Berg: It gets even stranger

You can't turn your back on the internet. I took a day off to write an article detailing every fact indicating Nick Berg's possible employment by an intelligence agency. Bare minutes after posting it, I ran into this story in the Philadelphia Inquirer (registration required -- a hassle, but the piece is worth it).

You can find more at the Daily Kos.

Berg, it seems, was connected to a shadowy Iraqi (transplanted to Philadelphia) named Aziz K. Aziz -- a.k.a. Aziz al-Taee, a.k.a. Joe Aziz -- whose neocon ties and pro-invasion views made him a welcome voice on Fox News. Previously, Aziz had been connected to a drug ring run by a Russian mafia figure; later he was charged with manufacturing pirate CDs. His anti-Saddam organization had a West Virginia address and unusual connections to the State department. His group played a key role in the propaganda maneuvering that led to war.

The article ends on this intriguing note:

Now, Aziz is now getting publicity for monitoring the final cell-phone calls of his slain partner. He said this weekend he understands Berg's phone was used as recently as April 19, and that three calls were made that day to Jordan, to the United Arab Emirates and to a local number.

"He could still have been alive."

Recall that Berg was captured on April 10. There have been reports that the terrorists tried to negotiate a prisoner exchange, although it is hard to see how a call to Jordan could have been connected to any such effort. Whether the calls were made by terrorists or by Berg, one wonders why none of the calls went to Berg's parents, who last heard from their son on April 6.

One also wonders how Aziz would even know about calls made on Berg's cel phone on April 19.

The Daily Kos commentary notes that a Google search on Aziz brings up the noteworthy fact that he corresponded with to two "former" CIA officials, Vince Cannistraro and Graham Fuller, as well as neo-con propagandist Laurie Mylroie.

Cannistraro is of particular note, since his name comes up in every recent investigation of terrorist-related activities; he was frequently quoted in stories after 9/11 and the Lockerbie disaster. (There have even been unconfirmed reports that he took an interest in the controversy over Princess Diana's death!)

So far, we are playing a game of telephone -- Berg to Aziz to Cannistraro to CIA. But the steps are few, and the implications have a direct bearing on the theory we have pursued.