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Let's see - "We never thought it could be looted". That is why they had security guards, and supposedly scholars abroad had asked for US protection? Or has that bit of the story now gone away? Because, after all, if they knew it was going to be looted unless protected, they should have taken steps to protect things themselves before the old order broke down. But they didn't. Therefore, they can't have asked for US protection?

"secrecy long enveloped the museum -- where part of the collection had been siphoned off by Saddam Hussein's family and sold abroad". Oh, so Saddam looted the place already. And needs a pretext for items gone missing. Preferably one to blame on somebody else. Suddenly the Baathists have rather a lot to gain from a visible sacking, instead of being high minded guardians of the country's heritage.

"prompted a wave of anti-American anger. A belief often voiced in the streets of Baghdad holds that U.S. soldiers themselves stole the most-precious objects" Notice the passive voice? Nothing said about *who* is voicing such a belief. Perhaps, just perhaps, Baathists? Looking to blame anything on Americans? To excuse and cover their own thefts?

"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." 170,000 priceless items and records just became 2 objets d'art. In another report, I heard of a third. This was supposed to be the loss of the Alexandrian library all over again. Instead, one vase and one statue? Others to be filled in later.

"he couldn't move into the museum compound and protect it from looters last week because his soldiers were taking fire from the building". Oh. Just a little oversight there. A detail. So Iraqi *soldiers*, not museum workers, were last in the building? Armed? Shooting at our guys? *Then* it was looted? By Peter Pan no doubt. Certainly not by the armed Baathist hooligans trying to draw US fire on the place, deliberately to create a propagandistic atrocity.

They tried to goad us into blowing it up. We didn't play. They looted it themselves. Then blame it on us. If that won't stick, they blame us for not protecting it. While they were inside it, armed, doing the opposite of protecting it themselves.

This whole alleged incident now stinks to high heaven...

""We never thought it could be looted". "

They're lying through their teeth. Ordinary store owners knew enough to close up and barricade their shops in time to protect them from looting. If Joe Schmo knew...the mutants at the museum knew.

"Oh, so Saddam looted the place already."

Yeah, back in '91. They needed the money. There was an article published about that on FR a while back. Sorry, I don't have a link.