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Parents blame Bush for son's execution
financial times ^ | Published: May 12 2004 5:00 | Joshua Chaffin

Posted on 05/11/2004 7:27:30 PM PDT by 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


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; answer; beheading; berg; decapitation; iraq; nickberg
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To: t1b8zs
"Parents blame Bush for son's execution"

The preceeding message brought to you by the elect Kerry campaign.

21 posted on 05/11/2004 7:38:42 PM PDT by CWOJackson
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To: baltodog
Dead men tell no tales?

A_R

22 posted on 05/11/2004 7:38:42 PM PDT by arkady_renko
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To: t1b8zs
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.

Mr. Berg is also a member of ANSWER!

Therefore, I lay the blame for his son's death at HIS OWN DAMN DOORSTEP, as well as the plague that is Islamazism!

Hey, Mr. Berg....still believe these left-hand a$$wipers are civilized, and there was no NEED to clean up this mess? Are the REALLY a "religion of Peace"?

23 posted on 05/11/2004 7:38:49 PM PDT by Itzlzha (The avalanche has already started...it is too late for the pebbles to vote!)
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To: VRWC For Truth
True. They were part of a protest trying to shake down the manufacturer of the bulldozer. Hideous family.
24 posted on 05/11/2004 7:38:50 PM PDT by Paul Atreides
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To: baltodog
Mr Berg was apprehended by Iraqi officials near the northern city of Mosul on March 24, according to his father

The Iraqis arrested him. I not only want to know why, I want to know how and when he was captured.

25 posted on 05/11/2004 7:39:39 PM PDT by Right_in_Virginia
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To: dalebert
Wrong place Wrong time;
guess they need to blame some-one and Islamic Fundamentalist wouldnt be PC or liberal enough.
26 posted on 05/11/2004 7:40:16 PM PDT by CGASMIA68
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To: ZULU
I saw the father down on the ground, his son hugging him, when he was told about the video of his son. That was when he made this statment. Subsequent staments have not had the same tone. Give the father his moment of anguish.
27 posted on 05/11/2004 7:40:59 PM PDT by tricky_k_1972
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To: Texas Eagle
Mr Berg was released on April 6

So, how is the fact that he had an entire month to leave, yet didn't, Bush's or Rummy's fault?

28 posted on 05/11/2004 7:41:48 PM PDT by Paul Atreides
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Comment #29 Removed by Moderator

To: t1b8zs
Does this look like Don Rumsfeld to you Mr Berg?


30 posted on 05/11/2004 7:43:28 PM PDT by jwalsh07
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To: t1b8zs
Please excuse my rant...however....

How is this even remotely related to the Bush Administration? How about putting the blame where it belongs? Mr. Berg must of had some knowledge that he was heading INTO A DANGEROUS PARTIALLY UNSTABLE COUNTRY...WITH ARMED DANGEROUS TERRORIST PIGS WONDERING THROUGHOUT IT(in my best Sam Kinison voice). So, if Mr. Berg stayed home, he'd still be alive. Ok, let's deal with the fact that he did go to Iraq. BLAME THE F'in PEOPLE THAT TOOK THE KNIFE TO HIS THROAT!! Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why Mr. Berg was detained? Could he have been their for some other reason?

31 posted on 05/11/2004 7:43:34 PM PDT by Heff ("Liberty is not America's gift to the world, it's the Almighty's gift to humanity" GW Bush 4/12/04)
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To: Paul Atreides
This smells like a pre-emptive strike by the Bergs. They must know something about what their son was up to.
32 posted on 05/11/2004 7:43:34 PM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all)
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To: t1b8zs
How about a little grieving before playing the blame game. .....And how about placing the blame where it should be placed -- solely on Islamofascism. But these peoples' PC sensibilities simply just won't allow them to see the true culprit.
33 posted on 05/11/2004 7:44:03 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: tertiary01
I have been so impressed with Phil Hendrie's comments on the Prison Abuse situation. He sees the whole thing sooo clearly and is able to communicate the issues in such a succinct fashion.
34 posted on 05/11/2004 7:44:33 PM PDT by dawn53
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To: t1b8zs
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.

What is their excuse for cutting off Daniel Pearl's head????????????

These people are animals and the only thing they understand is brute force. Saddam had them pegged properly. We should just turn Saddam loose and let him start up his empire gain.

35 posted on 05/11/2004 7:45:23 PM PDT by chainsaw (http://www.hanoi-john.org.)
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To: baltodog
He was there to help the Iraqi people, and by the way he helped with the electronics at the last national Republican convention in Philidelphia in 2000. he believed in what we were doing there and was trying to help. he said he supported the U.S. involvment in Iraq and that he agreed with Bush, again please give this father his moment of anguish.
36 posted on 05/11/2004 7:45:28 PM PDT by tricky_k_1972
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To: Mr. Mojo
They are like the Million Moron Marchers; why blame the perp when it is easy to blame an inanimate object.
37 posted on 05/11/2004 7:46:00 PM PDT by Paul Atreides
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To: Paul Atreides
I'm not judging them so quickly, you know how it is with parents when a child dies before them - alot of times they look for anything to blame. Kinda like that parent who blames the city for not having a gaurd rail on a bad corner for their son driving off it while pissed drunk.
38 posted on 05/11/2004 7:46:33 PM PDT by crona (Long time reader first time poster)
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To: tricky_k_1972
You are absolutely right.

My anger is clouding even the memory of my own father's death...

Thanks.
39 posted on 05/11/2004 7:47:50 PM PDT by baltodog (There are three kinds of people: Those who can count, and those who can't.)
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To: crona
Well, I hope they get a grip and realize that the people who are to blame are the people who committed the atrocity.
40 posted on 05/11/2004 7:48:10 PM PDT by Paul Atreides
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