U.S. Officials Failed to Protect Slain Civilian (Nick Berg), Family Says

New York Times ^ | May 13, 04 | James Risen

[churchillbuff]

The family of Nicholas E. Berg challenged American military officials on Wednesday, insisting that the man beheaded by Islamic terrorists in Iraq had earlier been in the custody of federal officials who should have done more to protect him.

Mr. Berg's brother, David, emerged from the family's split-level house in this Philadelphia suburb with a four-page e-mail message that he said his younger brother, Nicholas, had sent hours after being freed on April 6 from a jail in Mosul, Iraq.

The Iraqi police took Nicholas Berg, 26, into custody on March 24 and held him in a jail that he described in the message as managed by Iraqis with oversight from United States Military Police forces. He wrote that federal agents had questioned his reasons for being in Iraq, whether he had ever built a pipe bomb or had been in Iran.

"They can detain him and deny him his basic civil rights of a lawyer, a phone call or even a charge for 13 days, but they can't get him" on a plane, David Berg said.

Apparently in a response to the accusations that the actions of the military in Iraq exposed their son to worsening danger, the F.B.I. released a statement saying that Nicholas Berg had not heeded warnings and that he had declined assistance in leaving Iraq.

The conflicting accounts continued to swirl around Mr. Berg's detention and release. In Baghdad, a senior adviser for the Coalition Provisional Authority, Dan Senor, repeated that Mr. Berg had never been in military custody.

"My understanding," Mr. Senor said of the Iraqi police, "is that they suspected that he was involved/engaged in suspicious activities. U.S. authorities were notified. The F.B.I. visited with Mr. Berg on three occasions when he was in Iraqi police detention and determined that he was not involved with any criminal or terrorist activities. Mr. Berg was released on April 6, and it is my understanding he was advised to leave the country."

That position prompted the family's decision to read Mr. Berg's e-mail message to The New York Times. In it, he described the presence of American military police officers, as well as the federal agents' visits, to the Mosul jail.

"The Iraqi police is mentioned frequently, which is, of course, absurd, because there is no Iraqi government right now," David Berg said. "And if you think about it, to be detained by the Iraqi police without the U.S. government's knowing would be tantamount to kidnapping."

Officials did acknowledge the presence of the military police at the jail but said their sole function was to "monitor his treatment."

To the family, the oversight question is paramount because they say not only that his detention was unlawful, but also that it further threatened his safety. The Bergs have said the detention prevented him from leaving Iraq before the violence grew in Baghdad and Falluja.

The F.B.I. statement, though, said that coalition authorities had offered "to facilitate his safe passage out of Iraq," but that Mr. Berg refused their help.

Recalling his brother's independent personality, David Berg said such a refusal would not surprise his family, although he said he had no way of knowing whether Nicholas Berg had declined help. He had traveled to Iraq, in part, to generate business for his fledgling telecommunications company, which specializes in servicing radio towers. After an earlier visit, Mr. Berg returned to Iraq on March 14.

In the message dated April 6, addressed to his parents, brother and sister, Mr. Berg described the 13 days that he spent in the Shirdta Iraqiyah station near Mosul, an Iraqi detention center where, he said, the United States Military Police supervised and trained the Iraqi officers.

"The M.P.'s were a little surprised to see an American in civilian clothing, and I think out of formality and boredom they decided to do a background check, which involved C.I.D.," he wrote, referring to the Army Criminal Investigation Division.

The next morning, Mr. Berg described F.B.I. agents' questioning as amicable, but pointed. Among the questions asked, he wrote, were: "Why was I in Iraq? Did I ever make a pipe bomb? Why was I in Iran?"

He conjectured that their questions arose from some Farsi literature and a book about Iran that he had. Mr. Berg wrote that after four days he was transferred to a cellblock that included prisoners charged with petty offenses and suspected "war criminals."

"Word had spread due to the presence of certain items amongst my stuff that I was Israeli," Mr. Berg wrote. "So I felt a bit like Arlo Guthrie walking into a jail full of mother rapers and father stabbers as an accused litterbug."

The American military police, in fact, "were pretty stand-up," he wrote. "They heard the chants of Yehudien, Israelein, and told the I.P. prison staff to put me in my own cell."

"I did get on much friendlier terms with the other prisoners after they discovered I could speak a little Arabic and verified I didn't have horns or anything," Mr. Berg said.

He described the conditions for other prisoners and their treatment, depending sometimes on nationality. The others, he wrote, were behind closed cell doors and had no time outdoors. Some prisoners, considered political or suspected war criminals from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran "had been in custody for 40 days without a single interpreter interrogation, just waiting as they still do today, and the Iraqi guards treat these poor fellows — especially the Hindis among them — as real dogs.'

Mr. Berg was released on April 6, a day after his family filed a suit against the United States government seeking to have him freed.

"I hope to catch an opening on the next available Royal Jordanian flight out of Amman this Thursday as long as my ticket is still transferable," he wrote in the message. "Dad, Mom I will e-mail or call you with exact itinerary as soon as I have it."

