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The Bureaucracy of Hostages. Day 146.

By Walker Harris 
“Everyone assumes that it's not their place to take direct personal responsibility for what happens; that level of vested individual power is part of the previous almost feudal version of responsibility. The deindividuation is actually to a certain extent the desired outcome, though its negative consequences are not.” ― Nick Harkaway, The Blind Giant

“This government is using every ethical means to bring your husband back to you.” The US State Department employee stared over the shoulder of Vicksburg resident Lainie Wells as she recited the words.


Ellen van Oss is a trim, tall, intense woman, wispy blond hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her words are delivered in a staccato manner, perfectly matching the bureaucratic script that she recites.  I watch as Lainie’s jaw tightens, a momentary betrayal of the emotion that she normally keeps under a placid façade.

I have watched the interactions between Lainie and Ellen for several months now, as Ellen provides what scant information the bureaucracy feels appropriate to share with the wife of a hostage.  The pictures on the mantle show a robust Lainie, a bright-eyed biologist for ERDC, a researcher who spends her time out of doors, hiking, collecting, studying nature. 
The Lainie in this room, however, is very different – withdrawn, introspective, almost the inverse of the photos I see.

Lainie’s husband, Michael Wells, taught anthropology at the University of Beirut between 1984 and 1988.  Together with his fellow instructor, Jim Mathison, Wells was kidnapped in an unexpected situation in November of last year involving a small group of fanatics.  Details since his capture have been sparse, and only presented to Lainie after being thoroughly sanitized. What is clear from the details that have been provided, however, is that he has suffered significant torture at the hands of his captors, and continues to be at risk of grave harm.

The State Department repeats the same phrases over and over again: The US does not negotiate with terrorists; The US is working to secure the release of the hostage; Our government is using every ethical means….

The simple truth is that Michael and Lainie Wells are caught up in a geopolitical game that does not care about the outcome.  The objective of the game, however, does not focus where it needs to: on the safe return of the captive. 

This series will detail in five installments the people involved with the hostage situation: Lainie, Ellen, Michael, and Mathison.  Throughout the series, our coverage will provide insight into a government that is more concerned with self-perpetuation than with securing the release of the hostages.

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