A family of hikers kidnapped in Afghanistan released a video imploring President Obama to release a terrorist to secure their freedom.

An American woman and her family who have been held hostage for four years in Afghanistan pleaded with President Obama to secure their release before he leaves office next month, according to a video that was made public Monday.

“Please don’t become the next Jimmy Carter,” said Caitlan Coleman, 31, sitting with her husband, Joshua Boyle, a Canadian, and their two children, who were born in captivity. “Just give the offenders something so they and you can save face so we can leave the region permanently.”

The couple has been held by the Haqqani network, a Taliban faction, which seized them in late 2012 as they were backpacking in Wardak Province, an insurgent stronghold near Kabul. Ms. Coleman was pregnant at the time with their first child.

American officials said the Haqqani network was demanding the release of Anas Haqqani, one of its commanders, who was captured by the Afghan intelligence service in 2014.

What's wrong with this story?  Who goes "backpacking" in Afghanistan?  Who goes "backpacking" while pregnant in Afghanistan?  The answer: no one in her right mind.  It's exactly like the stories we read about people who sneak into North Korea and then cry for help when they get caught.

Ms. Coleman, people don't want to get into Afghanistan; they want to get out of it – all except drug dealers and Islamists.  Afghanistan is not Australia.  Kandahar is not Bali.  You must have known what you were getting into, and you were especially irresponsible to go there while pregnant.  And now you want America to release a terrorist to secure your freedom?  And you made another baby with your husband while in captivity?  What's wrong with this picture?

Meanwhile, they are not the only ones:

The Haqqanis are believed to be holding at least two other Americans, including a university professor kidnapped in August and a Massachusetts man taken in 2014.

Listen: if you get kidnapped off the streets of New York, drugged, and sent in a shipping crate to Afghanistan, you deserve sympathy.  But not these people.  I don't know how a civilian can even get into Afghanistan.

Exit question: If you were secretary of state, what would you say to Ms. Coleman's captors?

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.