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Video Seems to Show Beheading of American

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By NIKO PRICE, Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt - A video posted Tuesday on an Islamic militant Web site showed the beheading of an American civilian in Iraq (news - web sites), and said the execution was carried out by an al-Qaida affiliated group to avenge the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers.


The video showed five men wearing headscarves and black ski masks, standing over a bound man in an orange jumpsuit — similar to a prisoner's uniform — who identified himself as Nick Berg, a U.S. contractor whose body was found on a highway overpass in Baghdad on Saturday.


"My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael, my mother's name is Susan," the man said on the video. "I have a brother and sister, David and Sarah. I live in ... Philadelphia."


After reading a statement, the men were seen pulling the man to his side and putting a large knife to his neck. A scream sounded as the men cut his head off, shouting "Allahu Akbar!" — "God is great." They then held the head out before the camera.


Berg's family said Tuesday they knew their son had been decapitated, but didn't know the details of the killing. When told of the video by an Associated Press reporter, Berg's father, Michael, and his two siblings hugged and cried.


"I knew he was decapitated before. That manner is preferable to a long and torturous death. But I didn't want it to become public," Michael Berg said.


On the Web site, one of the executioners read a statement:


"For the mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the U.S. administration to exchange this hostage with some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib and they refused."


"So 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 bore the title "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American." It was unclear whether al-Zarqawi — a lieutenant of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) — was shown in the video, or was claiming responsibility for ordering the execution.


The Web site on which the video was posted is known as a clearing house for al-Qaida and Islamic extremist groups' statements and tapes. An audiotape purportedly from bin Laden — which the CIA (news - web sites) said was probably authentic — appeared on the same Web site last week.


Western officials say al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmad Fadhil al-Khalayleh, is a lieutenant of bin Laden. The United States has offered $10 million for information leading to the capture or killing of al-Zarqawi, saying he is trying to build a network of foreign militants in Iraq to work for al-Qaida.


In the video, the speaker threatened both President Bush (news - web sites) and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.


"As for you Bush ... expect severe days. You and your soldiers will regret the day you stepped into the land of Iraq," he said. He described Musharraf as "a traitor agent."


The slaying recalled the kidnapping and videotaped beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002 in Pakistan. Four Islamic militants have been convicted of kidnapping Pearl, but seven other suspects — including those who allegedly slit his throat — remain at large.


Suzanne Berg, the mother of the 26-year-old Berg, of West Chester, Pa., said her son was in Iraq as an independent businessman to help rebuild communication antennas. He had been missing since April 9, she said.


"He had this idea that he could help rebuild the infrastructure," she said.

The U.S. military Tuesday said an American civilian was found dead in Baghdad, but did not release his identity. State Department spokeswoman Susan Pittman said she couldn't release the name of the dead American, but said she not aware of more than one civilian found dead in recent days.

The military said there were signs of trauma to the body. Suzanne Berg said she was told her son's death was violent but did not want to discuss details.

Berg, who was in Baghdad from late December to Feb. 1, returned to Iraq in March. He didn't find any work and planned again to return home on March 30, but his daily communications home stopped on March 24. He later told his parents he was jailed by Iraqi officials at a checkpoint in Mosul.

"He was arrested and held without due process," his father, Michael Berg, told the Daily Local News of West Chester recently. "By the time he got out the whole area was inflamed with violence.

The FBI (news - web sites) on March 31 interviewed Berg's parents in West Chester. Jerri Williams, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia FBI office, told The Philadelphia Inquirer the agency had been "asked to interview the parents regarding Mr. Berg's purpose in Iraq."

On April 5, the Bergs filed suit in federal court in Philadelphia, contending that their son was being held illegally by the U.S. military. The next day Berg was released. He told his parents he hadn't been mistreated.

The Bergs last heard from their son April 9, when he said he would come home by way of Jordan, Turkey or Kuwait. But by then, hostilities in Iraq had escalated.

