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Nick Berg's Family Demands Answers Over Son Beheaded In Iraq
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (Reuters) - The parents of Nick Berg, the American civilian beheaded in Iraq, said on Tuesday their son might be alive if he had not been held for nearly two weeks by Iraqi police and they were angry at the lack of information from the U.S. government about his detention.
Their congressman, Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach, said after visiting Berg's parents that they had been frustrated by lack of information from the U.S. government when Berg was detained without charge by Iraqi police from around March 24 until his release on April 6.
"Had he not been detained for so long it's quite possible he would have made it back to the U.S.," Gerlach said, adding that Berg had missed a plane flight because he was incarcerated .
"They did not feel they were getting the full information they wanted to help them understand what was happening," Gerlach, whose constituency includes the Bergs' Philadelphia suburban hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania, said at a news briefing.
He said he would be seeking further information from the U.S. government as to why they had not provided information to the family.
On Tuesday, a poor quality videotape posted on an Islamic militant Web site showed Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq beheading a man who said he was Nick Berg. The videotape carried statements vowing more killings in revenge for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in a Baghdad prison by U.S. soldiers.
Berg was in Baghdad from late December to Feb. 1 and returned to Iraq in March. He did not find work and planned to return home at the end of March, according to his parents, Michael and Suzanne Berg.
CONTACT HALTED MARCH 24
Berg's daily communications to his parents stopped on March 24 and he later told them he was jailed by Iraqi officials at a checkpoint in Mosul. On April 5, the Bergs filed a lawsuit that said their son was being held illegally by the U.S. military in Iraq. The next day, he was released.
The family said they were told by the State Department on Monday that Berg's body had been found near a highway overpass in Baghdad.
Berg, owner of a communications tower business called Prometheus Methods Tower Service Inc., had been missing in Iraq for several weeks. He was a contractor who climbed communications towers to inspect them.
His parents last heard from him when he telephoned on April 9 and told them he was trying to find a safe way home.
The family said in a statement after the Web site posting that they were devastated by the murder. Gerlach said Berg's parents did not know about the videotape until Tuesday.
He declined to comment on any similarities with the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl by Islamic militants in Pakistan. Both Pearl and Berg were Jewish.
"The Berg family is devastated by this loss," said the statement, read on the lawn of the family's West Chester home 15 miles west of Philadelphia, by a neighbor and friend, Bruce Hauser.
"They want to extend their sympathy to other families who have also suffered. They are asking the army to expedite the release of Nick's body so they can make arrangements and put this behind them."
Berg's body is in Kuwait. It will be flown to Germany and then to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Gerlach said.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=P02OEZWW21ZKACRBAEOCFEY?type=domesticNews&storyID=5110381&pageNumber=1
"Had he not been detained for so long it's quite possible he would have made it back to the U.S.," Gerlach said, adding that Berg had missed a plane flight because he was incarcerated .
"They did not feel they were getting the full information they wanted to help them understand what was happening," Gerlach, whose constituency includes the Bergs' Philadelphia suburban hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania, said at a news briefing.
He said he would be seeking further information from the U.S. government as to why they had not provided information to the family.
On Tuesday, a poor quality videotape posted on an Islamic militant Web site showed Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq beheading a man who said he was Nick Berg. The videotape carried statements vowing more killings in revenge for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in a Baghdad prison by U.S. soldiers.
Berg was in Baghdad from late December to Feb. 1 and returned to Iraq in March. He did not find work and planned to return home at the end of March, according to his parents, Michael and Suzanne Berg.
CONTACT HALTED MARCH 24
Berg's daily communications to his parents stopped on March 24 and he later told them he was jailed by Iraqi officials at a checkpoint in Mosul. On April 5, the Bergs filed a lawsuit that said their son was being held illegally by the U.S. military in Iraq. The next day, he was released.
The family said they were told by the State Department on Monday that Berg's body had been found near a highway overpass in Baghdad.
Berg, owner of a communications tower business called Prometheus Methods Tower Service Inc., had been missing in Iraq for several weeks. He was a contractor who climbed communications towers to inspect them.
His parents last heard from him when he telephoned on April 9 and told them he was trying to find a safe way home.
The family said in a statement after the Web site posting that they were devastated by the murder. Gerlach said Berg's parents did not know about the videotape until Tuesday.
He declined to comment on any similarities with the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl by Islamic militants in Pakistan. Both Pearl and Berg were Jewish.
"The Berg family is devastated by this loss," said the statement, read on the lawn of the family's West Chester home 15 miles west of Philadelphia, by a neighbor and friend, Bruce Hauser.
"They want to extend their sympathy to other families who have also suffered. They are asking the army to expedite the release of Nick's body so they can make arrangements and put this behind them."
