From: Keith Miller (kbmill@ksu.edu)
Date: Thu May 08 2003 - 09:40:11 EDT
The following post is forwarded for another listserve. These are =20
updates on the current situation with the looting of the Iraq Museum.
Keith
Begin forwarded message:
>
> Despite Sunday=92s report in the Chicago Tribune that "a total of 38 =20=
> pieces.. are now believed to be missing", there is evidence to suggest =
=20
> that the story of the Iraq National Museum is not so simple.=A0There =
are =20
> several reports that mention =93hundreds=94 of items have been =
returned.=A0
> A report published today says, =93U.S. military officials say they now =
=20
> believe only 10 percent to 15 percent of the museum's items were =20
> stolen.=94=A0=A0That would still be 10% to 15% of 170,000.
>
> There are exactly 38 items illustrated online at the Oriental =20
> Institute website http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ/iraq.html, which =20=
> hasn't changed much in the past couple of weeks.=A0The site was =
created =20
> to provide illustrations (from published catalogues) of what was known =
=20
> to be missing.=A0Have a look and see if you think it is an accurate =20=
> source.=A0The fact is, with records destroyed, people still don=92t =
know =20
> exactly what=92s missing.=A0The folks at the Oriental Institute are =
just =20
> scanning images from books.=A0What=92s weird is that the Tribune story =
=20
> mentions missing cuneiform tablets, which are NOT among the 38 items =20=
> on the Oriental Institute website.=A0Hmmm.
> =A0
>
> The following comments, published in the April 18 issue of Science =20
> magazine, is still the only one I=92ve seen that gives details about =
the =20
> snafu.
>
> =93The failure of U.S. troops to halt the looting stemmed from a =20
> stunning failure in the chain of the U.S. Central Command. The U.S. =20=
> government was familiar with the importance of the Baghdad museum and =20=
> other cultural heritage sites (Science, 31 January, p. 643). Curators =20=
> and archaeologists had met in January with Joseph Collins, U.S. =20
> Department of Defense deputy assistant secretary for stability =20
> operations, to discuss the importance of protecting sites from bombing =
=20
> and from looting similar to that which devastated Iraq's other museums =
=20
> after the first Gulf War. Senior military officials called for the =20
> site to be secured, but that directive was apparently ignored.=A0
>
> =93After viewing scenes of the chaos in Baghdad on 9 April, frantic =
U.S. =20
> archaeologists urged a senior Air Force official to intervene to =20
> ensure the museum was safe. That official told Science he contacted =20=
> the coalition's Air Operations Command on 10 April, when the looting =20=
> began, and the request to secure the museum was forwarded to U.S. =20
> Central Command and to the Army liaison at Air Operations Command. The =
=20
> Air Force official was told the request was "taken seriously." But =20
> nothing was done. The looting continued until 12 April.
>
> =93Another source in Iraq says that U.S. soldiers allowed looters to =20=
> pass checkpoints near the museum, located on the west bank of the =20
> Tigris not far from the central railway station. A Marine commander, =20=
> one Army official says, observed the museum looting and did nothing.=94
>
> Since coverage of this issue in the local press has been abysmal, I =20=
> hope the following links will be helpful.
>
> Washington decries 'assault' of Iraq museum looting
>
> http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=3DFT.com/StoryFT/=20
> FullStory&c=3DStoryFT&cid=3D1051389807671
>
> =A0
> US pledge in hunt for Iraq museum pieces
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,950768,00.html
>
>
> Thousands of artifacts recovered
>
> http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/5808370.htm
>
>
> Talks on Iraq's looted treasures
>
> http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/05/1051987634382.html
>
>
> Experts Coordinate Search for Iraqi Art
>
> http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/=20
> 5787851.htm
>
>
> Call to seal Iraqi borders to end smuggling of looted antiquities: A =20=
> first-hand description of the looting of Iraq National Museum
>
> http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=3D11018
>
>
> Hunt begins for Iraqi museum loot
>
> http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/05/05/=20
> sprj.irq.looting.hunt.ap/
>
>
> Experts Despair of Iraq's Stopping Loss of Relics
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/05/international/worldspecial/=20
> =
05LOOT.html?ex=3D1052712000&en=3D33250515ae3cec94&ei=3D5062&pa=
rtn=20
> er=3DGOOGLE
>
>
> Iraqi museum assembles list of lost treasures
>
> http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/=20
> 5788461.htm
>
>
> Drive to recover Iraqi treasures
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3000749.stm
>
> =A0
> Most antiquities feared lost in looting found intact in museum
>
> http://www.statesman.com/nationworld/content/news/050403/=20
> 0504iraqmuseum.html
>
> Here=92s another good story, posted just a few hours ago (cut and =
paste =20
> the whole link if it doesn=92t work):
>
>
> Terry Ganey: Stolen artifacts being returned as list of items is =20
> distributed
>
> http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/=20
> =
A851CF531E2EFD9E86256D1F006F58DF?OpenDocument&Headline=3DTerry+Ganey%3A+S=20=
> tolen+artifacts+being+returned+as+list+of+items+is+distributed
>
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