--- title: Barack Obama Decries ISIS Beheading of James Foley description: "No just God would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day" canonical: https://time.com/3148919/obama-isis-james-foley-execution/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-20T17:19:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:58:07.790Z article:section: Politics og:title: Barack Obama Decries ISIS Beheading of James Foley og:description: "No just God would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day" og:url: https://time.com/3148919/obama-isis-james-foley-execution/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7498e1c076f35900/6986a03ef983e7e83c04f4d2/barack-obama-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement from Martha's Vineyard og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Barack Obama Decries ISIS Beheading of James Foley twitter:description: "No just God would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7498e1c076f35900/6986a03ef983e7e83c04f4d2/barack-obama-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Says 'Entire World Is Appalled' by ISIS Beheading of Journalist > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=10117652-cea0-4be1-985b-327f257dc2b6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Obama Says 'Entire World Is Appalled' By ISIS Beheading of Journalist [Watch (HLS stream): Obama Says 'Entire World Is Appalled' By ISIS Beheading of Journalist](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yeoywx5C.m3u8) (0:55)  _Published 2014-08-20. Obama on James Foley: "ISIS Speaks For No Religion"_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 20, 2014 5:19 PM UTC by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 20, 2014 5:19 PM UTC President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the “entire world is appalled” by [the death of American journalist James Foley](http://time.com/3145747/james-foley-isis-iraq-steven-sotloff/), who was kidnapped in Syria more than 18 months ago and whose death was depicted in a video Tuesday. The militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) posted the graphic video of the execution on Tuesday, calling it retribution for American airstrikes against Sunni extremist forces in Iraq. The U.S. intelligence community has authenticated the video, National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said. “Today the entire world is appalled by the murder of journalist Jim Foley,” Obama said Wednesday in an emotional statement from Martha’s Vineyard. Obama said the Middle East must work to “extract this cancer” that threatens the stability of Iraq and the region. “\[ISIS\] speaks for no religion,” Obama said. “Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim.” “No just God would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day,” he added. Obama called Foley’s family on Wednesday morning to express his condolences on the loss of their son. “Jim was taken from us in an act of violence that shocked the conscience of the entire world,” Obama said. The video also includes a threat to kill Steven Sotloff, a freelance journalist who has written for TIME and other outlets, and has been missing since August 2013\. “We keep in our prayers those other Americans who are separated from their families,” Obama said. “We will do everything that we can to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for.” Obama said the United States would continue its efforts to confront ISIS. “The United States of America will do what we must to protect our people,” he said. “We will be vigilant, and we will be relentless.” A Facebook page affiliated with the Foley family’s campaign for his release [posted a message](https://www.facebook.com/FindJamesFoley/posts/492126484255686) Tuesday evening from his mother, Diane Foley. “We have never been prouder of our son Jim,” she wrote. “He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people. …We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.” Foley “was taken by an organized gang after departing from an internet café in Binesh, Syria,” near the Turkish border, the FBI said in an alert following the Nov. 22, 2012, kidnapping. He was in Binesh covering the Syrian civil war for the _GlobalPost_ website and AFP. Foley, 40, grew up in New Hampshire, where his parents live. _\-Additional reporting by Mark Thompson._ ## Transcript Today the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group ISIS. He was taken hostage nearly two years ago in Syria and he was courageously reporting at the time on the conflict there. Jim was taken from us in an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world. He was 40- years- old. They may claim, out of expediency, that they are at war with the United States, or The West; but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors, and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision. So ISIL speaks for no religion. Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim. And no faith teaches people to massacre innocents. 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