PHOTO: Islamic State executioner with US journalist James Foley, killed August 2014
On Wednesday the Jordanian Government indicated that it would agree to a prisoner exchange with the Islamic State for a hostage, Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh, held in Syria. In return for Kasasbeh’s freedom, Amman will release Sajida al-Rishawi, held on Death Row since 2005 for allegedly trying to carry out a suicide bombing.
The negotiations have not been completed, but they raised the broader question: should there be negotiations with the Islamic State — which has executed six foreign captives since August — to free hostages? The US and Britain have publicly held out against talks, but Turkey probably exchanged money and prisoners for the release of almost 50 of its nationals, seized in Iraq last summer, and rumors have circulated that ransoms were paid for European journalists held by jihadists.
On Thursday, I spoke with BBC WM about the issue, explaining how the Islamic State is manipulating the hostage situations — for money and propaganda — but suggesting that the question does not get to the heart of the issue of dealing with the jihadists.
Listen to discussion from 17:36
This does not stop until you come up with a sensible strategy for dealing with the Islamic State beyond just calling them “extremists”. That means you have to come up with a political, military, and economic strategy in Iraq. You have to work with local groups in Syria to challenge the Islamic State.
