Bush's Cultural Advisers Resign over Looting of Iraq Museum

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 18, 2003

Bush's Cultural Advisers Resign over Looting of Iraq Museum

Three members of a US presidential panel on cultural property stepped down this week in protest over the failure of US forces to prevent the massive looting of Baghdad's antiquities museum.

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Three members of a US presidential panel on cultural property stepped down this week in protest over the failure of US forces to prevent the massive looting of Baghdad's antiquities museum.

Martin Sullivan said he was resigning as chairman of the President's Advisory Committee on Cultural Property, a position hehad held since 1995.

In the letter, which was released Thursday, Sullivan said the "tragedy" was not prevented "due to our nation's inaction."

"The reports in recent days about the looting of Iraq's National Museum of Antiquities and the destruction of countless artifacts that document the cradle of Western civilization have troubled me deeply, a feeling that is shared by many other Americans," Sullivan said in the letter dated Monday.

Two other panel members, Richard S. Lanier and Gary Vikan, alsoresigned because of the looting of the museum. They criticized the Bush administration of lacking sensitivity and forethought regarding the loss of cultural treasures.

The 11-member advisory committee is appointed by the president.

The White House repeated Thursday that the looting was unfortunate, saying the US military had worked hard to protect infrastructure in Iraq and to preserve the valued resource of Iraq.

FBI Director Robert Mueller announced that the bureau was sending agents to Iraq to assist with criminal investigations, saying the FBI was "firmly committed to doing whatever we can in order to secure the return" of the stolen artifacts.

The Iraqi National Museum, which housed a priceless collection dating back 7,000 years to the Sumerian civilization, was looted over two days following the fall of Baghdad last week.

In the absence of any security presence, the looters exacted what experts believe was a heavy toll on the museum and its collection, stored in 28 galleries and vaults, including the loss of perhaps 50,000 irreplaceable artifacts and the burning of museum records.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday rejected charges the US military was to blame for failing to prevent the looting, saying it is difficult to stop when looting happens in a war zone.

But antiquities experts said US military planners had assured them that Iraq's historic artifacts and sites would be protected by occupying forces. US archeological organizations and the UN's cultural agency UNESCO said they had provided US officials with information about Iraq's cultural heritage and archeological sitesmonths before the war began.

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