Outrage!

From CNN and other sources, this story tells of a brutal murder captured on videotape.

Of course this is an absolute outrage, as no human should be treated in such a way. It's disgusting and reprehensible, and the people responsible should be captured or killed, and brought to justice in whatever way is necessary.

But if we capture them alive, they should not be tortured or abused. Republicans have already been busy acting outraged that anyone would care about the prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. They're also busily using today's horrible news as an ex post facto justification for Abu Ghraib.

It is not a justification. It is an outrage. It turns out, Americans are fully capable of being outraged at our enemies' behavior as well as our own.

Having already seen Republicans start this spin machine, there is now no way to explore this topic without politicizing it - we have them to thank for the vaguely slimy way it feels now to discuss this.

But the reality is, these murderers should be caught alive if at all possible, kept in humane conditions, and tried by a jury, convicted, and serve the sentence chosen for them by a judge. This is how justice works in America and throughout most of the world. Real patriots, and real Americans, follow the rule of law, not the rule of vengeance. Let us seek justice now, rather than revenge.

Goodbye, Nick Berg. You were an honorable person trying to do the right thing, and didn't deserve the fate you met. I hope we do your memory justice as we find and punish those who killed you.