James Foley’s Execution: 'Death by Terror'

The reaction to the terrible death of James Foley, the freelance journalist kidnapped and executed by Islamist extremists, comes in stages. First and foremost is the grief at the cruel death of a brave reporter who knowingly risked his life to tell a critical story.

Then comes horror at the sadism of the executioner, whose accent spoke of years spent in London. Could he be one of the many young foreigners who have joined the ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, attracted by the perverse romance of “holy war?”

Finally there’s the chilling knowledge that this is neither the first nor the last time we must witness the horror of a hostage kneeling before masked executioners. Seizing hostages for revenge, to terrorize, to make a political statement or to exact ransom has become a standard weapon in the arsenal of terrorists, leaving no journalist, humanitarian worker or traveler in a conflict zone immune.

All these motives appear to have figured in the fate of Mr. Foley. He was captured in Syria in November 2012, and before he was killed ISIS reportedly demanded 100 million euros ($132 million) in ransom, following Al Qaeda’s practice in recent years of raising funds by abducting foreigners. But no money was paid for Mr. Foley, and a special operation failed to find him.

After the United States began airstrikes against ISIS forces in Iraq earlier this month, the group shifted to the infamous practices of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, who was known as “Sheikh of the Slaughterers” for the many foreign captives he decapitated. The masked man with the British accent who killed Mr. Foley said he was doing it in retaliation for the American airstrikes; at the end of the video that was released, he is shown holding another captive American freelance journalist, Steven Sotloff, as he says, “The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision.”

There will be those who argue that the United States is somehow responsible for Mr. Foley’s death, either by refusing to pay a ransom or by bombing ISIS. But the history of political kidnapping suggests this is too simple. Kidnappings have been a staple of guerrilla warfare since they were popularized by Latin American revolutionaries in the 1970s, as has been the debate over whether to pay ransom. The United Nations estimated that about $30 million was paid out in ransom for political kidnappings in Latin America in 1973 alone.

The practice was exported around the world and especially to the Middle East, where many hostages, including journalists, were seized over the past decades. More recently, ransom income has played a major role in financing the Qaeda network — a recent report by Rukmini Callimachi in The Times found that more than 50 hostages have been seized by Al Qaeda over the past five years, and many have been ransomed for substantial sums paid by European governments.

Still, there have been changes in recent years. First is the cruelty of kidnapping foreigners purely to post their executions online. The beheading of Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, by a top Qaeda operative in 2002 revealed the viciousness of the Islamic fanatics, a cruelty raised to new levels by ISIS. Second, while journalists are by no means the only victims — many more humanitarian and government workers have been seized — the death of Mr. Foley and the threat to Mr. Sotloff point to the special danger faced by the freelance reporters who have become more numerous in war zones with the proliferation of Internet news sites. Without the resources, credentials or experience of established news organizations, freelancers are often at greater risk in conflict zones.

There is no simple answer on whether to submit to terrorist extortion. The United States and Britain refuse to pay ransoms, and there is evidence that hostage takers target victims based on the potential for a payout. If everyone refused to pay, terrorists might not have had the incentive to turn kidnapping into an industry. At a Group of 8 summit meeting last year, Western countries agreed not to make ransom payments, but some European governments continue the practice.

In the meantime, we can honor the many brave journalists, aid workers and civil servants who risk their lives in conflict zones, and grieve for Mr. Foley and the many others who have lost their freedom or their lives.