Tonight. That is it for this special report, fair, balanced and unafraid. Dont forget 13 hours this weekend saturday, 10 00 p. M. Eastern. Check it out if you missed it greta goes on the record right now. You will only see he it here on the record. The parents of beheaded american journalist james foley in their first joint interview. Dubai and john foley talk candidly about fig finding out their son was executed by isis. How the u. S. Government trend them with possible prosecution if they paid ransom to bring their son home and how they are turning their deep grief into a frontal help others. You will hear it all straight from the foleys the day we spoke with them at their New Hampshire home. Thank you very much for letting me come here. You are welcome, greta. Its so hard to talk to grieving parents. Its part of what we do in our work regrettably. So i want to start sort of the by talking about your
son. What was he like . If i just met you for the first time in the Grocery Store and i said whats your son james like . Well, thats quite a question, greta. Charles was a child full of joy. Full of adventure. Loved to read. Loved to play he was always a very friendly person. He had many times from the time he was real youngster. He had a a privileged child should in the sense we were a middle class family. Small town, New Hampshire. A lot of people cared for him. However, i think as he grew up and particularly when he went to marquette and worked in the inner city there, he started to see that there was another side of humanity, that there were a lot of kids who grew up
without parents and in or the poverty. Thats where he started to really develop in terms of the person he became. The more he saw people suffer the bigger his heart grew. He became really compelled to make a difference. Whether it was in teach for america or later when he chose to become a journalist. The only person in the world who could get a parking ticket with a scooter. He just could light up a room. And he was a very very active listener. Journalism seemed to merge his desire to give voice to those who dont have a voice, if you will. And at the same time be able to write, at the same time travel, really learn about other cultures and other places in the world it kind of merged all his interests, greta. What would he say about the fact that you have now
formed a foundation to help young journalists in light of what happened to james . We hope to carry on his legacy . Thats our biggest desire. We hope this foundation can be a voice for people who have no voice. Be they poor children, freelance journalists like he was or kidnapped americans around the world. We hope this foundation can be part of the solution to some of those issues in a small way. What are you calling it . James foley legacy fund. And we believe he has a lot to continue. He was a kind soul and cared for everyone. Both in prison and outside and testimony he had
survived, we believed he would want to do anything he possibly could to support current hostages, hostage families so this will be our major effort to work on this issue. When he was overseas, he was also captured in libya. And, when he came back, did he talk to you about the people there . Was this sort of was his mission to sort of help people or was it journalism . What was it about him . When he came back, he just told us how beautiful the libyan people were. I remember when he called from prison in libya and telling me how good they were to him. Ma. Yeah, that he they were treating him like a guest in the prison, the fellow prisoners were. In libya . In libya. They were political prisoners. In syria he was compelled to be there and see what was happening. Give voice to the people struggling for freedom give voice to the civilians in the middle of the war. He loved the civilian people. They fed him, they housed him. He raised money for an ambulance in aleppo because he was so struck by children being, you know, wounded people arriving to the hospital in taxis and back of trucks. He wanted to be part of a solution, not just describing the problem. He was a humanitarian as well as a journalist or videographer. The issue of ransom, its a very controversial issue
the issue of ransom in our mind is a pivotal concern. Its a difficult decision. Its not just something one country can decide. We hope that in time there will be multinational dialogue. Help the inconsistency of one country paying, others not. It was difficult for jimmy to see the european hostages be released. They knew as americans and brits that they would be the last because of their countrys policy there must be a better way to deal with this. I dont want to pay money to jihadist groups or other terrorists that continue their existence but i sure do want my son home. Maybe there are other
alternatives. Some negotiation may be better than none. Other valuable assets that could be traded. We really want to be part of the solution, greta. We feel that there has to be some way. American citizens should be valuable and i would hope the james w. Foley foundation can hopefully stimulate that dialogue with our government and internationally so that we can protect our citizens and so that hogs damage families can have resources, can be supported, can know what can be done, what can not. We felt like we were starting from scratch. We had no idea what we were doing, greta. I i will be very honest, if jim hadnt been in syria, i might not have been as
proransom, negotiation, but when its your own son and you have not been told there are other activities were going on that might mitigate the situation, what do we as family have left . We had no other alternatives it. And we began to race raise ransom. Money. In terms of pledges. We didnt actually handle any money but we asked for people to pledge us donations if, in fact, we got to a situation where money was asked for we were told that we might be prosecuted. Big deal. I would rather be in prison here than him being in prison there. Nobody has ever been prosecuted for that he we were under a great deal of duress. At that point we really had had no misgivings. If that was only avenue open to us, we were going to take it. But thats where it was
