Sorry Deb again , Does George Bush really think? Imagine what this country
could do with 78 million plus dollars heading to Iraq at a time of financial
crisis in this country. Speaking of that I dont if anyone heard Winterthur,
a prestigious museum in Delaware recently announced drastic budget cuts
including a large increase in admissions. 15 staff positions will be
eliminated.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Deb Fuller" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 6:51 AM
Subject: Re: Iraq looting - blaming the troops - CNN article


> --- Pamela Sezgin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Odd that the U.S. Government could not plan ahead to station police
around
> > important sites, even though the American Archeaological Assocation met
with
> > officials over and over again in the months leading up to this war and
warned
> > them about looting, which happened at Nineveh during the 1991 Gulf War.
>
> Good grief! The troops just got there. It's not like they could have
walked
> into the city and stationed troops willy nilly. Again, there are still
pockets
> of resistance, traps to uncover and there were POWs to be found. Troops
can't
> be everywhere.
>
> > Odd also that the Oil Ministry was not "looted" in recent days because
there
> > were U. S. Marines stationed out front.
>
> In the grand scheme of things, the Oil Ministry has vastly much more money
and
> resources for the Iraq than antiquities. The Oil for Food program can get
again
> started without the museum. It can't get started again without the Oil
> Ministry.
>
> > Some opportunistic people
> > just wait for such moments of social disorder to grab the world's
cultural
> > heritage and sell it quietly to private buyers.
>
> And those people are everywhere. It's horrible that people use times of
crisis
> for their own personal benefit.
>
> I think because museum professionals are so passionate about our work, we
tend
> to forget that people need food, housing and security before they will
even
> consider visiting a museum. The cloest thing I've come to living through a
war
> is living about 2 miles from the Pentagon when it was attacked. My first
> thoughts weren't "OH my God, I hope the Smithsonian is safe," but rather
"My
> dad didn't go into work today did he?" If his office hadn't moved a week
> earlier from the renovations, it would have been plowed. Fortunately, he
was
> out of the office that day all together and wasn't at the Pentagon.
>
> I also spent the rest of the day answering phone calls from concerned
relatives
> and friends to make sure my family and I were safe. I also made may own
phone
> calls to make sure my friends were safe. The only time the Smithsonian
crossed
> my mind was to worry if my friends who worked there had gotten out okay. I
> could have cared less about any artifact in there or if the buildings
> themselves were now only craters in the ground. My friends were more
important.
>
>
> This doesn't mean that I don't care about museums. I still do and love
working
> there. But I put family and friends above items, any items no matter how
> valuable. It was only after I knew that my friends and family were safe
that I
> inquired about the status of the SI itself. Maybe you have a different
> philosophy but I'd wager that most people out there will put people above
items
> as well when you get down to it.
>
> Instead of the finger pointing and the whinging about the looted antiques,
I'd
> like to see the media all over the world FLOODED with descriptions and
pictures
> of the looted antiques to make them as hard to buy as possible. Make sure
that
> every antique dealer out there knows what is being sold and how to return
it to
> the museum in Iraq. I think that will do more good in the long run than
putting
> a tank in front the building.
>
> Deb
>
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