The Iraq War & Archaeology Archive 69

Almost all are accessible for free (or after a free registration) on the internet. Each time, I try to draw attention to the most relevant tidbits of information, esp. things that were not mentioned before; occasionally, I provide some comment. The usual warning applies: many links become defective with time. Inclusion in the list does not in any way mean that I necessarily agree with the opinions expressed in an article. But for a few exceptions, the occasional photos and figures accompanying reviewed articles are just hotlinked images on other web sites, in other words: do not download them or request permission to publish them from me, for I do not own the copyright to them in any way! Please do contact the rightful owners if you would like to use them for publication purposes. Finally, for the sake of convenience, all articles and so on are assumed to have been published on US web sites unless indicated otherwise.

K. Vasserman, "Prof teaches soldiers to fight antiquities theft. Archaeology professor gives troops lessons on preserving the past in Iraq, Afghanistan," in The Daily Pennsylvanian, February 15, 2006: "'A lot of the pieces <on eBay> may be from the Baghdad Archaeological Museum, but if no inventory number is written on them, you can't prove it,' [Brian Rose] said. 'And if you can't prove it, then <selling them> is legal.'" "Rose worked with the United States Central Command, which is responsible for military forces in both countries, to set up the program at military bases across the country. The program started last spring at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. ... 'We think that through education this will help the troops do their job better' and have a better relationship with the local people, said Fred Hiebert, an archaeologist for the National Geographic Society and a former Penn professor ..."
"Iraq: Italian Archaeologist to Go to Nassiria, Americans Anti," in AGI (Italy), online, February 11, 2006: "Giovanni Pettinato, one of the leading scholars today on Assyria, is to go and work in Iraq on February 23, even though the US has let it be known he is not welcome there. It was Pettinato himself who revealed this state of affairs whilst speaking to journalists when attending a conference he was holding at Rovereto. ... The Sicilian archaeologist [sic; Assyriologist, i.e., specialist in the languages of Mesopotamia] pointed out that the Italian government had decided to send him to Nassiriya anyway, where he is to stay in Italian military quarters. This will enable him to more closely follow the work that he has already set up to reconstruct the huge Iraqi cultural heritage in the south of the country following its devastation by the war and, even more so, by the post-war activities." "Now, as he is about to go back to Iraq to apply the terms of the agreement that he himself endorsed and get the work underway, Pettinato has seen he is 'persona non grata'. However, he himself and the Italian authorities have decided to ignore the fact." [he previously tried to start something up concerning the National Museum in Baghdad (see for example Notiziario NIP July 8, 2004) but this is the 1st I hear about possible projects in the South; 3-8-06: see Pettinato March 1 for his comments]
J. Cole, "Shiite control of Interior a Red Line," in Informed Comment, online, February 4, 2006: "From BBC World Monitoring of the Iraqi Press for Jan. 31: ... Al-Zaman publishes on page three a 500-word report citing Al-Najaf Artifacts Director Muhammad Hadi Bidan confirming the arrest of seven smugglers and the seizure of 174 historical artifacts. He explained that they were planning to sell the artifacts to multinational troops in Al-Diwaniyah. . ." [is Muhammad Hadi Bidan the same person as Mohammed Mehdi mentioned in al-Jaberi February 3? also, "artifacts director" may be a sloppy translation of "antiquities director"]
S. al-Jaberi, "Occupation troops involved in antiquities smuggling - official," in Azzaman (Iraq), February 3, 2006: "Mohammed Mehdi said smugglers seized recently admitted that they were specifically working for foreign troops in the country. Mehdi, who is in charge of antiquities in the Province of Najaf, said the smugglers were given badges that allowed them to enter foreign military camps in southern Iraq. Medhi did not mention the nationality of the foreign troops but said the smuggled antiquities were mainly sold to the troops serving in Diwaniya." [he might mean Poles, perhaps Ukrainians and maybe the handful of Salvadorans; maybe also the Bulgarians who only pulled out very recently]; "He said police in southern Iraq have recently apprehended seven smugglers on their way to sell 174 precious pieces to foreign troops." [contradicted by al-Jaberi January 3]; "Mehdi said apart from pieces stolen from official museums, the smugglers were selling artifacts dug up illegally from some famous, but still unprotected, archaeological sites in the country. Mehdi said police in Najaf have also apprehended two other smugglers with pieces stolen from the Iraq Museum. He did not name the smugglers but said one of them was of Syrian nationality. 'Both are linked to an international network of smugglers trading in contraband Iraqi antiquities,' he said." [see also Cole February 4]
P. Gerstenblith, "The Case for Changes in International Law in the Aftermath of the 2003 Gulf War," in Protecting Cultural Heritage: International Law after the War in Iraq, online, February 3, 2006: "Some of these incidents [in Iraq] violate provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention. ... In some cases, it is not possible to determine whether there has been a violation because sufficient information is not available. In still other cases, to the extent that an activity was carried out either by U.S. forces or with U.S. funding, the activity likely constitutes a violation of U.S. law. ... However, the goal of this paper is ... to address those actions that did not violate the Hague Convention or customary international law and to propose changes that are necessary to close the lacunae in existing international law. The most critical change that needs to occur is the United States’ ratification of the Hague Convention and at least the First Protocol." "... ratification of the Convention would clarify the obligations of the United States military, would encourage marking of cultural sites, and would give added impetus to the training of U.S. military personnel in their obligations to protect cultural heritage." "... to encourage the major military powers to maintain within their active military a corps that is dedicated to preservation of cultural heritage. Such a group was established by the United States and 8 Britain during World War II, known as the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives officer corps. Composed of art historians, archaeologists and museum professionals, this group was responsible for protecting major heritage sites and securing movable cultural objects as soon as the Allied forces had advanced into a particular area. While during the Iraq war the reserves and civil affairs had individuals with comparable skills who were equally dedicated to cultural heritage preservation, they were often not situated in the regions where they could be effective, did not form cohesive units and did not have the proper lines of authority and commands to permit them to carry out activities aimed toward preservation." "The 1954 Hague Convention ... needs significant updating to incorporate cultural heritage resource management principles, unknown at the time the Convention was originally written, and to plan for longer-term occupations of territory, another situation that was likely unanticipated in the wake of World War II. Expansions of the obligations of occupying powers in this respect and in the duty to provide affirmative protection for cultural sites, monuments and repositories are a new reality ..."
