of U.S. journalist James Foley engages in "cowardly
acts of violence" and "has no place in the 21st
century," President Obama said, discussing the
videotaped execution carried out by the Islamic
State.Obama also said the group attacks women and
minorities, "for no other reason than they practice a
different religion."
The president delivered a short address about the
killing from Edgartown, Mass., hours after U.S.
intelligence agencies confirmed that the militants'
video of Foley is authentic. The footage was first
posted online Tuesday.
"ISIL speaks for no religion," Obama said, using an
acronym for the group. "ISIL has no ideology of any
value to any human beings. Their ideology is
bankrupt."
"People like this ultimately fail... because the future
is always won by those who build, not destroy,"
Obama said, adding, "The world is shaped by people
like Jim Foley."
Foley, a New Hampshire native, had been
kidnapped while covering the civil war in Syria in
2012. In the video of his killing, the militant group
the Islamic State said the execution was retribution
for recent American airstrikes on its forces in Iraq.
As for the Islamic State's claims that it is at war
with the U.S., Obama said the group has been
fighting not the U.S., but its neighbors in the areas
of Iraq and Syria where it operates.
"When people harm Americans anywhere, we do
what is necessary to see that justice is done,"
Obama said.
As we reported earlier today:
"The video was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday
afternoon and later removed; since then, it has
resurfaced elsewhere online. The images show Foley
kneeling next to a masked militant and reciting
comments against the U.S. before being killed."
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