The Impact of a Video

The image of 1000 words, or in this case maybe the video of a million words. It's one of those situations in which it will bug you if you don't see it, but then it will haunt you when you do see it. I actually viewed the video that showed the brutal beheading of Nick Berg.

This beheading was not quick nor painless. These terrorists actually took a sword/machete and sawed at this man's neck. After a few seconds of sawing, he'd change the position of the blade and work on another part of Berg's neck. It took about 30 seconds, and then the terrorist held up Berg's decaptitated head in the air for a good few seconds.

This is what we have to deal with right now. The foreign press keeps bleating anti-American news and terrorist groups are scaring the Iraqi people into not helping us help them. We've even got people here in our own country who may as well be our enemies with all the anti-American rhetoric they keep spouting under the guise of "freedom of speech." A reporter from Fox News this week stated that the terror group Hezbollah denounced the actions of the men who executed Berg. However, their reason was because it would take attention away from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.

Speaking of which, let's talk about the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal that anyone against the Iraq war or the United States loves to bring up. The actions taken by those involved in the abuse were wrong, and they should be punished. However, I do not believe the abuse from our troops is widespread as the media both foreign and domestic would allow you to believe. As for the pictures, all I have to say to those accused of abuse is ARE YOU THAT STUPID OR ARROGANT TO BE TAKING PICTURES OF THE CRIMINAL ACTIONS YOU'RE NOW BEING ACCUSED OF?

Donald Rumsfeld said that there were several investigations going on at other prisons to determine if there are other abuses. I feel the media needs to take a wait-and-see attitude before any more conspiracy theories are submitted.

In the meantime, our troops are risking their lives out there! They are civilized soldiers following rules of ethics against those who have no rules or ethics. I can only imagine the frustration they are feeling.

In my opinion, our problem is that we're trying to appease too many people. We're trying to follow the rules by the Geneva Convention of 1948, kiss the butt of the United Nations to get their help, and deflect the insinuations (if not outright accusations) from the foreign media. I say enough is enough. We need to let the Iraqi people and the terrorists know that they are either with us or against us, and we will start shooting those who are against us unless they prove otherwise.

I've been watching Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. I've heard various commentators state that the Iraqi people have been terrorized into submission for decades. It was further stated that we, as a country trying to help them, have an uphill battle in getting full cooperation. I can understand the Iraqi people's situation. However, if they don't start helping us more, someone just as brutal and oppressive as Saddam Hussein will take them over and put them right back where they started from. We want to help the Iraqi people, but they've got to step up to the plate and be willing to help themselves.

Getting back to Nick Berg, his parents have been publicly blaming President Bush for his son's death. I grieve for their loss and their anguish, but I believe they are out of line with their accusations. I firmly believe they were already anti-Bush and are using their son's death to fan the flames of their own rhetoric against the President. Their son went to Iraq of his own free will; no one made him go. President Bush did not execute their son. The FBI did not execute their son. The Iraqi police did not execute thier son. I feel there may be more to Berg's visit in Iraq than what has been released to the media, based on the fact that the Iraqi police picked him up and held him, and the FBI investigated him. However, that is something we will probably never know for sure.

Regardless of how anyone feels about the situation, the bottom line is an American citizen was kidnapped and brutally executed by terrorists. That should be enough to allow our troops to open a can of whoop ass on those responsible.