Foley's Mother Says U.S. "Let Jim Down"
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: The grieving mother of beheaded American journalist, James Foley, is appalled by how the U.S. government handled the incident. Her family was threatened with prosecution if they tried to pay ransom money. And she had to brief the FBI on her son's case. Last month, ISIS posted a gruesome video showing James Foley kneeling in the desert, being executed by a man dressed in black. Diane Foley sat down for an exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper.</s>DIANE FOLEY, MOTHER OF JAMES FOLEY: I really feel that our country let Jim down. And --</s>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, A.C. 360: In what way?</s>FOLEY: Well, Anderson, I -- we met wonderful people within our government. Good people who cared, who wanted to help? But the reality of the bureaucracy and really was such that we were not helped. We really weren't. And --</s>COOPER: You didn't feel like they were there for you?</s>FOLEY: Not at all. Yet, we don't blame -- I don't want to blame people. That's not going to help.</s>COOPER: Did you feel that your family, that Jim was a priority for the government?</s>FOLEY: No, we really didn't.</s>COOPER: You saw that in what? In the resources that they have you interact with? The people they had you interact? How did you get that sense?</s>FOLEY: As an American, I was embarrassed and appalled. You know, I think our efforts to get Jim freed were an annoyance. And --</s>COOPER: An annoyance to the government?</s>FOLEY: Yes. Jim would have been saddened. Jim believed, until the end, that his country would come to their aid.</s>COOPER: Did you know that -- what was happening to him --</s>FOLEY: To be honest, that part was frightening. We tended to know everything before the FBI or anyone else.</s>COOPER: How so?</s>FOLEY: Because we did everything we could. I went to Europe several times to interview the European freed hostages just so I could find out how Jim was, what's going on, where are they? What are chances of this or that? It was a frightening thing. And the FBI was -- everyone was kind and supportive but the FBI used us for information.</s>COOPER: Really? They came to you for information about his location?</s>FOLEY: Absolutely. Yes.</s>COOPER: It's amazing to me that you flew overseas to interview hostages.</s>FOLEY: Yes. Anderson, as a mother, I was frantic.</s>COOPER: You would do anything?</s>FOLEY: Anderson, Jim was an incredible human being. He was very courageous and he had a heart. Anyone who knew Jim loved him. Jim had an ability to be present. To listen. Unlike so many in our world. Jim had many gifts, Anderson. I did all I could. I was unable to do enough.</s>COOPER: What did you learn from the hostages who had been with him and had been released?</s>FOLEY: That he continued to have compassion and goodness to the very end. That he continued to believe that our country would find a way to free them. He passionately believed in America and our goodness and he was valuable as a citizen. And I also found out that prayers of people from all over the world gave him an incredible courage.</s>COOPER: He felt that?</s>FOLEY: Without a doubt, Anderson.</s>COOPER: I understand that he actually got a letter to you through one of the other hostages.</s>FOLEY: He did.</s>COOPER: That's an extraordinary thing. It wasn't a physical letter. The hostage memorized the letter.</s>FOLEY: He did.</s>COOPER: I have an excerpt from the letter. Can I read it? It's really interesting, extraordinarily moving. "Dreams of family and friends take me away. Happiness fills my heart." It's such a sign of resiliency.</s>FOLEY: Jim knew, Anderson, that he was privileged. Privileged in a very ordinary American sense. He was very loved. He grew up in a community of love, crazy family. He was oldest of five children. Lots of crazy, wonderful memory. He was privileged. He was privileged as many of us Americans are.</s>KAYE: Foley's parents launched a legacy foundation to honor their son. It's raising money for families of American hostages and journalists covering conflict zones. You can visit their website at JamesFoleyfund.org. And you can see more of Anderson's report at 8:00 eastern on CNN. CNN's interview with Foley's mother is getting some strong reaction. National Security Advisor Susan Rice responded to her claims. Watch this.</s>SUSAN RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: What I and others in the U.S. government worked very hard with Diane Foley and her family to try to be supportive, to try to provide what information we could. And, of course, as you know the president ordered a very daring and very well executed rescue operation on the only occasion we had what we thought was fresh and we hoped actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of Jim Foley and the other hostages. Unfortunately, they were no longer there.</s>KAYE: James Foley was 40 years old when he was brutally executed last month. His mother once wrote that Foley gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people. Coming up next, 10 Arab nations have pledged support to the U.S. in the fight against ISIS. But what is each country willing to do and how will it help? We'll explain. Plus, an NBA team's general manager under fire for comments about a player in a private meeting, but it was recorded. And guess what? That recording was leaked. Yes, it was. We'll play it for you and we'll talk about the backlash as well.