This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kittery, Maine • Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday said America will follow the terrorists who posted videos showing the beheading of two U.S. journalists "to the gates of hell."
Speaking at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Biden said the Islamic State militant group responsible for beheading James Foley and Steven Sotloff won't intimidate the United States.
"The American people are so much stronger, so much more resolved than any enemy can fully understand," Biden said. "As a nation, we're united. And when people harm Americans, we don't retreat, we don't forget."
A videotape showing Sotloff's murder was broadcast Tuesday, two weeks after the same group released a video showing Foley's killing. Foley was from New Hampshire and Sotloff attended school there, bringing their killings close to home at the shipyard situated on an island in a river that runs between Maine and New Hampshire.
"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," Biden said. "Because hell is where they'll reside."
Biden's used "gates of hell" before, invoking it in an October 2012 vice presidential debate when talking about the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The vice president visited the shipyard to see the results of an agreement between labor and management that promotes collaboration and efficiency.