# american beheaded in Iraq, video **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662 "2004-05-11T18:23:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/81 "2004-05-12T00:25:53Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Is _this_ the best the Bush apologists can offer? “We’re still not as bad as Saddam!” :smack: Well, there’s no evidence that anyone has been run through a plastic shredder yet, is there? ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/82 "2004-05-12T00:28:26Z")
Hey, look! We’re right back to talking about the torture stupidity! Whoopee! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/83 "2004-05-12T00:31:48Z")
The prison abuse scandal has zero, ZERO, to do with this latest atrocity. Al Qaeda have repeatedly demonstrated that they are a band of vicious, murderous thugs. They don’t need any news reasons to murder innocent people in cold blood. At the same time, this outrageous brutality does nothing to excuse or mitigate the guilt of those responsible for mistreating the prisoners in Al Ghraib. Does the existence of a serial killers mean that police brutality is justified? Does police brutality encourage serial killers? A horrible crime has been committed. I hope that Berg’s killers are tracked down and punished for their actions as swiftly as possible. Frankly, hanging is too good for them. I also hope that the perpetrators of the far lesser crime of prisoner abuse are punished as well. In a manner that is proportional to their crimes. When did simple justice become a matter for debate? ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/84 "2004-05-12T00:58:03Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > I’m surprised that no one’s mentioned that this guy wasn’t a soldier, wasn’t a contractor or civil servant - he was an American telecom business owner who, **robber baron style** , went over there to **exploit and** cash in on the rebuilding efforts. Care to provide a cite for the bolded bits? Anyway, everyone knows that the best way to rebuild a country is to… uh… wave a magic wand and hope it happens all by itself. That way, no actual people are necessary. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/85 "2004-05-12T01:38:12Z")
5 time champ: While what they did might not stack up to some of Saddam’s deeds, we’re supposed to be the good guys here, or at least adhere to the Geneva Convention. It’s been a month or two since we went through a briefing on the GC, but I don’t remember humiliation, assault or buggery with Snap-Lites to be allowed on enemy POWs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/86 "2004-05-12T01:38:57Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > I think if we found our oil elsewhere, and convinced Israel to stop taking land from the Palestinians, things might be just a little less screwed up than they are now. Well, you can believe that, but it still won’t help the black Muslims being “ethnically cleansed” by the white Arabs in the Sudan. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/87 "2004-05-12T01:41:39Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > What the fuck planet have you been living on? You have got to be one of the dumbest motherfuckers I’ve ever had the displeasure of witnessing (aside from the jackass who lied us into this goddamned mess in the first place). Your either wanton disregard for the evidence shown so far, or your unimaginable distortion of it thoroughly disgust me. There is absolutely no reason on this earth I can think of to retract the truth, so you can just keep dreamin’ on. _I’m_ one of the dumbest motherfuckers you’ve ever seen? Listen to me you hysterical brain dead waste of human skin, All I ever asked for is proof. I have been proven wrong in the past and admitted it, because, frankly, I’d rather know the truth than hold onto a falsehood to spare my ego, but I am NOT going to jump on every fucking knee jerk bandwagon that wanders down the street, just because it happens to have a loudspeaker trumpeting what I want to hear. You on the other hand are the board poster child for situational hissey fits, nothing Israel ever does is wrong, while even the hint of a possibility of an American behaving improperly and you’re screaming “boil them in oil” from the battlements. As for the _alligations_ of rape, sodomy, murder, etc…, when they have been properly investigated, and charges brought, I’ll be the first to champion the cause of locking them up for the rest of their natural born lives when they are found guilty. Until them, I am not going to irresponsibly state that peope are guilty of heinous crimes simply because an accusation has been leveled against them and it happens to jibe with the political axe I want to grind. It’s called being objective and judging situations based upon facts, not simply FLYING OFF THE HANDLE simply to _fuel your rightous indignation_ and **briefly feel alive instead of all rotten inside.** ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/88 "2004-05-12T01:48:21Z")
I went to middle school with Nick Berg. I haven’t seen him since we graduated 8th grade, but he had been a friend of mine. I can’t believe this has happened to him. He was a really nice kid, very funny and smart. It figures that he’d want to go to Iraq and help out. This is just terrible. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/89 "2004-05-12T01:49:59Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Have you got any proof this young man was Jewish, aside from his last name?! Jesus H Wesley tap-dancin’ Christ, it’s bad enough this war is turning into a bloodbath on both sides without jumping at every opportunity to throw charges of anti-Semitism into the mix. He [_was_](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4080229,00.html) Jewish: > [@](#): > > Berg’s father said his son was Jewish and had a fringed religious cloth with him, but he did not think Berg wore the clothing in public. Still, `there's a better chance than not that they knew he was Jewish,'' Michael Berg said. `If there was any doubt that they were going to kill him that probably clinched it, I’m guessing.’’ ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/90 "2004-05-12T02:20:39Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > _I’m_ one of the dumbest motherfuckers you’ve ever seen? \*\* Yes you are. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/91 "2004-05-12T02:20:55Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > As for the _alligations_ of rape, sodomy, murder, etc…, when they have been properly investigated, and charges brought, I’ll be the first to champion the cause of locking them up for the rest of their natural born lives when they are found guilty. Until them, I am not going to irresponsibly state that peope are guilty of heinous crimes simply because an accusation has been leveled against them and it happens to jibe with the political axe I want to grind. It’s called being objective and judging situations based upon facts, not simply FLYING OFF THE HANDLE simply to _fuel your rightous indignation_ and **briefly feel alive instead of all rotten inside.** The difference here is this. You sit around and wait for Bush admin to be proven wrong, which usually happens after they can no longer ignore the truth, or reality. We already _know_ this idiot and his admin are running the country through the mud, and are trying our best, despite your complete ignorance, to steer us off this “path of the damned”. I already know this torture business is a lot worse then we’ve even fathomed. The fact that the Bush admin is huddling, probably running market research to determine which course of action will minimize the effect in the polls, reinforces my distrust. This admin is lying to us, and they have done nothing to convince me otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/92 "2004-05-12T02:23:21Z")
Oh **Weirddave** , shutthefuckup, you ignorant sack of shit. You didn’t ask for proof, you demanded proof and then expected a retraction – as if you haven’t been reading or watching the goddamn news this past fucking week, you stupid moron. You KNOW the evidence that’s out there, but you just froth at the fucking pie hole for every opportunity to follow me around and fling your monkey feces. I’d tell you to kiss my ass but I’d have to spend the next 6 months getting disinfected. Rot off, asshole. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/93 "2004-05-12T02:23:22Z")
[QUOTE=WeirddaveAs for the _alligations_ of rape, sodomy, murder, etc…, when they have been properly investigated, and charges brought, I’ll be the first to champion the cause of locking them up for the rest of their natural born lives when they are found guilty. Until them, I am not going to irresponsibly state that peope are guilty of heinous crimes simply because an accusation has been leveled against them and it happens to jibe with the political axe I want to grind. It’s called being objective and judging situations based upon facts, not simply FLYING OFF THE HANDLE simply to _fuel your rightous indignation_ and \*\*briefly feel alive instead of all rotten inside.[/QUOTE] So in your world, nothing bad happens unless and until somebody gets convicted of commiting the bad act? Shit, weren’t you one of the guys yelling about how we had to invade Iraq so we could end all those terrible human rights abuses? And now you pull this weak-ass cop-out crap? Disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Otters\_We\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3da27b/32.png) [@Otters\_We\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otters_We_Love)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/94 "2004-05-12T02:28:05Z")
Libertarian, thank you for your answer to my query if we pulled out. But I’d like some more detail. What does it would turn into total chaos mean? Anarchy? Another despot rising up? Less terrorism? Less money spent on military? How can Iraq be saved? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/95 "2004-05-12T02:46:50Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > We would all do well to remember the dangers of absolutes. This act did not occur in a vacuum. There is nothing unintelligent, or irrational, about pointing that out. It is perfectly possible to provide a fair context without resorting to the posturing you are referring to. I would argue that it is desirable and beneficial to have these points of reference along with the event in question. > > Enjoy, > Steven What I posted was a very short and polite rant, directed at no one, about how sad it was that this act couldn’t just be decried without the typical SDMB Pit stunts and drama. That there couldn’t be some level of people just feeling the brutality of a man slaughtered like a hog. Likely the full video will get out and be viewed by his family and loved ones, at some point. I felt that sometimes, some events just need people to get together and say that for the sake of being and acting human and having morals “this is a terrible act, the people who did this specific act are monsters, and we mourn for the torture and brutal loss of human life”. No one is ignorant of the politics and other underlying events. No one can be. This board has fostered a new thread about Iraq nearly every 2 hours like clockwork for 2 or more years now. If my count is right at least three people have painfully either completely missed my point, or read a whole lot more into it. Since this is seemingly difficult, I will put it in one sentence - It would be nice for people to mourn the event without their usual political axe-grinding, if even for just a few, brief hours. It’s not like the weightier issues haven’t been discussed in 1000 threads in the past year, and will be discussed in 1000 more. OK, that’s two sentences. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/96 "2004-05-12T02:57:23Z")
Plan A: Pull out of Iraq Upside: Saves lives of soldiers, and millions of $. Downside: General turmoil and mayham in Iraq, leading to a whole lot of gruesome deaths. (Sort of as it were before we started the war!) Plan B: Stay in Iraq and fight to the death. Upside: Bush wins election (wait…is that an upside?) I meant…stability and peace. Downside: McDonald’s pop up everywhere, and the Iraq population stops worrying about death by guns and starts thinking about carbohydrates. Oh, and lots of American soldiers dying bloody deaths. That’s my rant for the night, guys. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/97 "2004-05-12T02:59:25Z")
