The White House is reviewing a proposal to create a “fusion cell” of federal employees from across government to coordinate government responses to overseas hostage situations.
The proposal stems from a comprehensive White House review being conducted in the wake of an American drone strike on an Al Qaeda compound in January that killed hostages Warren Weinstein, an American, and Italian national Giovanni Lo Porto.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said while the administration is in the interim portion of the review process, it is clear that overseas hostage situations are particularly challenging because of the wide number of agencies that are working on rescue and communication efforts.
“This fusion cell would incorporate elements of the FBI, the Department of Defense and State, the intelligence community, all of whom are involved in the mission to try to rescue American citizens who are being held hostage,” Earnest said during an April 24 press briefing.
Earnest said the review is looking at how the federal government interacts with the families of those being held hostage, and that the process needs clear, direct and reliable communication. The big challenge is that you have many agencies involved in the effort.
“That’s what the fusion cell is designed to achieve, is to sort of optimize the integration of the efforts to seek the rescue of the hostage but also to streamline communication with the hostage’s family,” Earnest said. “So, the effort is to try to streamline those communications, to make that a communication more effective and more sensitive to the needs of these families.”
The strike also killed two Americans working for Al Qaeda, Ahmed Farouq and Adam Gadahn, according to the administration. The families of the hostages killed in the strike will be financially compensated, according to the administration.
