Nick Berg | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nicholas Evan Berg (1978-04-02)April 2, 1978 Charlotte,North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | May 7, 2004(2004-05-07) (aged 26) |
| Cause of death | Decapitation |
| Resting place | Montefiore Cemetery,Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Freelance radio-tower repairman |
| Parent(s) | Michael Berg, Suzanne Berg |
Nicholas Evan Berg (April 2, 1978 – May 7, 2004) was an American freelanceradio-tower repairman[1] who went toIraq after theUnited States' invasion of Iraq. He was abducted andbeheaded according to a video released in May 2004 by Islamist militants in response to theAbu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse involving theUnited States Army and Iraqi prisoners. TheCIA claimed Berg was murdered byAbu Musab al-Zarqawi.[2] The decapitation video was released on the internet, reportedly from London to a Malaysian-hosted homepage by the Islamist organizationJama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.[3]
Berg was born inCharlotte, North Carolina and grew up inWest Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb ofPhiladelphia.[4] He was referred to as a "religious Jew."[4]
Berg graduated fromHenderson High School inWest Chester in 1996.[5][6] In 1996, he was a student atCornell University[7] but later dropped out.[8] He took classes atDrexel University in 1998,[9] and, in 1999, attended summer sessions on the campus of theUniversity of Pennsylvania.[7] At some point, Berg took a class at theUniversity of Oklahoma inNorman.[10] He never earned a college degree.[7]
In 2002, with family members, Berg created Prometheus Methods Tower Service.[8] He inspected and rebuiltcommunication antennas, and had previously visitedKenya andUganda on similar projects. Berg set up a subsidiary of his company, Prometheus Tower Services, Inc., in Kenya.[11][when?]
Berg 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 ofMosul, visiting an Iraqi man whose brother had been married to Berg's late aunt. Leaving on February 1, 2004, he returned to Iraq on March 14, 2004, only to find that the work he was promised was unavailable.[citation needed] Throughout his time in Iraq, he maintained frequent contact with his family in the United States by telephone and email.[citation needed]
Berg had intended to return to the United States on March 30, 2004, but he was detained in Mosul on March 24.[12] His family claims that he was turned over to U.S. officials and held for 13 days[13][14] without access to legal counsel.FBI agents visited his parents to confirm his identity on March 31, 2004, but he was not immediately released.[citation needed] After his parents filed suit in federal court in Philadelphia on April 5, 2004, claiming that he was being held illegally, he was released from 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, but rather that he was held by Iraqi forces. The Mosul police deny they ever arrested Berg, and Berg's family has turned over an email from the U.S. consul stating "I have confirmed that your son, Nick, is being detained by the U.S. military in Mosul."[15] According to theAssociated Press, Berg was released from custody on April 6, 2004, 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 toBaghdad, where he stayed at theAl-Fanar Hotel. His family last heard from him on April 9, 2004. Berg had his last contact with U.S. officials on April 10, 2004, and did not return again to his hotel after that date. He was interviewed for filmmakerMichael Moore's filmFahrenheit 9/11.[16] Moore chose not to use the footage of his interview with Berg, but instead shared it with Berg's family following his death.
Berg's family became concerned after not hearing from him for several days. Although aU.S. State Department investigator looked into Berg's disappearance, official government inquiries produced no leads. His family, frustrated with what they say was a lack of action by the U.S. government, also hired aprivate investigator and contacted both theirCongressional delegation and theRed Cross in search of information.[citation needed] According toThe Guardian it is unclear how Berg came to be kidnapped.[17]
Berg's body was founddecapitated on May 8, 2004, on a Baghdad overpass by a U.S. military patrol. Berg's family was informed of his death two days later. Military sources stated publicly at the time that Berg's body showed "signs oftrauma", but did not disclose that he had been decapitated.
On May 11, 2004, the website of the militantjihadist forumMuntada al-Ansar[19] posteda video with the opening title of "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi slaughters an American", which shows Berg being decapitated. The video is about five and a half minutes long. The video shows Nick Berg, seated, facing the camera and his captors standing behind him also facing the camera.[20] Berg is wearing an orangejumpsuit, similar to ones worn by prisoners in U.S. custody.[21] His captors are all masked, their identities concealed.[21] He identifies himself: "My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael, my mother's name is Suzanne. I have a brother and sister, David and Sarah. I live in West Chester, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia." A lengthy statement is read aloud by a masked man. The masked men then converge on Berg. Two of them hold him down, while one decapitates him with aknife.
The video title claims the decapitator was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,[22] but this can not be determined as all the men are masked.[21] Berg screams as the masked men shout "Allahu Akbar". After the head is severed,one of the men displays the head to the camera, then lays it down on the decapitated body. During the video, the masked man reading the statement said the killing was in revenge for theAbu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The man says Muslims should seek vengeance for Abu Ghraib, and that the Muslim clergy had been complacent.[23][21] The man also threatens further deaths, and makes specific threats toU.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush andPakistani PresidentPervez Musharraf.[17]
Media in the United States and around the world grappled with the question of how much of the graphic footage to print. TheDallas Morning News showed an image in which the killer holds Berg's severed head, whileSeattle Times only displayed the image of the killer. British newspaperThe Independent urged restraint, arguing the video waspropaganda and publishing images from it "plays into the hands" of terrorists.[24]
Berg's killing was condemned by theArab League, andUnited Nations, as well asSaudi Arabia,Jordan andUAE.[25][26] Many others in the Muslim world also condemned the killing,[27][28] and BBC journalistPaul Wood found that the "Arab street" condemned the killing of Berg, saw it as contrary to Islam, and saw it as a reaction to US prison abuses.[29]
On May 14, 2004, it was revealed that Nick Berg had come up during the U.S. government's investigation ofZacarias Moussaoui, a 9/11 conspirator. Berg's email address had been used by Moussaoui prior to theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks. According to Berg's father, Nick Berg had a chance encounter with an acquaintance of Moussaoui on a bus inNorman, Oklahoma. This person had asked to borrow Berg's laptop computer to send an email. Berg gave the details of his own email account and password, which were later used by Moussaoui. TheFBI found that Berg had no direct terrorism connections or direct link with Moussaoui.[30]
On May 14, 2004, citing "Iraq sources",Sky News reported that four people had been arrested for the murder.[citation needed] Two were later released.[31] Alternatively, on July 5, 2004,Sky News reported that four men were arrested in connection with the Nick Berg decapitation.[32] Suspects arrested for Berg's killing were former members ofFedayeen Saddam paramilitary group.[33] Alleged murderer al-Zarqawi died in an American aistrike while attending a meeting in a hideout atHihib, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest ofBaqubah.[34]
On August 5, 2004,Le Nouvel Observateur published a feature story by Sara Daniel[35] detailing her meeting with Abu Rashid, a leader of the Mujahideen Council inFallujah. He claims that he killed Nick Berg,Kim Sun-il and Iraqis who collaborated with US forces. He also states that they attempted a prisoner exchange with Berg but were rebuffed by American officials.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link),WKRNSuch tit-for-tat brutality disgusted mainstream Arabs and Muslims, who condemned the executions as loudly as they condemned Abu Ghraib.