Government negotiation with terrorists

Common card · No. 472677

Most Western countries have a stated policy of not negotiating with terrorists. This policy is typically invoked during hostage crises and is limited to paying ransom demands, not other forms of negotiation. Motivations for such policies include a lack of guarantee that terrorists will ensure the safe return of hostages, and worries about the increasing incentive for terrorists to take more hostages in the future. On June 18, 2013, G8 leaders signed an agreement against paying ransoms to terrorists. However, most Western states have violated this policy on certain occasions. An investigation by The New York Times found that al-Qaeda and its affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008. These payments were made almost exclusively by European governments, which funneled the money through a network of proxies, sometimes masking it as development aid. Some Western countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Britain, tend not to negotiate or pay...

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