[godwulf]

First off, tw - it's true that I completely misconstrued your post. I thought that you were saying that the prisoner abuse scandal was losing its grip on public interest because it was trivial and deserved to be forgotten quickly. I now understand that you were saying quite the opposite.

All of the discussion about Watergate (I was over 16 in '72, btw, and in the Navy) and Hiroshima, etc., is interesting and instructive, and I believe that most of the controversy surrounding any and all of these events centers on the willingness or unwillingness of individuals to accept that their government (or the one with which they identify or sympathize) is capable of some ruthless act - whether covering up a third-rate burglary aimed at recovering photos of a White House staffer's girlfriend, or incinerating hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings needlessly.

Unfortunately, one man's (or woman's) rational and mature cynicism is another's delusional thinking...or even treason.

With regard to a possible CIA or military intel connection to the Nick Berg killing, all I know is that I've been roundly attacked on a couple of other boards for even suggesting the possibility; it's amazing to me how defensive and angry some people can become when simply faced with an idea that makes them uncomfortable or challenges their assumptions.

I'm more than willing to concede the possibility that Nick Berg was killed by Islamic Fundamentalists, and I have no personal or ideological stake in either believing otherwise or trying to get anyone else to do so.

I'm simply stating that - given the ruthlessly pragmatic character that the U.S. government has shown in the recent past - I, personally, would not be surprised by anything.