what you suggest sounds a lot more reasonable. Though maybe the torture-revenge was the reason for videotaping his murder (and doing it in a particularly brutal manner). The murder itself they were certainly motivated to do anyway.

it works for Bush.  The decapitation incident is enough to turn thousands of undecideds toward Bush because there is a tendency to believe that he will be "tough on terrorists".  Never mind that we haven't really caught any, except the Hussein family.... people just think that way.  I wonder if the perpetrators of this crime thought about that before they murdered Nick Berg..... they may have just assured another 4 years of Bush, and maybe that's exactly what they want. Who knows with these people?