murdered people
raped women
imprisoned children
starved its own population
stole billions of dollars
But the media always says its the "looters" who destroyed the museums. It's as if the Bathe party had the right moral compass when it came to Art appreciation.
Almost, yes. Archaeology served Saddam's state purposes almost as well as nuclear physics served his or Stalin's. Saddam saw himself as the heir of Ashurbanipal, Hammurabi, and Nebuchadnezzar. Anything that bolstered the idea of Iraq's long and glorious past--and it was long and glorious--received the sanction of the Ba'athist regime.