I have just seen harrowing footage of the apparent murder of American Nick Berg by Iraqis.
This subject has been hotly discussed today on radio (and probably TV) - the issue of mistreatment of Iraqi POWs is supposedly the reason for the beheading.
This should intensify the outrage over the media "exposure" of some coalition troops' behaviour in the warzone (I wonder how Piers is feeling this morning?).
I would like to cast doubt over the authenticity of the footage I have just seen:-
As with most supposedly genuine murder/snuff footage, when it comes down to the act itself the - forgive me for a moment - "action" is interrupted with camera-shakes/zooms where disguised cuts & edits could be made (i.e. to allow the substitution of a man for a dummy).
Could a man's head be cut off with a large knife in a matter of seconds?
The on-screen video-timer also jumps about 10 minutes just before the killing.
I am probably wrong on this one - the footage is somewhat (intentionally?) blurry - but these things and others about it do not sit right.
American propaganda to counter these allegations and stop any further exposure...?