“found no evidence of recent looting. This was the first UNESCO inspection since the 2003 invasion... there was considerable evidence of looting in the 1980s and 90s, under Saddam Hussein.”
So does that mean all the looting that everyone was screaming about actually happened a long time ago?
That’s correct. This pertains to northern Iraq. The looting of the museum in Baghdad happened as a consequence of Saddam’s overthrow, well, when he turned tail and ran to the spider hole. Coalition troops had more dangerous stuff to worry about.
The amount missing from the museum was pretty small, and some had been locked away since the Gulf War (i.e., long before the overthrow of Saddam and the liberation of Iraq). One of these related topics links goes to a Mark Steyn topics, “Rummy Was Right, One Vase, 170000 Times”:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/892067/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/894176/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/895267/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/897808/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/902303/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/905906/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/908179/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/913079/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/924389/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/924964/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925066/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925217/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925278/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925528/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/928719/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007725/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036470/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045610/posts
touches on it:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/931859/posts
sidebars:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/902357/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1468723/posts