Qaeda leader "beheads American"

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Another Day, Another Dollar
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DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq beheaded an American civilian and vowed more killings in revenge for the "Satanic degradation" of Iraqi prisoners, an Islamist website says.

A poor quality videotape on the site showed a man dressed in orange overalls sitting bound on a white plastic chair in a bare room, then knelt on the floor with five masked men behind him.

"My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael... I have a brother and sister, David and Sarah," said the bound man, adding he was from Philadelphia.

One of the masked men read a statement urging Muslims to seek revenge after pictures were published of Iraqi prisoners being abused by U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

"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, honour bleeding, photographs of shame and reports of Satanic degradation of the people of Islam, men and women, in Abu Ghraib prison?" the statement said.

The masked men then pushed the 26-year-old American to the floor and shouted "God is greatest" above his screams as one of them sawed his head off with a large knife then held it aloft for the camera.

The Web site said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a top ally of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was the man who cut off Berg's head. The statement in the video was signed off with Zarqawi's name and dated May 11.

Jordanian-born Zarqawi, 37, has raised his profile and status as al Qaeda's most active operational leader with a series of suicide bombs and attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.

"This shows the true nature of the enemies of freedom," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. "They have no regard for the lives of innocent men, women and children. We will pursue those responsible and bring them to justice."

MILITANT STATEMENT

Photographs shown around the world of naked Iraqi prisoners stacked in a pyramid or positioned to simulate sex acts at Abu Ghraib prison have provoked international anger and pose a serious setback to U.S. efforts to stabilise Iraq.

U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair have both apologised and pledged to punish those responsible but both governments have come under pressure for senior ministers to take the blame for the abuse.

The militants' statement, addressing families of U.S. soldiers, said Zarqawi's group had offered Washington to swap Berg for Iraqi prisoners held by U.S. troops "but they refused".

"You will only get shroud after shroud and coffin after coffin slaughtered in this manner," it said.

"As for you Bush, dog of the Christians, anticipate what will harm you... You and your soldiers will regret the day you stepped foot in Iraq and dared to violate Muslims."

The murder was condemned by the Council of American-Islamic Relations, a U.S.-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group.

"We condemn this cold-blooded murder and repudiate all those who commit such acts of mindless violence in the name of religion," it said.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the tape carried on the Muntada al-Ansar Islamist Web site, but the CIA was reviewing the video for clues of who was responsible, a U.S. official said.

"Berg's body was found with his hands behind his back and beheaded," said another U.S. official who declined to be identified. "The body was found along a (Baghdad) roadside by a U.S. military patrol."

"He was a private American citizen not associated with a military contract," said a State Department official.

Berg had been missing for several weeks. He was last heard from on April 9 when he telephoned his parents. He said he was trying to find a safe way home after trying to find work as an independent communications contractor.

"The Berg family is devastated by this loss. They want to extend their sympathy to other families who have also suffered," said Bruce Hauser, their neighbour in the Philadelphia suburb of West Chester.

The ritual killing resembled the murder of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl, beheaded by Islamist militants in Pakistan. Berg's orange overalls were reminiscent of those worn by al Qaeda suspects held by U.S. troops at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

http://www.reuters.co.uk
 

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It just gets worse and worse over there everyday - let's just "stay the course!!!!!"
 
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This will be portrayed as "our fault " for going into Iraq. What were their 3,000 murders in September of 2001 in retaliation for?
 

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Ummm...the guy responsible for the 3000 deaths in Septembre of 2001 is umm...still running around, loose, no one knows where but it sure as hell wasnt Iraq......
 

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nj dont worry as we speak somewhere in iraq,nick berg is being avenged.
 

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I am leaning towards being in favor of the extinction of Muslims. That's the only way this will stop. They love this attention. They are the scum of the earth, but now they are finally being heard. The last thing they want is the U.S. to pull out. They want the U.S. to stay in Iraq so this can continue. This is giving them something to live for. They love this and can't give it up. The world is going to be a better place without them.

I now say, totally pull out and leave such a power vacuum that they can't resist killing each other in a civil war, house to house I'm talking about, for the next 50 years.
 

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The brutality of people world wide is so far beyond belief, I just cannot comprehend it.

I expected there were be retaliation but nothing to this degree.
 

Andersen celebrates his 39-yard NFC Championship w
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This is devastaing news.

I am sickened by the disregard for lives on both sides.

Damn near makes me want to vomit.

Damn it !!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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...had to figure something like this was coming from them after our torture scandal hit the press.....

...these religious fanatics grope for the smallest things to justify thier conduct....they'll play that "torture retaliation card" for decades to come....

NJ Sports....I believe thier attack on the WTC buildings was directed as a result of some westerner leaving a fart in Saudi Arabia during the original gulf war.....basically that's about all they need to start planning an attack.......
 

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Originally posted by Marco:
...these religious fanatics grope for the smallest things to justify thier conduct....they'll play that "torture retaliation card" for decades to come....

QUOTE]

Exactly.
 

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These Muslim extremists are simply finding a reason why to be-head the American. If there wouldn't have been any prisoner abuse/torture than they would have done it eventually.

Nevertheless, US military leaders shouldn't have done what they did at the prison.
 

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An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

------------------------------

Pat Buchanan and Bill O'Reilly for the White House
 

Honey Badger Don't Give A Shit
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Needless death is always a tragedy.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I read posts like the one above: Kill All Muslims! That Will Take Care Of This!

Yeah!

KILL! KILL! KILL!

and KILL SOME MORE!

KEEP KILLING and then The Killing Will Stop.

That's what I want to teach to my kids, yeah.

Sheesh.
 

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General,

When we captured VCS, we marched them over to S-2 or G-2 where the ROK Marines would try to get some info out of them. The ROK's hated Commies and didn't play by the Geneva Convention. When all the lights on the firebase flickered, you knew that the ROKs were plying their trade. War at best is brutality!

Semper Fi,

Lt. Dan
 

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They are trying to make the US cut and run like Spain, the UN et al did.

Hopefully we've learned our lesson from Somalia. It will backfire on Al Queda; rather than leaving the focus on the US treatment of prisoners this reminds the country the type of people that were in that prison. Why cares about a few humiliating photos when this is done?
 

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Lt. Dan:
General,

When we captured VCS, we marched them over to S-2 or G-2 where the ROK Marines would try to get some info out of them. The ROK's hated Commies and didn't play by the Geneva Convention. When all the lights on the firebase flickered, you knew that the ROKs were plying their trade. War at best is brutality!

Semper Fi,

Lt. Dan<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry, Lt. Dan, but I think you're intermingling two different wars, 20 years apart (Korea and Vietnam).
 

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Halifax - Korea sent a division maybe more of troops through the UN to Viet Nam. Their Marines were the nastiest troops in country. When force recon guys want nothing to do with them believe me they are bad. I remember seeing EAR necklaces around their necks if you get my drift.


wil.
 

Another Day, Another Dollar
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I can only say that I am very disturbed by the footage seen here. The fact that all of our children can and will witness such a lack of concern for humanity is beyond my comprehension.

Semper Fi
 

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