Baghdad archeological museum looted

ABC.com ^ | 4/12/03 | None

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Baghdad archeological museum looted

A Baghdad mob looted Iraq's largest archeological museum amid a breakdown in civil authority following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, an AFP reporter said.

A dozen looters helped themselves in ground floor rooms at the National Museum of Iraq, where pottery artefacts and statues were seen broken or overturned, while administrative offices were wrecked.

Two men were seen hauling an ancient portal out of the building, and empty wooden crates were scattered over the floor.

Upstairs rooms seemed to have been spared for the time being.

Iraq, among the earliest cradles of civilisation and home to the remains of such ancient Mesopotamian cities as Babylon, Ur and Nineveh, has one of the richest archaeological heritages in the world.

The museum housed a major collection of antiquities, including a 4,000-year-old silver harp from Ur.

International cultural organisations had urged that the archeological heritage of Iraq, one of the cradles of civilisation, be spared ahead of the US-led war launched on March 20.

[nopardons]

Try reading ALL the threads about this and stop blaming Rummy for something that is in no way his fault, nor fell to his pervue.

[ALS]

CENTCOM Iraqi Playing Cards SlideShow

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Perhaps they are not FREEPERS, but SHEEPERS ... a similar critter to the SHEEPLE, but conservative (or at least they claim to be). There! I think I've just invented a new word. Let's see if it spreads.

[nopardons]

Hmmmmm ... you may be correct about the newish " touchy-feely " whingers, crying over something they never cared about before.

I prefer CINOs...CONSERVATIVES IN NAME ONLY. :-)

[Romulus]

In his eagerness to sell the war, he over-promised foolishly. In future perhaps he'll remember that his purview is properly restricted to matters he can forsee and control.

[nopardons]

Codswallop and balderdash ! Your supercilliousness is only exacerbated by your ignornace.

In NO war, is the protection of " stuff " ( antiquities, museums, hosues of whorship, etc. ) primary, secondary, or even 1,0005th on the list. Much of it was pretty high up there, in this one. That's remarkable and an historical first. OTOH, Saddam et co. has been " looting " the national treasures ( not excluding oil !) for decades. You haven't bothered, I wager, to even read all, or even some of the more factual threads, on FR, let alone news papaer article and magazine articles previously, about this stuff being GONE. Well, HAVE YOU ?

Just how much do you even KNOW about Mesopotamian/Babylonian/Assyrian antiquities anyway ? How about early Koran, for that matter ? Fact is, that a vast horde of this stuff is all over the world, extanat in some of THE finest museums, private collections, college/university collections, and easily available to scholars. Early Korans ? I can tell you where to go to buy one, if you have enough money, or where you can see one, as soon as you pick youreself up and hgo there, in the blink of an eye.

We didn't loot nor pillage. We aren't raping the women and children. Our military is now safegaurding banks, recovering stolen money, going after the ragged " Ali Babas, as well as trying to keep the peace, fight off those still firing at us AND catching the missing high ups. NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU ? Well, now, ain't that a bloody shame; tough!

AS to Rummy and pals ... they've done a rewmarkably GREAT job and that you fail to see and understand that, leaves one to believe that you don't have enough intellect to even dare debate the subject. ; ^ )