Peter Moore: Britain stuck to ‘no negotiation’ policy as hostages died

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6972071.ece
The Government’s policy over the five hostages seized in Baghdad two years ago has relied on maximum caution, restrained publicity and discreet behind-the-scenes contacts.

The result has been three, maybe four men, killed, with only Peter Moore surviving. His security protectors, all with military backgrounds, were murdered. But their deaths, solemnly announced by the Foreign Office, did not change the approach adopted by the Government.

Despite criticism from some of the families, the Government has not wavered from its policy of never negotiating with hostage-takers, on the ground that any concessions offered — whether linked to ransoms or the release of extremists from prison — would encourage more kidnappings.

The Foreign Office has attempted, from the beginning to limit the publicity, to the extent that the families of the hostages were advised to say nothing in public. As the months went by, the families decided that some publicity would be beneficial, and interviews were given that included direct pleas for mercy to the kidnappers.

The Foreign Office considered that any personal details would help the kidnappers, and newspapers and broadcast media were asked to reveal as little as possible about the men.

The virtual news blackout when the five men were taken contrasted with the kidnapping of Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist seized in Gaza, who was able to listen to radio reports of attempts to gain his release. He was freed unharmed after four months.

In Iraq more than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped since 2004 and, although the number of British hostages has been relatively low, a high proportion of those seized have died. The challenge for the British Embassy in Baghdad has been to try to unravel the motivations for each of the kidnappings.

For a while the policy has officially remained the same — no negotiations — and each case has offered the potential for peripheral negotiations and for covert operations by special forces. The SAS in Baghdad tried to find Mr Moore and his four security men in the days after their capture, while the trail was still hot, despite the kidnappers warning that they would kill their hostages if any mission were launched to free them.

Behind the scenes, British officials in Baghdad have been trying to reach contacts who might have links to the kidnappers. David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, hinted at this when he said yesterday that there had been no “substantive” concessions to the hostage-takers, suggesting that in return for Mr Moore a number of extremists held in prison may have been released.

The kidnappers, originally calling themselves the Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq, warned that the hostages would remain prisoners “for as long as it takes” to secure the release of Qais al-Khazali, a former chief spokesman for the Shia al-Mahdi Army. According to Channel 4 News, the security company for which the three, probably four, murdered contractors worked, offered several million dollars for their release but this was turned down by the kidnappers, who restated their demand for al-Khazali’s release.

Al-Khazali, who led an al-Mahdi faction trained in Iran, was detained by American forces but British officials had no power to free him. In the past few days he has been released into the custody of the Iraqi Administration.