PODCAST: Paying Ransom for Hostages is Always a Bad Idea

Paying ransom for hostages is always a bad idea. Ask Ronald Reagan. He didn’t think that was what he was getting into with Iran/contra, but he had a big heart, and wanted to do everything he could to get Americans held captive by Iran released.

I was a hostage in Beirut at the beginning of that hostage crisis. And young as I was, I never wanted my government to “buy” my release. I was ready to die, however, if they came to rescue me. (You can read all about that experience and much more in my memoire, available here.)

I admit, though: rescuing hostages held by the Iranian regime at Evin Prison is an option no US government has ever contemplated, as far as I am aware. (And why not, you ask? Me, too!) If the Israelis can locate and steal the Iranian regime’s nuclear archive in multiple bank vaults in Tehran without being detected, why can’t the United States break down the walls of Evin Prison?

Five US hostages – and they have not even been sent back to the US, only released from Evin – for $6 billion. That has got to be the highest hostage ransom payment on record. Thank-you, Joe Biden.

The administration claims the Iranian regime will “only” use that money for humanitarian purposes it approves, via a bank in Oman. Sure. Every dollar the mullahs don’t need to spend to mollify the Iranian people, who are paying the price for their nuclear and terrorist follies, is a dollar they can spend on nukes and terror. You can take that to the bank.

Biden on Thursday asked Congress to appropriate another $40 million in “emergency” spending, including another $24 billion for Ukraine. Unbelievable. And you thought Republicans just made a deal to cut spending in exchange for raising the debt limit? Wow, we got had.

China Mitch is “looking forward” to reviewing the proposal, while Chuck Schumer is claiming new money will help block fentanyl at our southern border, since Team Biden can’t get the Chinese to agree to stop their shipments of poison to Mexico. At least Kevin McCarthy is skeptical of the new spending. VOTE NO, Kevin! Here are more details on how the money will be spent, if you can stomach it.

Some good news, finally, out of Ukraine. Zelinskyy has fired a number of army recruitment officials, accusing them of skimming from taxpayer funds to buy vacation homes in Spain. And with that, Ukraine leaves next-to-last place in Transparency International’s annual Index of corruption, going from 179 to 116 on that list.

©2023. Kenneth R. Timmerman. All rights reserved.

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