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Fathers Day reflections on a son lost go to web site fathers day crafts

Oakland Tribune June 17, 2006 OF all of the holidays a grieving father can be confronted with after the death of his child, Fathers Day is for me the most difficult.

My son Nick died in Iraq on May 7, 2004. He is buried next to my father, who had died just a year and a half before. That is not the way its supposed to be.

Im supposed to go somewhere between my father and my son in the graveyard. Nearby are my proud immigrant grandparents, who died first. That is the way it is supposed to be.

There is a lot else going on that is not the way it is supposed to be. Our leaders are not supposed to lie to us. Yet because George Bush and company told us to beware of weapons of mass destruction and the so-called Iraqi involvement in 9/11, my son lost his life, as did at least 150,000 others on both sides whose loved ones are now grieving.

Though I doubted our presidents words, I did too little too late.

Nick was an independent contractor, not associated with Halliburton, Bechtel, Lockheed Martin or the U.S. military. Nick was arrested by the U.S. military without reason and then illegally detained for 13 days. While he was in custody, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal became public. These revelations ignited the resistance in Iraq and made it impossible for Nick to get home alive.

Once released, Nick was swiftly murdered — on videotape, by a hooded man now believed to have been Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — in retaliation for the atrocities alleged to have been committed at the Abu Ghraib prison: murders, rapes and torture of Iraqi citizens. The presidents contribution was to order then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to rewrite definitions of torture essentially ordering these sins, and he did so with impunity. Though Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he took responsibility for the resulting atrocities, no consequences were imposed on him, but they were on my son and everyone who loved him. This is not the way its supposed to be. site fathers day crafts

We learn more and more of the truth of what is happening in Iraq every day. We learn what is happening to America and our allies as a result of the voters of these United States electing the wrong men and women: unjustifiable wars, the undermining of vital social programs, willful neglect of the maintenance of the infrastructure of our nation, and dangerous ignorance of global warming that could result in unprecedented disaster. This is the legacy of these leaders.

This spring, I joined many others — both conservatives and liberals — in taking the first steps to put things right. I had the honor of being the first person to sign the Voters Pledge for Peace, which states: I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign.

Michael Berg (michialberg@comcast.net) is the father of Nick Berg, murdered in Iraq by a hooded figure believed to have been Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Together we can change the path of the United States so that all fathers and mothers can face the future with pride that we did our part to move our great country back toward the way its supposed to be.

Michael Berg (michialberg@comcast.net) is the father of Nick Berg, murdered in Iraq on May 7, 2004, by a hooded figure believed to have been Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.