Obama Pledges To 'Degrade And Destroy' Islamic State

President Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to "degrade and destroy" the Islamic State after the recent beheading of another American journalist.

Speaking ahead of a NATO summit in Wales, Obama said the U.S. will work both to avenge the recent deaths of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as work to end the Islamic State's threat to the Middle East and beyond.

"Our objective is clear, and that is: degrade and destroy ISIL so that it's no longer a threat, not just to Iraq but also to the region and to the United States," the president said, referring to the Islamic State under its alternate name ISIL.

 "It's not only that we're going to be bringing to justice those who perpetrated this terrible crime against these two fine young men," the president continued. "The United States will continue to lead a regional and international effort against the kind of barbaric and ultimately empty vision" the Islamic State represents.

Earlier this week, the Islamic State uploaded a video that purportedly showed the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2013. Earlier in August, the terror group released a video showing the beheading of American photojournalist James Foley, who had also been kidnapped in Syria in 2012.

In the videos, Islamic State extremists claimed they were carrying out the barbaric acts as retribution for continued airstrikes on Iraq by the U.S. Obama has been clear in saying the U.S. will not respond to the Islamic State threats and will continue to carry out airstrikes to destroy the "cancerous" extremist group.