I vaguely remenber seeing Aziz interviewed. around the same time that Hugo and Andy Duke spoke to the media on a balcony in Baghdad. I thought Aziz mentioned he already knew NB before he came to Iraq and they made plans to meet up again when they were both in Iraq. I remember that that story was not something I had heard before, and it also didn't jive well with the story that Hugo and Andy were telling. So they very well could have met here in the States....
I have always found it hard to believe that Aziz was in Philadelphia, running businesses that sold computers and electronics equipment (as well as drug paraphenalia, lol), and never met Nick Berg, who was also living in the Philadelphia area during that time, especially since Nick was supposed to be an electronics and gadget wizard since youth. Instead, all the stories I've read had them hooking up in Baghdad. I've never seen anything that said they met in the states (and I've been looking!). If you see it again, please ping me!