>
> Hello--
>         This whole story about US dealers and collectors attempting to
> hijack Iraqi art is just a bit fishy. What are the names of these dealers
> and collectors, and what exactly are they saying? Might this not just be
> another case of US-bashing by Brits? I remember how it was repeated in the
> UK as absolute gospel that the insurance settlement for Bhopal was going
> to bankrupt the insurance industry--only no settlement had been made at
> that time.
>         If there really is such a threat to Iraq's cultural treasures,
> there should be a rigorous and complete exposure of those involved in such
> an attempt. If this is a baseless rumor, that should be exposed also.


Do a bit of web browsing research on the American Council for Cultural
Policy (ACCP) - what I found is that they seem to pop up all over the place,
often allied with other cultural/historical/archaeological groups calling
for the protection of antiquities and so on (e.g. Afghanistan), offering
expertise in conservation and preservation etc. Then, every now and then you
come across their various calls for the removal*l of "retentionist" laws and
regulations hindering the free movement of antiquities and the revision the
Cultural Property Implementation Act in order to minimise efforts by foreign
nations to block the import into the US of objects, particularly antiques.
This seems to be an ongoing lobbying activity of theirs in Washington. They
also seem to include and have access to some fairly influential figures.

So take a look yourself and see what conclusions you come to.

tim


PS - the meeting in question also seems to have been reported in other
places outside the UK at the time it took place.

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