The real reason Nick Berg was butchered.

It had nothing to do with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

From The Buzz Machine

Sand Nazis

When I heard the horrid news about Nick Berg's murder in Iraq, I wondered what I'm sure many of you wondered: Was he Jewish? Was that why these sand Nazis selected him for murder as they did Daniel Pearl.

Blogger Steven I. Weiss reports in the Forward that Berg was, indeed, Jewish and becoming more observant recently. A friend told Weiss:

Spool told the Forward that “in the past year or year-and-a-half,” Berg “was starting to wear tzitzit [ritual fringes], he was starting to become more observant.” Spool characterized Berg’s late-in-life turn to Jewish observance as “a quest for knowledge,” adding that once Berg started, “nothing got in his way.”
: The AP report adds:

Berg's father said his son was Jewish and had a fringed religious cloth with him, but he did not think Berg wore the clothing in public. Still, "there's a better chance than not that they knew he was Jewish,' Michael Berg said. "If there was any doubt that they were going to kill him that probably clinched it, I'm guessing.'

: Listenening to NPR and the BBC on the way to work this morning, I heard no mention at all that Berg was Jewish. Is that just bad reporting? It could not be more relevant: Al Qaeda selects American Jews for execution. Let's call Nazis Nazis.

: Blogger Heather knew Nick Berg. [via David Weinberger]