> [@minty green](#): > > So in your world, nothing bad happens unless and until somebody gets convicted of commiting the bad act? > > Shit, weren’t you one of the guys yelling about how we had to invade Iraq so we could end all those terrible human rights abuses? And now you pull this weak-ass cop-out crap? > > Disgusting. Well yes, because we had pictures of the terrible tortures Saddam Hussein perpetrated against the Iraqi people and everything. Oh wait, no we didn’t. The testimony of the tormented Iraqis was good enough for Dave then, but seems to be entirely suspect now – _in spite_ of the fact that we _do_ have photographic evidence! He’s also one of the pie holes who insisted that the word of the Commander in Thief and his cronies, like Rummycakes, was good and holy – they wouldn’t _lie_ to us, you know. But when I take Rummycakes’ word for the heinousness of the crimes he personally witnessed images of, well, I’m kneejerking my political axe. Did Rummy finally wise up and abandon the GOP for the Dems while I wasn’t looking? Or is Dave just a hypocritical ass? I think I’ll take door number 2. Disgusting, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/98 "2004-05-12T03:07:09Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Oh **Weirddave** , shutthefuckup, you ignorant sack of shit. You didn’t ask for proof, you demanded proof and then expected a retraction – as if you haven’t been reading or watching the goddamn news this past fucking week, you stupid moron. You KNOW the evidence that’s out there, but you just froth at the fucking pie hole for every opportunity to follow me around and fling your monkey feces. I’d tell you to kiss my ass but I’d have to spend the next 6 months getting disinfected. Rot off, asshole. Go fuck yourself with a rotten goat penis you diseased old cunt. You fling unproven accusations and then attack and insult me when I ask for proof. You are the syphilitic offspring of a dying baboon and your mother getting the only sex she ever had. I hope you spend decades in a nursing home, retaining just enough awareness to realize that you’re sitting in your own shit, and nobody, nobody is visiting, ever. > [@minty green](#): > > So in your world, nothing bad happens unless and until somebody gets convicted of commiting the bad act? Not at all, if you would bother to read what I wrote, I said:“when they have been properly investigated, and charges brought, _I’ll be the first to champion the cause of locking them up for the rest of their natural born lives when they are found guilty._” You think I should advocate locking them up before they are found guilty of anything? Why minty, that’s positively totalitarian of you. I’m not coping out of anything, I’m demanding due process of law. I thought that’s what you bleeding heart types were big on: Fair trials, demanding proof before acting, etc. Why the change of heart now? > [@World Eater](#): > > The difference here is this. > > You sit around and wait for Bush admin to be proven wrong, which usually happens after they can no longer ignore the truth, or reality. > > We already know this idiot and his admin are running the country through the mud, and are trying our best, despite your complete ignorance, to steer us off this “path of the damned”. > > I already know this torture business is a lot worse then we’ve even fathomed. The fact that the Bush admin is huddling, probably running market research to determine which course of action will minimize the effect in the polls, reinforces my distrust. > > This admin is lying to us, and they have done nothing to convince me otherwise. Interesting. The actions of a few soldiers are Bush’s fault. The fact that G.W. has publicly apologised for the atrocities means nothing. The fact that the military is court marshalling the guilty means nothing. The fact that these acts have been condemed roundly by the entire administration means nothing. Nope, it’s all Bush’s fault. Tell me, cany you see more than one letter on the keyboard at a time with those blinders on? Christ, I’m not even a Bush supporter and I think you sound like an idiot. How about laying blame where it belongs, squarely at the feet of those soldirs who committed these terrible acts, huh? Oh, and Shayna, reguarding your latest diarrhea, show me one post where I said we should “take Bush’s word” for anything. Or Rumsfeld’s. Or anyone in the administration’s. You can’t because I never said that. Hypocritical my ass. What’s hypocritical is that you’re all for attacking terrorists if they look cross eyed at Israel, but when they cut off the head of an American civilian, well, he had it coming. You are benieth contempt. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/99 "2004-05-12T03:13:31Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > …nothing Israel ever does is wrong, while even the hint of a possibility of an American behaving improperly and you’re screaming “boil them in oil” from the battlements. Oh, and I demand that you cough up proof of this lie (impossible) or retract immediately! Prove that I feel anything other than exactly what I said in [this post, that “there are many actions of today’s Israel that I oppose, also… You don’t have to like the way [Israel’s] fighting (I don’t always like it either),”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=4825479#post4825479) or that I ever, _ever_ suggested boiling _anyone_ in oil, let alone at the slightest hint of impropriety, merely because they’re American. Lying sack of shit. You sully this message board with your presence. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662/100 "2004-05-12T03:16:15Z")
Whew! You’d think, from the sound of these comments, that we were right up there in the action. Since we’re not… .let’s think about those who have given their lives. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-beheaded-in-iraq-video/244662.md?page=6)