Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

Rangers walking around in the woods came across the Abu
Sayyaf camp, or so they said. Later we heard another
government agency had tipped them off. That other
government agency (OGA) had not told us about their
location because . . . because . . . why? That’s something I
will never understand.
The Scout Rangers formed a skirmish line from a tree
line above the camp and opened fire, indiscriminately
pouring bullets into the area. Gracia and Martin were taking
a nap in their hammocks when the fire started raining down.
They both fell out of their hammocks and started to roll
down the hill toward safety. But as a sheet of bullets from
their rescuers fell on them, Gracia felt a searing burn flare
through her right thigh. And then, she felt Martin go limp.
Minutes later, after the last rebels fled, the squad of
Philippine soldiers tried to reassure Gracia that her husband
was fine, but she shook her head. After a year in captivity,
she had no time for fantasies. Gracia knew her husband was
dead, and she was right: he’d been hit in the chest, three
times, by “friendly” fire.
In the end, the supposed rescue mission killed two of the
three hostages there that day (a Philippine nurse named
Ediborah Yap also died), and the big fish—Sabaya—
escaped to live a few more months. From beginning to end,
the thirteen-month mission was a complete failure, a waste
of lives and treasure. As I sat in the dark at home a few days
later, dispirited and spent, I knew that something had to
change. We couldn’t let this happen again.