The worst pillaging occurred at Baghdad's National Museum, where about 14,000 items were taken. It was not as bad as expected because staff members had spirited most of the famous exhibits out of the museum. About 5,500 pieces have been recovered since the U.S. invasion in March 2003, The Washington Post reported.
The Post goes into far more detail, and points out the painful truth.
The danger was obvious. Iraq is the birthplace of civilization, where ancient peoples left behind a cornucopia of cultural heritage at thousands of sites over thousands of years. The patriarch Abraham lived in what is today Iraq, and Imam Ali, the founder of Shiite Islam, was martyred there.
Two months before the 2003 invasion, a small group of experts warned Pentagon officials about the possibility of looting once the shooting stopped. It had happened in the chaos after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and U.S. forces could expect the same this time, they said.
We ignored this advice, and sent out forces to secure the oil ministry, leaving the rest of Iraq free for the stealing. The amazing truth is, we still are doing little to protect these ancient treasures.
Outside the capital, looting of known archaeological sites has proceeded unimpeded, and there is no end in sight as long as overburdened U.S. and Iraqi security forces remain preoccupied with battling insurgents.
Just another sad reality of war.
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