Diplomat's Emails Show Berg in US Custody

AP ^ | 5/13/04

[11th Earl of Mar]

By JASON STRAZIUSO Associated Press Writer

May 13, 2004, 2:39 PM EDT

WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- A U.S. diplomatic official in Iraq told the family of slain American Nicholas Berg in early April that he was being detained by the U.S. military, according to e-mails provided by the family Thursday.

U.S. government officials have said Berg, who was found dead last weekend in Baghdad, was detained by Iraqi police March 24 and was never in the custody of American forces.

He is believed to have been kidnapped within days of his April 6 release by either Iraqi police or coalition forces, and later beheaded by militants who videotaped the slaying.

To back its claims that Berg was in U.S. custody, the family showed The Associated Press an April 1 e-mail from Beth A. Payne, the U.S. consular officer in Iraq.

"I have confirmed that your son, Nick, is being detained by the U.S. military in Mosul. He is safe. He was picked up approximately one week ago. We will try to obtain additional information regarding his detention and a contact person you can communicate with directly," the e-mail said.

In two e-mails later that day, Payne wrote that she was still trying to find a local contact for the family.

Berg's brother, David Berg, called on the government to come clean about its contacts with the slain American before he died. The family has blamed the government for keeping him in custody for too long while anti-American violence escalated in Iraq.

[Republicus2001]

It sounds like the US didn't keep him in protective custody long enough.

[Bahbah]

You may be interested in this bit.

[KellyAdmirer]

I guess the family thinks the US military cut his head off.

[carton253]

Didn't the father sue to get him released from custody?

[11th Earl of Mar]

Why was he picked up by the US Military?

[AZamericonnie]

I was watching Cavuto & he mentioned something coming in to Fox that Berg had been questioned by the FBI after 9/11. Then the phone rang & I missed the rest. Did anyone hear of this?

[darkwing104]

If he was in custody there would be a paper trail somewhere. E-mails don't mean crap because they can easily be forged or manipulated.

[darkwing104]

If he was in custody there would be a paper trail somewhere. E-mails don't mean crap because they can easily be forged or manipulated.

[Piedmont Rebel]

Ummmm...maybe I'm confused, but I thought he wasn't picked up by the Iraqi's until Apr 6. Could this be 2 separate detentions?

[zook]

My guess is she was mistaken about who held the young man. My patience for his father has worn out.

[BushisTheMan]

To back its claims that Berg was in U.S. custody, the family showed The Associated Press an April 1 e-mail from Beth A. Payne, the U.S. consular officer in Iraq.

This family seems to use the media when they need to and have total distain for it the rest of the time.

If the daughter and father represent how the family is, I feel even more sympathy now for Nick Berg.

[carton253]

I believe it was because he was wandering through a war zone without protection...

[AZamericonnie]

He was detained in March hence the claim the failed to meet his departure on I believe March 30th.

[Ron in Acreage]

I guess being in US custody wasn't such a bad thing after all. Liberals have such disdain and loathing for our military, even when protecting their son from harm. The father demanded his release from protective custody and he got his demands met. Too bad it ended the way it did. Our nation grieves with the Berg family. His blame however is very misguided.

[js1138]

This is wordplay on everybody's side. He was in the custody of Iraqis who were being supervised by Americans. We won't know why until we have the answers to the questions he was being asked by the FBI in Iraq.

This is as convoluted as a Hitchcock thriller.

Among other things being reported:

He was Jewish.
His family had visited Israel.
He had an Israeli stamp on his passport.
He painted communications towers.
He was an electronics expert.
His family is anti-war.
He has an uncle in Iraq.
He visited that uncle and set up an email account for him.
He had an AQ roommate at college or elsewhere.
Someone with ties to AQ used his email account.
He was killed by his "best friends".
He was killed by George Bush or Donald Rumsfeld, take your pick.
There's a 13 hour gap in the execution video.

[gathersnomoss]

Hello.... The US Government told him to leave. They said that "you are a jew and you are not safe here". They also said that they are not a taxi service and that he needed to get onto a plane right away. He said that the road to the airport was dangerous and stated that he would travel out of Bagdad.

WTF were they supposed to do???? BTW, his father is defaming him by placing his anti-war garbage on his front lawn. God be with Nick's soul.

Keep eating from the press trough. Don't forget the Koolaid on your way to hell. Wake up!

[Protagoras]

I think this guy was CIA.

And yes, I have my tin foil hat securely on.

[darkwing104]

This is as convoluted as a Hitchcock thriller.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was getting confused there for a second...(((sarcasm))). Anyway there seems like there is 50 different versions or what happened. I smell a lawsuit coming

[latrans]

He was picked up by Iraqui police for having an Isreali
stamp in his passport. Then they discovered that he had previously allowed a terrorist to use his cellphone, according to the FBI.