Obama On Kayla Mueller: Not Paying Ransom "Is As Tough As Anything I Do"

BuzzFeed - Photograph by Jon Premosch for BuzzFeed News President Barack Obama said Tuesday he is heartbroken by the death of American hostage Kayla Jane Mueller, who had been held by ISIS for more than a year. Obama, who said telling hostages' families that the U.S. won't pay ransom is "as tough as anything I do," also said that Mueller was one of the hostages the United States sought — and failed — to rescue in a raid in Syria last summer. "She was an outstanding young woman and a great spirit — and I think that spirit will live on," Obama said in an interview with BuzzFeed News. "The more people learn about her, the more they appreciate what she stood for — and how it stands in contrast with the barbaric organization that held her captive." Obama said his "immediate reaction was heartbreak" to the confirmation that Mueller, a 26-year-old aid worker from Arizona who was kidnapped in Syria, is dead. Mueller Handout / Reuters The United States, unlike some Europ