George Will had a commentary this morning on "all this looting." He noted that there was an electrical blackout (maybe due to a winter storm?) in New York City not too long ago. The power was out for about 25-35 hours, and the police arrested 3500 people for looting and such. The only reason they STOPPED at 3500 was because the jails were all full. Thus, as you said, this isn't bad at all. Especially considering what those people have suffered under for decades.
I do find it a tragedy that the Museum was trashed. Those were WORLD treasures, not just Iraqi treasures. That's about the only thing I've found myself second-guessing about "the war plan." I wish we had protected that. Saddam's palaces can be rebuilt, because they were new. But 7000-year old relics cannot be rebuilt. Sad. :-(
The Arabs are famous for their smuggling, their exquisite manners, their beautiful language qualities and their shrewdness. I have some delightful circa 1850 books written by an historian as he traveled through the Arab countries. It gives a better perspective of these people and their customs. He was occasionally called "dog", enjoyed the baths, dickered in the market place, visited the then existing palaces. Very interesting.