WAR & HERITAGE: IS ANCIENT IRAQ BEING PROTECTED? (Museums may not have been looted)

At a U.S. Central Command briefing on March 26, 2003, it was stated that Iraqi forces have placed military and communications equipment near the 2,000-year-old Ctesiphon arch located on the banks of the Tigris. This situation, similar to Iraq's deliberate placement of fighter planes near the 4,000-year-old ziggurat at Ur during the 1991 Gulf War, illustrates the threat of destruction plaguing the cradle of civilization.

Iraqi officials reported in 1992 that 4,000 artifacts went missing during the Gulf War. Only 20 had been returned by 1998. Post-war sanctions on Iraq limited the government's financial ability to preserve antiquities, protect sites, and enforce cultural property laws. Conflict in Afghanistan has had similar consequences. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops and the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, attacks to control Kabul resulted in the looting of seventy percent of its coin collection. More recently, the Taliban destroyed un-Islamic artifacts at the Kabul Museum, and an impoverished population continues to plunder its culturally rich sites.

Incited by a pattern of post-war archaeological disruption, there is currently an international effort among archaeologists and art dealers alike to mitigate cultural damage in Iraq. Officials at the Baghdad Museum have placed their stone sculptures in sandbags to protect them from 'ground-shaking' bombs. They have also painted "UNESCO" on the roof of their museum to mark its cultural significance and to avoid its being a target of an air strike. The staff is now living in the museum to prevent potential plundering and has been trained to transport artifacts filling thirty-two exhibition rooms to secret locations in just one day.

In the United States, art collectors and dealers including Ashton Hawkins, former counsel to New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, have formed the American Council for Cultural Policy to help defend and preserve Iraq's cultural sites and artifacts. They met with U.S. Defense and State officials in early January to inform them of the thousands of archaeological sites dotting the Iraqi landscape to protect against their unnecessary destruction. However, many have not regarded their efforts as solely philanthropic. Art lawyer and AIA member Patty Gerstenblith remarks that "one has the strong sense that this group is using this discussion as a pretext for their ultimate goal: to change Iraq's treatment of archaeological objects." Indeed, the Council seeks to revamp the Cultural Property Implementation Act so that the U.S. cannot be as easily blocked from importing foreign antiquities. Additionally, Hawkins has recommended that the Cairo Museum increase its budget by providing incentive to its financial donors, such as rewarding each of its patrons with 50 Egyptian artifacts. These suggestions have led archaeologists to view the Council's actions as an attempt to shake foreign nations' stringent regulations on ownership and export of artifacts. AIA president Jane C. Waldbaum has declared the Institute's position on the matter and rallies for nations to support Iraq's current laws.

In regard to the current situation in Iraq, government officials have mentioned their use of smart bombs and precision weapons to limit cultural damage. However, after only eight-days of fighting in Iraq, UNESCO commented today that historic sites have already been affected. A television broadcast showed live footage of Baghdad's Al-Zohour Palace--home to many works of art--being bombed. It has also been rumored that the National Museum of Baghdad was accidentally hit in an attack. UNESCO staunchly urges the U.S. to respect Iraq's heritage.

From the Red Tagged Sentence it seems probable that the staff emptied the Museum 3 weeks ago when the bombing started.

The Video from the museum did not look right for a looted building. EVERYTHING was taken, no matter how valueless it seemed. Every place I have ever seen pictured after looting has had broken bits and pieces left behind.
I think the hopeful looters did break up display cases when they found nothing to take.

Mesopotamia was the birthplace of civilization and this material is important to understanding our history. Far more important than say, The Pyramids.

So9

I am not part of the fundraiser here. Just an ordinary American, who believes in individual Liberty, and Freedom.

I guess I've been around here for about 5 years or so now. Time sure flies!

When Jim Robinson started this site, it was because he was fed up with the liberal media, and how they would not let people worldwide know about the corruption of the Clinton Administration. A few of us, equally concerned, (with great luck) found it fast.

In the early days, FR was a day-to-day operation, always on the brink of bankruptcy. Jim kept on, and we chipped in when it became too much. We knew how important this site was, and is. Sometimes, it came down to the wire, and we wrote checks, and sent them in, as best we could.

Look at it now. We all get our best information from this site. It is huge, with thousands of posters, and millions of readers. Yet Jim still keeps it alive because of his conviction, and he is absolutely NOT making a profit on it. He just believes. As do we.

BTW, did you know that the founder of this site is in a wheelchair (sorry Jim; I know you think it doesn't make a r*ts a$$ difference. Hey, some folks out there need to come down a peg, like I have.).

Think of it! In the darkest days of the Clinton Administration, there was a lone internet site where people with integrity, brains, and sheer gumption could discuss the dangers faced by the US. Not on CNN, for sure.

Earthmovers like Drudge, Ann Coulter, Rush, WFBuckley, his brother, Savage, Buchanan, both houses of Congress (many) check in to see what we think.

The opposition checks it out, too. Like the NY times staff, CNN, etc. Trust me, they all come here to read. Even YOUR post. You know by now how they are whining about Rush? We're next, as soon as they figure out how they can trash this site without it getting a million hits.

I've been broke; I've been not broke. I've slept in my car. I know how it feels to be squeezed tight with bills. Folks with giant bills: You're not alone, and you have friends here. :)

If you love this site as much as I do, please, please sign up for automatic payment of just $3 per month. Don't be embarrassed if you think this is too little. It absolutely is not. You $3 a month folks are our grassroots movement heroes. Be proud. Become one of the thousand points of light here, and you will so feel proud every month. We'll thank you for it, and are so glad to have you on board.

I know things are rough out there. But you are tough, and a member of the greatest grassroots freedom movement in 100 years. Together we are making history, and will change the world, as we already have. The best is yet to come.

Many countries out there would consider this website illegal. They hate us, for our freedom. Their systems cannot stand, in the face of Freedom. The people there read us when they can, when they are “allowed” to, and are not being tortured. They flock to us, America, because they want to be free. Help us help them.

Would you please, please consider signing up for just $3 a month? Please? That’s all it takes, really, believe it or not. You will make a world of difference, to, well, the world. Be proud, Americans, and please help out!

"I would not be surprised at all if the Baathists took this stuff with them when they left town. The Nazis did. "

---

An excellent point, and you could really be right. I saw one of the reporters on TV showing one of Saddam's palaces and said that it was totally cleaned out, all furniture was gone, but it was NOT looters, it looked like when someone moved out, no broken pieces left, just everything was gone, and it happened before any looting started, because by that time US soldiers had secured it, so probably Saddam took it.

When we start to think along those lines, we've been threatening him for a year, he had plenty of time to take out all his valuables (including museum pieces) and take them out of the country to safe places.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.