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Iraq-Jordan
4 arrested in Berg beheading
2004-05-19
Four people have been arrested in connection with the beheading of American businessman Nicholas Berg, according to a senior Iraqi source. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida-linked Jordanian terrorist believed to be in a video of the slaying, is not among the four in custody, the source indicated to Agence France-Presse.
Somehow, I'm not surprised...
The tape of Berg’s killing, entitled, "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi slaughtering an American," showed five masked men. The CIA believes one, who read a statement and carried out the beheading, was al-Zarqawi. The Iraqi source declined to give details of the four in detention, but said, "We have made good progress."
I hope they've got lavendar panties on their heads at this moment. And maybe a tampon up each nostril...
As WorldNetDaily reported, a translator and expert in Islam and the Quran believes the Arabic message accompanying the video images is a "how-to" training tape for the murder of non-Muslims by other terrorists around the globe. The man in the video believed to be al-Zarqawi read a statement before using a large knife to decapitate Berg. As he killed him, the men shouted, ""Allahu Akbar!" or "God is great." The terrorists then held the head out to be seen by the camera.
... thereby establishing their heroism for the ages...
This statement was read by the killers on the video:
"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 [prison] 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 statement also included: "Nation of Islam, is there any excuse left to sit idly by? And how can free Muslims sleep soundly as they see Islam being slaughtered, honor bleeding, photographs of shame and reports of Satanic degradation of the people of Islam, men and women, in Abu Ghraib prison?"
Posted by:tipper

#10  This "case" is lunacy.

But if they got the other four, how'd they miss the big guy? Or...
Posted by: someone   2004-05-19 2:32:05 PM  

#9  Yea, they needed an american jew "token" to be in their jihad ranks. Geez....
Posted by: Johnnie Bartlette   2004-05-19 1:31:46 PM  

#8  Phil,
Let me suggest another possibility - especially since we have the connection to ANSWER through his parents: He was there trying to find something to feed back to ANSWER to use against the Administration during the campaign. There were - in the mass media - reports of prisoner abuse going back as far as before the beginning of the year. There were lots of other 'reports' of US misbehavior before and after that. To me at least, it seems plausible that he would have thought, 'Hey, I'm on their side' - 'their' being the Iraqis, not necessarily the terrorists - and felt he would be able to convince the baddies of his bonafides.
I'm not in any way saying that this is The Explanation, far from it. But it does connect the dots a little bit.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2004-05-19 11:22:16 AM  

#7  I don't think you "case" measures up, Phil B. But he must have felt that he wouldn't be harmed wandering around like he was. Too bad. So many Americans underestimate the nastiness of the Islamoidz.
Posted by: ex-lib   2004-05-19 10:51:14 AM  

#6  I'd say the case is shoddy, slim, and a slander.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-05-19 10:26:05 AM  

#5  all the folks who knew him back home indicate the risk taking, obliviousness to danger, etc was part of his personality - they are generally NOT surprised. No evidence that he shared his familys politics, and some evidence that he was returning to Judaism (which would have been a shock to a typical lefty post-Jewish family) FBI checked out the Moussaui connection.

I would say case still very far from proved.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2004-05-19 10:21:31 AM  

#4  RC search for my prior posts on this, but given the facts, a perfectly plausible and possibly the only plausible explanation of his behavior is he wanted to be a Jihadi. Proved association with 9/11 plotter, heavily left wing family, wandering around Iraq feeling he was immune to what was going on. My scenario is moving up to a 90% likelyhood. Now we have the guys who did it (and how were they found?) the story will come out.
Posted by: Phil B   2004-05-19 9:29:33 AM  

#3  Logic? What happened was Berg was used and tricked into thinking he would never be harmed, and in his LLL ways he believed it. I have no sympathy for his foolishness, but foolishness alone doesn't justify what happened to Berg. Nothing Berg did justifies what happened to him.
Posted by: Charles   2004-05-19 9:12:04 AM  

#2  A further indication he was a Jihadi wannabe.

Yeah. Sure. Care to explain that leap of illogic?
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-05-19 8:57:03 AM  

#1  Given they have been arrested in the chaos of Iraq, strongly indicates they had a prior association with Berg. A further indication he was a Jihadi wannabe.
Posted by: Phil B   2004-05-19 7:20:54 AM  

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