Looters Ransack Baghdad's Antiquities Museum

Reuters ^ | April 12, 2003 | Hassan Hafidh

[Cultural Jihad]

This reminds me of the old socialist political cartoon from around 1918. A matron dripping in mink and pearls looks in horror at an old Master's painting with bullet holes in it, and asks, 'Such a shame! Couldn't you have rounded up some peasants to protect it with their bodies?'

[WOSG]

If anyone is mad, blame the Iraqi looters for their lawlessness *not* the US troops for not doing a job they are untained for- the troops are too busy taking fire and getting shot at, *still*, in baghdad.

At the same time "I am deeply saddened" by the excessive looting. It mars the liberation and will hurt the reconstruction of the city.

[Fifth Business]

Our troops have more urgent, pressing, and compelling business than trying to protect every part of Iraqi culture/infrastrcucture.

Then why have we been taking care not to bomb zigurrats and tells?

If this is true, it is bad news, and we should have been more careful.

[Fifth Business]

check ebay for some cool stuff now

No Iraqi antiquities have been allowed to leave the country since about 1967 (except on loan, of course).

[ladyjane]

I hope some official checks to see if she or some of her friends now have some of the pieces.

Ah hah! Interesting. Also, I wonder who her husband is. He's probably sitting in some Syrian hotel room calling antique dealers now.

[mass55th]

The troops' priority was not protecting her damn antiquities. It was removing the scourge of that country and keeping themselves alive. You can be as apologetic as you want for her, she's still scum. She had plenty of forewarning, plenty of time to save her historical crap. She didn't do it and now she wants to blame OUR troops because her people stole their own heritage? There were rumors of looting for weeks before the war started. That's why most businesses in Baghdad closed up and fortified their shops. She failed to act and she's paid for it. She'd fit right in with the liberal left who never wants to accept responsibility for their shortcomings, but blame someone else when things go wrong. Maybe Sarandon and Robbins can hold a fund raiser for her to try to buy some of those items back.

[Theresa]

"I said it before and I'll say it again. Our troops have more urgent, pressing, and compelling business than trying to protect every part of Iraqi culture/infrastrcucture."

We screwed up. Face it. We don't have to protect every part of Iraqi culture but there is NO excuse for not protecting that one museum. It's like letting people steal the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. How would you like that? We did not steal the stuff in that museum but we should have anticipated that we would be blamed if it was stolen. This is a ugly blot on an otherwise brilliant campaign.

[headsonpikes]

We can hope the story is overblown, and that the most valuable items were well-secured.

Otherwise, it's a real shame.

[Risa]

I agree it seems unfortunate, yet I think this tragedy pales in comparison to the enormity of the human tragedy Saddam inflicted on his people.


risa

[WOSG]

Wrong! I am a 100% right wing conservative and I think this is a terrible shame. We should have planned to guard this museum. How many soldiers would it have taken? This makes us look sloppy and disorganized. Come to think of it I am getting impatient for the US to get going on stopping the looting. It's starting to make us look bad that we are not doing anything.

Symptoms: Anxiety, jumpiness, worry about the world going to he**-in-an-handbasket, blaming America first sentiments, thinking America will have permanent black eye over latest problem.

Diagnosis: Overexposure to CNN/Reuters/ABC/CBS and foreign anti-US media.

Cure: Turn off TV, 'net, take deep breath and realize that it's not as bad as they make it sound. They are desperately trying to make you feel bad as a supporter of the US troops. Dont you remember just two weeks back when these same media tried to convince us that the whole Iraqi people opposed the 'invasion' and were fighting bravely all over southern Iraq.

Perspective Reminder - this *WAR* cost over 100 American lives and thousands of Iraqi civilian lives - how does the museum looting compare to those losses? Meanwhile, we may have found the WMDs, and top Baathists are surrendering. Oh, and we just fond *300* suicide vests in a school. IT was a bloody war, and thank God it wasnt harder, bloodier, longer and worse.

[Theresa]

"She didn't do it and now she wants to blame OUR troops because her people stole their own heritage?"

We should have anticipated that they would blame us. It is a GIVEN that they would blame us. It does not matter if it is fair or not. We should have thought of it and sent a few soldiers over there. Period. End of discussion. It's not the end of the world but we should have thought of it.

[Fresh Wind]

If you're going to be annoyed, be annoyed at the museum staff for not taking precuations to protect the valuable property they were charged with.

I wonder how much of the looting was done by the museum staff? After all, they knew what the best stuff was. And, in a sense, much of what was in that museum was already stolen by grave robbers which is, effectively, what archeologists are.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't know a thing about her, or what she tried to do to protect the stuff. The story says the "The looters broke into rooms that were built like bank vaults with huge steel doors." I didn't say the troops are responsible for the damage, quite the opposite. In my other posts I explained why they could *not* prevent it.

What I said was, the shouting anger of a person who has just been robbed of something valuable to her is likely to be void of any perspective or balance. We have the luxury of distance, that ought to give us perspective, not the same blame-game and name calling that angry people caught in the middle of it would say. "she's still scum." Great perspective and wisdom there.

[crazykatz]

If these precious items were in a bank style vault.... how do we know that the curator did not steal the most valuable items from the vault and NOW is blaming ALL the thefts on looters and the AMERICANS???

Hmmmmmmmmm, I would bet you a dollar to a donut...she did the deeed!!

[Puddleglum]

We did not steal the stuff in that museum but we should have anticipated that we would be blamed if it was stolen. This is a ugly blot on an otherwise brilliant campaign.

I guess we'll just have to wait and hear what the American explanation is. I suspect that this looting is largely the work of former Saddam men and is, like the shooting of civilians, a spiteful attack on their own country. It sounds like something former torturers would do. As to why the USA didn't stop it, we'll have to see. I don't put a lot of weight into this one article and one interview, except that it does call for more information.

There may well be higher priorities in a city of 5,000,000, like protecting the living instead of guarding the dead. Maybe that is the sort of real choice our troops are facing.

[WOSG]

Looting subsides somewhat in baghdad

headline from CNN ... and a general showed up at Palestine hotel to see about getting police back on the job... "optimistic signs" ... there was a firefight in downtown Baghdad today. When US personnel are on the streets, things are fine, but bullets fly when they are not around ...

[HairOfTheDog]

Sure... Yeah... I bet she plundered it. Everyone has a hidden agenda, everyone is on the take, nothing is what it seems.

[HairOfTheDog]

frogot < /sarcasm > tag.

[x1stcav]

I wouldn't expect a foreign army, no matter how much of a benefactor it was, to protect our national treasures, that's all.

This is hardly a blot. You are confusing military scuccess and brilliance with something else. Besides, I'm simply not reacting to too much at this moment that's negative because there are a lot of people out there who'd like to see our success mitigated in world opinion.

[Hildy]

The museum director and top staff should be prosecuted for failure to protect such national treasures.

I'd look in their pockets first.