Suzanne Berg on Tuesday said she was told her son's body would be transported to Kuwait and then to Dover, Del. She said the family had been trying for weeks to learn where their son was but that federal officials had not been helpful.

"I went through this with them for weeks," she said. "I basically ended up doing most of the investigating myself."




"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-

may he rest in peace. Kinda put in perspective the crap going on about that prison.

Thank the fools for giving these guys another reason kill.

Matt

Oh bullshit.

They'd have killed this guy anyway.



"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-

The prisoner abuses were just an excuse; they did the same thing 3 years ago to WSJ journalist, Daniel Pearl.

The Muslims have been doing this shit for centuries.

If it was up to me we'd be going about things a WHOLE lot differently over there.

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-

I dont doubt they would have done it anyways, the abuse idiots just gave them something to point at as justification. I do believe as sen Lieberman says you will see the difference here, we apologise when warrented and punish the abusers--dont expect any apology from alqada

Link to pictures of incident not for children http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... le6172.htm

WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Ever since he graduated from high school, Nick Berg lived a life of adventure.

He took college classes at Cornell, Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma. He also made several trips to Third World countries -- at one point teaching villagers in Ghana how to make bricks.

His latest adventure was an independent trip to Iraq to help rebuild its infrastructure. But the trip ended in tragedy when the 26-year-old Berg was beheaded by a gang that said the killing was to avenge the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers.

A video posted Tuesday on an al Qaeda-linked Web site showed the beheading, and the executioners held up his head for the camera.

Berg's father said his son was Jewish and had a fringed religious cloth with him, but he did not think Berg wore the clothing in public. Still, "there's a better chance than not that they knew he was Jewish," Michael Berg said. "If there was any doubt that they were going to kill him that probably clinched it, I'm guessing."

Friends and family members describe Berg as smart, funny and enormously generous.

His father said Berg returned from his trip to Ghana emaciated because he gave away most of his food, and the only possessions he had were the clothes on his back.

"That's the kind of passion we're dealing with here," Michael Berg said.

Berg, who was unmarried, owned a small business that worked with communication equipment like radio towers, and had traveled to Third World countries to help spread technology, his family said.

He saw his trip to Iraq, his father said, as an adventure, but one that fit into his ideology. He was a war supporter and backed the Bush administration.He helped set up electronics equipment at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia in 2000.

After working for a Texas company, Nick Berg went into business for himself in West Chester, near Philadelphia. Berg flew to Iraq on Royal Jordanian airlines, his father said. His father thought that would be the route he would take out of Iraq and even showed up at Kennedy Airport in New York in hopes of picking him up March 30.

His friends at the local YMCA said Berg worked out and swam several times a week, that he was interested in power lifting and that he was always quick with a joke.

"Some of the hardest laughter I had at the fitness center were from the jokes he told," said Nick Fillioe, a sports director at the West Chester Area YMCA.

"I would say he was a free spirit, very intelligent," he said. "He was a real smart guy. He knew a little bit about everything."

The State Department on Tuesday told the Bergs their son's body was in Kuwait and could arrive in the United States as early as Wednesday.

"The power to Destroy the planet, is insignifigant to the power of the Air Force----Mudd Vader

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Link to pictures of incident not for children http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... le6172.htm


<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

http://host3.hosteddomain.com/suspended.page/

account was suspended.

"The power to Destroy the planet, is insignifigant to the power of the Air Force----Mudd Vader

Is it just me, or do we need to get midevil on these motherfuckers?

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-

I seen the Video. It was very clear these demons had done this in the past as they were very efficient and well rehearsed.

Why are we takeing prisoners. No americans are upset about dead enemy combatants.

"The power to Destroy the planet, is insignifigant to the power of the Air Force----Mudd Vader

Edited by - mrmudd on May 11 2004 8:32 PM

Screw the K-bars and rifles. We have to risk our people for that.

Encircle Fallujah and carpet bomb it end to end with BUFFs.