He was seen by friends immediately after leaving the jail. In Baghdad, one friend, Andrew Robert Duke, who stayed at Al Fanar Tower Hotel, where he met Mr. Berg last month, recalled how much he was anticipating returning home when they had their last beer together on April 9.

"We talked about how he was looking forward to having children with a woman that he had not discovered yet," Mr. Duke, 49, said. "But with the money he was going to make here, he would be able to afford a family."

The men sat at a round glass-top coffee table on the sixth floor of the hotel. Mr. Berg told Mr. Duke that he was planning to go on a holiday to Turkey and maybe do some sailing. They finished their drinks, and Mr. Berg rose to go.

"I walked him to my door," Mr. Duke said. "Watched him open his door. I said: `Good luck, my friend. Stay in touch.' He said, `I am looking forward to it.' "

Mr. Berg was often seen socializing in the dining room or at the computers next to the lobby. Of muscular build, he often wore a baseball cap, a T-shirt cut off at the shoulders and tattered blue jeans.

"He came and went by himself," said a hotel office manager who gave first name as Ahmed.

The hotel staff cleared out his room, 602, and stowed a set of weights that Mr. Berg had left.

Red-haired and charming, he was described as friendly with workers and guests, chatting about subjects like Aerosmith and Philadelphia museums.

"He never talked about the war or said anything bad about Iraqis," Hugo Infante, a Chilean who works for United Press International, said.

"Just yesterday we realized he was killed," Mr. Infante said. "I saw his name on the Web site. When I saw the name, I said it was not possible it is Nick. Then I saw the face. He looked skinnier and paler."

Mr. Berg's friends and acquaintances at the hotel said he was working on communications towers for some Baghdad hotels. Mr. Infante said he last saw Mr. Berg on April 10, writing an e-mail message to his family. "I saw him there," he said, gesturing to the Internet cafe. "I said, `Hello, how are you?'

"And he said, `I want to go home.' "

[BikerTrash]

Did you see this thread?

I have now, thanks.

But it says the same thing, (from said thread),

He was released after his family filed a lawsuit in the US saying he was being held illegally by American forces.

[Howlin]

Oh, yes, it does. I meant that it gave a different view from people who were actually with him.

It seems they thought he wasn't as upset about being held as his family was.

[BikerTrash]

Gotcha.

[McGavin999]

The most remarkable thing I have heard so far is his father saying he needs to get this behind him. Do you know of any father, who after hearing of his son's death, within days is talking of getting it behind him? Something is wrong here and I can't figure out what it is.

The other question I have is all the pictures of Nick show him with light hair, and the article says he had red hair. That doesn't jive with the guy in the video.

[Jim_Curtis]

Nick Berg owns a company that his father took upon himself to mention in anti-American ANSWER propaganda.

It seems odd that a father would feel free to associate his son's company with such an organization. His son being a "pro-Bush, pro-war" person by the father's assertion.

One could only assume logically that Nick Berg was a Susan Lindauer type who had information regarding US military information gained in his Iraq travels and set out to find these people who ended his life.

If the logical explanation is the correct one than coalition forces best determine what has been compromised.

If the logical explanation stands, surely Nick Berg thought he would be celebrated as a hero once he found the people he was looking for.

...but it's possible that Nick Berg was a good guy with a father who had such total disregard for his son's reputation that he would associate his son's company with ANSWER.

[MEG33]

Great post!

[MEG33]

I gave them a pass because of the brutal crime..The press is milking it.I do the same for military families. Perhaps I am being too kind to the Bergs..I had not realized that he had no visa.

[MEG33]

I just read he had registered at the US embassy..so perhaps I am wrong about the visa.

[MEG33]

I just read he had registered at the US embassy..so perhaps I am wrong about the visa.

[MEG33]

I just read he had registered at the US embassy..so perhaps I am wrong about the visa.

[MEG33]

Sorry!

[RonDog]

In the message dated April 6, addressed to his parents, brother and sister, Mr. Berg described the 13 days that he spent in the Shirdta Iraqiyah station near Mosul, an Iraqi detention center where, he said, the United States Military Police supervised and trained the Iraqi officers.

"The M.P.'s were a little surprised to see an American in civilian clothing, and I think out of formality and boredom they decided to do a background check, which involved C.I.D.," he wrote, referring to the Army Criminal Investigation Division.

The next morning, Mr. Berg described F.B.I. agents' questioning as amicable, but pointed. Among the questions asked, he wrote, were: "Why was I in Iraq? Did I ever make a pipe bomb? Why was I in Iran?"

He conjectured that their questions arose from some Farsi literature and a book about Iran that he had. Mr. Berg wrote that after four days he was transferred to a cellblock that included prisoners charged with petty offenses and suspected "war criminals."

"Word had spread due to the presence of certain items amongst my stuff that I was Israeli," Mr. Berg wrote. "So I felt a bit like Arlo Guthrie walking into a jail full of mother rapers and father stabbers as an accused litterbug..."

