Russ Feingold: “I join my colleagues and the American people in expressing outrage at the vicious murder of American citizen Nicholas…”

“I join my colleagues and the American people in expressing outrage at the vicious murder of American citizen Nicholas Berg in Iraq. I extend my sincere sympathy to Mr. Berg's family and friends, who have had to confront a terrible loss in the context of a barbaric public display. No one should be misled by the claims of the terrorists responsible for this atrocity. They purport to be retaliating for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers. But this is a lie. These people seek to kill us and kill our children because that is at the core of their agenda, because they derive power from inspiring fear and horror. They do not need a pretext for their brutality. We express our disgust at the scandalous treatment of Iraqi prisoners because our country stands for basic principles, for the rule of law, for the dignity of the individual. We hold ourselves to high standards, and generations of Americans have shed blood to protect those standards and uphold our principles. We do not call for an investigation of these prisoner abuses in the hopes of placating terrorists. We call for an investigation and for full accountability because that is the right thing to do.”