M. Bogdanos, "Thieves of Baghdad – and of the world’s cultural property," in Protecting Cultural Heritage: International Law after the War in Iraq, online, February 3, 2006: "Most high-end smugglers are simply too sophisticated, and the questionable acquisition practices of some dealers, collectors, and museums, too entrenched to be defeated by improved border inspections and heightened public consciousness alone. The sine qua non for effective interdiction is an organized, systematized, and seamlessly collaborative law-enforcement effort by the international community. We need coordinated simultaneous investigations of smugglers, sellers, and buyers in different countries. And—just as important—prosecution and incarceration need to be credible threats. Thus, as a third component, the United Nations must be pressured to establish a commission to continue and to expand the Iraq Museum investigation, and the purview of this investigation must be enlarged to include other countries as well." "Such international cooperation (promoted by the United Nations) and immediate dissemination of information (enabled by Interpol) would permit the use of a tactic long used against drug smugglers—that of controlled or monitored deliveries of stolen antiquities to their destination. As in the drug and weapons trade, controlled deliveries enable legal authorities to incriminate—and thereafter prosecute—every culpable party along the trail, while also serving as a deterrent to those collectors or curators who could never be sure that the next shipment was not being monitored by law-enforcement officials. Fourth, museums, archaeologists and dealers should establish (or, failing that, Congress should require) a strict uniform code of conduct. Similar to ethics rules for lawyers and doctors, this code would clarify the documentation and diligence required for an artifact to change hands legally. Although many argue that the interests of dealers, collectors, museums, and archaeologists differ from each other so dramatically that any single code of conduct acceptable to all is impossible, I point out that the differences within the art world are no greater than those existing between prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys. Yet, the American Bar Association has adopted and actively enforces a single Code of Ethics applicable to every attorney admitted to the bar."
R. Johnson, "Iraq Scribe: Critic's a Schmuck," in New York Post, February 2, 2006: "Washington Post 'culture critic' Philip Kennicott should think twice before visiting New York. The smug book reviewer did an unprovoked hatchet job the other day on Manhattan Assistant DA-turned-war-hero Matthew Bogdanos' otherwise well-received (and decidedly apolitical) new memoir, 'Thieves of Baghdad.' ... 'I thought it was a joke when I first read it,' an emotional Bogdanos told Page Six. 'A friend e-mailed it to me and I actually thought he'd cut and pasted in the words. Unbelievably, this schmuck was actually serious.' ... He says Kennicott uses him as a scapegoat for everything the critic loathes about the White House. 'You can't tell <from the book> who I voted for in the last election,' Bogdanos fumes." [not that it matters to me, but, oh, let me make a wild guess: not Ralph Nader?]; "'You can't tell what my position is on the Iraq war - and that was entirely intentional. The point of my book is that you can't politicize our cultural heritage.' Kennicott's positions are much easier to decipher. 'Those who are already enamored of military culture and still believe in the Iraq War will probably nod in agreement with <Bogdanos>,' his review sneered. 'Those who question that war - and question war in general - may find Bogdanos a repellent figure, symptomatic of a new hubris in certain military and political circles.'" [Johnson's positions are even easier to decipher]; "'Repellent? A new hubris?' the author rages. 'If Kennicott ever left his cave, [is he equating him with a certain terrorist?] he'd know that nobody in this country hates war more than the people who actually get shot at. You think I wanted to be there? I missed the birth of my fourth child, for crissake.' Bogdanos, who prosecuted [and failed to convict] Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs at his weapons-possession trial in 1999, also said, 'In 2 1/2 years, I recovered over 5,000 ancient artifacts from eight countries. What has that man <Kennicott> ever done for 'culture?''" [quod erat demonstrandum, as one would say in Latin: a perfect example of what Kennicott alleges! but I guess that makes me an elitist intellectual too, the sort Bogdanos holds in low regard for insisting on facts and reason, e.g., the good colonel did receive some assistance in recovering a few of those 5,000 artifacts, thank you very much; by the way, this article is also published on a free site here]
W. Harms, "Scholars to explore protocol for defending cultural heritage," in The University of Chicago Chronicle, 25, 9 (February 2, 2006): "... 'Protecting Cultural Heritage: International Law after the War in Iraq.' The conference, which will take place ... Friday, Feb. 3, ... will examine shortcomings in the international legal framework built over the last century to prevent looting and destruction of cultural property in times of war. ... The looting of antiquities in the aftermath of war has become common, said conference panelist Lawrence Rothfield, Associate Professor in English Language & Literature, and Faculty Director of the Cultural Policy Center. 'The list of recently looted sites includes Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Bosnia’s churches and Karwar, often described as ‘Afghanistan’s Pompeii,’' said Rothfield, who is also a principal organizer of the conference. 'But the point of departure for a policy discussion on wartime looting must be Iraq, where following our intervention the cradle of civilization is now being systematically robbed.'"
J. Cole, "14 Bodies in Baghdad[;] US Talks with Guerrillas Halted," in Informed Comment, online, February 1, 2006: "Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari yesterday appointed Hashim al-Hashimi (Virtue Party) the interim Petroleum Minister, adding it to his earlier portfolio as ministry of tourism [and archaeology]. (I suppose he must have had time on his hands.) ... the Sadrist Virtue <Fadhilah> Party ..."
"NEH Funds Iraq Digit[i]zation Project at Yale Library," in Yale University (Connecticut), online, February 1, 2006: "The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Yale University Library a two-year grant in the amount of $97,060 to support 'Iraq ReCollection', a landmark effort to preserve and disseminate academic journals that record, interpret, and explain the history and culture of Iraq. ... begin a digitization project that will: (1) digitize and character-scan a select group of the most important scholarly humanistic Iraqi journals held by Yale and by the University of Pennsylvania, comprising nine titles and about 100,000 pages; these are mainly in Arabic ..." "Benjamin Foster, Laffan Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature and Curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection, said, 'The project's scale is modest, but the impact of preserving and disseminating even a handful of core humanistic journals will be broadly recognized.' The work will be done over the calendar years 2006-2007 and will be closely watched to see what the best next steps will be."

