Reply #139: It's somewhere in between

[HamdenRice]

You are correct that there is no evidence for the precise claim made at the head of this subthread -- that Berg was killed by the CIA or American mercenaries, so on that we agree.

On the other hand, we live in a world where we have to make judgments based on in complete information and come up with "probability" type conclusions -- like "more likely than not," "beyond a reasonable doubt," or "to a moral certainty."

Applying those standards, my judgment would be:

-To a moral certainty, Nick Berg was dead when his head was cut off.

-To a moral certainty, the decapitation tape was altered or manipulated in various ways

-Beyond a reasonable doubt, Berg was in US custody four days before he disappeared

-Beyond a reasonable doubt, the killers in the tape are not Iraqi or Jordanian

-Beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore, the killer on the tape is not Zarqawi

-Beyond a reasonable doubt, at the time, Zarqawi was the subject of a military psyop

-Beyond a reasonable doubt, the tape is not what it purports to be and therefore is some kind of propaganda device

-It is more likely than not that Berg was involved in activities other than his tower repair business

-It is more likely than not that Berg is wearing an orange jumpsuit of the kind that US occupation forces issued to prisoners

-It is more likely than not that the killers are Arabic speakers from one of the former Soviet areas

That doesn't mean he was killed by the CIA or American mercenaries. In fact, I agree that that particular claim is very unlikely.

Considering the context, it's reasonable to conclude that the tape (not necessarily the killing) was some kind of subcontracted psyop.