Do we still have incindiary bombs in the arsenal?

I'm about as pissed off as i've ever been. Ever.

It is only a matter of time before one of these cockroaches wanders onto US soil with a nuclear device strapped to his back.

What the FUCK are we waiting for? We have to deal with these people once and for all now. It is time for drastic measures.

This is a war of survival. The fate of this kind man awaits each and every one of us should we ever find ourselves in the hands of these monsters. We all know this to be true.

Yet we pussyfoot around trying not to break anything or hurt anyone's feelings.

I say to hell with that.

It's time to break out the WW acronym again and add a III on the end of it.



"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-

Here is the High Definition Video.

Be forwarned it is very graphic.

God Bless Nick Bergs Family.

http://video.bmj.net/Alluh_Akbar.wmv

"The power to Destroy the planet, is insignifigant to the power of the Air Force----Mudd Vader

Kill the mother fuckers. Every last Ahmed, Mohammed, Hakim or Abdul.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Hamas Militants Display Israeli Soldiers' Remains

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas militants triumphantly displayed remains of some of the six Israeli soldiers killed in a roadside bombing in Gaza City (search) on Tuesday, prompting Israeli threats of punishing reprisals if body parts are not returned.

Eight Palestinians were killed and 123 wounded in a battle that pitted hundreds of gunmen against Israeli troops firing from tanks, helicopters and rooftops.

The violence began after midnight, when a small Israeli force entered the crowded Zeitoun neighborhood to look for weapons workshops.

As the troops withdrew around daybreak, an armored personnel carrier transporting at least 220 pounds of explosives for use in the raid was shredded by the roadside bomb.

Through the day and into the night, hundreds of troops searched Zeitoun for the remains of their comrades, which were scattered across a 300-yard radius.

"We are checking every roof and every balcony in order to locate the remnants of the armored personnel carrier and the bodies of our soldiers," army Maj. Gen. Dan Harel said.

Israeli security sources said the search could take days, creating an unprecedented situation in which many Israeli troops would remain in Gaza City — a militant stronghold — for an extended period. Israeli soldiers have raided Gaza neighborhoods before but usually withdrew after a few hours.

Al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language TV channel, broadcast a video it said showed two masked Islamic Jihad activists taking responsibility and displaying what they said was the head of an Israeli soldier on a table in front of them. Israel TV carried the footage but electronically obscured the head.

"We are not conducting any negotiations," Israeli military commander Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon said. "We will show no forgiveness toward those who are responsible for (what happened to) the bodies."

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (search) convened his security council in the West Bank city of Ramallah and issued a statement saying the Palestinian Authority (search) was in touch with "our brothers in Gaza" to solve the problem of the body parts "according to religious and humanitarian traditions."

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search) called an emergency session of his Security Cabinet, and participants decided not to negotiate with militant groups for the return of bodies and to continue searching for body parts, officials said.

Before the meeting, Sharon, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and military commanders agreed on a series of pinpoint military actions, the officials said. Army commanders recommended against targeting Arafat, security sources said.

Sharon told parliament that Israel would strike back hard.

"We will not stop fighting him (the enemy) and hitting him, wherever he operates and hides," he said.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, meanwhile, said President Bush has written to the Palestinian Authority, affirming his commitment to the "road map" peace plan and the creation of a Palestinian state.

Bush wrote that disputed issues must be resolved by the parties, said Shaath, who will meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell in Jordan this weekend.

The Bush letter appeared aimed at easing tensions with the Arab world over assurances the president gave to Sharon last month, including a declaration that Israel would not have to absorb Palestinian refugees or withdraw from all the West Bank.

Powell called the Israeli foreign minister on Tuesday, said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, who added that "we are very concerned and shocked" about the reports from Gaza.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed deep concern, especially over "the heavy fighting in densely populated neighborhoods, which is exposing more Palestinian civilians to death and injury," spokesman Fred Eckhard said. Annan urged the Israelis and Palestinians to stop fighting and resume negotiations.

