On the heels of the beheading of American journalist James Foley at the hands of ISIS, and the Obama Administration’s consideration of air strikes in Syria, American journalist Peter Theo Curtis, kidnapped in Turkey nearly two years ago, has reportedly been released to U.S. representatives after Qatari mediation helped lead to his release. From Al Jazeera:

 “Peter Theo Curtis was freed from captivity on Sunday, and handed over to UN peacekeepers in Syria’s Golan Heights, after reportedly being abducted in Antakya, Turkey, when he planned to enter Syria in October 2012.

After receiving a medical check-up, the UN said Curtis was handed over to representatives from the US government.

Footage of the American was released on June 30, showing a disheveled Curtis with long hair and beard, but appearing to be in good health.

Speaking in a video obtained by Al Jazeera, Curtis read from a prepared script stating his name and profession, saying he was a journalist from Boston, Massachusetts.

Commenting on his treatment, Curtis said he ‘had everything’ he needed and ‘everything has been perfect, food, clothing, even friends now.’

According to German newspaper die Welt am Sonntag, “something was given in return for his release.'” (emphasis added)

Of course, John Kerry, amid increasing criticism of the Obama Administration’s pathetic handling of the ballooning ISIS crisis, and an ill-timed, tone-deaf trip to the golf greens shorty after the murder of James Foley, made sure to conspicuously weigh in:

“‘We are all relieved and grateful knowing that Theo Curtis is coming home after so much time held in the clutches of [al-Nusrah Front],’ he said.

Kerry also said the US was using ‘every diplomatic, intelligence, and military tool’ available to release other Americans held hostage.”

The many questions and observations are obvious:

• Who exactly was holding Curtis?
• Are they connected to ISIS?
• Was it a negotiation, as reported by die Welt am Sonntag, or a rescue?
• If it was a negotiation, what did the kidnappers receive in return?
• If it was a ransom, who paid it?
• If it was a prisoner swap, who were the prisoners?
• And, of course, the Qatar connection. Because remember, the Obama Administration worked with Qatar to indirectly broker the release of Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five dangerous Taliban members, in an effort, many have asserted, to look as if it weren’t negotiating with terrorists.

The news is bittersweet. If there were some sort of negotiation done involving the Obama Administration to secure Mr. Curtis’ release, directly or otherwise, you can bet that ISIS is watching with great interest.