White House: Foley’s Execution a Terrorist Attack on US
Local Editor
The murder of American journalist James Foley by the so-called "Islamic States" militants in Syria was a "terrorist attack" against the United States, the White House said Friday.
"When you see somebody killed in such a horrific way, that represents a terrorist attack -- that represents a terrorist attack against our country and against an American citizen," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.
Rhodes, speaking three days after the extremists released a video of Foley's beheading, said the execution "represented an affront - an attack not just him, but he's an American, and we see that as an attack on our country when one of our own is killed like that."
Rhodes also said that paying ransom to free hostages is "not the right policy."
Washington "will not provide funds for terrorist organisms," Rhodes said, after information that the "IS" militants and other countries had paid to have their nationals freed.
"We feel very strongly that it is not the right policy for governments to support the payment of ransom to terrorist organizations.
He further added: "In the long run ... it provides additional funding to these terrorist organizations, which allows them to expand their operations."
Washington believes that by paying ransom "it only creates perverse incentives for those terrorist organizations going forward, and a source of funding. And we want to cut off and choke off their sources of funding."
He added that there was "a small number" of US hostages - without giving specific figures - being held in Syria, "and we're going to continue to do whatever we can to try to bring them home."
On Thursday, US War leaders said that the "IS" poses a greater danger than a conventional "terrorist group" and is pursuing a vision that could radically alter the face of the Middle East.
Source: News Agencies, edited by website team
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