New Nick Berg info- For anyone that is still paying attention.

Friend of a friend | 5/21/04 | abner

[abner]

I live fairly close to where Nick Berg used to live. I have a friend that was hired by Nick to do some work for him.

I have some new information from that friend that may or may not shed some light on Nick Berg.

I thought I would post it here for reference.

1. Nick and his father were polar opposites. My friend relates that Nick was very gung ho about the War on Terror. He also said that Nick's father was generally low key about things. In my friend's mind, Nick was very much a supporter of the United States.

2. Nick knew Arabic much better than has been reported in the news. My friend heard him speaking on the phone in Arabic on more than one occasion. He says that as far as he knew, he was not uncomfortable speaking the language.

3. My friend thinks that there is more to Nick's story than meets the eye also. He does not think that he was working for the bad guys.

[aft_lizard]

Maybe, just maybe Nick was just as reported a small business pro-bush, pro-war american who got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for the post. Good freeping.

I happen to believe that Occum's razor is in full evidence here. It is all as it appears to be. Nick Berg was an overconfident young man (read: invincible - - bad stuff only happens to OTHER people) who went to Iraq looking for adventure. His over-confidence may have been fueled by his proficiency in the native Arabic language. He obviously got more than he ever bargained for.

There's always people like this around and they are usually young men. Berg's story reminds me of the story about Howard Dean's brother. He's the brother who was killed in Vietnam where he went "touring" during the war, apparently off on an adventure.

[fatima]

Thanks abner.

[projectile]

Berg's email:

"Another thing that's tough for me is the language - in Bantu languages the accents are easier to pick up and there are more vowels. Arab is a very intricate language with very fine accents and tons of consonants. So as much as I know the right words and can understand some of them being spoken, I can't say them worth a damn to the fellow who doesn't understand English (about 95% of the people I meet)."

[tubebender]

Where and when did he learn to speak Arabic? Was it while he was in OKC...

[Ken H]

My friend heard him speaking on the phone in Arabic on more than one occasion.

Is your friend certain that Berg was speaking Arabic? (just checking all angles here)

[Cincinna]

I think they are all in denial.

Maybe he was working for both

[Cincinna]

I don't believe Dean's brother ever allowed his password to be used by an Al Quaida terrorist.

Occum's razor is in full evidence here. Things are NOT what they sewem because the over ruling truth is there are no coincidences.

[fly_so_free]

I was thinking maybe he was a CIA agent working undercover, but maybe I watch too many movies. I do remember right after 9/11 CIA and FBI were asking for people who could speak arabic. Guess we'll never know.

[Lancey Howard]

I don't believe Dean's brother ever allowed his password to be used by an Al Quaida terrorist.

THAT is a very good point.

Regards,
LH

[Dr. Eckleburg]

It seems more likely the father and son were working on the same side -- whichever that was and regardless of their public stance.

[jwpjr]

I have to wonder if maybe Nick tought he could endear himself to the enemy by offering the use of his cell phone knowledge to help them overcome the risk associated with using those phones. It's been a real problem for them that any use of such phones is quickly intercepted and the info used to get a fix on their location. Nick might (and this is PURE speculation!) have felt he could worm his way into their inner circle and then use that to turn them in and collect the reward. Of course he could also have been Pollyanna-ish enough to be willing to do it for the cause you say he supported. I suspect these guys are ALWAYS looking for ways to hone their communication skills. Our ability to eaves drop on these animals by way of their cell phone/satcom traffic has got to be one of the untold victories in this war. I don't think we will fully appreciate the accomplishment until several years has passed and disclosing our ability won't endanger ongoing attempts to listen in on their conversations.

[Katya]

The tin foil hatters on some of the left wing sites believe he was working as a spy for either the mossad or US interests. I don't know....the whole lap top and email flap seems beyond strange. Clearly there is much more to this story than is being reported.

[abner]

I am too because it seems one consistent "fact" of his profile was that he was not very fluent in Arabic. In fact, I think he said that himself in one of his own e-mails that was released in the press.

Yes. Now my friend does NOT know Arabic, so that would lead me to believe that to him, he sounded fluent. Also, with all of the different dialects, maybe he knew some better than others. I still think he stuck out like a sore thumb!

[Robert Lomax]

See post #18.

[American_Centurion]

Yes. Now my friend does NOT know Arabic, so that would lead me to believe that to him, he sounded fluent. Also, with all of the different dialects, maybe he knew some better than others. I still think he stuck out like a sore thumb!

The question that comes to my mind is, if he was speaking arabic on the phone several times, who the heck was a Pennsyvania radio tower repairman talking to on the phone that arabic was necessary? That is more pertinant than anything, if it was arabic he was speaking.

[abner]

I was wondering that myself.

[CharlotteVRWC]

I've thought all along that perhaps Nick was undercover (ie CIA) and 'let' the muslim/arab use his email address so it could be tracked later. What better way to follow up on suspected terrorists than to know what email account they might be using.

[ladyinred]

We do not know the truth yet Skywalk, and we may never, but you sure seem to. Do you have inside info that you aren't sharing?

[ladyjane]

I believe that Nick and Tim (Tim McVeigh bthat is) are sitting in some bar in Tahiti sipping fancy girl drinks

I pray to God you are right.