pawn

pawnはこのようにも用いられますね。LDOCEには， "someone who is used by a more powerful person or group and has no control of the situation"とあります。念のため。（GP）

Kidnapping Westerners is big business

The kidnapping of Western journalists, tourists and aid workers has become a multimillion-dollar business in which hostages such as James Foley become pawns for bandits, tribesmen and militant groups looking to make a buck or score ideological points.

Hostages "are a commodity," says Scott Stewart, vice president for tactical analysis of Stratfor, a global intelligence firm in Austin.

Kidnapping hostages, then trading or selling them to other groups. is a well-established practice in the Middle East, Stewart says. It was common in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan during the Iraq War and its aftermath, and has spread to countries such as the Philippines and Syria where Islamist militants have a foothold.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/20/james-foley-islamic-state-kidnapping/14350483/