See also:

SLAIN HOSTAGE IGNORED ALERT
[Nick Berg turned down a State Department offer to fly him home]
www.nypost.com ^ | May 13, 2004 | DAN MANGAN and ANDY GELLER
Posted on 05/13/2004 12:15:02 AM PDT by RonDog

SLAIN HOSTAGE IGNORED ALERT
By DAN MANGAN and ANDY GELLER

---

Email	Archives
Print	Reprint

May 13, 2004 -- The FBI warned the young American beheaded by terrorists to leave Iraq because new violence was sweeping the country, U.S. officials revealed yesterday.

But Nick Berg, 26, turned down a State Department offer to fly him home, the officials said.

Department spokesman Kelly Shannon said that on April 10 - the day he vanished - Berg told a U.S. diplomat in Baghdad he preferred to travel on his own to Kuwait.

"At that time, the U.S. consular officer extended an offer to assist Mr. Berg to depart Iraq by plane to Jordan," she said.

"We'd already discussed that possibility with his family, and we mentioned that to him, obviously, when we talked to him on the 10th," she said.

Berg's father, Michael, said his son refused the offer because he believed travel to the Baghdad airport was too dangerous.

U.S. soldiers refer to the airport highway as "RPG Alley" because of frequent attacks by guerrillas firing rocket-propelled grenades.

Nick Berg, who lived in the Philadelphia suburb of West Chester, spoke to his parents on March 24 and told them he would return home on March 30.

But he was detained by Iraqi police at a checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul on March 24 and held until April 6.

Two friends who saw Berg after he was released said he told them he had been arrested after Iraqi police noticed an Israeli stamp on his U.S. passport.

"He said, 'You want to hear an interesting story? They thought I was a spy because I had a Jewish last name and had an Israeli stamp in my passport,' " said Hugo Infante, 31...

CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread

[lainde]

bttt

[piasa]

He also signed one for support of Cuba on the ANSWER website.

[piasa]

"Word had spread due to the presence of certain items amongst my stuff that I was Israeli," Mr. Berg wrote. "So I felt a bit like Arlo Guthrie walking into a jail full of mother rapers and father stabbers as an accused litterbug." The American military police, in fact, "were pretty stand-up," he wrote. "They heard the chants of Yehudien, Israelein, and told the I.P. prison staff to put me in my own cell."

Sounds to me like those other prisoners are the usual jihadists and scumbags and aren't the sort of people who should be loose on the streets.

He described the conditions for other prisoners and their treatment, depending sometimes on nationality. The others, he wrote, were behind closed cell doors and had no time outdoors. Some prisoners, considered political or suspected war criminals from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran "had been in custody for 40 days without a single interpreter interrogation, just waiting as they still do today, and the Iraqi guards treat these poor fellows — especially the Hindis among them — as real dogs.'

'Poor fellows' my butt. We're not talking about Iraqis who were rousted out of their homes, here- we're talking about foreigners in a war zone. Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran... al qaeda country. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

Not that I buy into the authenticity of the account...

[Carolinamom]

CNN reporter this morning said Berg went to Mosul to "visit a family friend." I've read other reports that Berg's dead sister had been married to an Iraqi, and he went to visit and introduce himself to that Iraqi brother.

I have seen many pictures of Berg, but each one looks like a different person. What gives?

Where did these terrorists get that orange suit Berg is wearing? On another thread without a warning, I clicked on a picture (VERY briefly) of his body lying on the bridge, and he was wearing shorts, not the orange suit. Why remove the orange suit from a dead body? What happened to his papers, money, etc.?

[kittymyrib]

Nick Berg's parents failed to keep him from going into a war zone. He was a man, not a 13 yr. old kid. What was the US military supposed to do, kidnap him and force him out of the country? Then Papa Berg would have been whining to the press about that. Liberals and their nanny state ideas are on parade here. They'll be the toast of the next A.N.S.W.R. outing.

[Freedom2specul8]

Just posting as a reminder on a few threads.

"...Al Qaeda is to terror what the mafia is to crime. But its goal is not making money; its goal is remaking the world -- and imposing its radical beliefs on people everywhere.

...Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them.Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. ..

They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other. ...They want to overthrow existing governments in many Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. They want to drive Israel out of the Middle East. They want to drive Christians and Jews out of vast regions of Asia and Africa. These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us, because we stand in their way.

...Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -- the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time -- now depends on us. "
-----President Bush 9-20-01

[SuziQ]

"They can detain him and deny him his basic civil rights of a lawyer, a phone call or even a charge for 13 days, but they can't get him" on a plane, David Berg said.

What did they want the US officials to do, put the guy in handcuffs and drive him to the airport? If they HAD taken him to the airport and put him on the plane home, would the family have yelled and screamed that he had been 'kidnapped' and his civil rights to roam a war zone freely had been denied?

I know the family is hurting, but I'm getting tired of them blaming everyone else for Nick's own actions which led to his death.

[SuziQ]

GMTA! I hadn't read your post before I posted mine, but we said essentially the same thing!