The family of Kayla Mueller, the U.S. aid worker captured by ISIS and killed while in the terror group's custody, said the Obama administration's decision to trade five Taliban prisoners for accused deserter Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl seriously weakened their daughter's chances for survival.
Mueller's parents, Carl and Marsha,
told NBC "Today" host Savannah Guthrie that their daughter was captured on Aug. 5, 2013, and that ISIS initially demanded a ransom.
"I really feel that we had a chance to get Kayla out," Carl explained. "We were in communications with them, unlike other families. But how do you raise $6.2 million? You know, it pretty much made it impossible."
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U.S. law prohibits citizens from negotiating with terrorists, so the family's hands were tied. All they could do was hope and pray for their daughter.
In May of 2014, the White House negotiated for the release of Bergdahl, arranging for five Taliban detainees to be released from Guantanamo Bay.
"That made the whole situation worse," said Kayla’s brother, Eric. "Because that's when the demands got greater. They got larger. They realized that they had something. They realized that, 'Well, if they're gonna let five people go for one person, why won't they do this? Or why won't they do that?'"
At first the Muellers thought that they might be able to negotiate a similar deal for their daughter.
"I actually asked the president that question when we were in the White House," Carl explained. "Yeah, that was pretty hard to take."
ISIS claims that Kayla, who had originally traveled to Turkey and then Syria to help displaced refugees, was killed by a Jordanian airstrike against the Islamic State earlier this month at the age of 26.
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In speaking about the militant group, Kayla's parents said that the U.S. has "let them get too powerful" and mentioned President Obama's much-criticized comment about ISIS being a "JV" team.
At the conclusion of the interview, Kayla's family announced that they had started a foundation, Kayla's Hands, dedicated to causes their daughter was passionate about.
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