Wife of American held hostage in Afghanistan reveals ‘incredibly poignant’ conversation with Biden: ‘Devastating’
A woman whose husband has been held hostage in Afghanistan since 2022 has revealed “devastating” details of her long-awaited phone call with President Biden as he prepares to cement his foreign policy legacy before leaving office.
Anna Corbett — whose husband is Ryan held by the Taliban — has been begging to meet with the president since his detention began, and was finally able to speak with him by phone on Sunday.
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But that phone call didn’t get the results she was desperate for.
“He was very kind and empathetic, but what I heard him say was that he wasn’t going to bring Ryan home, and that was absolutely devastating because, as you just said, I was advocating hard on Ryan’s behalf, on behalf of my family. Ryan it’s just missing milestones,” Corbett told co-host Ainsley Earhardt on “Fox & Friends,” Monday.
“To hear after all this effort that there is a deal on the table, that there is a way for Ryan to come home without it being taken, is incredibly difficult for our family,” she continued.
Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, who are in custody in Afghanistan. (James Foley Foundation)
The White House confirmed on Sunday that Biden had spoken with Corbett’s family, along with the families of George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi – who have also been wrongfully held by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2022.
Ryan was captured by the Taliban while in Afghanistan on business in August 2022, a year after the US withdrew from the country, and since his illegal detention began, Corbett has wasted no time fighting for her husband’s safe release.
“It is very difficult because its conditions are not suitable for life,” she said. “He’s physically failing. He told me on the call that I wouldn’t recognize him.”
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Corbett decided to take her advocacy efforts even deeper traveling to Mar-a-Lago hoping to draw the attention of President-elect Donald Trump to her husband’s case.
“I’ve heard from a few that President Trump is concerned about our family,” Corbett said. “He knows we’re down here. He knows our situation and is very concerned.”
To her credit, Corbett successfully met with incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz over the weekend to discuss Ryan’s situation.
“It was amazing because it took 16 months to actually get a meeting where I traveled to DC to meet with the current national security adviser, Jake Sullivan,” she said. “This shows that President Trump is very concerned, that he wants to put our family first. I know he’s tough. He wants to make deals.”
“I am extremely encouraged, and the contrast of my experience is just amazing,” she continued.
Reports emerged this week that the Biden administration was negotiating with the Taliban to exchange three US citizens held in Afghanistan in exchange for Guantanamo Bay prisoner he was allegedly a close associate of Osama bin Laden.
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The deal appears to be stalled, as a senior Taliban official told The Guardian the group would prefer wait for us to negotiate with the incoming Trump administration.
Even with past setbacks, Corbett was hopeful that the Trump administration would bring Ryan home.
“I absolutely believe they will bring Ryan home,” Corbett said. “The details, of course, are unclear. This is complicated, and I’m not an expert on any of this, but it’s very clear that the new administration cares about returning American citizens to their country and cares about Ryan and George, who also hold with him, who have done no wrong.”
Corbett said she spoke with her husband on Sunday when he expressed his frustration with the length of his detention.
She wants to return home and be with her family, she said. “He’s an amazing dad. And he said, ‘I feel bad for everything you have to do for me.’ And of course I’ll do whatever I can, that’s what mums do and I want dad to be a part of their lives.”
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips, Alexis McAdams, Alexandra Koch, Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
