infrastructure … and seriously damaged many archeological sites in The same General Franks who instructed US troops to take no action against looting in Baghdad or other cities gave the order March 20 for the First Marine Expeditional Force to invade Iraq a day early, because of reports, later proven largely false, that Iraqi troops were setting fire to the country’s southern oilfields at Rumaila. ", On the Senate side, Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, issued a statement of tempered support following the formal announcement, saying he has been reassured by Miller and O'Brien "that they are consulting with our allies, and that, with their plan, we will be able to carry out our mission of protecting the American people from terrorist attacks originating in Afghanistan, safeguarding Afghan gains and supporting our partners and allies.". Another eyewitness, Kareem Khattar, who works in a bread shop across the road from the college, saw the same thing. The New York Times reported one such protest by an Iraqi man who was standing guard at Al Kindi hospital in Baghdad. After looting in 1991 during the uprisings that followed the first Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi government passed legislation restricting the export of historical artifacts. The archives and files of Iraq’s most valuable asset—its oilfields and, even more important, its massive reserves—are safe and sound, sealed off from the mobs and looters, and safe to be shared, as Washington almost certainly intends, with American oil companies.”. international regulations, the occupation authorities have no right “It’s untidy,” Rumsfeld said. acknowledge that they are responsible for the destruction of many 'We're not police and that's not our job,' they said.". funds have been transferred to the USA without any paper trail. IF: This is a frequently asked question, too, and the present-day level of culture in the Iraqi society is insufficient responsible for preserving these very sites – had officially ‘A big army like the USA army can’t protect the hospital?’”, The role of the US military went beyond simply standing by, and extended to actually encouraging and facilitating looting. US troops have sat back and allowed mobs to wreck and then burn the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Irrigation, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information. Instead, the soldiers fired several dozen rounds at the college's south wall, says Dr Majeed. Already contracts have been awarded to private American firms to provide new school books, replace looted medical equipment, even train a new Iraqi police force. historical landmarks, or maybe even gave a spur to this. This destruction started during the troops took over the area and “used heavy armor, tanks and In late January of this year, a delegation of scholars, museum directors and collectors visited the Pentagon and explained the significance of the Iraq National Museum and other cultural sites. This will set the stage for a much bigger theft: the privatization of Iraq’s vast oil resources and their exploitation, directly or indirectly, by US and British oil companies. As one Army officer told the Times, as he watched the looting approvingly, “This is the new income redistribution program.”. According to a report April 6 in the Sunday Herald, a Scottish newspaper, among those who met with the Pentagon before the onset of the war were representatives of the American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP), a lobbying group for wealthy collectors and art dealers that has sought to relax Iraq’s strict ban on the export of cultural artifacts. with the help of the occupation authorities – allegedly for the The withdrawal announcement Wednesday was a coordinated effort between the Pentagon and President Trump, who has pledged to exit "endless wars." This city was first archives, but no one knows the true story behind this. cultural heritage under the conniving eye of the occupational But interestingly, when the US occupation ended, some of Bush’s What US imperialism promoted in the 1990s in eastern Europe and the former USSR under the label “shock therapy”, it is now applying in the aftermath of its “shock and awe” devastation of Iraq. There is more at stake, however, than rank hypocrisy or an appetite for Iraq’s oil wealth. One of the gravest casualties of the 10-year US-led war in Iraq is the destruction of the country’s cultural heritage, Iraqi archaeologist and architect Ihsan Fathi told RT. "There's a right way and a wrong way to do this. President Trump and The Pentagon to announce a plan to withdraw more American troops from Iraq; Lucas Tomlinson reports. cultural and historical monuments and antiquities. Bush, Rumsfeld and company personify the new barbarians: a “leader” who is himself only semi-literate and wallows in religious backwardness; an administration populated by former corporate CEOs for whom an artifact of ancient Sumer is of more interest as a tax shelter than as a key to the historical and cultural development of mankind. ©2020 FOX News Network, LLC. The US Army was no different in World War II. The Bush administration is seeking to encourage the emergence of a new ruling elite in Iraq, formed from the most rapacious, reactionary and selfish elements, which will serve as a semi-criminal comprador force entirely subservient to the United States. This operation had been planned long before The world’s oldest copper casting, the bust of an Akkadian king, dates from 2300 BC. and large items missing from the National Museum of Iraq… The Iraqi it was not full. What will be the consequences of all this for Iraq’s culture? Read RT Privacy policy to find out more. We have the information that these documents were sold to In the old administrative block, ring binders lie on the floor, next to shards of broken glass, buckled filing cabinets and broken plant pots. "As long as there are threats to Americans and American national security in the world, the U.S. must be vigilant, strong, and engaged in order to safeguard our people and fulfill our duty under the Constitution.". the area.”. The most striking aspect of the outbreak of looting was the nonchalant attitude of US government officials in Washington. was the official status of the international coalition. The news prompted criticism from several GOP lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who did not refer to Trump by name but. There the looting of public buildings has direct political overtones, since the destruction of property deeds and other government records will make it easier to conduct ethnic cleansing of Arab or Turkmen populations by the Kurdish forces that now dominate the region, in alliance with US Special Forces. of all this for Iraq’s culture? And all attempts to reclaim the country’s stolen treasures Knowledgeable sources told CNN's Jake Tapper last week that the White House-directed purge at the Defense Department may have been motivated by the fact that Esper and his team were pushing back on a premature withdrawal from Afghanistan, which would be carried out before the required conditions on the ground were met. If a country’s civilization is looted, as ours has been here, its history ends. He realised these guards were no match for the crowds. Perhaps the most devastating loss for the Iraqi people is the ransacking of the National Museum, the greatest trove of archeological and historical artifacts in the Middle East. to move local cultural and material values. Ihsan Fethi: As you know, our civilization originated on the territories where Iraq is now. An engineering lecturer at the college, Najah Rustin, was across the road when the trouble began. occupation. Dr Majeed, a community health lecturer at the college, was at the institute on the day when hundreds of baying looters gathered outside. international military contingency in Iraq occupying forces. The widespread looting in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk and other Iraqi cities, following the collapse of the Ba’athist regime of President Saddam Hussein, was not merely an incidental byproduct of the US military conquest of Iraq. President Obama declared an end to the Iraq War in 2011 but then sent troops back to Iraq in 2014 to fight ISIS. Looters took or destroyed everything in the galleries, then broke into the underground vaults and plundered their contents. It also held artifacts from Persia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and various Arab dynasties. Ihsan Fethi: As you know, our civilization originated on In a statement to BBC News Online, Centcom, the United States Central Command in Doha, Qatar, refused to accept responsibility for the event.
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