The Tease of Things I Don't Need

One Moore twist in the Nick Berg tale?

Friday was busy for me, so I'm just catching up with the news that filmmaker Michael Moore claims to have roughly 20 minutes of filmed interview with Nicholas Berg, the private contractor executed in Iraq early most likely in early May. It was reportedly part of the material Moore shot for his recent winner at Cannes Farenheit 911, the anti-Bush administration documentary, and was an interview shot months earlier, here in the states.

The only thing that throws me - and it's only ever-so-slight a throw - is that 20 minutes was spent on that. Still, I suspect that Moore routinely interviews people who are on the opposite side of any issue he's attempting to assail. While I approve of the general direction of many of the things Moore's aimed to do over the years, his style and approach tends to be too parochial and simplistic too often, and so I suspect the simplest explanation for why he didn't use any of Berg's material in the documentary because a) Berg was in favor of the military action in Iraq, and b) Berg didn't trip himself up by coming across as a just another simpleminded dupe of the administration's line. There are many, good, intelligent and well-meaning people, in and out of the military, who have taken this administration at its word and sincerely believe this has been a Good Thing. In the end, I hope it works out in the favor of the Iraqi people - I suspect it will, in fact -- though it'll be because the Iraqi people want peace and life, just like everyone else. None of that will make what's been done Right. All of that's digression, though.

Adding this news of existing interview footage (which Moore is only releasing to the Berg family) to items brought up in an indelicately-titled post on Berg from just over a week ago, I'm repeatedly drawn back to what went on in March and April of this year with Berg. There appears to be too much contradictory evidence. Will we ever know the details?