Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 16. maj 2004 / Time Line May 16, 2004
Version 3.005/16/2004
The Terrible and Strange Death of Nick Berg
by James Conachy
(Courtesy of WSWS.org and Tehran Times)
The terrible death of Nick Berg in Iraq -- beheaded in front of a
video camera -- has taken place in such strange and suspicious
circumstances that it raises deeply troubling questions. Among them
is whether American agencies had a direct or indirect hand in the
young man's murder.
Questions immediately arise from the timing and political
consequences of his killing. At the height of a massive scandal
engulfing the Bush administration, Berg's death has been exploited
by the American government and the US media to launch a
counter-offensive against the revelations of systematic US torture
in Abu Ghraib and other Iraqi prisons. A wholesale attempt is being
made to shift American and international public opinion away from
the outrage over the criminal character of the US occupation of
Iraq, and behind the self-serving argument that American forces are
needed in Iraq to prevent the country descending into barbarism and
chaos.
Were Berg's murderers being directly paid by the American
government, they could not have performed a more timely service for
the Bush White House.
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