President Barack Obama vowed to "degrade and destroy" the Islamist militant group behind the beheading of a second American journalist. "We will not be intimidated," Obama told reporters during a visit to Estonia on Wednesday. "Our reach is long and justice will be served."
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Obama said that Americans were "repulsed" by the slaying of Steven Sotloff by Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants. He also vowed that the U.S. would continue to lead the battle against "the kind of barbaric and empty vision that [ISIS] represents."
He said that mission would "take some time but it is going to get done," adding: "We will degrade and destroy [ISIS] so that it is no longer a threat to Iraq, the region and United States."
A video showing Sotloff's beheading surfaced days after the journalist's mother pleaded with ISIS' leader for mercy. Its release followed the murder of James Foley, who had also been held hostage by the Sunni extremists. The president added that Sotloff "deeply loved the Islamic world" and had risked his life traveling in the Middle East to "tell the story of Muslim men and women demanding dignity."
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