Talks between U.S. and Syrian officials last summer over the fate of journalist Austin Tice and other American hostages foundered over conditions laid out by Damascus and because of a lack of meaningful information provided on the fate of Tice. That’s according to people who spoke to The Associated Press in recent weeks about the secretive talks last August. The Biden administration says hostage recovery is a top priority, but it is possible that the conditions for continued dialogue will remain the same. A senior White House aide at those meetings, Kash Patel, tells the AP that “success would have been bringing the Americans home.”
