American repairman taken hostage and killed in Iraq
Nick Berg
|
---|
Born
| Nicholas Evan Berg
(
1978-04-02
)
April 2, 1978
|
---|
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 freelance
radio-tower
repairman
[1]
who went to
Iraq
after the
United States' invasion of Iraq
. He was abducted and
beheaded
according to a video released in May 2004 by Islamist militants in response to the
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
involving the
United States Army
and Iraqi prisoners. The
CIA
claimed Berg was murdered by
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
.
[2]
The decapitation video was released on the internet, reportedly from London to a Malaysian-hosted homepage by the Islamist organization
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
.
[3]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Berg was born in
Charlotte, North Carolina
and grew up in
West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania
, a suburb of
Philadelphia
.
[4]
He was referred to as a "religious Jew."
[4]
Berg graduated from
Henderson High School
in
West Chester
in 1996.
[5]
[6]
In 1996, he was a student at
Cornell University
[7]
but later dropped out.
[8]
He took classes at
Drexel University
in 1998,
[9]
and, in 1999, attended summer sessions on the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania
.
[7]
At some point, Berg took a class at the
University of Oklahoma
in
Norman
.
[10]
He never earned a college degree.
[7]
In 2002, with family members, Berg created Prometheus Methods Tower Service.
[8]
He inspected and rebuilt
communication antennas
, and had previously visited
Kenya
and
Uganda
on similar projects. Berg set up a subsidiary of his company, Prometheus Tower Services, Inc., in Kenya.
[11]
[
when?
]
Travels and detention
[
edit
]
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 of
Mosul
, 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 the
Associated 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 to
Baghdad
, where he stayed at the
Al-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 filmmaker
Michael Moore
's film
Fahrenheit 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.
Disappearance
[
edit
]
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. His 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.
[
citation needed
]
According to
The Guardian
it is unclear how Berg came to be kidnapped.
[17]
Death
[
edit
]
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 two days later. Military sources stated publicly at the 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
jihadist
forum
Muntada al-Ansar
[18]
posted
a 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.
[19]
Berg is wearing an orange
jumpsuit
, similar to ones worn by prisoners in U.S. custody.
[20]
His captors are all masked, their identities concealed.
[20]
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. The masked men then converge on Berg. Two of them hold him down, while one decapitates him with a
knife
.
Perpetrators
[
edit
]
The video title claims the decapitator was
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
,
[21]
but this can not be determined as all the men are masked.
[20]
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 the abuse at
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
. The man says Muslims should seek vengeance for Abu Ghraib, and that the Muslim clergy had been complacent.
[22]
[20]
The man also threatens further deaths, and makes specific threats to
U.S. President
George W. Bush
and
Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf
.
[17]
Media in the United States and around the world grappled with the question of how much graphics to print. The
Dallas Morning News
showed an image in which the killer holds Berg's severed head, while
Seattle Times
only displayed the image of the killer. British newspaper
The Independent
urged restraint, arguing the video was
propaganda
and publishing images from it "plays into the hands" of terrorists.
[23]
Reactions
[
edit
]
Berg's killing was condemned by the
Arab League
, and
United Nations
, as well as
Saudi Arabia
,
Jordan
and
UAE
.
[24]
[25]
Many others in the Muslim world also condemned the killing,
[26]
[27]
and BBC journalist
Paul 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.
[28]
Encounter with Zacarias Moussaoui
[
edit
]
On May 14, 2004, it was revealed that Nick Berg had come up during the U.S. government's investigation of
Zacarias Moussaoui
, a 9/11 conspirator. Berg's email address had been used by Moussaoui prior to the
September 11, 2001 attacks
. According to Berg's father, Nick Berg had a chance encounter with an acquaintance of Moussaoui on a bus in
Norman, 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. The
FBI
found that Berg had no direct terrorism connections or direct link with Moussaoui.
[29]
Arrests and confessions
[
edit
]
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.
[30]
Alternatively, on July 5, 2004,
Sky News
reported that four men were arrested in connection with the Nick Berg decapitation.
[31]
Suspects arrested for Berg's killing were former members of
Fedayeen Saddam
paramilitary group.
[32]
On August 5, 2004,
Le Nouvel Observateur
published a feature story by Sara Daniel
[33]
detailing her meeting with Abu Rashid, a leader of the Mujahideen Council in
Fallujah
. 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.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Urbina, Ian
(March 29, 2006).
