Austin Tice represents the best of America. President Trump must work to bring him home.

Fred Ryan is publisher and chief executive of The Post. He served as assistant to President Ronald Reagan.

Eight years ago this week, a young man named Austin Tice was abducted in Syria. During his last summer as a Georgetown University law student, he had decided to travel to the Middle East as a freelance journalist to document that country’s ongoing conflict. Days before his scheduled return home, in a car on his way to Damascus, Austin was taken captive at a roadside checkpoint. Five weeks later, a 47-second video surfaced showing Austin alive, held captive by a group of unidentified armed men. Since then, information has emerged suggesting he remains alive and in the custody of forces loyal to the Syrian government.

Austin Tice represents the best of America. Just 31 years old at the time of his abduction, his achievements were already impressive. A former Marine captain and Eagle Scout who had won several awards for his war reporting, Austin had ventured to the front lines of Syria’s ongoing conflict during his law school break. He was one of the few independent journalists reporting from inside Syria, determined to use his storytelling skills to inform the world of the atrocities taking place there.

Those who know and love Austin have been relentless in their efforts to secure his freedom. His parents, Marc and Debra Tice, are suffering through any parent’s worst nightmare. But they have never lost their determination to see their son released. They have traveled repeatedly to the Middle East and pursued every course that could help bring their son back. They have pleaded with the Trump and Obama administrations, as well as representatives of other governments, to help secure Austin’s return. Amid a nonstop news cycle, over several years of historic events, they have worked to keep the public spotlight on Austin’s case, ensuring that his cause is not forgotten.

The Post and McClatchy, to which Austin contributed reporting, have used their platforms to raise awareness of his case and demand his freedom. International human-rights organizations and press freedom groups have repeatedly called for his release and worked to highlight the terrible situation for journalists in Syria.

The FBI has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Austin’s return. The U.S. Congress, too, has gotten involved: Last year, a bipartisan group of 121 House members and 52 senators signed a letter urging the Trump administration to use every diplomatic means at its disposal to bring Austin home.

But there is one person who, by far, can exert the greatest influence in securing Austin’s freedom: the president of the United States. Throughout the Obama administration, efforts to bring Austin home proved unsuccessful. Since assuming office in 2017, President Trump has made welcome statements denouncing Austin’s detention and expressing hope that he will be released. So far, however, he has shown no greater ability than his predecessor to achieve progress in Austin’s case.

When it comes to negotiating hostage releases, quick phone calls and public utterances are never enough. Nor is it sufficient to delegate the issue to the machinery of the State Department and other agencies and assume the issue will somehow resolve itself. History shows that the only way to get U.S. hostages freed is the complete focus and commitment of the president himself. He must ensure that deputies throughout his administration make Austin’s release a top priority, and that they appreciate that sometimes this involves interacting with unsavory characters and third-party intermediaries with their own agendas. It requires telling diplomats and officials to put standard operating procedures aside and to do the messy — but necessary — work involved in bringing captured Americans home.

When Americans are held hostage abroad, it is more than the detainees and their families who suffer. Our citizens expect that if they are unjustly seized by a foreign power, their government will never abandon them. When the hostages are journalists, Americans expect their leaders to stand up for our country’s cherished First Amendment liberties and the importance of the information they provide us from the darkest corners of the world. With each day that Austin remains imprisoned, his captors continue to insult the pride and principles of the United States.

The president must stand up for America’s values and bring Austin home safely without further delay. Today is Austin’s 39th birthday, and he will celebrate it, as he has the previous seven, alone and imprisoned, thousands of miles away from family, friends and the country he served. No American deserves this, and no one who believes in the values of a free press should tolerate it.

Hostage releases can take a long time. But eight years is more than enough time for the U.S. government to secure Austin Tice’s return. Securing his release must be a top presidential priority.

More than a single young man is being held hostage: An entire nation is.

Read more:

Jason Rezaian: Austin Tice must be free

Debra and Marc Tice: Involve families in U.S. government’s hostage polirely review

Fredrick J. Ryan Jr.: It is wrong — and corrosive — to conflate ‘unfavorable news’ and ‘fake news’

The Post’s View: It’s been seven years. Let Austin Tice go.

The Post’s View: A journalist has been imprisoned in Syria for 6 years. Let him come home.

Marcus Brauchli and Anders Gyllenhaal: Austin Tice should be freed

Source:WP