The White House is considering retooling its hostage recovery infrastructure following the death of an American contractor who was accidentally killed last month by a U.S. drone in Pakistan, according to an Obama administration official.
Plans to reshuffle and broaden the so-called hostage recovery "fusion cell" of the White House National Security Council (NSC) come as lawmakers seek to establish a new special adviser on hostage affairs who would be responsible for coordinating such efforts in the future.
On Friday, Rep. John Delaney (D., Md.) introduced a bill to broaden the NSC’s intelligence-sharing apparatus and appoint an official who can help liaise with other government agencies about U.S. hostages, according to a copy of the bill obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The bill—the Warren Weinstein Hostage Rescue Act—is named after the contractor who was abducted by terrorists in 2011 and killed last month in a U.S. drone strike on al-Qaeda assets.
The latest efforts to retool the White House’s hostage recovery infrastructure come amid criticism that efforts made by the Obama administration to rescue U.S. citizens held abroad have been inadequate.
The Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL), for instance, has killed several Americans and filmed their executions.
An Obama administration official said the NSC is aware of Delaney’s bill and is making its own moves to reform the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell.
"We’ve been having ongoing conversations with members of Congress, including Rep. Delaney, and will continue to do so as we look to synchronize and reinforce our respective initiatives in the shared interest of ensuring the improved coordination of hostage recovery efforts as well as family engagement," the official said.
The administration is seeking to broaden its efforts and to bring in officials from other agencies. This would make it easier to share information that could facilitate the rescue of hostages, according to the administration official, who would only speak on background.
"As part of the ongoing review, we are considering the establishment of an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell to ensure a whole-of-government response to overseas hostage events," the official said. "This would include a permanent group of subject matter experts from the key departments and agencies, including the FBI, the Departments of Defense and State, and the Intelligence Community."
In addition, the White House is considering creating "a senior-level policy group" that would include high-ranking officials from each of the departments named above, the official said.
That policy group "would be chaired by the National Security Council staff at the White House," rather than an outside agency, according to the official.
Interagency officials appointed to this policy group "would review policies, priorities, and recovery strategies proposed by the Fusion Cell and would convene on a regular basis and report to leadership at relevant departments and agencies and the White House," the official added.
Delaney’s bill takes similar steps.
It would establish a new Committee on Hostage Recovery that would be housed within the NSC, according to the bill.
The committee would comprise the secretaries of state, Treasury, and defense, as well the attorney general, the director of the FBI, the director of National Intelligence, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the president’s assistant for national security affairs.
These officials would then coordinate with the NSC’s fusion cell and work to develop new methods for rescuing hostages.
The committee also would be responsible for briefing Congress and keeping the families of U.S. hostages apprised of various rescue efforts.