Berg on Zarqawi's Death

The News Journal has a piece on Michael Berg, now a Wilmington, Delaware resident, whose son, Nicholas Berg, was beheaded by al-Zarqawi and his goons on May 7, 2004. Berg moved to Wilmington, Delaware last spring from Pennsylvania and is now running on the Green Party ticket against Republican Representative Mike Castle and Democrat Dennis Spivack, another challenger.

Before Berg came out on Atkeison's front porch to speak with reporters, Atkeison, who is Berg's campaign manager, taped one of their campaign signs "on the pillar behind the spot where Berg" was to stand.

Atkeison informed the camera crews, "This has to be in every shot or you're going to be cut off. Everybody clear? And I'm going to be checking."

Berg announced to the reporters, "Any loss of human life is a loss for all of us. In Zarqawi's case, it's a double loss. Not only was he a human being who has parents who are suffering in the same way that my family and I have suffered, he's also a political figure, and his death is going to reignite the next wave of revenge--revenge that Zarqawi participated in, revenge that George Bush participates in, revenge that goes back to prehistoric times. It never solves anything."

He continued, explaining, "It doesn't bring me relief because it doesn't bring my son back. We could prevent the suffering of far more families if we would impeach George Bush today and end this war today... There is no closure for any parent who has lost a child. On my dying day, I'll be thinking of my son...George Bush is more of a terrorist than Zarqawi is."

Personally, I am horrified that Berg and his campaign manager are politicizing the death of Nicholas Berg. Reporters want to speak with Michael Berg about the death of Zarqawi because Zarqawi and his terrorist buddies sawed off Nicholas's head and videotaped themselves murdering him. Reporters think people will be interested in Berg's views because of this connection. They have not come to cover his campaign for U.S. House of Representatives. Purposely putting up his campaign sign and forcing the camera crews to photograph it seems a cheap and shoddy opportunistic trick.

Furthermore, to put President Bush in the same category as Zarqawi, calling him a terrorist, slanders the President. Not only that, but he says Bush is even more of a terrorist than al-Zarqawi. Our military is there in Iraq trying to stabilize the country so we can turn over a free nation to the Iraqi people. Zarqawi, on the other hand, is trying to stop that process and has been involved in the deaths of not only U.S. soldiers, but innocent Iraqis as well, attempting to prevent them from obtaining the freedom they desire and deserve.

Berg is, by the nature of his loss, a man who deserves some measure of sympathy. Who could doubt him when he says he will think of his son on his dying day? What parent wouldn't? He is correct when he says there can be no closure for a parent who has lost a child. However, to not feel any sense of relief that the man who brutally sawed off his son's head will never be able to kill again is odd. While this certainly won't bring his son back, couldn't he be mildly pleased that Zarqawi will not be responsible for the deaths of any other Americans or Iraqis? When Berg said, "We could prevent the suffering of far more families if we would impeach George Bush today and end this war today," whose families was he referring to?---certainly not the Iraqis who already suffered horribly under Saddam Hussein and who are being harassed daily by al-Quaida which wants to prevent Iraqis from voting and establishing their own government.

Michael Berg and his wife have my empathy for the loss of their son. What a horrible experience they have been through! However, I cannot sympathize with the use of his son's death as a personal claim to fame on which to run for office, as evidenced by the positioning of campaign signs. That is unbelievable.

Source of all quotes- The News Journal as linked above.

PolitaKid, I've noticed, posted faster than I on this story. Always a good read, see his thoughts here.