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Mother of Kidnapped Journalist Austin Tice Gets White House Meeting

Austin Tice was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 and his family has not been given proof he is alive.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet Friday with the mother of Austin Tice, an American journalist and veteran Marine Corps officer, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012. Tice’s parents were on a Zoom call with Sullivan a week ago in which dozens of families of American hostages complained that they had been forgotten by the Biden administration. Sullivan said he had no idea the families had reached out and promised to meet those who wished to. Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, told Axios that she looked forward to the meeting. She and Tice’s father have been given no proof he is alive, but Syria has asked for several conditions for his release, including lifting sanctions, withdrawing U.S. troops from Syrian territory, and restoring diplomatic ties. “I’m at the point in this journey where this isn’t going to be me showing pictures of my sweet boy,” she told Axios. “The things we’re discussing have to go up the chain.”