6A the university daily kansan
wednesday, may 12, 2004
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American civilian beheaded in Iraq
Web site shows video of execution; Bush administration vows justice
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A video posted yesterday on an Al Qaida-linked Web site showed the beheading of an American civilian in Iraq and said the execution was carried out to avenge abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
The American identified himself on the video as Nick Berg, a 26-year-old Philadelphia native. His body was found near a highway overpass in Baghdad on Saturday, the same day he was beheaded, a U.S. official said.
said.
The video bore the title "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American." It "was unclear whether al-Zarqawi — an associate of Osama bin Laden believed behind the wave of suicide bombings in Iraq — was shown in the video or simply ordered the execution. Al-Zarqawi also is sought in the assassination of a U.S. diplomat
in Jordan in 2002. The Bush administration said those who beheaded Berg would be hunted down and brought to justice.
in Jordan in 2002.
Berg was a small-business owner who went to Iraq as an independent businessman to help rebuild communication antennas, his family said yesterday.
has his family said yesterday. U.S. officials had feared the shocking photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing and humiliating Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad would endanger the lives of American troops and civilians.
civilians.
In the video, five men wearing headscarves and black ski masks stood over a bound man in an orange jumpsuit similar to prison uniforms.
"My name is Nick Berg. My father's name is Michael. My mother's name is Suzanne," the man, seated in a chair, said on the video. "I have a brother and sister, David and Sara. I live in ... Philadelphia."
The video then cut to Berg sitting on the floor, his hands tied behind his back, as a statement was read in Arabic. Berg sat still during the statement, facing the camera, occasionally raising his shoulders.
After the statement was finished, the men pulled Berg on his side and thrust a large knife to his neck. A scream sounded as the men cut his head off, repeatedly shouting "Allahu Akbar!" — or "God is great."
In the video of Berg, the executioners said they had tried to trade him for prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
Seven soldiers from the 372nd Military Police Company face charges in the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in a scandal that has sparked worldwide outrage.
They then held the head ou before the camera.
In other developments yesterday.
The head of Iraq's war-crimes tribunal said the United States has pledged to hand over Saddam Hussein and about 100 other suspects to Iraqi authorities before July 1 if Iraq is ready to take them into custody. U.S. officials denied any decision had been reached.
Iraqi leaders in Najaf said radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has agreed to end his violent standoff with the U.S.-led coalition if the Americans defer murder charges against him until a permanent constitution is adopted next year and an elected government takes office.
A Russian energy company worker was confirmed dead and two others abducted Monday when gunmen fired on their car south of Baghdad, Russian officials said.
A homemade bomb exploded in a crowded market in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing four fraqs and wounding 23, a security official said.
K-State's newspaper adviser removed
The Associated Press
MANHATTAN The adviser to Kansas State University's student newspaper, targeted for removal by a group of black students after the paper failed to cover the Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government, has been removed and reassigned to other teaching duties.
other teaching duties.
Ron Johnson said Monday that a university administrator told him he would no longer serve as director of student publications and adviser to the Kansas State Collegegian after May 24. Journalism school director Todd Simon confirmed Johnson's removal, but wouldn't comment further.
The action could spark a lawsuit from students concerned that Johnson's removal is an attempt by the university to control the news
paper's content, said Mark Goodman, executive director of the Arlington, Va.-based Student Press Law Center. The center is a nonprofit group that provides legal assistance to student journalists.
"The question here is motivation," Goodman said. "If the content of the publication was the motivation, their actions are unconstitutional and the university deserves to be sued for what it's done."
it's done.
Johnson has been the newspaper's adviser since 1989, Sarah Rice, the paper's managing editor, said Johnson was being punished for his students' mistakes.
Last month, the Black Student Union complained about the newspaper's failure to cover the student government event, which drew about 1,000 participants. The group said Johnson had not done
enough to foster cultural awareness among newspaper staffers.
Natalie Rolfe, the union's president, declined to comment about Johnson's removal.
Stephen White, dean of arts and sciences, met Monday morning with Johnson. He also declined to comment.
Simon wouldn't discuss why he made the recommendation that Johnson be removed from his post. He said it was against university policy to discuss publicly an instructor's evaluation.
an instructor's audience
Edie Hall, the newspaper's news editor told him: "We're just not going to go away and be quiet."
After the meeting, students marched to White's office in Eisenhower Hall. White met with members of the board, some of whom said they weren't consulted about the decision to remove Johnson from his post.
remove Johnson from school
A few of the angry students then went to the provost's office to set up a meeting. The decision to remove Johnson as the paper's adviser still must be formally approved by the provost.
approved by the pro-
Johnson has faced criticism in
the past for not being more
directly involved in the newspa-
per's content. Though he did not
typically intervene in newsroom
decisions and was not in the
newsroom at night when students
produce the paper, he reviewed
the paper the following morning.
Johnson, who was fired as adviser but reinstated after 10 days in 1998 because he refused to exert authority over the newspaper's editorial content, said he was shocked, angry and frustrated.
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