Journalist Austin Tice was much on the minds of the country this month as he reached a milestone 12th year being held hostage in Syria.  The President and Secretary of State both issued statements calling for Austin’s release. These welcome remarks were echoed by Vice President Harris and members of congress – including Austin’s Senator John Cornyn and his Congressman Al Green.

Austin currently is the only U.S. journalist being held overseas. His case is attracting renewed attention after the recent release of three journalists from Russia including Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva. The conditions surrounding this historic release were complex and challenging. They showed the Administration to be very creative and able in the area of hostage negotiations. But how likely is it we can now have the same result for Austin? And, what are the obstacles to obtaining Austin’s release.

Part of the reason that the government worked so hard to recover hostages being held in Russia was the huge grassroots effort that kept a drumbeat going online and in the press. The Wall Street Journal and Radio Free Europe led the way with support from: Congress, the National Press Club and other Press Freedom organizations. On Austin’s case there is support from the Press Club as well as his employers the Washington Post and McClatchy but it is not yet to the same level as the Russia cases. More can be done in this area.

One of the reasons it is challenging to rally support for Austin is that we can’t see Austin in court as we could see Evan and Alsu. Syria refuses to admit that they are holding him.  If the public can’t see him, it is harder to get them engaged in helping him. This also affects press coverage as reporters don’t write often about Austin, and, when they do they focus almost entirely on proof of life. These facts, along with the fact that we do not have diplomatic relations with Syria, mute responses from the public, the press and government. So stakeholder efforts that should be focused on creating grassroots support are instead diverted to efforts to help obtain proof of life or help overcome the lack of direct communication channels with Syria.   

We can see the result of these challenging factors in the recent efforts to get a Senate letter sent to President Biden to prioritize Austin’s case. The letter was bipartisan and signed by many influential members of the foreign relations committee. The letter was ultimately signed by 36 senators, 64 did not sign – compared to a similar letter for Evan Gershkovich that was signed by all 100 senators. 

The Senate letter for Austin was seen by some as a proxy for normalization of relations with Syria. To negotiate with Syria some small amount of recognition by the U.S. must take place. And, to release Austin, some concessions will surely have to take place. An organized and well-funded lobby works to oppose any normalization of U.S. relations with the Assad regime. This aggressive position by Syrian American groups and others softens and limits support from the Hill for Austin. There was no aggressive lobby working against the release of Evan Gershkovich. The difference is obvious in the outcomes.

The same aggressive lobby works on the State Department which is little help in getting Austin released. The State Department does not cultivate relationships of any kind with the Syrian Government and is not positioning itself to assist with Austin’s release. 

Austin’s case is in the portfolio of the National Security Council – a small and overworked group. This team meets regularly with the Tice Family to discuss relevant matters. These include a series of meetings held with Syria in Oman that were encouraging but have stopped after Oct. 7, 2023. Resuming these meetings is a priority. And when the meetings resume, the U.S. side must become far more creative about what it brings to the negotiating table. They also must be prepared for a negotiation of long duration – not just a pop-in style meeting which has been tried three times in the recent past. 

Creative solutions are also required of the campaign to keep Austin in the public eye. The Washington Post continues to run a big full page ad campaign to keep pressure on the U.S. government. And Hostage Aid Worldwide has launched a creative Arabic language ad campaign in broadcast and online media in Syria and Lebanon that is yielding exciting results and may lead to finding out much more about Austin. This could lead to answering some of the challenging proof of life questions. Pro Publica has brought a FOIA seeking government documents that could also help in clarifying more about what the government knows but is not sharing about proof of life. 

There were recent events at the National Press Club in Washington and in Austin’s hometown of Houston where friends and family gathered to recommit to help with Austin’s recovery. Both audiences were treated to a country music concert with speakers including Austin’s former Commanding Officer, the Executive Editor of the Washington Post, the CEO of McClatchy Newspapers and the former National Security Advisor speaking between sets. Key media attended including: CSpan, Scripps Howard TV, Spectrum TV, Voice of America, BBC, McClatchy, The Washington Post and others. Dozens of stories were produced in the U.S. and around the world. 

All of this leads to great hope for the future. Our government has shown it can bring hostages home even under the most difficult circumstances. We have seen what can be done and it is very encouraging. Our government now needs to engage with Syria in a meaningful way – ignore the lobbyists and the bureaucrats and bring Austin home. We know they can do it. And we will keep the pressure on!

By William McCarren, Press Freedom Consultant for the National Press Club. He has worked on Austin’s case since 2015.