Bush: Beheading not justified

2004-05-12 20:23

Washington - President George W Bush said on Wednesday that "there's no justification" for the execution of American Nicholas Berg in Iraq.

The terrorists who beheaded Berg wanted to "shake" America's resolve in bringing democracy to Iraq, Bush said.

Berg, 26, was shown being decapitated on a videotape posted this week by an al-Qaeda linked website.

"There is no justification for the brutal execution of Nicholas Berg - no justification whatsoever," Bush told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House as he left for an education speech.

"The actions of the terrorists who executed this man remind us the nature of a few people who want to stop the advance" of democracy," Bush said.

Bush also expressed his condolences to Berg's family, calling him an "innocent civilian in Iraq to build a free Iraq."

"Their intention is to shake our will," Bush said. "Their intention is to shake our confidence," he said. "Yet by their actions they remind us of how desperately parts of the world need free societies. ... We will complete our mission, we will complete our mission." - Sapa-AP

- SAPA