Trading $400 Million for Four Americans

CNN writes an article about how the $400 million traded was a ransom. This topic is highly controversial because as a big part of American philosophy, we do not trade or negotiate with terrorists. Reporters on CNN say that a ransom is that money is dropped first and then the prisoners are traded. According to this definition of a ransom, the money that was dropped cannot be considered as a ransom. To me this seems like a negotiation, trade, and ransom all in one. Whether these people are terrorists or not I still do not believe that $400 million was the best option there was.