Vice President Joe Biden gave an impassioned speech to a crowd in New Hampshire, where he said the U.S. would follow ISIS to the “gates of hell” to bring Steven Sotloff and James Foley’s killers to justice. The VP was remembering Steven Sotloff when he said:
When people harm Americans, we don’t retreat. We don’t forget. We take care of those who are grieving, and when that’s finished, they should know, we will follow them to the gates of Hell until they are brought to justice. Because Hell is where they will reside. Hell is where they will reside.
On September 3 a video surfaced online that showed U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff being beheaded. He was the second reporter to be killed by ISIS in less than a month. Another interesting note is that Biden’s speech comes just hours after it was revealed that Sotloff was an Israeli citizen. Biden’s unflinching support for Israel is well-known.
President Obama has come under fire for his statements on ISIS, which lacked the passion and resolve of Biden’s. Speaking in Estonia, Obama said, in monotone:
We know that if we are joined by the international community, we can continue to shrink ISILl’s sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem.
This speech, which you can see below, comes in stark contrast Biden’s passionate speech:
