UNESCO talks politics in Iraq, not culture
US military damaged ancient Babylon siteI'm not even going to quote any of the BS from this story, because you'll learn nothing factual about how the US treated sensitive archaeological areas, and instead you'll wade through a lot of politically charged anti-American rhetoric produced by UNESCO. There's not a peep about the appalling damage inflicted on priceless sites by Saddam Hussein's regime. There's not a word about how one of his sons had things bulldozed just so he could have one of his palaces on a hill. This story is an anti-American political hit piece.
I happen to know a high ranking marine who told me about the extra-ordinary measures his troops took to protect archaeological sites. He also told me a story of the tours an Iraqi archaeologist gave himself and some of his men, as they walked (on foot) through one of the most famous ancient sites. There was no
leveling of hilltops and driving of heavy vehicles over the fragile paving of once-sacred pathways.as the AP UNESCO hit-piece alleges. The only ones who did that were the pre-invasion Iraqis. This particular marine was visibly awed at having the opportunity to walk down those once-sacred pathways. He was filled with respect for the site, and knew exactly the significance and value of the place. Did UNESCO even bother to check who was responsible for leveling the site? More likely they saw Iraqi inflicted damage and automatically assigned it to American forces.
