Bartering Life

"We are committed to protecting the lives of our nationals and reducing terrorist groups' access to the funding that allows them to survive and thrive in accordance with relevant international conventions."
"[Declaration to] unequivocally reject the payment of ransoms to terrorists."
G8 nations (including Japan)

"Terrorists will grab whatever foreigners they can and can expect to be paid off in some cases, but can be quite willing to murder the hostages to create publicity, cause terror, or to prompt others to pay ransom."
Brian Michael Jenkins, former Green Beret, advisor to U.S. National Commission on Terrorism

SITE Intelligence Group   A still image of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto holding a photograph allegedly showing Haruna Yukawa's slain body, with an audio recording in which Goto spoke of the Islamic State group demand for a prisoner exchange to guarantee his release.

It isn't quite possible to fully appreciate how desperate someone abducted by terrorists must feel at their plight, being held for ransom, while knowing that their government has pledged not to submit to terror blackmail by exchanging vast sums of money to ensure their nationals are recovered, alive. What could be more horrific than to understand that you are a prisoner of people whose humanity if they ever had any empathy for another human being, had evaporated in the pathology of jihad.

The United States and Britain, both staunchly in support of the 2013 declaration that they understood that to pay the demanded ransom would be tantamount to encouraging further hostage-takings, and in the process helping such terrorist groups fund their activities, steadfastly refuse to respond to the demands by the Islamic State and other jihadist groups' demands for money in exchange for their nations' lives.

British and American citizens know full well that there is no saving themselves in such situations, in reliance on their countries to come to the aid. On the other hand, both the United Kingdom and the  United States have been known to stage not-always-successful commando raids in attempts to rescue  their nationals. Japan, which was given until last Friday to surrender to the Islamic State $200-million for the release of their two nationals, Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa found itself in a quandary.

Now, part of that quandary has been solved for them, with the beheading of Haruna Yukawa, the evidence of it having taken place released in a video that horrified the Japanese public. The $200-million in ransom payment reflected the same amount that the Government of Japan had pledged in the fight against the Islamic State.

Ransoms have often been paid through helpful third parties to secure the release of hostages. Even by countries that state publicly that it is not their intention to submit to the threats of terrorists. In the past countries such as Canada, France and Italy have paid huge sums for the release of their nationals; some denying it, others not bothering to.

A New York Times investigation published the results of their interviews with families and diplomats involved in past hostage situations, concluding that at the very least $125-million has exchanged hands in ransom to free Western hostages, enriching al-Qaeda in the years between 2008 and 2013.

Qatar intervened to finance a total of $20.4-million in ransom payments to al-Qaeda in the release of nationals from Finland, Switzerland and Austria, among others. Corporations with operations in Central and South America, Africa, Asia or the Middle East have taken out high-risk travel insurance on their employees as part of their corporate portfolio. Coverage can range from $500,000 to $20-million, according to Canadian Underwriter Magazine.

Early Sunday morning, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe professed to being shocked at the turn of events. Haruna Yukawa, he stated "seems to have been murdered. Fully aware of unbearable pain and sorrow that his family must be feeling, I am simply left speechless", he said. "Such an act of terrorism is outrageous and impermissible, which causes me nothing but strong indignation. Thus I express resolute condemnation."

 As though the butchers of Islamic State give a damn for mere words of anguish. Pleading for his life, Kenji Goto appealed for consideration from his country: "Their demand is easier. They are being fair. They no longer want money. So you do not need to worry about funding terrorists. They are just demanding the release of their imprisoned sister, Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi. It is simple. You give them Sajida, and I will be released."

Not so simple. Rishawi, held to be involved in a suicide attack on three hotels in Amman that took place in 2005 in Jordan killing 57 people, is an Iraqi; her own suicide belt had failed to detonate, though her husband's had. It is believed she is the sister of a close companion of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the late leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, before it became transformed into the Islamic State.