Posted on 06/29/2004 9:41:31 AM PDT by Jenya
Father of American beheaded in Iraq calls handover a sham
LONDON - The father of an American beheaded in Iraq said Tuesday the handover of sovereignty there was a sham and accused President Bush [related, bio] of causing immense pain to thousands of people by going to war.
Michael Berg, whose 26-year-old son, Nicholas, was decapitated by militants, said at a news conference organized by the Stop the War Coalition that the transfer was ``nothing more than another nut-and-shell game.''
``We know that the Iraqi people have not had an election yet, so we do not have a democracy over there, we just have a dictatorship of Bush and (Prime Minister Tony) Blair,'' he said. ``What kind of stability is there in Iraq when we have to sneak the transfer of power in two days ahead of time for who knows why?''
The transfer of sovereignty in Iraq was scheduled for Wednesday, but came two days early in an apparent attempt to foil insurgent attacks.
Berg said Bush's decision to go to war had caused immense suffering to those who had lost loved ones there. He estimated more than 11,000 Iraqis had died and said their families had suffered just like his own.
``People like George Bush and (Defense Secretary) Donald Rumsfeld, they don't see the pain that people have to bear, they don't know what it feels like to have your guts ripped out, and there are so many people,'' he said.
Berg, of West Chester, Pa., accused the American media of failing to convey the human cost of the U.S.-led invasion by not sufficiently reporting Iraqi deaths and suffering. Reporters have also insufficiently covered anti-war sentiment at home, he charged.
Nicholas Berg, who owned a communications equipment company, disappeared in Iraq in April. Last month, an al-Qaida-linked Web site broadcast images of his beheading.
Nicholas Berg supported Bush and the war. His father, who spoke out against the invasion of Iraq even before his son was killed, said the two had ``agreed to disagree'' about it.
``I didn't agree with his political reasons for going (to Iraq), although he was only there to help, and I certainly was worried about the danger,'' he said. ``But ... my son was 26 years old and he was a man and you don't stop him from doing what he feels is right. I couldn't have stopped him.''
Mickey Berg is shooting off his crazy mouth again.
they beheaded the wrong guy
at least someone in the family is a man.
Complicit in his son's murder and angry the public saw the results of his A.N.S.W.E.R. affiliation in the online video, papa Berg continues to ensure his son died to further the cause of terrorists. Bet he's proud.
Once again he uses his son's death as an opportunity to advance his political agenda.
Mr. Berg, your 15 minutes of fame are up.
It is beyond disgusting how this moron exploits his son's murder as a platform to spout total anti-American BS. As a father, I truly sympathize with Mr. Berg - but as an American, I find him beneath contempt.
Q: Why is the poor demented man's ideas or words more newsworthy than others who have lost relatives in Iraq?
A: He bashes Bush, the war and parrots demonstrably untrue leftist lies.
I am quickly losing any sympathy for him.
Just by reading the headline, I knew it had to be Berg. I must be psychic.
``People like George Bush and (Defense Secretary) Donald Rumsfeld, they don't see the pain that people have to bear, they don't know what it feels like to have your guts ripped out, and there are so many people,'' he said.
And maybe, Mickey, you don't know what it's like to have your children imprisoned and tortured in front of you. Or to be thrown into a plastic shredder. Or to have your wife raped in front of you. Or have your arms broken or hand chopped off or have Dobermans siced on you? Does that matter? Are Iraqis people? Are you comfortable with turning your back on that?
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Go home and mourn your son, Michael! If you'd been the right kind of father, your son would be alive and well at home.
LOL! Yes they did. And we can also thank Mikey Moore for this. Berg should be arrested for treason. JMHO, of course.
When Saddam stands before this transfer of POWER, he'll wish it is a shsm!
I never had any sympathy for this man. He's done nothing since day one but use his poor son's death as a tool for his furthering his political agenda and it makes me sick. This man should be taken out to the "sandbox" and left for his lovely friends the terrorists have at him. Ugh..makes my stomach turn that this man calls himself an American.
You beat me to it.
America to Berg: STFU you idiot.
Bingo!
Gee, I don't know, this sounds like such a well reasoned argument. Everything should happen immediately, shouldn't it?
I mean, socialism immediately created a utopia on earth with no effort at all, so we should be doing that, right?
The man's irrational anger is understandable. Giving him a public forum for venting his spleen is not. This is not "news" or even an opinion worthy of wide distribution.
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