Posted on 05/27/2004 9:26:51 PM PDT by Rennes Templar
May 27, 2004 | Filmmaker Michael Moore filmed an interview with American Nicholas Berg in the course of producing his documentary film "Fahrenheit 9/11" before Berg left for Iraq, where he was taken hostage and killed, Moore confirmed to Salon in a statement Thursday. The 20 minutes of footage does not appear in the final version of "Fahrenheit 911," according to the statement.
Word of the footage reached Salon through a source unaffiliated with Moore or his film "Fahrenheit 9/11," which is reported to feature stark images of U.S. civilians and soldiers grappling with conditions in war-torn Iraq, as well as examining the relationship between President George W. Bush and the bin Laden family. It received the Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's highest honor, on Saturday.
In a statement widely circulated by Moore's people after an initial request for comment by Salon, Moore said, "We have an interview with Nick Berg. It was approximately 20 minutes long. We are not releasing it to the media. It is not in the film. We are dealing privately with the family." Moore's camp declined to comment further on any aspect of the interview. Because the footage is not in the film, a spokeswoman for Miramax Films, the production company behind "Fahrenheit 9/11," said the company had no comment.
It was not clear from Moore's statement whether footage from the interview with Berg had ever been included in early cuts of "Fahrenheit 9/11." Reports about a film industry controversy surrounding distribution of the film first hit the news on May 5, a week before Berg's death. The film officially screened for the public and the press for the first time during the Cannes festival on May 17.
The news that Moore spoke to Berg while he was still in the United States only adds to the mystery surrounding the young man's presence in Iraq and tragic death. The interview was shot before the 26-year-old Berg left for Iraq late last year as a private contractor in the hopes of helping to rebuild the ravaged country. Though it was unclear what Berg spoke about in his interview with Moore, or how the two men met, unrelated reports following his death indicate that he headed for the Middle East with plans to work to improve the country's technological infrastructure and communication abilities. He ran his own company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service, in a suburb of Philadelphia.
Berg did not find employment in Iraq, and when he attempted to return to the United States he was detained by Iraqi police and questioned by American forces. He was released after his family complained. But shortly after, he is believed to have been kidnapped by Islamic terrorists. Video of his beheading was released on an Islamist Web site on May 11. Salon was unable to reach the Berg family for comment before publication.
Moore's film chronicles the United States' military, political and business involvement in the Middle East in the years before and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His previous politically charged films, including "Roger & Me" and "Bowling for Columbine," have created controversy and won him praise (including an Oscar, for "Columbine"). "Fahrenheit 9/11" has already sparked a media storm; in early May, Miramax's parent company, Disney, announced that it would not allow Miramax to distribute the film, which is highly critical of Bush and his administration.
Miramax has yet to make a deal with a distributor, though the film's warm reception at Cannes and the publicity surrounding the film have made it a hot property that is generating a lot of interest in Hollywood. "Bowling for Columbine" grossed $21 million, making it the highest-grossing non-IMAX documentary of all time.
A source close to "Fahrenheit 9/11" said that a new distributor will be announced shortly, and that the film is expected to be released in theaters during the first week of July, as originally planned.
But, come to think of it, haven't we right here at this site been screaming bloody murder because of the absence of outrage at the Berg beheading?
Yes, but because we all thought there was more to it than met the eye. So the question is: why HAS the media been so quiet about this???
Berg's expertise is communication towers and that means knowing EXACTLY how to disrupt them as well as how and where to construct them.
Berg was reportedly buried the day after his body arrived home. Not enough time for an autopsy, I don't believe.
GREAT CATCH, MM...
I strongly suspect the FBI, etc has not let this slip by.
My lawyer would have caught it right away, but I wouldn't ...
After all, his father believes they are good people, right? He believes it is US that is the problem!
Isn't there a Jewish law about burying the dead in a certain number of days??
"The guy reading the note was doing so in Arabic? "
I heard he knew Arabic too. On the other hand, IIRC, the text seemed to be standard Jihad, with nothing to indicate that they were about to kill him.
Hmmm...
What if Nick Berg was trying to get in contact with ZM.
Well, if BBC has picked this up, there is no way it will be able to be totally swept under the carpet.
Let's hope MMoorre has lousy lawyers.
:-)
Our local college paper had a story embargoed that was going to break some major news about Berg and they are not the only ones here.
Berg hung out with members of the Islamic society but none at the Hillel Center as none of Jewish students can remember seeing him. From some accounts he hung out with the two roomates of Moussaoui who are now in prison as "material" witnesses. One was headed to Pakistan to train with the terrorists after dropping off Moussaoui in Minnesota. Both roommates had totally outdated student visas. One had a long beard he used to wrap around his ears -- creepy to say the least and why so many people here remember him -- he used to walk the streets. I thought he was homeless but he and his fellow roommate were living in a campus apartment that was leased to a student not living there at all.
From the looks of it, there is a lot more to come out on the Berg, Moussaoui, Atta, Nichols, and McVeigh deal along with John Doe #2 that is non-existent according to Clintonites but was seen by more then 40 witnesses. Don't know about Berg, but the rest all stayed at the same hotel on the Interstate according to the owner. What are the chances of a group of terrorists staying at the same motel although I believe it was at different times but that part has not been released.
The original stories about Berg being here in the Fall Semester of 1999 but not returning for the Spring Semester and Moussaoui not coming here until Feb 1991 do not ring true from some of what I have heard here in Norman. There is a "rumor" which puts both together here in Norman before Moussaoui "supposedly" came to Norman.
Personally think there is an active investigation in progress no matter what the Feds are saying. Too much came out in the Nichols trial and with the Berg/Moussaoui info, it puts everything into question IMHO!
Berg was too young for the OKC Bombing but the others were not. The roommates of Moussaoui came to this Country BEFORE the 1st World Trade Center bombing -- both on student VISAs but one never attended class up in the city and from newspaper accounts, the other dropped out of OU shortly after arriving, but they were living in a student apartment which Moussaoui shared for awhile.
Someone want to tell me how Moussaoui knew these two guys well enough to share their apartment? Also why would Berg's father even bring up Moussaoui since the original reported dates do not match? Something is rotten here!
And don't forget: according to Berg the elder, his son was the best friend the terrorists ever had.
And while he is up there on a tower, he has a view and access that few other people in Iraq would have. He could take pictures or videos, and (I suspect) tap or feed into the transmissions.
Maybe he did receive $70,000 in one month, but not from his tower business. How much money do they give Moore to throw around anyway?
Actually, Ho.n, I believe that the odds of this type of connection are far, far greater than the 'Toon-deaths, given the relative strength of the evidence in the two cases.
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Wow, thanks for that info.
"John Doe #2 that is non-existent according to Clintonites but was seen by more then 40 witnesses."
Wasn't that amazing? John Doe #2 just vanished off the media radar screen, *poof*, just like that.....
Could Berg have been a naive young man who thought he could bring together old enemies, Jews and Arabs? Was he used by the Arabs and then murdered?
Berg was believed to have cavorted with arab-types while he was at Ok.U after returning from Uganda.
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Yes, Berg was too young for the OKC bombing, but perhaps not for 9/11 or future "projects." There really is too much "coincidence" in this mix not to have suspicions.
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