The author claims public demonstrations for hostages and giving families a direct role in strategy signal to captors that the hostages’ value is high, encouraging harder demands and reducing release odds. He argues this is unprecedented in military history and counterproductive to operational goals.
— If true, protest tactics and democratic wartime decision‑making may need redesign to avoid incentivizing hostage‑taking and to preserve strategic coherence.
Arnold Kling
2025.10.08
100% relevant
Kling: “public expressions of concern serve to convince Hamas that hostages are a source of leverage… It gives Hamas an incentive to escalate their demands,” and “allowing the families of POWs to play a role in determining military strategy is unprecedented and misguided.”
← Back to All Ideas