President Barack Obama announced a new hostage policy on Wednesday allowing government authorities and the families of hostage or kidnapping victims abroad to directly communicate, negotiate and even pay ransom to the kidnappers in exchange for the freedom of their victims.
In making the announcement, Obama also confirmed that more than 30 Americans abroad are currently being held hostage by terrorist groups.
Even with the new policy, the White House emphasised that it will still maintain a "no concessions" policy while authorising government officials to talk to terrorist groups like the Islamic State and criminal gangs and cartels to help families secure the release of their abducted kin without fear of being prosecuted.
"No family of an American hostage has ever been prosecuted for paying ransom for their loved one. The last thing we should ever do is to add to a family's pain with threats like that," Obama announced on Wednesday, according to CNN.
"The bottom line is this: When it comes to how our government works to recover hostages, we are changing how we do business," he added.
Obama said the policy overhaul was a direct result of the feedbacks from the families of the abducted victims.
Presidential Chief Adviser on Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco expressed hope that the new hostage policy will be able to help the families of more than 30 American hostages held by militants and other criminal syndicates overseas.
The US State Department, according to the Washington Post, will create a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs who will pursue diplomatic efforts with foreign government leaders in order to recover Americans hostages.
The new hostage policy will also authorise the creation of an "interagency fusion cell," which will have personnel from the State Department, Pentagon, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) working with the family of abducted victims to address the hostage situation in "a more comprehensive way."
Commenting on the new White House policy, House Speaker John Boehner expressed fear that it would pave the way for the erosion of the long-standing US policy of not paying ransom and the principle of not negotiating with terrorists.
"I've not seen the report nor have I seen an analysis of it, but we have had a policy in the United States for over 200 years of not paying ransom and not negotiating with terrorists, and the concern that I have is that by lifting that long held principle you could be endangering more Americans here and overseas," Boehner said, according to CNN.
In an official statement released earlier, California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter dismissed the policy changes as "nothing more than window dressing."
"It's a pathetic response to a serious problem that has plagued the ability of the US to successfully recover Americans held captive in the post-9/11 era," he added.
