Hang on a minute. An article in the Scottish Sunday Herald dated April 7 talks about the possibility that there might be looting in Iraq's museums. And it's not that nobody told the Bush administration. In fact, a group of art dealers met with them to offer their help to "preserve" Iraq's collections.
And yet, somehow, the military in Baghdad seemed completely caught off guard by the looting. And Rumsfeld laughed it off. "Is it possible that there were that many vases in the whole country?" Well, perhaps he won't be laughing so hard now. According to international law (a concept we seem to be having a bit of difficulty with), the U.S. had a responsibility to try to prevent looting — especially to cultural treasures.
Rumsfeld also said: "Think what's happened in our cities when we've had riots, and problems, and looting. Stuff happens! But in terms of what's going on in that country, it is a fundamental misunderstanding to see those images over, and over, and over again of some boy walking out with a vase and say, 'Oh, my goodness, you didn't have a plan.' That's nonsense."
I thought about the looting and compared it to the rioting we had here in Oakland after Rodney King, and after the Raiders made it to the Super Bowl... and after they lost the Super Bowl... my initial thought was that the way people behave in the absence of order reveals something about them... not who they are fundamentally, but how they've lived and how they've been treated. Perhaps it was too warm and fuzzy and P.C. a thought. In any case, it wasn't a spontaneous mass attack on the institutions of culture; it seems more and more likely that it was the coordinated and planned work of professionals.
So. Do I think the Bush Adminstration did this on purpose? Actually... no. But I think it just shows that they didn't believe it was important to guard the museums and libraries. They didn't really think they were valuable the way the oil wells are. (Side note: I'm not convinced that this war is merely "all about oil"; I think there's more to it, but that's another story) Really, this isn't a bunch known for their appreciation of culture. (But perhaps they'd appreciate Saddam's good taste.)
One last thought: I sure hope eBay is keeping an eye on its auctions over the next few months.
Oh, and one more of the paintings Saddam liked so much!
From that Heraldarticle:
FEARS that Iraq's heritage will face widespread looting at the end of the Gulf war have been heightened after a group of wealthy art dealers secured a high-level meeting with the US administration.
It has emerged that a coalition of antiquities collectors and arts lawyers, calling itself the American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP), met with US defence and state department officials prior to the start of military action to offer its assistance in preserving the country's invaluable archaeological collections.
The group is known to consist of a number of influential dealers who favour a relaxation of Iraq's tight restrictions on the ownership and export of antiquities.
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News of the group's meeting with the government has alarmed scientists and archaeologists who fear the ACCP is working to a hidden agenda that will see the US authorities ease restrictions on the movement of Iraqi artefacts after a coalition victory in Iraq.
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The ACCP has caused deep unease among archaeologists since its creation in 2001. Among its main members are collectors and lawyers with chequered histories in collecting valuable artefacts, including alleged exhibitions of Nazi loot.