difficult, because we would like through the foundation for there to be a better support and dialogue between kidnapped American Families and their government. We needed help. People were very sympathetic, greta. Its not that people were very kind listened to that. They got information from us. They wanted information from us. We never got any back. We never had any idea what was being done. We were told they couldnt do prisoner exchange. We were told very clearly we could not raise ransom. We would go to jail. We would be prosecuted. And that they would not
negotiate with other countries and a sense was if we cant do it if we wont do it for you, if its illegal for us to do it for you, we wont change the policy i dont want to say we werent being helped because why were. We were supported. What was missing was a trust. A trust in the fbi, state department, with us as hostage families. All we were looking for is some indication we cant tell you what was going onl i dont think we would be great leaks. Our goal was to bring our son home. Not to make it more difficult for others or ourselves. I just think we needed a little more information and a little more trust. We felt outsiders asking
favors. I believe the government was doing the best they could. That they thought they were. Willing to listen to what the experience was like for our family. And i realize jim wasnt an important american. To me was best of america. But he was not a celebrity. He didnt work for any of the big networks. I understand that i would hope all americans, particularly of courage and compassion would be of value in the sense that i hope our government would work with us so that Going Forward thats our hope, greta. We dont want any American Family to go through what the loss that we have we
hope we can begin dialogue. We want to hopefully bring together other former hostage families to know what they think. We cant do it alone. Its not a one family issue. It would happen to anybody. It could happen to you, greta, if you want went on assignment. Its awful. All we are trying to do is gain trust so we can work as a group. So other people are not left behind in terms of not getting home or even worse. It was poignant. The european freed hostages said jim never gave up hope. He believed our country would enable his freedom in some way. That he was valuable enough just as an american citizen. He believed until the end. And when others were despairing or whatever, jim insisted that they had to be hopeful. He insisted that our government was doing everything possible. And that his family and friends were. He really believed. He even told one of the released hostages i can do another year. If thats what it takes, can i do it. Because he was american he was the whipping boy; beatings, and starved. He endured horrible things in captivity. The answer we got from our government is just trust. Were working on this. This is going you know, greta. It was hard. Thats why as a frantic
mother i did my best but not enough. I tried to be annoying so they wouldnt forget him. I failed. We didnt get the attention until the very end and it was too late. Attention is relative. Its complex. The country our u. S. Government had to deal with isis, had to deal with other hostages. There were conflicting issues bombing to save lives. Bombing many many lives. Bombing that would effect our sons life negatively. We are very sphang of all of that our questions are could we have done something earlier before it had gotten
to this point. If we could have been part of the dialogue. We just werent. Please, lets leave this room with with a positive altitude. What we want to do is go forward. We dont want to blame our government they are not the enemy. Isis is the enemy. We want to figure out some better way so our kids with be released with the europeans. Thats all we want. We want the kids home. You know. You said you heard communication about a week before his death. How did that come an email. Horrible email. Directed at our government. Through the web site . At that point. Nox7h8a actually. Didnt it, honey . We had set up an open email channel so if there was a communication. We kept sending emails and. Begging them to contact
us. Every day would you send an email . No, not that often. Every couple weeks. Especially toward the end we were trying, we said if we go to jail we will go to jail. We will try raise money and negotiate on a humanitarian basis as a family. So we started sending more frequent emails so we established this other email just for that purpose. A week before his death they sent us an email saying since we had been given many chances to negotiate to pay to engage with them. Obviously our stupid government wasnt going to. It was a degrading letter. We are the stupid sheep that follow our ogovernment and therefore, james foley will be the First American to be executed oh and the other thing they mentioned was the bombing. You are bombing our ntsb people. So we our innocent
people. So we are going to kill james. Quiet honestly we didnt take itdo j seriously. We were foolish though. So naive. We thought at least they are reaching out to us. We had raised a bit of money we sent an email right back. We did pass this email on. Who got the email . Who read it. We he did. You told your wife . Yeah. Family brought into this . Your other children brought into this. Not right away, no. Just you two . Just the two of us. What did you you do with the email . Immediately sent it to fbi. Immediately let them know. Which we had always done. Did they immediately respond . They got it and helped us construct the respond. We wrote the response and he they would critique it tweak it a a little with wording. They were very good about that. Talked to us our emails missed the mark. There was no strategy there. It was just as a family. They wanted the government to negotiate with them. Right. And we wouldnt. And our conversation with diane and john foley continues. How did they find out the son had been executed . And did they watch that horrific video . The foleys answer those difficult questions and more next. And are we at war with isis or not . You heard what secretary of state john kerry said yesterday. Well now you have to hear what the white house says today. Plus former congressman allen west is here to talk about it