The point is, we just don't have the information which would make it possible to determine what happened with any degree of confidence.

There is nothing inherently improbable in it being "a propaganda video for jihadistas". But there is nothing inherently improbable in it being black propaganda produced by some group who wanted to take the heat off Bush.

The purpose of my reminding people of the Macedonia story was to point out that there are people "on our side" who have demonstrated this level of brutality towards citizens of a friendly country, as a means of achieving a political end. I wasn't suggesting that there was any connection between that incident and the Nick Berg killing.

Coming down firmly on either side over this strikes me as equally unjustifiable at this point. Perhaps further investgation by an independent source, as requested by Nick Berg's father, might throw further light on what happened that would make it possible to do so.