C. Pierre, "'We Will Bring Him Home,'" in Johns Hopkins Magazine (Maryland), 58, 1 (February 2006): excellent interview with Micah Garen and Marie-Hélène Carleton at the occasion of their American Hostage book, also highlighting the role of and interviewing Carleton's fellow SAIS [Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies] graduates; "According to the couple's friends, it was no surprise that Carleton and Garen would want to go to Iraq, despite the dangers. It was a natural fit, for one, because Carleton was born in the region — in Beirut, to an American father and a French mother, both of whom worked for the United Nations — and Garen had focused on Near Eastern studies, archaeology, and landscape architecture at Cornell University. But they were also drawn to Iraq because they feared that the story of the looting was being ignored." "[Earlier, t]heir first major project took them to Zeugma, in Turkey, in 2000. The ancient city made headlines when recently discovered ruins were threatened by floodwaters of the newly built Birecik Dam. They filmed a documentary that focused not only on the fate of the ancient ruins, but also on displaced villagers." "Garen visited Iraq first in June 2003, photographing and writing about the looting; his photos were published by the Associated Press, The New York Times Magazine, and Science magazine, among others. He returned the following December to lay the groundwork for a documentary. After that second trip, he and Carleton approached the Carr Foundation for funding." "By the end of July 2004, the couple had nearly finished shooting. Carleton left Iraq, ... The Carr Foundation had recently made funds available to the Nasiriyah Museum through the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage to hire 20 civil guards to protect the heavily looted archaeological site at Umma, near Nasiriyah. Garen wanted footage of their first day on the job." "As soon as word got out that Garen was missing, Carleton's friends and colleagues from SAIS sprang into action. ... Their approach included calls to then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, former SAIS dean, who assigned a DoD staffer to the case, and SAIS Professor Fouad Ajami. One SAISer had a friend who had just returned from Iraq, where he was working for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Another had a colleague whose father was the NATO supreme allied commander. Friends called contacts in the State Department, Congress, the U.S. embassy, humanitarian organizations, and the media." "When they first got home, they began to work on the film right away. But when they were approached by a literary agent, they realized that a book would allow them to tell not only their own story but the many stories in Iraq that were often too complex — or too dangerous — to film for their documentary. It also enabled them to work through the trauma of the experience."

