As an aspiring journalist, the brutal 2014 murder of American journalist James Wright Foley struck close to home. It was one of many events that prompted me to look deeper into the narratives surrounding the so-called Islamic State, known in the West as ISIS. At eighteen, I had already witnessed another national tragedy in Santa Barbara three months earlier, which was used as a pretext to curtail civil liberties and shift social norms overnight. I just wanted to spend my late teens to early twenties drinking, partying, and enjoying life like most young adults. But after observing the savage acts following ISIS’s rise and James Foley’s murder, I felt compelled to investigate further, especially since I had read the Qur’an cover to cover less than a year earlier.

James Wright Foley was born on October 18, 1973, in Evanston, Illinois, to Diane and John Foley. He was the eldest of five children and grew up in Rochester, New Hampshire. Three of his siblings joined the military, while Foley pursued a path as a left-wing peace activist. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in 1996 from Marquette University in Wisconsin before embarking on graduate studies. In 1999, he worked with Teach for America in Arizona, earned a Master’s degree in creative writing in 2002, and finally obtained a Master’s in journalism in 2008.

Shortly after earning his journalism degree, Foley became an embedded journalist with the United States Military’s 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. A year later, he moved to Afghanistan to continue his work as an embedded journalist with the U.S. military. During his time in Iraq, Foley encountered his younger brother, who was serving as an officer in the United States Air Force. In January 2011, Foley joined Stars and Stripes as a reporter but was dismissed two months later for marijuana possession. A few months later, he joined the Global Post and went to Libya to cover the Arab Spring protests, embedding with the rebels before being captured by pro-Qaddafi forces. He was held captive for forty-five days.

After his release, Foley returned to Milwaukee, where he thanked the community for their support. His abduction did not deter him from continuing his work. Foley returned to Libya and was present when Libyan rebels killed Muammar Qaddafi on October 20, 2011, alongside Global Post correspondent Tracey Shelton. He then moved to Syria to cover the emerging civil war. Around Thanksgiving, ISIS kidnapped Foley near the Syria-Turkey border. Initially, it was believed that Shabiha militias loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were responsible, but Foley’s captors, ISIS, demanded €100 million for his release. The U.S. government maintained a strict no-concessions policy regarding Islamic terrorism.

In June 2014, ISIS released several Western European hostages after their respective countries paid ransom. Danish journalist Daniel Rye Ottosen, one of the released hostages, delivered a memorized message from Foley to his family, which turned out to be his final letter. A month later, the U.S. military launched a rescue mission in Syria to save Foley and other hostages, but the Delta Force team was met with gunfire in Raqqa, and it became clear that the hostages had been moved. In mid-August, ISIS offered to trade Foley for Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, but the U.S. refused. Foley was brutally beheaded a few days later. ISIS then attempted to trade another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, for Aafia Siddiqui, but the U.S. once again refused, and Sotloff was beheaded in early September.

In response to the beheadings, then-President Barack Obama ordered airstrikes on Syria to defeat ISIS, while assuring the American public that ISIS did not represent Islam. The U.S. military declassified the failed rescue mission the day after Foley’s beheading. Diane Foley, James’s mother, stated, “We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.” After Foley’s murder, a fellow hostage, Peter Moore, urged ISIS to release Foley’s body to his family, but ISIS refused, and Foley’s remains have never been found.

The Foley family believes that the U.S. government prioritized policy over human life by refusing to pay the ransom or agree to a prisoner swap. They argue that the U.S. was willing to sacrifice Foley and Sotloff to start another war, benefiting defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. Foley endured beatings, torture, and mock executions before his beheading, while Aafia Siddiqui, whom ISIS hoped to trade for Foley and Sotloff, was allegedly subjected to torture by the U.S. military. Diane Foley advocates for a fair trial for Foley’s surviving captors, believing that an unfair trial would only bolster terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda and aid their recruitment efforts.

James Foley’s life might have been saved if the U.S. had agreed to trade Aafia Siddiqui for him or paid a ransom as Denmark did. Regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or religion, no one deserves the treatment Foley endured at the hands of ISIS, and no woman should be subjected to the abuses Aafia Siddiqui faced. It is clear to those untainted by the military-industrial complex that the U.S. does not seek peace in the Middle East or globally. The U.S. and Israel appear willing to sacrifice their citizens to start wars and generate profits for defense contractors. The U.S. only engages in prisoner swaps with white non-Muslim actors, as evidenced by the 2022 exchange of Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner while refusing to trade Aafia Siddiqui for Foley. A new approach is necessary.