The next is a transcript of an interview with Roger Carstens, particular presidential envoy for hostage affairs, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Dec. 22, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Roger Carstens is the Particular Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and he joins us now from Amman, Jordan. This was a excessive threat go to to Damascus, the primary for the reason that Assad regime fell. Why was it vital to be nose to nose and go there?
ROGER CARSTENS, SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS: Margaret, thanks for having me on at this time. You realize, I feel it was vital as a result of we have been within the space since concerning the ninth of December, shortly after Damascus fell and the Assad regime left. We flew out to Beirut, later, we restaged to Amman, and our job’s been actually to forged a large internet to work with companions, allies, NGOs, and even members of the media to attempt to forged this vast internet to seek for locations that we consider Austin Tice could have been held over the past 12 years. However there’s one thing about getting nose to nose with the individuals which were looking out and positively one thing about getting nose to nose with the interim authorities to find out what’s seen, to what extent has it- have these websites been cleared, and to perhaps discover bits of data that you just’re simply not going to recover from a telephone or over e-mail.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You instructed reporters that you just have been amazed on the variety of secret prisons that Bashar al-Assad had, greater than 40 of them. Have these prisons been searched but, and are you aware if journalist Austin Tice was held in them?
AMB. CARSTENS: So it is not going to shock me to search out out that there are prisons which have but to be found and searched. I feel clearly loads of them have been, not solely by members of most people, but in addition by members of this conglomerate of individuals which are on the hunt and seek for not solely Austin Tice, however individuals like Majd Kamalmaz, and different Individuals which have gone lacking. So if one other, I might say, underground jail compound’s found even tomorrow or three days from now or three weeks from now, at this level, I am not gonna be shocked. I might say if I am shocked by something, it is simply the quantity of prisons. I imply, you’d nearly assume that when you have been working a rustic and also you wished to jail your enemies, you’d have one jail, and it would not be secret. However to have like 35 or 40 secret prisons, I discover that simply horrifying, disturbing, and but in a method fascinating. However actually the underside line is that now we have to assist, and- or fairly work with our interim authorities, officers, to guarantee that we do search in order that I can someday look Debra Tice within the eyes and inform them that our search been- has been exhaustive. Now in an ideal world, we’re gonna discover Austin Tice. I feel I’ve gone on document quite a few instances saying that I consider that he is alive and he is ready for me to search out him. And the president not way back mentioned that he believes Austin’s alive. Our job within the U.S. authorities is to maintain urgent and urgent and urgent to search out out Austin’s location, his disposition, his standing, and to deliver him residence.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are referring to them as interim authorities. Ahmed al-Sharaa, the pinnacle of HTS, often known as Mohammad al-Jolani, was described by State Division officers as being “very pragmatic” in these conferences at this time, however his group and he himself are nonetheless technically designated as terrorists beneath U.S. legislation due to prior affiliation with Al Qaeda. Do you belief that they’re being useful to the U.S. now?
AMB. CARSTENS: So Margaret, I am- I am not one of many coverage people who render a few of these choices, that is finished by people who spend years perfecting this. They’re- most of them are legal professionals, and I wasn’t sensible sufficient to get a legislation diploma. However what I can inform you is that they’ve handled us effectively when it comes to our search. I have been speaking to them for, I wanna say nearly, most likely 9 or 10 days, they usually’ve been useful in conducting the search. They have been undoubtedly useful at this time. We carried out a joint search of a facility that we- all of us thought would have a possible, I suppose, have some kind of relation to Austin Tice. So I perceive, in fact their- their previous. What I can inform you right- is that proper now they’re being useful within the seek for Austin.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So that you carried out a joint search with HTS of a jail at this time. Did you consider that that’s the place Austin was being held?
AMB. CARSTENS: You realize, Margaret, we had loads of info over the past 12 years that pointed to quite a lot of services. And in necking that down over 12 years, we got here up with a precedence checklist of about six websites and of these six websites, we felt that this had the best chance of getting held Austin at one time. However actually the long- the- I suppose I might say one of the best ways to explain it’s, we’re simply undecided. You realize, you may get info from Syria, which to an extent has been a black field when it comes to gathering info on Austin, and with all of the issues, all of the, I suppose I might say experiences being overlaid, it turns into clear that some locations have a better chance than others. And this, with the time that we had within the floor, appeared to be our greatest shot. So we- we gave it , onerous look. We’re gonna assessment all the data and proof that we collected and hopefully render some extra choices concerning the chance, however actually, our- our job is to simply hold looking out. You realize, it- typically it takes some time to find out whether or not the data is legitimate or not. And after we g- go to the onerous work of crosschecking it, however out of all of the websites that we may have checked out, out of the 40 or so prisons that we have recognized, and out of the six precedence prisons, we went to the one which we felt had the best likelihood of giving us some kind of proof that Austin had been there.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The Assad intelligence ministries have been identified for maintaining scrupulously detailed information, numbering prison- prisoners, alive and useless. Do these information nonetheless exist? Have you ever gone by means of them to search for proof of Austin and the Virginia physician you talked about, Majd Kamalmaz?
