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05/02/2024 05:23:59 am

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Obama Not Intimidated By ISIS’s Beheading Of American-Israeli Journalist Steven Sotloff

Barack Obama

(Photo : Reuters / Larry Downing) U.S. President Barack Obama will address the American nation tonight on his anti-ISIS strategy.

Tallin, Estonia – President Barack Obama said the videotaped beheading of American-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff released Tuesday will not intimidate the United States.

Speaking in Estonia Wednesday, President Obama announced that he intends to build a coalition that will “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State group.

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Obama has condemned the “horrific act of violence” against Sotloff and James Foley, the first American journalist who was earlier executed by ISIS. He said the killings strengthened the U.S.’s resolve to lead a regional and international effort against the barbaric and empty vision ISIS allegedly represents.

“Whatever these murderers think they will achieve by killing innocent Americans like Steven, they have already failed,” President Obama said hours after the Whitehouse intelligence agencies confirmed the authenticity of the video.

He added, "And those who make the mistake of harming Americans will learn that we will not forget, and that our reach is long and that justice will be served.”

The president’s strongly worded statement on the eve of the NATO Summit in Wales comes after criticisms that his administration lacks a coherent strategy to combat the Islamic militant group in Syria.

The president, however, explained that the air strikes in Iraq had “blunted the momentum” of the terrorist group by averting crimes that the group threatened to accomplish. He also announced his plan to consult NATO allies regarding strategies for fighting the ISIS and other extremist groups that will arise.

Using blunt language, Vice President Joe Biden in an appearance in Maine said that the United States “will follow [the Islamic militants] to the gates of hell, until they are brought to justice because hell is where they will reside.”

Speaking in Washington Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the latest ISIS beheading as “an act of medieval savagery by a coward hiding behind a mask.”

In the video, the hooded UK-extremist dubbed as Jihadi John warned President Obama, saying that “Just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.”

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