Lagniappe: Retribution for Abu Ghraib ... Violence Begets Violence - Whether or not the barbarous thugs who decapitated American Nick Berg would have done so anyway, the fact that the Abu Ghraib scandal was used as the rationale cannot be ignored. Violence is never met with peaceful resignation, but rather with vengeful retribution. We need to find another way to end the injustice of violence in the world than by giving tit-for-tat. There is no doubt in my mind that Americans will now be justifying prisoner abuse as an "eye-for-an-eye" response to this tragedy. When I see this happening, I'll be sure to reference it as proof of my thesis that violence only begets violence.