Those who have been accusing the Iraq Museum staff, and particularly Donny
George, of hyping up the damage and losses have clearly forgotten what was
ACTUALLY said by the museum staff at the time - see below.

However, the losses elsewhere have been much greater: in an official
report the International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA) describes the remains of the National Library as a
three storey heap of ash and the national natural history museum - one of
the most important in the Middle East - is also beleived to have beeb a
total loss.


Patrick Boylan

====================================

Quoting the Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2003


"Iraqis Say Museum Looting Wasn't As Bad As Feared"

"By Yaroslav Trofimov, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal

"BAGHDAD, Iraq - Last week's looting of the Iraq National Museum, which saw
numerous items disappear from a vast collection spanning eight millennia of
Mesopotamian history, has provoked world-wide outcry - and criticism of the
U.S. military for its failure to protect Iraq's priceless cultural
heritage. But, thanks to Iraqi preparations before the war, it seems the
worst has been avoided.

"Donny George, the director-general of restoration at the Iraqi Antiquities
Department, Wednesday said his staff had preserved the museum's most
important treasures, including the kings' graves of Ur and the Assyrian
bulls. These objects were hidden in vaults that haven't been violated by
looters. "Most of the things were removed. We knew a war was coming, so it
was our duty to protect everything," Mr. George said. "We thought there
would be some sort of bombing at the museum. We never thought it could be
looted." .....

"A belief often voiced in the streets of Baghdad holds that U.S. soldiers
themselves stole the most-precious objects in the collection and used the
looters to cover up the crime. Mr. George, standing side by side with the
American commander in the area, Lt. Col. Eric Schwartz of the U.S. Army
Third Infantry Division's Task Force 1-64, dispelled this view. But he said
many valuable items are still missing. Among the antiquities unaccounted
for so far, Mr. George said, are the sacral vase of Warqa, from Sumerian
times, and the bronze statue of Basitqi, from the Accadian civilization."

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