Posted on 06/18/2004 4:55:46 PM PDT by Indy Pendance
By Joanne Morrison
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush vowed on Friday that the beheading of an American contractor in Saudi Arabia by "extremist thugs" would have not blunt U.S. resolve.
"They're trying to shake our will; they're trying to get us to retreat from the world. America will not retreat. America will not be intimidated by these kinds of extremist thugs," the president told reporters while traveling in Seattle.
"There's no justification whatsoever for his murder ... They killed him in cold blood."
Bush was commenting on the decapitation of aviation engineer Paul Johnson, 49, who had been taken hostage a week earlier by al Qaeda militants loyal to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden.
He was speaking before reports from Saudi Arabia that the leader of the kidnappers had been killed by Saudi security forces while trying to dispose of Johnson's body.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said the beheading would "cause us and ... our Saudi colleagues to redouble our efforts to go after terrorists wherever they are, and wherever they are trying to hide, and to go after those who support these terrorists."
Johnson was executed after the Saudi government refused to meet a Friday deadline set by the kidnappers for it to free jailed militants. Pictures of his decapitated body were posted on an al Qaeda Web site.
Anger over the latest execution -- the third killing of an American in Riyadh in the past 10 days -- rang throughout Washington among both Democrats and Republicans.
"To the terrorists, those who are the most innocent are the most guilty," said House speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican from Illinois.
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry offered his condolences to Johnson's family.
"Americans are united against the terrorists who committed this abhorrent act against an American civilian in Saudi Arabia," Kerry said in a statement.
"It is essential that we have the full cooperation of the Saudi government in tracking down these terrorists and destroying al Qaeda," the Massachusetts senator added.
The killing of Johnson stepped up pressure on thousands of U.S. citizens and other foreigners vital to the economy of the world's biggest oil exporter and on the Saudi royal family, which bin Laden has sworn to overthrow for its close alliance with Washington.
the Saudi Royal family nurtured the Wahhabis. They will get what they have supported.
Their own demise.
..."the full cooperation of the Saudi government"... is a joke and a sham.
The Saudi government is a big part of the problem.
does anyone know why the first 80K that overseas workers is tax exempt?
Your point?
Right now I'd say it's because they don't live long enough to spend it. Or perhaps they don't stay there long enough to make it.
But whatever the reason, we've got to make it clear that if you kidnap or kill an American -the game is up, for you personally and for your country if they don't help us catch you.
Otherwise - I'm not kidding - the global economy is going to suffer enormously. Americans are the people who keep a lot of things running in a lot of places.
amen brother
It is scaled down. Used to be no limit.
why the tax saving incentive to work overseas?
going to get flamed on this one...just a question before someone else asks..
Because it's a war zone, and to entice people to think about using their talents overseas, to help create a stable democracy. I don't see a problem with it.
1. Do you drive a car?
2. You ever been there?
People are needed over there in order to keep the oil pumping.
When I worked in Canada, I had to pay taxes in Canada. Don't know how it is in the rest of the world.
it has been tax free for the last 25 years. I respect your opinion.
The original deal was if you are out of the contry for a complete tax cycle, what you earned out of the country was not subject to American taxes. The time period has been reduced and the exempt amount, but it's still money earned elsewhere having nothing to do with America.
they're trying to get us to retreat...
If so, they are fools as well as barbarians. Such despicable acts only strengthen our resolve.
hazardous duty pay. does it really matter.
They're thinking GWB is another clinton, you have to admire Bush, he has not once backed down from the mission on the WOT. Thank God gore isn't president. He'd be offering them environmentally friendly rope.
to someone that pays as much tax working here, I thought it did. This is probably not the right forum to address this topic. I am sorry people.
I sincerely believe that anyone supporting Kerry has concluded that the WOT is lost and is looking for a way out. Sad
Anyone still working there has plenty of warning by now --- to me no amount of money would be worth getting beheaded by Arab savages.
I think our government really needs to get tougher though --- start doing something that will hurt the Muslims hard enough.
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