Stuff Happens . . . Not Twice, but Three Times

Frank Rich has written an excellent column suggesting that the fate of the National Museum of Iraq reflects the war in a microcosm. I agree

This is not the first article or opinion piece I have seen published concerning the fate of the Museum and some 14,000 priceless treasures from the literal dawn of civilization. Yes, it is a terrible thing, yes it could have been prevented, yes it should have prevented.

But what is constantly missing from these reports is mention of the public outcry made by museum officials, archaeologists and historians from around the world MONTHS BEFORE THE WAR BEGAN begging for protection of the museum and important archaeological sites throughout Iraq (it's been said that Iraq is a desert country - there are no natural hills - if you see a hill, it's probably an archaeological site waiting to be explored).

I received my first notice back in November 2002 that a reporter for the French magazine Archeologia was preparing an article concerning the potential impact a war would have on the museum and archaeological sites. Archaeologists in Iraq were arming themselves to protect sites from the looting that was expected in the event of war. . . looting was anticipated because it occurred on a large scale after the first President Bush's 1991 war.

On January 24, 2003, Elizabeth Neuffer, wrote in the Boston Globe:

A Pentagon official confirmed a week ago that a group of archeologists had made a direct plea to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to consider protecting antiquities in Iraq. The official said Rumsfeld had invited the archeologists to supply any information about sensitive sites to military planners.

Ashton Hawkins, president of the American Council for Cultural Policy, and Maxwell Anderson, president of the American Association of Art Museum Directors, had appealed to the US military in a column in the Washington Post in November for such consideration.

In war scenario, antiquities seen in the line of fire, Boston Globe (Jan 24, 2003).

On or about January 28, 2003, the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) published a plea for the protection of Iraq's antiquities:

As the prospect for war in Iraq gains momentum, archaeologists have become increasingly concerned about the fate of that country’s archaeological sites, antiquities, and cultural property. In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the Archaeological Institute of America passed a Resolution Regarding War and the Destruction of Antiquities (PDF), which urges all governments to honor the terms of the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

As the oldest and largest organization in North America devoted to the study and preservation of the world’s cultural heritage, the Archaeological Institute of America expresses its profound concern about the potential for damage to monuments, sites, antiquities, and cultural institutions as a result of war.

Iraq, the land of Mesopotamia located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, is the home of some of the world’s oldest and most significant archaeological and cultural sites. One of the areas of initial agriculture and animal domestication, Iraq was the center of the development of cuneiform writing on clay tablets in ca. 3200 B.C. Numerous archaeological sites relating to Biblical history and the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian Empires are located in Iraq, including Babylon, Ur, Ashur, Nineveh and Nimrud. Iraq’s museums, particularly the national museum in Baghdad and the regional museum in Mosul, are repositories for countless irreplaceable sculptures, inscribed tablets, reliefs, cylinder seals and other cultural objects that record this history.

The AIA therefore urges all governments, working in accordance with the terms of the Hague Convention, in concert with recognized experts in the scholarly community, to develop and implement carefully-researched programs to protect ancient sites, monuments, antiquities, and cultural institutions in the case of war. The AIA also offers the expertise of its members to assist all governments in undertaking these programs.

The AIA pointed out that archaeological sites and museums in Iraq were looted on a large scale, following the 1991 Gulf War and therefore:

The AIA is particularly concerned that in the aftermath of war, Iraqi cultural objects may be removed from museums and archaeological sites and placed on the international art market. The removal of such objects would denude the national and local museums of Iraq and cause irreparable losses to some of the world’s most significant archaeological sites.

1167 international scholars signed a petition that was delivered to UNESCO in April 2003, calling for the protection of Iraqi cultural property, institutions and historical sites

Throughout the early months of 2003 reports were published in numerous papers, magazines and radio programs including the New York Times, Archaeology, and NPR calling for the protection of Iraqi antiquities.

On or about February 15, 2003, the news of Anatolian Agency, (A.A), Ankara, reported that at the direction of Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul "The Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C. has launched initiatives in the U.S. State Department about protection of all historical works and cultural inheritance in Iraq. U.S. officials said that they were sensitive about protection of cultural inheritance and that the Pentagon had been carrying out works to this end," it said.

In addition to the public outcry and private communications with the administration. International law also required the protection of the Museum and other archaeological sites in Iraq. Article 4, Section 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Done at the Hague, 14 May 1954, provides that:

The High Contracting Parties further undertake to prohibit, prevent and, if necessary, put a stop to any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of, and any acts of vandalism directed against, cultural property.

Article 5 of the Convention further provides that:

1. Any High Contracting Party in occupation of the whole or part of the territory of another High Contracting Party shall as far as possible support the competent national authorities of the occupied country in safeguarding and preserving its ultural property.

2. Should it prove necessary to take measures to preserve cultural property situated in occupied territory and damaged by military operations, and should the competent national authorities be unable to take such measures, the Occupying Power shall, as far as possible, and in close co-operation with such authorities, take the most necessary measures of preservation.

To quote Yul Brynner, "et cetera, et cetera, et cetera"

The point is this. The looting that took place in Baghdad, at the National Museum, and elsewhere in Iraq was WHOLLY PREVENTIBLE. Donald Rumsfeld himself requested that archaeologists provide military planners with information concerning sensitive sites.

So let's see now, (i) Rumsfeld KNEW the sites had to be protected (ii) Rumsfeld committed to protecting them, (iii) the Hague convention REQUIRES the sites be protected, and (iv) we didn't protect them.

To me, the news is not that the Museum was looted. The news is that the US entirely failed to live up to its obligation to protect the Museum.

Mr. Rich accepts Don Rumsfeld's "stuff happens" as a symbol of the short-sightedness, irresponsibility and incompetence of the Bush Administration's three year killing frenzy in Iraq.

However, as far as the Museum is concerned, I cannot accept "stuff happens". There is no excuse for Donald Rumsfeld's failure to protect a vast treasury of humanity which he was fully aware needed his protection.