Photo 1: [no caption; still from Micah Garen's kidnappers' video]

Photo 2: "Photo courtesy Four Corners Media" [on Garen and Carleton's web site, FourCornersMedia.net, the series of photos of which this one is a part has the following introduction: "On June 9, 2004, Iraqi police arrested four men in Baghdad, part of a larger smuggling ring, and recovered 3000 objects that had been looted from archaeological sites in Iraq. The objects had been wrapped up and boxed for shipment outside of the country. This is the first major arrest and recovery of objects looted from archaeological sites by Iraqi police since the 2003 war. Photographs by Micah Garen and Marie-Helene Carleton, © Four Corners Media"]

Photo 3: "Garen films an Italian Carabinieri patrol of looted sites in the Dhi Qar province. Below, Carleton, wearing a traditional Iraqi hijab. Photo courtesy Four Corners Media"

Photo 4: "Carleton films the aftermath of the looting. 'When you look out at the sites, they're these sandy, dusty stretches,' she says. 'I think people sometimes find it hard to visualize the value of what's under there.' Photo courtesy Four Corners Media" [from inside a Carabinieri helicopter; in Dhi Qar province]

Photo 5: "Carleton, Amir Doshi, and a museum guard in July 2004. Photo courtesy Four Corners Media" [Nasiriyyah]

Photo 6: "Carleton and Garen safe at home; behind them, a painting by the Iraqi artist Kamil. Photo 2005 © www.davidlubarsky.com"

This site is edited by Belgian archaeologist Francis Deblauwe, Ph.D., living in Streamwood, Illinois (USA), who is affiliated with Archaeos, Inc., and a research associate of the University of Vienna (Austria).