John,

You make some valid points and I respect your opinion.  I just think bidding
processes, whether for museum projects or rebuilding the oil industry, should
be
marked by transparency and fairness.   Obviously,  at this point,  things
must move ahead in Iraq with U.S. help because we started and now we are in
the thick of it.

But,  as a former small museum administrator,  I think inclusion is always
the best policy.   If you want to build strong alliances and support in your
community, then you really must as a governmental institution or a museum --
any type of public
institution -- be fair and open about what you are doing.

Also,  today globalism is a factor in everything that we do in the business
world and in cultural institutions, too.   It is a mistake to shut out the
Europeans and Middle Eastern companies who are also very well qualified for
this work.   You are right that the process cannot be extended over a long
period of time -- the rebuilding must begin quickly.   But at the same time,
companies that live in the area sometimes can accomplish things more quickly
and inexpensively than large foreign concerns.

Gee,  I worked on a big museum project in Mississippi six  years ago.   I was
amazed at how difficult it was to get supplies.   In Atlanta,  I just walk
into a warehouse and select what I need.   In Mississippi, many things had to
be ordered from Atlanta or Memphis.   Artifact restorers were in New Orleans.
  I found that local professionals in Mississippi had a better grasp than I,
as a Georgian "foreigner" did,
of where to get exhibit supplies and how to get them faster.   And I'm
talking about construction supplies:   special ducts for the new HVAC system
that went into the exhibit space,   large sheets of plexi-glass, that sort of
thing.

I just think we should be supportive of our museum colleagues in Iraq and do
whatever we can to help them through this terrible crisis, as well as
institute procedures in our own disaster preparedness plans, as Claudia
Nicherson suggested a few weeks ago.   Looting during a disaster is not just
an Iraqi problem.

Finally,  it is so great that you, John, as a museum trustee, add to our
discussions.
We need to get more museum trustees involved on a serious and practical
level.

Cordially,
pamela sezgin

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