Questions -- Berg's computer password and why the masks?

[chookie]

Why would Abu Musab al-Zarqawi find it necessary to hide his face in the video? I mean, it's not like he was sneaking around in the streets and trying to evade capture. Why would he be crowing about his ability to kills Americans so easily and viciously, and take credit for this murder up front, AND YET hide his face in the video?

I know that the CIA are saying that based on linguistic evidence, they believe it is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- but it's a little weird that this notorious guy who is fighting in such a high-profile manner would hide his face in the video. Why take credit for it, and yet be unwilling to show your face?

Makes you wonder....

Also -- weird CBS News story about links between Nick Berg and
Zaccarias Moussaoui, of all people. The article states: "U.S. officials say the FBI questioned Berg in 2002 after a computer password Berg used in college turned up in the possession of Zaccarias Moussaoui -snip-.

The bureau had already dismissed the connection between Berg and Moussaoui as nothing more than a college student who had been careless about protecting his password. "

Does anyone have a clue as to what exactly showed up on Moussaoui's computer regarding Nick Berg? Why and how would Mr Berg comes to the attention of someone like Moussaoui? Can someone even offer a speculative answer to what this computer link might be, because I just don't get it.

Weirder and weirder....

[atreides1]

1. Would This Be The Same CIA

1. that trained Bin Laden
2. didn't know about 9/11
3. said that Saddam had WMD's
4. did nothing when one of their operatives was outted.

I would trust Satan before I would trust the CIA.

[kiahzero]

6. Yes, it would be the same CIA

1) Tenet wasn't running the CIA under Reagan.
2) The CIA isn't to blame for 9/11 - if the Bush Administration had taken the initiative, the necessary information would have gotten from the FBI to the CIA.
3) The CIA had major qualifiers on the WMD claims.
4) The CIA is probably the only reason the Plame investigation is still going - we know for a fact that the CIA is the reason DoJ investigated.

[TomNickell]

2. Well, here's a few tries...

>>Why would Abu Musab al-Zarqawi find it necessary to hide his face in the video?

That's what terrorists do? He's changed his appearance? He's -not- al-Zaquari and the CIA is wrong? He'd look strange being the only guy in the room without a mask?


>>Why and how would Mr Berg comes to the attention of someone like Moussaoui? Can someone even offer a speculative answer to what this computer link might be, because I just don't get it.

Berg, presumably, had a long-term interest in the Mideast. He may have cultivated contacts with interesting Middle Eastern people. He may have had secret interests and been in contact with dangerous Middle Eastern people.

The official story is that he loaned his computer to someone--therefore, doesn't matter what the 'password' connection is.

Two points:
1. All -real- stories have loose ends. It's just the way the world is.
2. The motivation of Bush or CIA, or whatever to cut off this young man's head and publish the pictures is wildly unclear. I'm not sure what else is implied by 'weirder and weirder'.
3. It's inherently a weird story. Sensible people don't go wandering around a chaotic war zone inhabited by people who hate you in search of employment.

[Greylady]

3. How many complete strangers

have you given your computer/password to?

[brook]

4. I heard Michael Berg...

explain that Nick was on a bus, going to college classes and a guy asked if he could use Nick's computer to send an email. Apparently, Nick gave him the password to log on- and the guy turned out to be Massaoui. (Can't recall which cable show tonight - I was flipping channels quite a bit).

[Must_B_Free]

7. sounds like BS

anyone knows in this situation, you would type the password in for the person. You would NOT give it out, as that person could use it to access any acount on ebay, paypal, etc.

This cover story is slightly implausible. There is more to this.

[TorchTheWitch]

5. hmmm...

Why would Abu Musab al-Zarqawi find it necessary to hide his face in the video? I mean, it's not like he was sneaking around in the streets and trying to evade capture. Why would he be crowing about his ability to kills Americans so easily and viciously, and take credit for this murder up front, AND YET hide his face in the video?

Could be because he didn't want to be identfied with any new characteristics like scars, or changes in facial hair... could be that psychologically it may inflame people even more against the killer by being able to see his face while commiting the act (hence why the hangmen/beheaders of old were hooded)... could be that a hood or mask makes one look more sinister and ominous... could be it wasn't Zarqawi but someone else claiming to be him. In any case, it's obviously to BushCo's advantage that the killer be "identified" immediately and such "identified" person be way up on the aQ ladder.

Does anyone have a clue as to what exactly showed up on Moussaoui's computer regarding Nick Berg? Why and how would Mr Berg comes to the attention of someone like Moussaoui? Can someone even offer a speculative answer to what this computer link might be, because I just don't get it.

According to a CBS news report I just finished watching on the tube is that while in college, Nick loaned his laptop to some dude on the campus bus who proceded to use his email, etc. This same unidentified person was caught and found to have used many other peoples' emails some of which were sent to Maussaoui and other assorted bad guys... implied in the report that this person was an aQ bad person. The FBI cleared Nick of all charges.

Could be that I'm getting more in-depth and/or Berg-sympathic coverage here since he was a local boy. They even showed some old home movie footage of the happy, healthy, hard-working, niceguy-Nick to eat up... I'm lovin this.

Weirder and weirder....

Not really. Seems pretty clear to me that the government is using this worthless bit of crap in an attempt to squash the outpouring of sympathy for Nick and those loudmouth librul Bergs as well as to attempt to squash the growing disgust at the government largely brought on by them there loudmouth librul Bergs.

[neebob]

8. Yeah

My first thought was they need to make it seem like they had bigtime legitimate reasons to harass and detain Nicholas Berg. At the same time, you have to wonder, if he was against the war enough to earn him a place among the Enemies of Freeperville, why he went to Iraq. That's just bizarre. I don't buy the humanitarian explanation.

[T Bone]

9. The way I understand it he sits quietly before they behead him

I think they are some kind of spooks--It is almost like he thinks or has been told that he is helping them make a video, he knew the spooks, he had all kinds of contacts with them. I can't watch the video. Then as I understand it, he is taken by surprise when they roll him to his side and actually start to kill him??

He thought he was in on some scam with them. He was to a point. The point where they decided to kill him for another purpose of theirs.

call me a tinfoiler, I don't care.

[TorchTheWitch]

11. Nick wasn't against the war

He was a Bush supporter and an Iraq war supporter. Michael, Nick's father, is the one against the war, anti-Bush and earned the scorn of the Freepers. Nick had been in Iraq earlier, and since he had no problems then, apparently didn't see any problem with going back. He also had some sort of relative living there (related by marriage). Strictly humanitarian reasons wasn't all there was to it... he was looking for business, and being somewhat an adventurer, probably for just the experience of it as well.

[Straight Shooter]

10. Emails are never truly deleted, correct?

Where is the computer? Has the FBI confiscated it? If Moussaoui sent a message, it's still in there, somewhere, and can be retrieved.

How long ago did this happen? Net users have been warned for years to never give out their password. Was the password for his ISP email account, for hotmail, for yahoo?

Anybody else who rode that bus that ever gave their password to Moussaoui? Who's been interviewed in connection with this episode?

I don't buy this "password" crap.

[TorchTheWitch]

12. See Post #5...

It wasn't Moussaoui who used Nick's laptop... some dude on the bus borrowed Nick's laptop and used Nick's email address to send a message to Moussaoui as he did with several other peoples' email addresses. Said person was caught, identified as some sort of aQ bad guy, Nick cleared, case closed.