"Son's Death in Iraq Prompts Bid for Congress"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
January 22,
2018
.
- ^
"
'Zarqawi' beheaded US man in Iraq"
.
BBC News
. May 13, 2004
. Retrieved
March 18,
2010
.
- ^
"SMH"
. May 29, 2004
. Retrieved
March 18,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Dao, James; Jones, Richard Lezin; Hauser, Christine;
Lichtblau, Eric
(May 26, 2004).
"Visions & suspicions: the entrepreneur; Tracing a Civilian's Odd Path To His Gruesome Fate in Iraq"
.
The New York Times
. Iraq
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Beheading Victim 'Loved Adventure and Risk'
"
.
washingtonpost.com
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Friends, Kin Mourn Berg"
. Fox News. May 12, 2004
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
"The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Phila. man beheaded in Iraq linked to Penn, Drexel"
.
Thedp.com
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
LAURA MANSNERUS & JAMES DAO (May 12, 2004).
"The Struggle for Iraq ? The Family ? From Strange Encounter With Iraqi Police to Fatal Capture by Islamic Terrorists"
.
The New York Times
. Laura Mansnerus reported from West Whiteland Township for this article and James Dao from Washington. Contributing reporting were Jessica Bruder from West Whiteland Township and Thomas J. Lueck and Sabrina Tavernise from New York. Mosul, Iraq
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Hundreds mourn Nicholas Berg They valued his adventure, humor, drive - Philly.com"
. Articles.philly.com. May 14, 2004
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Arrests in abduction of American worker - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - Conflict in Iraq"
. NBC News. May 21, 2004
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
June 14, 2004, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"SMH.com.au"
. SMH.com.au. May 29, 2004
. Retrieved
August 22,
2014
.
- ^
"Friend: Berg said he was in U.S. custody"
. CNN.com. May 13, 2004
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Middle East | 'Zarqawi' beheaded US man in Iraq"
.
BBC News
. May 13, 2004
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"E-mail from consul confirms Berg was in U.S. military hands"
. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005
. Retrieved
May 28,
2004
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
,
WKRN
- ^
Moore interviewed Berg for "Fahrenheit"
,
Salon (magazine)
, May 27, 2004
- ^
a
b
"American beheaded in revenge for torture"
.
The Guardian
.
- ^
[2]
- website where decapitation video was reposted, now offline. See
Archived
May 7, 2004, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Barbie Zelizer.
About to Die: How News Images Move the Public
.
Oxford University Press
. p. 285.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Dexter Filkins (May 12, 2004).
"Iraq Videotape Shows the Decapitation of an American"
.
New York Times
.
- ^
Die Welt
, 20 November 2014.
- ^
"Video Shows Beheading of U.S. Hostage As Violence Continues in Iraq"
.
- ^
Barbie Zelizer.
About to Die: How News Images Move the Public
.
Oxford University Press
. pp. 288?9.
- ^
"Powell: Arab world should be more outraged"
.
CNN
.
- ^
"DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL"
.
- ^
Lawrence Pintak
.
reflections in a Bloodshot Lens
.
Pluto Press
. p. 286.
Such tit-for-tat brutality disgusted mainstream Arabs and Muslims, who condemned the executions as loudly as they condemned Abu Ghraib.
- ^
"MUSLIMS CONDEMN REPREHENSIBLE NICK BERG KILLING"
.
Muslim Council of Britain
. May 12, 2004.
- ^
Paul Wood.
"Arab reaction: Slaying linked to abuses"
.
- ^
Berg's encounter with 'terrorist' revealed
,
CNN
, May 14, 2004
- ^
"Four Arrested In Nick Berg Beheading, Two Later Released - wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather & Sports"
. Wave3.com. May 21, 2004
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Iraq: Four Arrested Over Berg Killing"
. News.sky.com. July 5, 2004
. Retrieved
March 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Four Saddam fedayeen arrested for American's beheading"
.
Gulf News/AP
. May 22, 2004.
- ^
"Reportages: Sara-Daniel.com"
. Mapage.noos.fr
. Retrieved
March 18,
2010
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Hayes, Jonathan. "
Second Opinion
."
New York Magazine
. "A New York City medical examiner watches the video of Nick Berg’s beheading and wishes he’d looked away."
External links
[
edit
]