Things have shifted over the past few years as these kidnapping cases have come to the fore. During my time we split the kidnapping cases between commercial and political, although we maintained contact with each other.
My understanding is there is a unit that actually focuses on these cases. They work closely with the consular side. In terms of a cadre who do hostage negotiations, my feeling is that negotiation, particularly with some consular background, is a valuable skill. People who have done consular work or have been on the security side and have an understanding of consular are well qualified to do this.
I would suggest, also, that any hostage situation goes quickly up the chain, including to the political level. There is, without doubt, every time, a pulling together of resources to best address—