42 Iraqi paintings seized in Jordan

The Times of India ^ | April 19 2003 | Associated Press

[knighthawk]

AMMAN: Jordanian customs officials have seized 42 paintings believed to have been looted from Iraq's national museum, government officials said on Saturday.

The paintings were taken earlier in the week at al-Karameh border post from unidentified journalists entering Jordan from Iraq and were sent to the main Customs Department in Amman, said the officials, well-informed on the confiscated items. The paintings were being verified for authenticity but that preliminary checks led to them to believe the material had been looted from Iraq, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

They declined to provide other details. Officials at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, usually responsible for investigating such matters, were not immediately available for comment. Ad-Dustour, Jordan's second-largest daily newspaper, broke the news on Saturday in a short article quoting Mahmoud Qteishat, the director general of the Jordanian Customs Department.

Qteishat reportedly said after border customs discovered the paintings, he instructed his officers to "take all necessary measures to confiscate any stolen items from the Iraqi national museum and library" - which were targeted by looters following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime last week. Al-Karameh border post has been Iraq's lifeline since sweeping UN sanctions were imposed on Iraq in the wake of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The desert outpost was used for shipments of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies to Iraq and for passengers embarking on a 12-hour overland trip to the Iraqi capital. Al-Karameh is 420 kilometres northeast of the Jordanian capital Amman.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[anniegetyourgun]

That's nice.

[Zipporah]

Taken from 'unidentified journalists'?? Interesting.

[OpusatFR]

"The paintings were taken earlier in the week at al-Karameh border post from unidentified journalists entering Jordan from Iraq..."

Attempting to make the news eh? Anyone check the CNN crew lately?

[ErnBatavia]

Taken from 'unidentified journalists'?? Interesting.

Considering Petah Ahnett's employment situation these days...not surprising.

[vinylsidingman]

The paintings were taken earlier in the week at al-Karameh border post from unidentified journalists entering Jordan from Iraq and were sent to the main Customs Department in Amman,

Hmmmmm,,, unidentified ? as in they didn't have any ID on them ? weren't they arrested ? questioned ? or are they sodamn insane's little helpers ?

[crz]

Whats the name of the main Frog news outfit?

[ladyjane]

No wonder the journalists hae been pointing their fingers at the US for failing to protect the national treasures. The best defense . . .

[CindyDawg]

Taken from 'unidentified journalists'??

Well, I guess this will make breaking news (yeah right)

[Sacajaweau]

Gee, journalists with an interesting story to tell and they don't say boo!! Imagine that!!

[vinylsidingman]

not sure, but according to google, Agence France-Presse (AFP) is one of top three with US Associated Press and British Reuters

[MizSterious]

"The paintings were taken earlier in the week at al-Karameh border post from unidentified journalists entering Jordan from Iraq and were sent to the main Customs Department in Amman, said the officials, well-informed on the confiscated items. The paintings were being verified for authenticity but that preliminary checks led to them to believe the material had been looted from Iraq, the officials said on condition of anonymity. "

Unidentified journalists?? Maybe the same ones writing all the articles about how vile the U.S. is for not "protecting" the museums?

[Grampa Dave]

What a great find:

"The paintings were taken earlier in the week at al-Karameh border post from unidentified journalists entering Jordan from Iraq and were sent to the main Customs Department in Amman, said the officials, well-informed on the confiscated items. The paintings were being verified for authenticity but that preliminary checks led to them to believe the material had been looted from Iraq, the officials said on condition of anonymity. "

Unidentified journalists?? Maybe the same ones writing all the articles about how vile the U.S. is for not "protecting" the museums?

I wonder what name they use to post on Free Republic>

[Grampa Dave]

No wonder the average Froggie has no concept of reality in the world if these three, Agence France-Presse (AFP), US Associated Press and British Reuters are their top 3 news sources.

[aristeides]

I would think a painting would be a lot harder to carry than, say, a cuneiform tablet.

[Jambe]

Taken from 'unidentified journalists'??

Maybe CNN was hoping to turn their financial picture around?

[aristeides]

I understand Stalin gave Walter Duranty all sorts of loot in return for his dishonestly favorable reporting in the New York Times.

[genefromjersey]

Taken from journalists ???

Which journalists, and from where ??

Might these have been some of the same journalists who were howling about " American negligence " ???

[FairOpinion]

Thanks for the ping.

Some journalists!

Either they were looting themselves (considering 42!! paintings it's unlikely) OR (more likely) they were complicit with Saddam's henchmen, and they were smuggling out the paintings for them, knowing exactly who took the paintings, and it sure weren't some ordinary Iraqis looting.

And these same "journalists" claim "unbiased" coverage. Right! And Baghdad Bob never lied.