Killing of Nick Berg
Nicholas Berg (~1978 - ~May 2004), an American businessman seeking telecommunications work in Iraq during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, was captured and beheaded by Islamist militants possibly linked to Al-Qaida in May 2004. His capture and killing was said to have been carried out to avenge abuses of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison. The act was condemned by Muslim leaders as contrary to Islamic law and harmful to their cause.
Berg, aged 26 at the time of his death, was a native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, where he owned his own company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service. He inspected and rebuilt communication antennas, and he had previously visited Kenya and Ghana on similar projects.
Berg graduated from West Chester Henderson High School in 1996 and attended four universities: Cornell, Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Oklahoma. He once traveled to Ghana to help a village, by among other things teaching villagers how to make bricks. He returned in an emaciated state because he gave away most of his food and clothes.
Travels and Detention
Berg was a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and of Bush administration policy. He traveled to Iraq in hopes of helping to repair its damaged infrastructure. He first arrived in Iraq on December 21, 2003, and made arrangements to secure contract work for his company. He also went to the northern city of Mosul, visiting an Iraqi man whose brother had been married to Berg's late aunt. Leaving on February 1, he returned to Iraq on March 14, 2004, only to find that the work he was promised was unavailable. Throughout this period, he maintained frequent contact with his family in the United States by telephone and e-mail.
Berg had intended to return to the United States on March 30, 2004, but he was detained in Mosul on March 24 by Iraqi police at a checkpoint. His family claims he was turned over to U.S. officials and held for 13 days without access to legal counsel. FBI agents visited his parents to confirm his identity on March 31, but he was not immediately released. After his parents filed suit in federal court in Philadelphia on April 5, claiming that he was being held illegally, he was released from U.S. custody. He said that he had not been mistreated during his confinement. The U.S. maintains that at no time was Berg in coalition custody. According to the Associated Press, Berg was released from custody on April 6 and advised by U.S. officials to take a flight out of Iraq, with their assistance. Berg is said to have refused this offer and traveled to Baghdad, where he stayed at the Al Fanar Hotel. His family last heard from him on April 9. Berg had his last contact with U.S. officials on April 10 and did not return again to his hotel after that date. [1]
Disappearance
Berg's family became concerned after not hearing from him for several days. Although a U.S. State Department investigator looked into Berg's disappearance, official government inquiries produced no leads. Berg's family, frustrated with what they say was a lack of action by the U.S. government, also hired a private investigator and contacted both their Congressional delegation and the Red Cross in search of information.
Death
Berg's body was found decapitated on May 8, 2004 on a Baghdad overpass by a U.S. military patrol. Berg's family was informed of his death on May 10. Military sources stated publicly at that time that Berg's body showed "signs of trauma", but did not disclose that he had been decapitated.
On May 11, 2004, the website of the militant Islamist group Muntada al-Ansar [2] broadcast a video titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American", which shows Berg being decapitated. It is unclear whether al-Zarqawi is one of the men in the video. Both al-Zarqawi and Muntada al-Ansar are associated with the Al-Qaida movement. The video is about five minutes and thirty-two seconds long.
Berg is seen in the video wearing an orange jumpsuit. He identified himself: "My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael, my mother's name is Susan. I have a brother and sister, David and Sarah. I live in West Chester, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia." (Sarah was married to an Iraqi, but reports she is also dead [3] may be incorrect. [4])
Surrounded by five men wearing ski masks and head scarves, after reading his statement, Berg was decapitated by a number of blows with a knife. On the video, a scream can be heard as the men around him shout "Allahu Akbar" (a common Arabic expression meaning "God is greatest!"). The men in the video also stated that Berg's killing was in direct retaliation for the abuse of prisoners by U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib prison.
During the video, one of the men threatens further deaths: "We tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins ... slaughtered in this way." The video further threatens U.S. President George W. Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
The video bears some similarities to the videotape showing the murder and decapitation of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002. Like Pearl, Berg was Jewish, although it is uncertain whether his captors were aware of that.
- Warning: Very graphic photo which may be offensive to some viewers
- Image of veiled person holding severed head
The audio of the footage is out of synchronization with the video.
Reaction
In the Muslim world, the killing of Berg was strongly condemned. Scholars at Al-Azhar University in Cairo issued a declaration of condemnation, as did numerous Muslim groups in the West including CAIR. Even Shiite Islamist group Hezbollah denounced the murder, calling it a "horrible act that does an immense wrong to Islam and Muslims by a group which falsely pretends to follow the precepts of the religion of pardon".
Iraqi conservative and fundamentalist religious leaders also denounced the killing. Muthanna al-Dhari, of the Board of Muslim Clergy said the act "does disservice to our religion and our cause. Even if he was a military personnel he should be treated as a prisoner who, according to Shari'ah, must not be killed." Iyaad Samarrai of the Islamic Party commented "This is absolutely wrong. Islam does prohibit the killing or the maltreatment of prisoners." [5]
Berg's family blamed the U.S. government and policies that led to his arrest and detainment in April, for creating the circumstances that led to Nick's death. Michael Berg stated that if his son hadn't been detained for so long, he might have been able to leave the country before the violence worsened. [6] His father reportedly stated: "I think a lot of people are fed up with the lack of civil rights this thing has caused. I don't think this administration is committed to democracy."
Others see Berg's slaying as a reminder of why the United States is waging a War on Terror. [7] White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan commented, regarding the incident: "It shows the true nature of the enemies of freedom. They have no regard for the lives of innocent men, women and children. We will pursue those who are responsible and bring them to justice."
External links
- Video on al-Qaida linked Web site shows beheading - CNN news story (no video)
- Berg Had Been Advised to Leave Iraq - Associated Press news story.
Video
- WARNING: These videos contain extremely graphic content which is very likely to be offensive to some viewers.
- The video includes about 30 sec. in which Berg introduces himself, followed by about 3 min. of reading, followed by about 30 sec. in which he is held by the men and beheaded alive. It includes screams of pain at the end.
- The unedited video, including the beheading of Nick Berg
- http://video.itshappening.com/behead-itshapping.wmv (6.4 MB WMV format)
- A smaller, edited version of the video which only contains the beheading, not Berg's introduction or the reading of the statement.
- http://67.72.101.21/ogrish-dot-com-american-nick-berg-beheaded-in-iraq.wmv (540 KB WMV format)