--- title: Joe Biden Says U.S. Will Follow ISIS to the 'Gates of Hell' description: "Because hell is where they will reside" canonical: https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-03T17:56:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:47.089Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Says U.S. Will Follow ISIS to the 'Gates of Hell' og:description: "Because hell is where they will reside" og:url: https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd405bcfa73687ac9/6986a1d83bc999d1aa1a5249/joe-biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3443 og:image:height: 1937 og:image:alt: Joe Biden og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Says U.S. Will Follow ISIS to the 'Gates of Hell' twitter:description: "Because hell is where they will reside" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd405bcfa73687ac9/6986a1d83bc999d1aa1a5249/joe-biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Biden Says U.S. Will Follow ISIS 'to the Gates of Hell' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times 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. ## Video: Obama: ‘We Don’t Have A Strategy Yet’ For ISIS [Watch (HLS stream): Obama: ‘We Don’t Have A Strategy Yet’ For ISIS](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/p9LXCR3r.m3u8) (0:47)  _Published 2014-08-28. Obama: ‘We Don’t Have A Strategy Yet’ For ISIS_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 3, 2014 5:56 PM UTC  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the Civil Society Forum on the sideline of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 4, 2014 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the Civil Society Forum on the sideline of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 4, 2014 Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 3, 2014 5:56 PM UTC Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. will follow the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) “to the gates of hell,” in remarks just a day after an ISIS video showed the beheading of a second American journalist. “If they think the American people will be intimidated, they don’t know us very well,” Biden said during a speech at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, in which he referred to ISIS militants as “barbarians” who should reside in hell. “The American people are so much stronger, so much more resolved than any enemy could fully understand,” Biden said. “As a nation we are united, and when people harm Americans we don’t retreat. We don’t forget.” Biden called Steven Sotloff, the American executed in the video released Tuesday, “brave and compassionate.” President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters in Europe on Wednesday, said “[justice will be served](http://time.com/3261341/obama-isis-steven-sotloff/)” against ISIS, which also executed American journalist James Foley. “Our objective is to make sure that \[ISIS\] is not an ongoing threat to the region,” Obama said. “And we can accomplish that.” ## Transcript I have consulted with Congress throughout this process I'm confident that as commander- in- chief I have the authorities to engage in the acts that we are conducting currently as our strategy develops, we will continue to consult with Congress and I do think that it will be important for Congress ,. To weigh in and or that consultations with Congress continue to develop so that the American people are part of the debate. But I don't wanna put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet. As I've said, rooting out a cancer like ISIL will not be quick. We're easy, but I'm confident that we can and we will, working closely with our allies and our partners. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/"},"headline":"Biden Says U.S. Will Follow ISIS 'to the Gates of Hell'","datePublished":"2014-09-03T17:56:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:00:47.089Z","description":"\"Because hell is where they will reside\"","url":"https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Joe Biden","White House","ISIS"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd405bcfa73687ac9/6986a1d83bc999d1aa1a5249/joe-biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd405bcfa73687ac9/6986a1d83bc999d1aa1a5249/joe-biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Joe Biden","caption":"Joe Biden","creditText":"Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/","name":"Biden Says U.S. Will Follow ISIS 'to the Gates of Hell'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Obama: ‘We Don’t Have A Strategy Yet’ For ISIS","description":"Obama: ‘We Don’t Have A Strategy Yet’ For ISIS","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/p9LXCR3r/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-28T21:41:29.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/p9LXCR3r.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/","duration":"PT47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3264582/joe-biden-isis-iraq-syria/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```