Berg's body is in Kuwait. It will be flown to Germany and then to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Gerlach said.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=P02OEZWW21ZKACRBAEOCFEY?type=domesticNews&storyID=5110381&pageNumber=1
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With the Bush administration 20 years of negotiations in the middle east have been thrown out of the window...and in 2004 we have to digest behaviours of the middle ages!
Iraq doesn't need our concept of democracy, we have to understand that not all the countries are like Texas, not all cultures are like ours, not all people grew up in a family earning millions from oil trade.
The hate this people have against westeners will grow bomb after bomb. Do you think is fair that that we carry on a culture & religious conflict when we should concentrate our mental and financial efforts to defeat AIDS and other diseases.
At least I hope that US voters now have a better idea for next elections. Never again a spoiled son of a previous (GREAT)President. Better cigars and stagists rather than empty bottles and churches.
An idealist (?) from Spain
Iraq doesn't need our concept of democracy, we have to understand that not all the countries are like Texas, not all cultures are like ours, not all people grew up in a family earning millions from oil trade.
The hate this people have against westeners will grow bomb after bomb. Do you think is fair that that we carry on a culture & religious conflict when we should concentrate our mental and financial efforts to defeat AIDS and other diseases.
At least I hope that US voters now have a better idea for next elections. Never again a spoiled son of a previous (GREAT)President. Better cigars and stagists rather than empty bottles and churches.
An idealist (?) from Spain
You can download the video at http://www.snuffx.com and it's pretty disgusting so be warned.
For more information:
http://www.snuffx.com
Pound Sand with your anti Bush crap!. Forget about Republican or Democrat bashing for once. Everyone is just seeing the tip of the iceberg about what the Muslim terrorist are planning against our "Western World". Granted the war in Iraq is not going smoothly as you would have liked, but imagine the war at your doorstep next time your criticise our country's effort in protecting you. What exactly have you done to help? You have just probably just sat in your easy chair in the comfort of your home and just bitched. Only America and our great British allies have the gonads to stand up to the threat and protect you. Be greatful and show more compassion and honor.
I'd rather have contacted the Berg Dad directly, but aside from his bombasticsms hurled at the audience, he seems to be out of the loop.
For the Berg Dad to USE the evil butchery of his son as a vehicle to further his personal ambitions and goals is unpardonable. BUSH is responsible? The 'man' is either a complete fool or a hate-filled manipulator. If my son had been murdered in such a fashion, I'd be grieving first and formost, then seeking justice against those who actually are wholly responsible for his death.....NOT seeking to expand my 15 minutes by becoming a Democratic icon.
Although it looks bleak at times, it seems as though most Americans still have enough sense to realize the difference between a struggle which involves legitimately different points of view, and the current state we find ourselves in with those who simply wish to kill us, period.
To generalize further, based on truth, the only reason we're able to argue in this or any other format is due to the sacrifice of those who have died or have been wounded and have gone about the job of killing our enemies. Obviously a number of you put stock in the haliburtonbushcheneysaddamoilbushchristiannitycrusadesislamislovewebeexploitersetc explanation. The rest of us prefer to defend ourselves.
thanks, Rick
For the Berg Dad to USE the evil butchery of his son as a vehicle to further his personal ambitions and goals is unpardonable. BUSH is responsible? The 'man' is either a complete fool or a hate-filled manipulator. If my son had been murdered in such a fashion, I'd be grieving first and formost, then seeking justice against those who actually are wholly responsible for his death.....NOT seeking to expand my 15 minutes by becoming a Democratic icon.
Although it looks bleak at times, it seems as though most Americans still have enough sense to realize the difference between a struggle which involves legitimately different points of view, and the current state we find ourselves in with those who simply wish to kill us, period.
To generalize further, based on truth, the only reason we're able to argue in this or any other format is due to the sacrifice of those who have died or have been wounded and have gone about the job of killing our enemies. Obviously a number of you put stock in the haliburtonbushcheneysaddamoilbushchristiannitycrusadesislamislovewebeexploitersetc explanation. The rest of us prefer to defend ourselves.
thanks, Rick
My greatest respect to Nick and his family who have paid for the decisions of people who do not have the "gonads" to go to a single funeral of the victims of this war and look into the eyes of their relatives.
Best Regards, Giorgia
To Loyal Gator: this is not the venue for polemics, if you would like to exchange ideas about political issues please write to my personal email (<<I sit on my easy chair>>, at least I have the courage to sign! ).
Best Regards, Giorgia
To Loyal Gator: this is not the venue for polemics, if you would like to exchange ideas about political issues please write to my personal email (<<I sit on my easy chair>>, at least I have the courage to sign! ).
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