Parents blame Bush for son's execution

financial times ^ | Published: May 12 2004 5:00 | Joshua Chaffin

[CGASMIA68]

Parents blame Bush for son's execution By Joshua Chaffin in Washington Published: May 12 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: May 12 2004 5:00

Parents of a UScontractor executed by Islamic militants in Iraq are blaming the Bush administration for his death, saying that US authorities had contributed to the tragedy by unlawfully detaining their son for nearly two weeks before his disappearance.

Michael Berg claimed yesterday that his son, Nick, was held by US authorities without access to a telephone or lawyer because of suspicions that he was an insurgent or terrorist. By the time he was finally released in early April, according to Mr Berg, the security situation had so deteriorated that it was difficult for him to make his way home.

"That's really what cost my son his life, the fact that the United States government saw fit to keep him in custody for 13 days without any of his due process or civil rights," Mr Berg said.

Nick Berg, a small business owner from Pennsylvania, went to Iraq in December to help rebuild the country's infrastructure. Instead, he became the latest western contractor to have died a grisly death in that pursuit.

His headless body was found on a roadside by US soldiers yesterday. A video from an al-Qaeda-affiliated website depicted his decapitation by a gang of men who claimed to be taking revenge for the abuses committed by US soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison.

The execution drew outraged comments from US leaders. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said those responsible had "no regard for the lives of innocent men, women and children".

Rick Santorum, a Republican senator from Mr Berg's home state, called it "an outrage to the civilised world", and said: "If anyone wants to know what we're fighting and why we're fighting this war on terrorism, this is a very good example of it."

The family's accusation comes as the Bush administration struggles to fend off allegations that it has denied the civil rights of thousands of mostly Arab detainees it is holding in military prisons around the world on suspicion of terrorism.

Mr Berg was apprehended by Iraqi officials near the northern city of Mosul on March 24, according to his father, who claims that he was then interrogated by FBI agents.

Mr Berg was released on April 6, a day after his parents filed a lawsuit in federal court naming defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a defendant, and claiming that their son was being unlawfully held. They last heard from him on April 9.

The FBI said it was premature to comment on the case. An official familiar with the case acknowledged that FBI agents had interviewed Mr Berg, but said he was in Iraqi - not American - custody. The official was unable to clarify the legal difference between the two, given the US occupation.

But Mr Berg's father disputed this, saying it was "the FBI", when asked in a radio interview who had detained his son.

"We named Rumsfeld as the responsible person, and I still hold him responsible," Mr Berg said. "It's the whole Patriot Act. It's the whole feeling of this country that rights don't matter any more because there are terrorists about," he added. Additional reporting by Edward Alden

[bonfire]

How did the baby do today?

[Ann Archy]

Mr. Berg sounds like he HATES Bush and Rumsfeld, More than he LOVES his son....PITIFUL!!!!!!

[RGSpincich]

That's really what cost my son his life, the fact that the United States government saw fit to keep him in custody for 13 days without any of his due process or civil rights

Not really, it wasn't until your lawsuit sprung him from the protective custody of the US troops that he got captured by the murders. The Iraqi police had fingered him for the reward, imo.

[Howlin]

Great! Thanks for asking!

[John Lenin]

If I was a muslim living in America I would definitely take the towel off my head before going outside ...

[Diddle E. Squat]

First of all, they guy they were supposed to have executed was a girlyguy.

Stop insulting the slain American. If you are saying that the murder scene was staged, that is ridiculous. If you are saying that they killed someone else and made him state that he was Nick Berg in some sort of ANSWER scam, well I can't refute it, but its way, way out there. Especially considering that several of his friends said that he supported the war. You do know that its quite common for parents and children to have quite opposite views on politics and such?

