He was also wrong even in general. Negotiators are trained specifically because you do negotiate with terrorists. Not to give into their big demands, of course, but to try to end the situation with minimal bloodshed, especially to hostages and bystanders.

“We agree to pull back the perimeter by 15 feet. As a gesture of good faith, could you release three of the hostages? You’ll still have five more.” Or “Let’s do the exchange this way” which will just so happen to perfectly line up all the terrorists to give snipers a clear shot. That sort of thing.