My
son,
Nick,
was
my
teacher
and
my
hero.
He
was
the
kindest,
gentlest
man
I
know;
no,
the
kindest,
gentlest
human
being
I
have
ever
known.
He
quit
the
Boy
Scouts
of
America
because
they
wanted
to
teach
him
to
fire
a
handgun.
Nick,
too,
poured
into
me
the
strength
I
needed,
and
still
need,
to
tell
the
world
about
him.
People
ask
me
why
I
focus
on
putting
the
blame
for
my
son’s
tragic
and
atrocious
end
on
the
Bush
administration.
They
ask:
“Don’t
you
blame
the
five
men
who
killed
him?”
I
have
answered
that
I
blame
them
no
more
or
less
than
the
Bush
administration,
but
I
am
wrong:
I
am
sure,
knowing
my
son,
that
somewhere
during
their
association
with
him
these
men
became
aware
of
what
an
extraordinary
man
my
son
was.
I
take
comfort
that
when
they
did
the
awful
thing
they
did,
they
weren’t
quite
as
in
to
it
as
they
might
have
been.
I
am
sure
that
they
came
to
admire
him.
I
am
sure
that
the
one
who
wielded
the
knife
felt
Nick’s
breath
on
his
hand
and
knew
that
he
had
a
real
human
being
there.
I
am
sure
that
the
others
looked
into
my
son’s
eyes
and
got
at
least
a
glimmer
of
what
the
rest
of
the
world
sees.
And
I
am
sure
that
these
murderers,
for
just
a
brief
moment,
did
not
like
what
they
were
doing.
George
Bush
never
looked
into
my
son’s
eyes.
George
Bush
doesn’t
know
my
son,
and
he
is
the
worse
for
it.
George
Bush,
though
a
father
himself,
cannot
feel
my
pain,
or
that
of
my
family,
or
of
the
world
that
grieves
for
Nick,
because
he
is
a
policymaker,
and
he
doesn’t
have
to
bear
the
consequences
of
his
acts.
George
Bush
can
see
neither
the
heart
of
Nick
nor
that
of
the
American
people,
let
alone
that
of
the
Iraqi
people
his
policies
are
killing
daily.
Donald
Rumsfeld
said
that
he
took
responsibility
for
the
sexual
abuse
of
Iraqi
prisoners.
How
could
he
take
that
responsibility
when
there
was
no
consequence?
Nick
took
the
consequences.
Even
more
than
those
murderers
who
took
my
son’s
life,
I
can’t
stand
those
who
sit
and
make
policies
to
end
lives
and
break
the
lives
of
the
still
living.
Nick
was
not
in
the
military,
but
he
had
the
discipline
and
dedication
of
a
soldier.
Nick
Berg
was
in
Iraq
to
help
the
people
without
any
expectation
of
personal
gain.
He
was
only
one
man,
but
through
his
death
he
has
become
many.
The
truly
unselfish
spirit
of
giving
your
all
to
do
what
you
know
in
your
own
heart
is
right
even
when
you
know
it
may
be
dangerous;
this
spirit
has
spread
among
the
people
who
knew
Nick,
and
that
group
has
spread
and
is
spreading
all
over
the
world.
So
what
were
we
to
do
when
we
in
America
were
attacked
on
Sept.
11,
that
infamous
day?
I
say
we
should
have
done
then
what
we
never
did
before:
Stop
speaking
to
the
people
we
labeled
our
enemies
and
start
listening
to
them.
Stop
giving
preconditions
to
our
peaceful
coexistence
on
this
small
planet,
and
start
honoring
and
respecting
every
human’s
need
to
live
free
and
autonomously,
to
truly
respect
the
sovereignty
of
every
state.
To
stop
making
up
rules
by
which
others
must
live
and
then
separate
rules
for
ourselves.
George
Bush’s
ineffective
leadership
is
a
weapon
of
mass
destruction,
and
it
has
allowed
a
chain
reaction
of
events
that
led
to
the
unlawful
detention
of
my
son
which
immersed
him
in
a
world
of
escalated
violence.
Were
it
not
for
Nick’s
detention,
I
would
have
had
him
in
my
arms
again.
That
detention
held
him
in
Iraq
not
only
until
the
atrocities
that
led
to
the
siege
of
Fallujah,
but
also
the
revelation
of
the
atrocities
committed
in
Iraqi
jails
in
retaliation
for
which
my
son’s
wonderful
life
was
put
to
an
end.
My
son’s
work
still
goes
on.
Where
there
was
one
peacemaker
before,
I
now
see
and
have
heard
from
thousands
of
peacemakers.
Nick
was
a
man
who
acted
on
his
beliefs.
We,
the
people
of
this
world,
now
need
to
act
on
our
beliefs.
We
need
to
let
the
evildoers
on
both
sides
of
the
Atlantic
know
that
we
are
fed
up
with
war.
We
are
fed
up
with
the
killing
and
bombing
and
maiming
of
innocent
people.
We
are
fed
up
with
the
lies.
Yes,
we
are
fed
up
with
the
suicide
bombers,
and
with
the
failure
of
the
Israelis
and
Palestinians
to
find
a
way
to
stop
killing
each
other.
We
are
fed
up
with
negotiations
and
peace
conferences
that
are
entered
into
on
both
sides
with
preset
conditions
that
preclude
the
outcome
of
peace.
Many
have
offered
to
pray
for
Nick
and
my
family.
I
appreciate
their
thoughts,
but
I
ask
them
to
include
in
their
prayers
a
prayer
for
peace.
And
I
ask
them
to
do
more
than
pray.
I
ask
them
to
demand
peace
now.
—
Michael
Berg
is
the
father
of
Nick
Berg,
the
US
contractor
beheaded
on
video
in
Iraq
this
month
by
a
group
believed
to
be
linked
to
Al-Qaeda.
This
is
an
extract
from
his
message
of
support
for
the
"Stop
The
War
Coalition’s
demonstration,
End
the
Torture
—
Bring
the
Troops
Home
Now",
to
be
held
at
the
Embankment
in
London.
