by TChris

Once again, the credibility of the Bush administration has been questioned. The family of Nicholas Berg insists that he had been had been held by U.S. authorities in Iraq, causing him to miss his scheduled departure. Berg was captured shortly after his release. He was later beheaded.

U.S. officials admit that Berg was visited by the FBI while being held by the Iraqi police, but deny tht he was ever held by U.S. forces.

A State Department official in Washington told the Associated Press that Berg had turned down an invitation to fly out of Iraq. Spokeswoman Kelly Shannon said that a few days after he was released by Iraqi police, Berg spoke to a U.S. consular officer, who offered him a chance to fly back to the United States. "He told the consular officer that he planned to travel over land to Kuwait and would call the family from there," Shannon said.

Berg's family sees it differently. They say Berg was taken into custody by Iraqi police on March 24 and that U.S. officials eventually took custody of him. Berg was detained for 13 days, causing him to miss his scheduled March 30 departure. On April 5, Berg's family filed a federal lawsuit seeking his release. Berg was released on April 6, and his family last heard from him April 9. (Helpful timeline here.)