Obama talks ransoms, failed operation to rescue Kayla Mueller

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 11 February 2015

In an interview Tuesday, President Obama said that telling the families of hostages that the United States won't pay ransom is "as tough as anything I do."

Obama also said he was "heartbroken" when he heard that 26-year-old hostage Kayla Mueller had died after being held by ISIS for more than a year. "She was an outstanding young woman and a great spirit — I think that spirit will live on," he told BuzzFeed News. "The more people learn about her, the more they appreciate what she stood for — and how it stands in contrast with the barbaric organization that held her captive."

Obama said that the reason why the U.S. does not pay ransom to a militant group like ISIS is because "once we start doing that, not only are we financing their slaughter of innocent people and strengthening their organization, but we're actually making Americans even greater targets for future kidnappings." He noted that he "deployed an entire operation — at significant risk — to rescue not only her but the other individuals who had been held, and probably missed them by a day or two" and added, "we devoted enormous resources and always devote enormous resources to freeing captives or hostages anywhere in the world."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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