[ONLINE] - Bringing Americans Home 2021

On June 9, The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation will present the findings of the 2021 edition of its annual study, “Bringing Americans Home,” the third non-governmental review of U.S. hostage and detainee policy. The report is based on interviews with American hostages, wrongful detainees, family members, and representatives, and officials, providing a unique insight into the experiences of Americans held abroad and their families.

A hostage-taking or wrongful detention is a difficult and traumatic experience that launches families into a crisis where they have to orient themselves within the hostage recovery enterprise and navigate the geopolitical landscape where their loved one is being held. While access to U.S. government agencies may not be essential for a small number of cases, it is absolutely critical for the majority of families advocating for the release of their loved ones.

To discuss the report and efforts to bring Americans held abroad home in this virtual event are Diane Foley, President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation; Cynthia Loertscher, the report’s author and the foundation’s Director of Research; Margaux Ewen, Executive Director of the foundation; Sarah (Levinson) Moriarty, daughter of Bob Levinson and foundation Board Member; Mickey Bergman, Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Strategic Engagement; Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien, former National Security Advisor and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs; the Honorable Christopher C. Miller, former Acting Secretary of Defense and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism and Transnational Threats at the National Security Council; Roger D. Carstens, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs; and Christopher O’Leary, Director of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell.

Program

Opening Remarks

Diane Foley, @JamesFoleyFund
President and Founder, James W. Foley Legacy Foundation

Report Findings

Cynthia Loertscher, @CindyLoertscher
Author and Foley Foundation Director of Research

Panel 1: Prioritizing the Recovery of Hostages and Wrongful Detainees

Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien, @robertcobrien
Chairman of American Global Strategies LLC, former National Security Advisor and former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs

The Honorable Christopher C. Miller
Former Acting Secretary of Defense, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, and former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism and Transnational Threats at the National Security Council

Mickey Bergman, @mickeybergman
Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Strategic Engagement, professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and former Executive Director of the Global Alliances Program at the Aspen Institute.

Cynthia Loertscher, @cindyloertscher
Director of Research, James W. Foley Legacy Foundation

Peter Bergen, @peterbergencnn (moderator)
Vice President, New America

Panel 2: Family Engagement with Hostages, Wrongful Detainees, and their Families

Sarah (Levinson) Moriarty
Daughter of Bob Levinson, the longest-held hostage in U.S. history, and James W. Foley Legacy Foundation Board Member

Roger D. Carstens, @stateSPEHA
Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State

David S. Elmo
Deputy Director, Department of State, Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell; former Deputy Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, retired Major General from the U.S. Army Reserves

Margaux Ewen, @margauxewen
Executive Director, James W. Foley Legacy Foundation

Peter Bergen, @peterbergencnn (moderator)
Vice President, New America

This event is presented by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation.