1. The Talibanﾒs hostage-taking of 23 innocent South Korean Christian aid workers on July 19 in Afghanistan is a stark reminder of who our enemies are and the barbaric means they will continue to use to achieve their goals of militant Islamism. 2. Our prayers are with the South Korean Christian aid workers for their safety and release without harm. We also offer our deepest condolences to the family of the groupﾒs leader, Pastor Bae Hyng-Kyu, murdered by the Taliban captors.. 3. AIFD calls upon the Karzai administration and coalition countries working together against militant Islamists to harness our united military and diplomatic resources to achieve the release of the hostages and the defeat of their captors. 4. AIFD stands firm in support of established American policy of non-negotiation with terrorists and their demands. Any acquiescence to the demands of the Taliban for a prisoner exchange or any other demands for a short term relief of tension will only exponentially encourage future attempts to terrorize noncombatants and take other hostages. Negotiation and appeasement of terrorists only increases the security risk of our citizens around the world. 5. This hostage crisis should also remind us that the fronts in the war against militant Islamism are many. We cannot afford to neglect any of them. 6. We have in many ways neglected the rebuilding of Afghanistan and the need for a firm, lasting de-Talibanization of Afghanistan. We need to reaffirm our commitment to a lasting permanent defeat of the Taliban if we are to truly to leave their country safer and more free while also preventing future hostage incidents like this. *********