Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Rape of Mesopotamia


The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum
By Lawrence Rothfiels

"Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum lies a tale, told with brutal candour by Lawrence Rothfield, of gut-wrenching negligence and astonishing incompetence by American (and British) politicians and military leaders, and of their disastrous outcome. Read More...

Read David D'Arcy's review in San Francisco Chronicles.

"Rothfield's grim study is an odd twist on the Powell doctrine of Iraq as a Pottery Barn: "You break it, you've bought it." In Baghdad, the National Museum of Iraq was sacked. Replacement objects underground were diverted to illegal dealers who were as chillingly efficient as U.S. bureaucrats were inept.

Any good news in Rothfield's chronicle comes after this book was finished. A U.S. invasion of art-rich Iran, the next Pottery Barn, seems unlikely under President Obama, so history won't risk repeating itself just yet." Read More....

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