united states was leaning heavily on egypt and its president, hosni mubarak, for support in the war on terror. >> we've got a good friend, americans have a good friend. >> reporter: it would have been a bad time to bring up a minor issue like the kidnapping of michael shannon's two boys by the family with ties to egypt's president. suddenly, michael shannon felt very alone. and in the letter from nermeen khalifa's sister, michael shannon was told, give up. "force and bad tactics will only serve to put you farthest away from your objective," she writes. "the children need to be with their mother. this is islamic law." and finally, eman khalifa wrote, "please don't worry about them. you should be happy for them." michael shannon's fight was only beginning.