Any High Contracting Party in occupation of the whole or part of the territory of another High Contracting Party shall as far as possible support the competent national authorities of the occupied country in safeguarding and preserving its cultural property.
The above is the much ballyhooed Geneva Convention requirement. It leaves plenty of room for military necessity. We clearly met the requirements. If you had read any of the stories on the subject, you would have known that the looting took place over a two day period last week and that during most of this period the enemy were occupying the site and shooting at US soldiers. See stories describing uniforms found in the museum and trenches in the front yard.
How many American lives should have been sacrificed (or risked) to meet your simple-minded admonition?
I would certainly say no more than the number of Iraqi-lives that the Iraqis were willing to sacrifice. Seems there were none. I think we will be learning a lot more about this as the days go by. The story was changing after the FBI announced it will investigate. Seems it wasn't quite as bad as they (museum folks) thought.
Here's how most of the liberal left thinks it is written:
Any High Contracting Party in occupation of the whole or part of the territory of another High Contracting Party shall as far as possiblesupportprevent the competent national authorities of the occupied countryin safeguarding and preservingfrom looting its cultural property.