Mosul police chief denies detaining slain American Nicholas Berg

AP | 5/13/04

[kattracks]

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi police never detained an American whose decapitated body was found last week in Baghdad, the police chief said Thursday, despite U.S. insistence that Nicholas Berg was held by local authorities here shortly before he disappeared last month.

Berg's family blames American authorities for detaining the 26-year-old telecommunications businessman until a flare-up of anti-American violence, which set the stage for his abduction and death.

The young man was beheaded on a video posted Tuesday on an al-Qaida-affiliated Web site. It bore the title "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American," referring to an associate of Osama bin Laden believed behind a wave of suicide bombings in Iraq.

In Baghdad, U.S. officials said Iraqi police arrested Berg in Mosul on March 24 because local authorities believed he may have been involved in "suspicious activities." He would not elaborate but insisted American authorities had not held Berg although the FBI visited him three times before he was released April 6.

However, police chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair al-Barhawi told reporters Thursday that his department had never arrested Berg.

"The Iraqi police never arrested the slain American," he said. "Take it from me ... that such reports are baseless."

Berg went to Baghdad after his release and disappeared April 10. U.S. officials offered him a flight to Jordan but he was afraid to travel to the airport because of ambushes along the highway.

Despite the police chief's statement, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Berg was detained by Iraqi authorities "for his own protection" because his behavior in Mosul seemed unusual for a westerner.

He had been seen traveling in taxis and moving about the dangerous city without any escort, the official said. He added that Berg, who was Jewish, had written materials which were "anti-Semitic" in tone, the official said without elaborating.

All that raised suspicions about what he was doing in Iraq.

[MEG33]

We shall see.

[kattracks]

Something just doesn't add up about this whole story.

[MEG33]

He says in his email to his family that he was in an Iraqi jail.

[JZoback]

Seems like there is more to this story than meets the eye.

[visualops]

Curiouser and curiouser.

[Rebelbase]

I'm beginning to wonder if we can trust many Iraqis. If they sense that politics are going to cause us to cut and run they'll turn on us in a NY minute, IMO.

[American_Centurion]

This morning WMAL 630AM Washington DC reported that Berg had contracted with them some time previously to paint their transmitter towers in Bethesda, MD.

Last month they said Berg's father contacted them to find out if they could help locate his son in Iraq.

I have to question the father's truthfulness about these things so far, he is known to us to be a contributor to ANSWER, he claims the US detained Berg in Iraq and wouldn't allow him to call, and he claims he filed suit for his son's release. How long ago did these things happen that he had to question a DC radio station for assistance in locating his son, find him, file suit, then Berg ends up dead, all in less than a month?

I think that there is far more than meets the eye with this story and I'm certain that Nic's father is lying on at least two accounts that I have trouble believing could be unintentional. Grieving or not, I don't trust the elder Berg as far as my 8 month old can throw him.

[scouse]

Despite the police chief's statement, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Berg was detained by Iraqi authorities "for his own protection"

I heard this morning that he was travelling with an Israeli passport: Has anybody else heard this?

[Freeper Lady]

Terrorists posing as Iraqi police?

[Atlantian]

Another thread said Berg had an Israeli stamp on his passport since he had traveled to Israel a number of times with his family.

[scouse]

Maybe that is what they meant....Thank you.

[OXENinFLA]

This should NOT take away from what was done to Nick Berg.

I watched the whole horrific video and it needs to be stated over and over again that it was al-Qudia that slaughtered Nick and used him for their agenda.

That being said I would like to know WHY he traveled to Iraq. I'm 27 and there is NOOOOOOOOOOOOO amount of money,or prospect there of, you could pay me to go walking around the mid-east ALONE.

---

Question: (Wait, let me put on my asbestos suit)

Is there proof that he was in fact kidnapped?

[knarf]

"He says in his email to his family that he was in an Iraqi jail."

Iraqi jails have computers and prisoners are allowed to use them?

Nothing is making sense anymore.

[American_Centurion]

The fact that he was brutally murdered and used as an AQ propaganda pawn, does not in any way remove your right to question how he came to be in AQ's custody.

As fishy as some parts of this story are, it is almost stupid to NOT question such things.

Think about this for a minute, his father donated to ANSWER, Nic has been known for his travels abroad and his humane sacrifice and service to the less fortunate in places like Africa. He certainly fits the bill for a bleeding heart, and it could very well be that he wanted to be one of those Japanese "kidnap victims".

As I said before, he was murdered in the most brutal way I have ever witnessed, even if he offered himself up to these guys as political fodder he didn't deserve what he got.

[cksharks]

Naaaa He just faked his own f------g beheading to impress people like you!

[MEG33]

He was out when he wrote the email.He was released,went back to his hotel in Baghdad ,was last seen on April 10th by a guest.

[jocon307]

"Curiouser and curiouser."

LOL, that's exactly what I said on a different thread on this same subject.

The guy was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but one wonders how he came to be there.

[MEG33]

We need some links over here!

[livius]

I read another thread where someone wondered about the lack of blood at the time of the beheading. I only saw the video once (which was more than enough) but don't recall much blood, either.

However, I did see a picture of his body as it had been found. They had left him dangling by one leg from an overpass, so when he was found and cut down, his legs were stiff and spread. He was wearing shorts, sneakers and some kind of t-shirt. The area between his legs and going up on his right side was blackened; I thought it was charred, but another Freeper thought it was dried blood and suggested that it came from the beheading. It's possible that it was blood, but it was nowhere near the top of his body, and only between his legs and along that side to just above his waist.

According to the time stamp, there was an 11 hour gap from the first part of the video to the beheading scene. I think that he was probably tortured to death (possibly castrated or burned) and may already have been dead when he was beheaded. If anything, I think what they did to him may even have been worse than what we saw.

And no matter what he was doing in Iraq, he didn't deserve to die that way and AQ should be made to pay big for it.