The American photojournalist James Wright Foley was working for Agence France Presse when he was captured crossing the Syria-Turkish border in 2012. The American war reporter had previously been held for six weeks by pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya while covering that conflict. Some believed that his capture would be similarly short-lived. Tragically, that would not be the case.

“On November 22, 2012, James Wright Foley, a freelance photo journalist, was taken by an organized gang after departing from an internet café in Binesh, Syria,” the FBI noted in November, 2012. “Foley had employed a translator to help him travel across the Syrian-Turkish border. The translator was also taken, but later released.”

On Tuesday, ISIS militants revealed that Foley was not only in their captivity but that he would be beheaded in order to send a message to Barack Obama. An image of Foley taken before his horrific execution is linked. The video of his beheading will not be shared here. He was 40-years-old.

The American journalist and analyst Steven Sotloff is also believed to be in ISIS captivity. Some suggest that the fundamentalist militants will target him for execution next.

The threat ISIS poses to the civilized world is total. For addressing the horrors ISIS is doling out to Iraq’s minorities, Americans will be targeted and retaliated against. Citizens of the United States cannot insulate themselves from this threat by pretending it will go away. This is our fight.