back in the mid 1980s. At the time, several Americans had been kidnapped and held hostage. Suddenly, someone kidnapped a Soviet citizen. He was released not too long afterwards without explaination.

I asked my squadron intel officer what happened. According to him, the Soviets sent in some KGB agents into Beruit where they kidnapped relatives of the kidnappers. They then began sending back the relatives a piece at a time. The hostage was released and the incident was never repeated.

I don't know if this story is true. I'm not even saying we should use those tactics. However, it's hard to argue with success...