ATLANTA - The wife of a Marietta man who was killed in Iraq by Islamic militants thanked the public for the outpouring of sympathy shown to her family, while expressing anger toward the Bush administration for its policies in the war on terrorism Monday.

In a television appearance, Pati Hensley said she took a call from the White House offering condolences shortly after her husband, Jack Hensley, was executed by terrorists last week, but said she couldn't help but respond angrily.

"I really feel it's time for America to start taking care of Americans, and for us to stop being world peacemakers. We have a lot of issues that need to be resolved here," she said on NBC's "Today" show Monday. "We need to bring those people home and stay home."

Hensley, who had accepted a construction job in Iraq to support his wife and daughter, had been kidnapped Sept. 16 with two co-workers, American Eugene Armstrong and Kenneth Bigley of Britain. Armstrong also was killed, while efforts to free Bigley have continued.

Pati Hensley joined the plea to Bigley's captors Monday.

"It would serve no purpose to kill him, just as it served no purpose to kill (Eugene) Armstrong or my husband," she told NBC.

Pati Hensley also thanked people around the world for an outpouring of support since the tragedy. About 800 people attended a memorial service Saturday, and many have contributed to a trust fund for the couple's 13-year-old daughter, Sara.

Hensley appeared on the show before traveling to Dover Air Force Base, Del., where she planned to claim her husband's body Monday.

She said she initially was hesitant to make the trip but realized that she needed to do it for her husband. "I've been with this man for 23 years, and this is now not the time for me to let somebody else take care of him. I'm going to go take care of him."