Opinion: President Biden, wherever is the action for Austin Tice?

Ten decades. An American, a veteran U.S. Marine, a gentleman who became a international correspondent so that his fellow Us residents would know what was going on in Syria, has been missing for 10 decades.

President Joe Biden is familiar with about Austin Tice. So did President Donald Trump and President Barack Obama. Some of them engaged none of them with clear benefits.

Trump’s crew reported it experienced proof Tice, who worked as a freelance correspondent for McClatchy before his seize, was alive and sent its hostage envoy to Damascus to get data about him.

Biden’s crew — following some prodding — agreed to permit Austin’s mothers and fathers, Debra and Marc Tice, to meet with the president in early May perhaps.

In that conference, the Tices say, the president questioned his workforce to get a meeting with the Syrians and discover out what they want and to work with them to get Austin produced. 3 months later, and minimal has changed.

President Biden issued a statement this week contacting on Syria to provide an stop to Austin’s captivity and to work with his administration to provide him house.

“There is no larger priority in my Administration than the restoration and return of Individuals held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas,” the assertion go through. “We need to title them, keep them in our hearts and minds, and make restoration and return a precedence.”

Statements like these are encouraging, but words do not volume to action. We will need to see actions and outcomes.

If the U.S. authorities has evidence of Austin’s whereabouts and situations, it is outside of time to pull out all the stops to reach a answer. That commences with immediate engagement with the Syrian govt — not doing work by intermediaries or back again channels.

For a decade, Austin Tice has been lacking from family members gatherings, from holiday seasons and celebrations — from times large and smaller. As a father and grandfather, my heart breaks for Debra and Marc Tice. They should have superior from their president, from this federal government.