enrich kidnappers, both emboldening them and enabling them to capture more United States citizens. | |
| Instead of creating a hostage czar, Mr. Obama will form an interagency hostage recovery “fusion cell” in charge of coordinating efforts to free American captives, to be headquartered at the F.B.I. The task force is to be headed by the F.B.I.’s Michael McGarrity, whose job senior officials said would essentially be the same as the czar envisioned by the families. | Instead of creating a hostage czar, Mr. Obama will form an interagency hostage recovery “fusion cell” in charge of coordinating efforts to free American captives, to be headquartered at the F.B.I. The task force is to be headed by the F.B.I.’s Michael McGarrity, whose job senior officials said would essentially be the same as the czar envisioned by the families. |
| One official dismissed the calls for a czar as a “Beltway phenomenon,” arguing that the interdepartmental team would serve the same function but have the operational expertise to handle time-sensitive hostage matters. | One official dismissed the calls for a czar as a “Beltway phenomenon,” arguing that the interdepartmental team would serve the same function but have the operational expertise to handle time-sensitive hostage matters. |
| The fusion cell would report to the White House through the National Security Council and include a “family engagement coordinator” to support relatives and keep them informed. | The fusion cell would report to the White House through the National Security Council and include a “family engagement coordinator” to support relatives and keep them informed. |
| In addition, Mr. Obama will create a White House team to oversee hostage policy, and appoint a special envoy at the State Department to lead the government’s contacts with foreign nations on hostage matters. | In addition, Mr. Obama will create a White House team to oversee hostage policy, and appoint a special envoy at the State Department to lead the government’s contacts with foreign nations on hostage matters. |
| A new “issue manager” in the intelligence community will coordinate hostage-related intelligence, including working “systematically and proactively” to declassify information that could be shared with family members. | A new “issue manager” in the intelligence community will coordinate hostage-related intelligence, including working “systematically and proactively” to declassify information that could be shared with family members. |