coming up. [guy] i know what youre thinking youre thinking beneful. [announcer]beneful has wholesome grains,real beef,even accents of spinach,carrots and peas. [guy] you love it so much. Yes you do. But its good for you, too. [announcer] healthful. Flavorful. Beneful. From purina. Dad,thank you mom for said this oftprotecting my future. You. Thank you for being my hero and my dad. Military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa Auto Insurance could be one of them. If youre a current or former military member or their family, get an Auto Insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. More of our interviews the parents of james foley going on the record. Disciple and john foley describing the moments when they learned that isis had executed their son. How did you learn the bad news . Not the greatest way, greta. We learned by one journalist calling us and crying on the phone. You have seen the news . All following up with my brotherinlaw, diane it was the news. Thats how we found out, greta. You have seen the÷v . Dp video. Not all of it. Thats their propaganda. They want to frighten us. And thats their brutal6k[ propaganda. We dont need to see that we want to remember how jim lived, greta. Jim was a beautiful young man. He was the best of america. Of course im prejudiced as a mother. Anyone who met him loved him. Its because he was a man of compassion and fun. He had a joy about him. Colleagues would say in aleppo they would both go into a room room full of syrians. Jim would say i dont know what to do. Jim would pass down acigarettes with everybody else. Everyone would start to smile and tell them story as if they were lifelong friends. Jim had a beautiful way with people. He could light up a room. Thats the way we want to remember jim. Thats the way we want the Legacy Foundation to, also. Thats the way we want to move forward with anybody who can help us. We want jimmy to be a light. Not a crime committed against us, not a crime committed so we are for answers in terms of lacing blame qui wanted jimmys life to be a reason to move forward and not blame. Horrific death for such a good person. It was the an an an an of
his life. We ask for help only. His death, without any doubt, has changed things. You know. The world is now focused on isis. All the people he was reporting on. There is attention on isis, defeating them. Without any doubt, his life has certainly had an impact. You know. And dont mean to spend a lot of time but a lot of americans have seen that video. Im sure thats true. I hope i think its important that americans realize that, you know, we need to protect our citizens
when we go abroad to do our jobs. Jim was doing his job just like a firefighter going into a fire. I received some criticism why what was he doing there. He was there because we as americans have no clue what is going on in other part of the world. There arent going to be as many journalists there now you understand that. Thats absolutely true. There willgngnu be fewer. Thats part of the problem. When that happens, they win. So we need courageous journalists. We need courageous humanitarian workers. We need not to be afraid and, yet, if, you know, the world is becoming a dangerous place, greta. And i guess i hope through our foundation we can work on a dialogue seek protection from people who dare do these things in the world. We will bring you the rest of our interview with diane and john foley monday
night right here on the record. The fell toys will talk about the chilling email they got a week before sons murder. Playing golf right before making a statement about their sons execution. Be sure to join us monday night at 7 p. M. Eastern straight ahead. Are we at war or not . Why wont the white house just say it . Former congressman allen west is here to talk about that next. Try alka seltzer reliefchews. They work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. Mmm. Amazing. Yeah, i get that a lot. Alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. Enjoy the relief. Watch this. Sam always gives you the good news in person, bad news in email. Good news fedex has flat rate shipping. Its called fedex one rate. And its affordable. Sounds great. [ cell phone typing ] [ typing continues ] [ whoosh ] [ cell phones buzz, chirp ] and we have to work the weekend. Great. More good news its friday woo [ male announcer ] ship a pak via Fedex Express saver® for as low as 7. 50. I can face my 3rd grade class trip. Tying shoes, fixing pigtails, and chasing after them when their wonder turns to wander. Hannah. New tena instadry. Designed for those unexpected leaks with 864 tiny funnels to zip wetness away. And even when you twist not a drop escapes. Thats Fearless Protection poise maximum cant match. teacher and i can stay perfectly dry. With tena, im not afraid. And you wont be either. Call 1877gettena. Is the United States at war with isis it sure sounds from the president s speech that were. I think thats the wrong terminology. What we are doing is engaging in a very significant Counter Terrorism operation. Its goings to go on for some period of time. If somebody wants to think about it as being at war with isil, they can do so but the fact is its a major Counter Terrorism operation that will have many different moving parts. That was secretary of state john kerry yesterday to he sure stirred up plenty of criticism by refusing to say that United States is at war with isis. Today the owe owe Obama Administration trying to talk itself out of that mess. Make no mistake we know we are at war with isil the same way we continue to be at war with al qaeda and its affiliates. The United States at war with isil in the same way we are at war with al qaeda and its al qaeda affiliates all
around the globe. And former congressman allen west joins us. Good evening, sir. Whats the problem . What do you think is the problem secretary of state john kerry didnt want to use the word war and now today, of course are everyone is trying to do the two step. Now they are saying this war. Good evening, greta. I think the problem is, they have a serious issue. Understanding that words have meaning when it comes to military operations. Tactics and terminology. When you talk about degrading, that means a specific capabil