Jacobsen on Hostages

Former hostage Jacobsen believes that the U.S. State Department should have worked overtime to attain the release of U.S. hostages in Lebanon. If ever I should become a hostage, I hope I will not expect my government to make my release its top foreign policy priority. If I should become a hostage I would like to defy my captors like Leon Klinghoffer (the U.S. citizen killed in 1985 during the hijacking of the Achille Lauro ship) did, quickly ending my usefulness to the terrorists. Of course I would probably not act so courageously.

But I would recognize my status as a de facto soldier for the United States of America. As such, I would not expect my government to subvert its principles in order to satisfy the pleas of my family. I think a monument should be built to honor Klinghoffer, a true anti-terrorist hero.

MAITLAND B. ALEXANDER

Thousand Oaks