The differences in the picture are explained by weight loss. Earlier he had travelled to another country to do some aid work, and came back with almost nothing, so a loss of weight from stopping lifting weights, poor diet, not a lot of food available, heat, etc. is quite likely. You seem to have gone from considering possible explanations to irrational advocacy of a wishful theory. E

[Nix 2]

I did this kind of stuff for a living, turkey. Your head doesn't change shape no matter how much weight you lose. You can lose fat in your face, but the shape of your skull remains the shape of your skull. And this guy in the execution video had slightly slanted eyes. Berg didn't. This guy had thick dark eyebrows. Berg didn't. And furthermore, if Berg would have lost that much weight, he would have looked emaciated, hanging skin and all that, like ex-muscle builders and such.
This guy was downright diminuitive. Berg wasn't. He was tall and pretty big boned. There are obvious differences if even all you use is an anatomical frame of reference.
Besides which, in case you hadn't noticed, I did not insult Nick Berg. In fact, I compared him to the slain Italian who remained defiant until his last breath. Read before you pounce. And think before you leap.

[Texasforever]

I wonder how this man will react when Ted Rall does a cartoon about his kid? I would bet good money he got a real chuckle out of the Tillman cartoon.

[Nix 2]

How many people have you seen who have just received the worst possible news they could ever have received throw themselves out their front door and onto their lawn so cameras could snap their pictures right quick?

[Diddle E. Squat]

Well I'm sorry that career didn't work out. His head appears to be the same shape, but without as much fat(such as in the change of the cheeks). He's got a beard to cover any chin sag, and with long-sleeves how can you tell if there is sag anywhere else? From the accounts it appears that he may have been held for a bit, no telling how little they fed him and the effect of disentary or other illnesses could have affected him.

You called him a girly-man, I'd say that is insulting. As to not fighting back, ever consider that he might have been drugged, tortured until he broke, exhausted from going without food, dissentary, etc.? How many times had he been brought before a camera by these thugs, perhaps if this wasn't the first time he didn't know he was going to be killed right then? You're making an awful lot of assumptions to try and fit your theory, assumptions that certainly go against Occam's Razor, and just don't seem to fit the other facts very well. Like most conspiracy theories. Sorry, but I just don't think any of your theories hold much water.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Everyone reacts differently, especially to such horrendous news. I dunno, I've seen a lot of Jews being quite public with their grief, so who knows.

Frankly I'm disappointed, but not surprised that parents who were so stridently against the war would in their time of grief lash out at the President. I disagree with it, but it is perfectly understandable given their background.

[Nix 2]

I'll be here and I'll apologize if I'm so wrong. But it ain't likely. Too much wrong here and too much that doesn't fit.

[Tetta]

I do not believe the beheading was staged, yet something is not right with how this whole thing came down. Am more inclined to think we handed him over for what reason we may never know . . . .

[Nix 2]

I think they might well have executed Nick Berg. I just don't believe this VIDEO was the Nick Berg execution. I think he would have fought, and it would not have served their purpose to show a defiant American any more than it served their purpose to show a defiant Italian. Is anyone out there paying attention? I said this before.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Fair enough. And if your theory is in any part true, I will not only apologize, but credit you for sniffing it out.

Sorry if I got a bit snippy, there's a lot of heat and emotion flying around right now, and some of it is counterproductive. I just don't want to give the media/left anything that they can twist, contort, and misrepresent. Americans will see this family's reaction for what it is, default anger in the midst of profound shock and grief. But attacking them too hard is something that might make them victims and swing public opinion. That is where I am coming from.

[Barlowmaker]

The story of him wandering around Iraq by himself looking for tower climbing work ... but calling his ANSWER linked Dad every day because Pops was the "business manager" ... doesn't add up either.

[Barlowmaker]

Yes, but the reaction today was to the news of a video, not the news of his son's death. He was made aware of Nick's body being found Monday.

[dawn53]

Phil is still a liberal, but he is VERY pro WOT.

He sees the issues so clearly and expresses his thoughts in such a logical fashion.

And since he's a liberal and makes no bones about it, his opinions seem to have more impact.

Sort of like when Zell Miller speaks. You know there is no partisanship behind what he is saying, it just the truth.

[ZULU]

"Give the father his moment of anguish."

His angush is - misplaced.

[arthurus]

There are billions of those chairs throughout the third world, and the little tables, too.