[Marxism] Father of al-Zarqawi victim sees no change

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Berg: No Good in Al-Zarqawi's Death

DOVER, Del., Jun. 8, 2006(AP) The father of Nicholas Berg, a U.S.
contractor believed to have been beheaded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq,
said Thursday that he doesn't see any good coming from al-Zarqawi's death.

"I see more death coming out of al-Zarqawi's death," Michael Berg told The
Associated Press after learning a U.S. air strike had killed the leader of
al-Qaida in Iraq.

Al-Zarqawi is believed to have beheaded two American civilians in 2004:
Nicholas Berg, a 26-year-old businessman from West Chester, Pa., and Eugene
Armstrong, a 52-year-old contractor from Hillsdale, Mich. Jack Hensley, a
48-year-old engineer from Marietta, Ga., was abducted at the same time as
Armstrong and also killed.

Armstrong's family didn't want to discuss al-Zarqawi Thursday morning.

"An evil man is dead, and what more can you say?" said family spokeswoman
Cyndi Armstrong, the wife of the slain contractor's cousin.

Nicholas Berg's father, a pacifist who is running for Delaware's U.S. House
seat on the Green Party ticket, said al-Zarqawi's death is likely to foster
anti-American resentment among al-Qaida members who feel they have nothing
left to lose.

He dismissed the notion that al-Zarqawi's death might bring him closure.

"First of all, I'm not even certain that al-Zarqawi even killed my son,"
said Michael Berg, who doesn't believe the videotape of his son's execution
or what he's been told by the FBI any more than he believes conspiracy
theories suggesting his son was killed by the U.S. government.

"I think the news of the loss of any human being is a tragedy. I think
al-Zarqawi's death is a double tragedy," he said. "His death will incite a
new wave of revenge. George Bush and al-Zarqawi are two men who believe in
revenge."

Berg said that while al-Zarqawi may have killed a couple of hundred people,
Bush is responsible for 150,000 deaths.

Al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike in a remote area 30 miles
northeast of Baghdad. Al-Qaida in Iraq confirmed his death and vowed to
continue its "holy war," according to a statement posted on a Web site. The
group has taken responsibility for numerous attacks on U.S. and Iraqi
targets in the past few years.

"I think in this case justice has finally been served," said the Rev. Jerry
Gladson, who had been Hensley's pastor at First Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ) of Marietta.

President Bush, speaking outside the White House Thursday morning, said
al-Zarqawi's death was "a severe blow" to al-Qaida but the war on terror
would continue.

"We have tough days ahead of us in Iraq that will require the continued
patience of the American people," he said.

___

Associated Press writers David N. Goodman in Detroit and Don Schanche in
Atlanta contributed to this report.

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