Israel's Channel Two TV showed footage of the armored personnel carrier with its sides blown out and pieces of armor plating scattered over a wide area.

Hamas militants displayed pieces of metal and bits of flesh, laying them out on the ground. In another scene, a Hamas gunman on a motorcycle held a bloodied burlap bag with body parts.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the roadside bomb, but two other groups, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (search) — linked to Arafat's Fatah (search) movement — and Islamic Jihad, said they also had some remains. They offered to negotiate with Israel.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (search) said it was approached by Israel with a request for help retrieving the remains.

The deaths of the six soldiers — the highest casualty count in a single army operation since November 2002 — renewed debate over Sharon's proposed withdrawal from Gaza. Sharon says he wants to reduce friction and create defensible borders, but the plan was vetoed by his Likud Party (search).

In a separate incident Tuesday, Israeli soldiers killed one Palestinian and wounded another near the border in northern Gaza, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said there was no such incident.

Tuesday's battle was one of the fiercest in Gaza in recent months. Throughout the day, explosions and machine-gun fire from tanks and helicopters could be heard.

Hundreds of Palestinian gunmen participated, and the army eventually blocked the main north-south road. Gunmen planted mines and fired automatic rifles and homemade anti-tank shells.

Residents said one metal workshop was damaged.

In all, eight Palestinians were killed — seven in battle and one in an Israeli missile strike on a car. At least three of the dead were gunmen.

Hospital officials said 123 Palestinians were wounded, 14 of them critically, including an 11-year-old boy on life support with a head wound.

Thousands of mourners marched in a funeral procession for the Palestinians, and militants struck a defiant note.

"Our message to the cowardly Zionist army, which was defeated by the freedom fighters in Zeitoun, is to leave our land now, before it's too late," a masked gunman told the crowd.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

"Retreat, hell! We just got here!"-Captain Lloyd Williams, 2nd Marine Division, Belleau Wood, France, WWI

<i>Kill the mother fuckers. Every last Ahmed, Mohammed, Hakim or Abdul.</i>
Patience, It'll happen.

I've seen this once before as they video'd Daniel Pearl's death; it's the MO of these guys.

I think Bush is hampered by this upcoming election. Once it is over and he is still in office, then the I believe the whole game will be played differently.

Or, we can wash our hands in this and give Israel carte-blanch to light up the 22 Arab states with a nice radioactive glow. I know they're itching to do it.



Edited by - Tritonal on May 12 2004 02:14 AM

oh man i just saw the photos, right i say NUKE THE FUCKERS they now deserve it

<img src="http://img37.photobucket.com/albums/v114/Williamz/faint2.jpg" border=0>

dont turn your back on me i wont be ignored!

Which is why I'm proud to be enlisting soon

"Retreat, hell! We just got here!"-Captain Lloyd Williams, 2nd Marine Division, Belleau Wood, France, WWI

Shoot a few of those cockroaches for me BR.



"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-

With pleasure. It might not be the size of a 30MM from a GAU/8A, but these too will have your name on them.

"Retreat, hell! We just got here!"-Captain Lloyd Williams, 2nd Marine Division, Belleau Wood, France, WWI

KILL 'EM ALL !

If we're to win this war we can't worry about blowing up mosques, no matter how 'holy' they are.

After watching muslims chant allah akbar while hacking off one of my countrymen's heads i don't think their definition of holy should mean a damned thing to any of us anyway.

It's not a holy site, it's a building full of the enemy. IOW, it's a legitimate target. As far as i'm concerned the whole city is a legitimate target. The enemy is recieving aid and comfort from the civilian population. It's time the gloves came off, once and for all- but they won't.

Not yet.

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-

Jesse James had the right idea when he poured .308 mini-gun into his sand car that failed...

Wonder if I can slip some of that RBCD ammo Luna posted to BR.

I learned that while shooting at explosive targets from close range, trigger control is very important for safety...especially while you're flying backwards through the air.