Posted on 05/14/2004 7:12:53 AM PDT by kattracks
Nick Berg had a bit of a strange run the last few years - starting with the "coincidental" usage of his e-mail account by the alleged 20th 9-11 hijacker - ending with his beheading at the hands of terrorists in Iraq.He is described by various news agencies as a techno-genius, a dreamer, a wanderer, a funnyman and the ultimate Curious George.
Today, Philly.com revealed another item about Berg: "Berg's stubborn wanderlust made him a target of suspicion - a religious Jew riding around Mosul in a taxi with a copy of the Koran. ... Some U.S. soldiers even wondered if the patriotic Berg was 'a wannabe freedom fighter.'"
So what was he doing in Iraq? A friend told Fox News he thought Berg was "sailing in Turkey." (Sure ... if we were to go sailing, that's the place we'd choose as well.)
When Berg was arrested in Mosul, he had two items with him that made authorities nervous: A copy of the Koran, and another book reportedly entitled either "The Jewish Problem" or "The Jewish Solution." Why a Jew would be carrying these items is unclear, but Berg supporters say it was like him to be curious about such things.
Berg also refused to leave Iraq when asked to do so by the State Department.
He not only apparently felt the need to help rebuild Iraq, but he also wanted to go into business doing so. He told jailors that he was losing thousands of dollars while being detained.
He had worked in Africa (Uganda), and had some kind of a relative living in Mosul, so that's where he went in Iraq. He was only arrested because he was an unaccompanied American in a place where that was out of place.
A military source in Iraq told the Philadelphia Daily News, "He was jailed because unescorted Americans aren't usually seen downtown and 'they didn't know what to do with him.'
"Police were suspicious because of 'his demeanor'" and the two books he had.
Berg was, according to the paper, "under Iraqi control... the FBI also questioned Berg three times and visited his parents back in West Chester."
Authorities tried to tell Berg to go home, and offered to pay for everything, but he told them, "You don't understand these people like I do. You're here for a reason - and so am I."
On April 6th, Berg was released from jail, and three days later he disappeared.
Glen Beck site: http:/www.knewradio.com
Glen Beck site: http://www.knewradio.com
If he wasn't allowed to shave, wouldn't he have hair above his lip and around his cheeks? His beard looked "groomed" to me. It was eerie to me when I saw the video before all of this came out. I thought that he looked like one of those terrorists that we have seen pics of before.
I freely admitted that I had my tin foil hat on yesterday when I opined he might be a spy of some sort. Now I'm not so sure the hat was needed....
This story gets weirder and weirder.
Just saw it, Kim...but have read some other things in the past few days that piques my interest in this. Thanks for the ping. Hmmmmmmmm...
The right password was..
See, I'm with you. I have my anti-semitic book and my copy of the queeran.
Din't work.
Bump.
Just ignore those clowns --- or let them put their money where their mouths are --- let them prove the Iraqi terrorists didn't do it by themselves going over to Iraq and meeting with them. These keyboard warriors would be far to cowardly to really do it.
I think you're right --- it seems wrong but we're doing it with Mexicans. Maybe it's not that wrong because like in this case, they would have killed the guy either way --- but our government knew the informant was taking part in it.
I know a little about the radio tower business. I know that you don't go to a foreign country on your own (by yourself without a full support staff) and try to get business building radio towers in a war torn foreign country.You would have to have connections on the ground, you would have to know the local people. You would have to know where to get materials and experienced laborers. Building a radio tower requires the use of heavy equipment and cranes and people who are not afraid of heights and are trained in this most dangerous business. You don't get that by calling up people in the white pages in Baghdad, especially when there are very few phones to begin with.
All I can say is that if Mr. Berg were in Iraq by himself, then he was most likely not freelancing to try to land contracts to build radio towers. IMO, that would have had to have been a front for some other activities.
Certainly there are a lot of freelancers in Iraq. But they do not operate by themselves. They operate in teams. Big teams. Complete with security guards and local connections. Berg didn't appear to have any of that. I'm not even sure he spoke the local language. Who was he trying to get these contracts with? Inquiring minds want to know.
469 posted on 05/13/2004 6:20:27 PM CDT by P-Marlowe (Free the GRPL3)
This is what I was based my comments on.
How about one for me, too?
Whatever Berg was doing in Iraq. He was murdered in the most horrific fashion imaginable by those things. We should not lose sight of that, even if we question his motives for going to Iraq.
[Sir] Arthur Conan Doyle could not have spun a better plot, eh?
FGS
Linda?
Comments?
"Whatever Berg was doing in Iraq. He was murdered in the most horrific fashion imaginable by those things."
IF he is indeed dead, I agree wholeheartedly my friend.
I want the things brought before a court of law of law, judged for their cruel & unusual crime, and then hung as bad as anyone.
Let there be no mistake about that.
"We should not lose sight of that, even if we question his motives for going to Iraq."
Bears repeating.
...& hopefully this hasn't been some kind of cruel hoax.
Agreed. But was he murdered as a complete stranger or a "best friend"? That's what I want to know. Either way, it's horrible, perhaps even more so if he was a "best friend."
You are right, going solo is not the safest or smartest way to do it, but evidently that is exactly what Berg did. That's why he came on to the FBI's radar screen. And he did work some, anyway. At contracting wages, he probably made enough money to live on comfortably for a while, between jobs.
My take is that he was there mostly for the money, and also just for the adventure.
His uncle is an Iraqi citizen...it's a strange family, fer sure.
DOES NOT COMPUTE!!! Why would any non-crazy American wander around Iraq alone? It's like wearing a "KILL ME" sign. How many other American civilians were wandering around Iraq alone? My guess is less than the number of fingers on one hand. Maybe NONE (except for Nick Berg).
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