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Paying Ransoms Puts Innocent American Citizens At Risk: U.S.
"In the case of Sergeant Bergdahl, the President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief and he has a commitment to an unimpeachable value, which is ensuring that we do not leave men and women in uniform behind enemy lines in the hands of the enemy," Earnest responded.
"The President engaged in an effort that is typical of the end of armed conflicts for there to be prisoner exchanges. And that's what we saw in this case. In this case, Sergeant Bergdahl was returned to the US in exchange for a handful of detainees from Guantanamo Bay," he argued.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those innocent Americans who are being held hostage by extremist groups in the Middle East right now. This administration is exerting significant influence and resources and time and effort to secure the release of those individuals. We will not pay ransom for them, but the United States is engaged diplomatically to try to secure their release," he said.
The circumstances of Stave Sotloff's hostage-taking are tragic, he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. And the United States is committed to doing everything that we can to try to recover him and rescue him safely and as soon as possible. We certainly would call on those who are holding him to release him," he said.
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Source: PTI
