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This needs reposting on today's thread ! . . .

Here is THE LINK TO and the text of BTN's commentary related to the museum looting:

To: A Vast RightWing Conspirator; Grampa Dave; Shermy; Travis McGee; MeeknMing

In a letter to Bush dated Monday, Sullivan said he was resigning as chairman of the President's Advisory Committee on Cultural Property, a position he had held since 1995.
Mr. Sullivan was placed in that position during CLINTON's admin. He is NOT a true Bush advisor.
As to your assertions that protecting the Ministry of Oil and the fields themselves, as opposed to the museum, was a grave mistake, I take a deep exception.
Like it or not, the oil wealth of that country is what will give it the capacity for a rapid and sustained turnaround to a country of considerable wealth.
In addition, there are many conflicting reports regarding the looting:
1. The staff had plans to remove ALL antiquities of value within a 24 hour notice, which they definitely had.
2. There are many reports that the greatest of the artifacts were examined by experts long before the war, and their strong position was that the ones on display were fakes, quite possibly perpetrated by Saddam for his usage of the real items, whether for sale or his own possession is an unknown.
3. War is hell, things get broken, destroyed, looted, burned, etc. Face it and get over it.
4. There are factual reports that instead of broken glass and destroyed display cases (indicative of pure looting), the cases were professionally cut with glass cutters, which is indicative of a very sophisticated theft,
5. Given the plans to evacuate the finest of the antiquities in a 24 hour period, the lack of that happening and the professional nature of the theft, this situation looks a lot more like a planned theft by Iraqis of some high position and authority.
Can we protect everything in LA during a given riot...NO. Can we do the same in the middlle of a WAR in a city the size of Baghdad.......NO.
Faulting the troops or their commanders over this is a fools errand. Give it up.

28 posted on 04/17/2003 1:07 PM CDT by BOBTHENAILER (Just like Black September. One by one, we're gonna get 'em.)