The Gist Diane Foley on America’s Hostage Blind Spot
Oct 4, 2025
Diane Foley, founder of the Foley Foundation and mother of journalist James Foley, shines a light on America's inadequate hostage-recovery efforts. She shares her experiences navigating government responses during her son's kidnapping and advocates for reforms to improve current systems. Foley discusses the shift from traditional kidnappings to wrongful detentions by state actors and underscores the need for better deterrence and transparency. With insights on public awareness and contrasting responses from nations like Israel, she emphasizes why the U.S. must prioritize its citizens abroad.
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Misled About Government Priorities
- Diane Foley recounts being told her son Jim was the government's highest priority while feeling ignored in practice.
- She says officials sent her in circles and she felt patronized and misled about efforts to bring him home.
Founding The Foley Foundation
- Three weeks after Jim was killed, Diane Foley started a nonprofit to advocate for hostage return and journalist safety.
- She says she had not known Americans were being kidnapped globally until her son's captivity.
Hostage Enterprise Is Outdated
- The 2015 presidential directive created a hostage enterprise but it focuses narrowly on traditional kidnappings by criminals and terrorists.
- Diane Foley argues the system is outdated because state-sponsored wrongful detentions now dominate.