Eight Thousand Years of Civilization ...gone

[Gatekeeper]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
For a government playing with the lives of millions, that is unforgivable.

I was under the impression the subject was about the ransacking of a museum, not the overall war. At least that's what I had in mind when referring to governments not always planning ahead for all the possible outcomes of a "successful" war. In this case, the ransacking of a museum.

Gatekeeper

[RGBVideo]

In my opinion, this is nothing compared to the atrocity committed by Taleban in March, 2001.

Nothing.

[chequita guevara]

I think you people are forgetting, this wasn't just any museum. Imagine if the main museum in Egypt was sacked, looted, and vandalized. The world's main repository of Egyptology would be lost forever. The Museum of Antiquities is for Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, the Umyyad Dynasty, etc. what the main museum of Egypt is for ancient Egypt . . . at least it was. This isn't some po-dunk little museum. This is the sacking of the Library of Alexandria all over again.

The US promised to protect the historic sites of Iraq and her antiqities. This isn't a tragic loss for the Iraqis. This is a loss for all of us, our children, our grandchildren, and so on. In ten thousand years, they will still be stalking about the destruction of this musuem.

This is far worse than the destruction of the statues at Bamiyan.

[Jon Miller]

I agree that it is terrible

but why did they destroy it?

it doesn't make sense, that is not the place I wiykd think to gaurd if I was in the city

I would expect the people to go against other places

many places have looting and rebellions and th elike, and the important museums and stuff do not get looted

why did they loot this one?

Jon Miller

[chequita guevara]

The oldest known example of writing in the world was stolen.

[Jon Miller]

(loot and more importantly smash up)

Jon Miller

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
I agree that it is terrible

This is beyond terrible. It's one of the great crimes of history. Even the Nazis spared Paris.

but why did they destroy it?

Too loot the place for stuff to sell. It's worth a lot of money. During the upheaval after the last Gulf War, many priceless antiquities were looted from archeological sites. The best known perserved relief from ancient Sumer was hacked up and looted then. This is unbelievable.

The people of Baghdad have been begging for US troops to take law and order into their hands for days. This is just unbelievable. This administration has made its mark upon history in the worst way possible. This is beyond irresponsible. This is a crime against history.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Even the Nazis spared Paris.

They spared it from the Parisians?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
They spared it from the Parisians?

The German commander in charge of Paris was ordered to fight to the last man to hold on to the city, knowing that an Allied assault would surely destroy it. Rather than comply with Hitler's orders, the commander contacted the Allies and offered to withdraw from Paris if the Allies didn't attack him while doing so. They agreed, and one of the world's greatest cities was spared destruction.

[GePap]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
They spared it from the Parisians?

Was there significant looting in Paris?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by GePap
Was there significant looting in Paris?

I don't know. I was just curious how he could draw a comparison between this situation and the conquering of Paris (what I thought he was refering to with the Nazi comment).

[Spiffor]

I am not aware of lootings in Paris at the liberation. The only dire consequences I know of are the shootings of alledged collaborators, and wome having had sex with Germans being razed.
However, shortly before the liberation, Hitler ordered his commander in Paris to rile the city with explosives, in order to blow every monument up. The commander did not obey to this order.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by GePap
Was there significant looting in Paris?

Nope. Cuz the Allies took over governing the city right away.

In the Pacific, when Japan surrendered, the Allies required the Japanese troops to continue governing the areas they still held until Allied troops could arrive to relieve them and accept their surrender. We knew then that governence was important, not merely victory.

As an aside, in most cases this was done becuase local authorities were closely tied with Communists and the allies didn't want the Japanese surrender to result in Communist revolution across Asia (which did occur in the aftermath of the collapse of Japanese authority in Korea and Vietnam).

[Jon Miller]

I don't see how that is relevant to what happened here

I think what happened here is that the US applied a little pressure

but did not expect Iraq to collapse

and so when Iraq did, the US was not ready to begin governance

it does not seem like any crime to me, rather just a most unfortunate admendum to a fortunate occurance

Jon Miller
(The lack of urban fighting was fortunate, the looting was unfortunate but seems to be the result of the lack of urban fighting)

[CapTVK]

Originally posted by Tuomerehu
In my opinion, this is nothing compared to the atrocity committed by Taleban in March, 2001.

Nothing.

For the record, those Bhudda statues had already been heavily damaged by an earlier warlord. The head was and was already gone when the Taleban started on it. Cultural heritage preservation hasn't been high on the priority list after the russians left Afghanistan and tribal warlords decided who controlled what region.