US Troops Destroy Iraq's Ancient Past

[JSJ]

AlJazeera.net

Tuesday 03 August 2004, 19:22 Makka Time, 16:22 GMT

Irreplaceable historical sites and religious artefacts are being destroyed by the US-led occupation forces, says Iraq's interim culture minister.

Sites including Babylon, one of the world's most renowned archaeological treasures, are being damaged by the occupation forces, according to minister Mufid al-Jazairi.

The minister also said on Sunday the US-led forces needed to leave the area as soon as possible to avoid further destruction.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EEFBD5A1-B731-457D-812E-A6D5CCFD51E7.htm


One might think the fundamentalist bozos at the heart of the Butcher of Kennebunkport's base would be upset at seeing so much of Biblical History's 'infrastructure' destroyed pell mell by agents of the US government. But, then again, ignorance lies at the heart of their base. -sj

edited to add link

[Judi Lynn]

1. Jeezus. How many of us were horrified when the Taliban

blew up some of the ancient "Buddhas" from around 600 A.D. in Afghanistan?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1242856.stm

If I'm not mistaken, some of our own politicians denounced this nonsense, too. Where the heck did they go, or is it our mission to flog people who aren't doing us any good?

[JSJ]

2. certainly points to political hypocrisy...

...and the politician's preference for torture over justice.

[saigon68]

3. Hey Lynndie--lets trash that wall over there

Hey Graner----Take some pictures

</SARCASM>

[Bullshot]

4. This was happening in the earliest days of the war.

And Rumsfeld just gave a cavalier attitude about the loss of these artifacts. But by god, the oil properties received top protection!

[Ripley]

5. I remember that...a military lawyer said "it's only about 25 pieces

missing." HAHAHA! Faux news people stole more than that.

Do you really think these PNAC people give a damn about culture? Their M.O. is shock and awe, then terrorize, then (hopefully with their fingers crossed) assimilation. Their new culture is McDonald's and Baby Gap damn it!

[struggle4progress]

6. Some links

AIA Urges Protection of Iraq's Archaeological Heritage
As the prospect for war in Iraq gains momentum, archaeologists have become increasingly concerned about the fate of that country’s archaeological sites, antiquities, and cultural property. In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the Archaeological Institute of America passed a Resolution Regarding War and the Destruction of Antiquities (PDF), which urges all governments to honor the terms of the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
<snip>
http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10174


The threat to world heritage in Iraq
UPDATES: The original aim of this website, in February-March 2003, was to warn of the dangers to cultural heritage during and after a war in Iraq. In the event, the disaster was far worse, and happened far faster, than we ever imagined. It has proved beyond our scope to maintain the website as a news source past the end of April 2003 ...
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~wolf0126/
The threat to world heritage in Iraq: index of photographs
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~wolf0126/photo-index.html


The Iraqcrisis Archives
https://listhost.uchicago.edu/pipermail/iraqcrisis/


Looting continues at archaeological sites around Iraq
By: Micah Garen (Special to the Bulletin)

<snip>
The well-documented looting of the Iraqi National Museum has received considerable press attention. Yet the continued looting at archaeological sites, particularly the important Sumerian and Old Babylonian sites south of Diwaniya, seems to have drawn only moderate attention and even less concern from coalition forces.

These sites are the birthplace of the written word, etched out in clay bullae and on cuneiform tablets more than 5000 years ago. The invention of writing led to a flourish of literary activity in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages, and great poetic works including the Gilgamesh epic and the Descent of Ishtar.
<snip>

After the recent war, the looting reached a fevered pitch. Important sites such as Isin, Umma, Umma Akrab and Larsa were turned into swiss cheese by teams of looters, reportedly up to 200 to 300 strong at times. Returning from a recent patrol to the site of Isin where a number of looters were actively digging what was left of the decimated site, one Marine described it as looking like a rape scene.

Archaeology is a forensic science, and context means everything. The strata at which an object is found can reveal countless details about its history. The looters are destroying layers and layers of history to get to artifacts at the bottom and removing information preserved for millennia.
<snip>

Published date: 24/6/2003 http://www.baghdadbulletin.com/pageArticle.php?article_id=39&cat_id=25


The Bushistas were warned repeatedly of the cultural effects of their actions. They simply didn't care.

[Jacobin]

7. Doing a pretty good job of destroying their present, also

I'm not blaming the troops. They got sent there on a completely impossible mission. To subjugate 28 million muslims and steal their oil and make them like it.

[maxsolomon]

8. well, not exactly blame but

the appalling lack of humanities education & cultural ignorance doesn't help.

they just don't get it.

[Jacobin]

9. At this point, I suspect that they are so completely pissed off and

furious at being stuck in a desert, shot at, blown up, lied to by their CO's, extended past their exit date, underfed, underpaid, having their friends blown apart, stitched back up and tossed out into the world with no disability payments (that's happening a LOT), that they are ready to just say FUCK IT ALL.

Professional? No.

Completely understandable? I think so, personally. (hell they are KIDS).

Answer: Get the Fuck out of the country we illegally invaded.

[shadu]

11. Most of them are aware of very little

Many of them will still vote bush.
Stop think in jingoistic terms.
All too often, Americans suck!

[Myrina]

10. Just in case ...

... there's any evidence remaining over there that Jesus a brown skinned peasant instead of a SUV drivin' redneck from Texas ???

:shrug:

[NeoConsSuck]

12. Well, you can't say the white house cockroach is a hypocrite..

he never mentioned protecting religious artefacts in his speech on the eve of the "liberation".

He did, however, warn the Iraqis to leave the oilfields in pristine condition.

[FormerOstrich]

13. are being damaged by the occupation forces

Wait....someone didn't get the memo...we are guests now...occupation already ended...we are invited guests.......