Did Kayla’s Parents Nix Rescue Operation?

According to a report in Foreign Policy, an unnamed military official said the parents of captured aid worker Kayla Mueller did not want the U.S. to launch a rescue mission but instead wanted her release negotiated. The official said her parents reportedly worried that a rescue operation would be “too risky,” the report said. However, the official also said the Joint Special Operations Command was never outright told to refrain from a rescue attempt, but neither did it ever get enough solid information to present a plan to the president for approval. Neither the Mueller family nor a spokesperson for the National Security Council would comment. Families of other hostages have harshly criticized the Obama administration for its alleged insensitivity in handling hostage situations, in which three Americans have been beheaded. ISIS announced Friday that the 26-year-old Mueller had died in a Jordanian airstrike.