AMB. CARSTENS: So we have had an opportunity to search out varied paperwork, or I might even say file folders, holding info. Once more, within the joint search that we carried out with interim authorities at this time, we got here throughout quite a few paperwork. That is gonna must be introduced again. It is gonna must be translated from Arabic into English. And typically these paperwork will even have proof on them. They might have fingerprints, they could have traces of DNA. So we’re nonetheless within the, I might say the analysis part, however the backside line is we did discover some paperwork. We’re taking a tough have a look at them.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And this was a search you carried out together with particular operators from JSOC?
AMB. CARSTENS: I might by no means go into speaking about who I used to be with, however I’ll inform you this. I used to be with members of the FBI. The hostage restoration fusion cell holds primacy on these instances. My workplace SPEHA is concerned due to the diplomatic angle and side. So at this time on the bottom, we have been working with members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, individuals which are consultants at crime scenes, they usually did an exquisite job of sweeping it, utilizing all their abilities, abilities, and capabilities to bear, to- to search out the suitable paperwork which may make sense to assemble the proof that they felt may give us a- extra certainty. However that’s- I will most likely simply go away it at that. We have been with members of the- the legislation enforcement group, the FBI, and I feel they- they have been those that have been in a position to give us this good look that we in any other case wouldn’t have.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Debra Tice, Austin’s mom, despatched a letter that turned public to the Israeli prime minister, asking him to have his army cease bombing prisons, as a result of she believed her son is perhaps in one among them. Has that bombing difficult the search?
AMB. CARSTENS: I might say, to the extent that- of data that I’ve, no. Now I could not have full- a full image. You talked earlier concerning the dis- or the distinction between being in Beirut and speaking to individuals on the telephones and sending texts, WhatsApp, Sign messages, or being in Amman and doing the identical. While you get on the bottom and get nose to nose, you are in a position to suck in or vacuum in much more info. From the data that I’ve acquired, the bombing has probably not impeded any of the search efforts for Austin. Nonetheless, I might not need to be too agency about that as a result of there are bits of data that I could not have.
MARGARET BRENNAN: This wasn’t your first journey to Damascus. I do know again in 2020, you went there on the route of then president Donald Trump- Trump, together with Kash Patel. The regime at the moment by no means admitted to america that they held Austin Tice. Do you consider they have been mendacity again then, and that the regime did have him?
AMB. CARSTENS: Properly, what I can inform you is that the regime, after we talked to them in- in 2020, they issued maximalist calls for. They- they requested for the world. They weren’t actually giving something. They by no means admitted to having Austin Tice. They by no means promised to provide us any proof of life, POL, as we name it. They primarily requested for lots and mentioned, if we’re- america have been in a position to ship every thing, they is perhaps prepared to have a dialogue about this- this person who we’re asking about, or to debate our pursuits. At the moment, they would not even point out his title. In order that they have been not- they have been asking for lots and giving just about nothing, and it made for the conversations very irritating. I might say that in some unspecified time in the future we got here throughout info and that’s- as highlighted by President Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken, that led us to consider that at one level, the Syrian authorities actually did have Austin Tice. Did they- did they’ve him till the very finish? That is info we’re nonetheless making an attempt to type by means of. However at one level we- we really feel very assured that the regime did detain and have Austin Tice of their custody.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And earlier than I allow you to go, the household of Dr. Majd Kamalmaz was instructed by U.S. intelligence that their father doubtless died when he was in captivity. Is there a purpose for them to proceed to hope? Did you uncover something about him?
AMB. CARSTENS: I might say that if I have been of their footwear, I might at all times need to press to- till I get one thing that is very conclusive. And my position is- being part of the U.S. authorities, my job is to pursue- pursue as rigorously as I can, the reality. And my- I might most likely inform the household, and I even have, I- I’ve met the household quite a few instances, I have been of their properties, I’ve had an opportunity to- to interrupt bread with them. And I at all times inform them, it doesn’t matter what the standing is of Majd, we’re bringing him residence someday. I feel if I used to be within the household’s footwear, I might at all times have a hope that he was alive. I feel the U.S. authorities’s been agency, at the very least on the data that they have been in a position to present about his standing. However regardless, we’re gonna hold pursuing Majd’s case. And someday, in some unspecified time in the future, I feel we’re gonna be capable of put that to relaxation and produce him residence.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Roger Carstens. I do know it has been an especially lengthy day and an especially lengthy effort. Thanks for sharing particulars with us.
AMB. CARSTENS: Margaret. Thanks for having me on.
MARGARET BRENNAN: “Face the Nation” might be again in a single minute. Stick with us.
