Antiquities under Siege Cultural Heritage Protection after the Iraq War

by Rothfield, Lawrence; Alexander, John B.; Armstead, J Holmes, Jr.; Bogdanos, Matthew; Bouchenaki, Mounir; Brodie, Neil; Burnham, Bonnie; Carducci, Guido; Dziedzic, Michael; Farchakh-Bajjaly, Joanne; Feil, Scott R.; Gerstenblith, Patty; Gibson, McGuire; Han

• ISBN13: 9780759110984
• ISBN10: 0759110980
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-27
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

As Saddam Hussein's government fell in April 2003, news accounts detailed the pillage of Iraq's National Museum. The museum's looting grabbed headlines worldwide and public attention briefly focused on Iraq's threatened cultural heritage. Less dramatic, though far more devastating, was the subsequent epidemic of looting at thousands of archaeological sites around the country. Illegal digging on a massive scale continues to this day, virtually unchecked, with Iraq's ten thousand officially recognized sites being destroyed at a rate of roughly 10 percent per year. This book contains the first full published account of the disasters that have befallen Iraq's cultural heritage, and it analyzes why the array of laws and international conventions; the advocacy efforts of cultural heritage organizations; and the military planning and implementation of cultural protection operations all failed, and continue to fail, to prevent massive and irreversible loss. Looking forward, the book identifies new planning procedures, policy mechanisms, and implementation strategies capable of succeeding, so the mistakes of Iraq will not be replicated in other regions in crisis whose cultural heritage are at risk. Both archaeologists and policy-makers will benefit from this detailed study.

Table of Contents

The Case of Iraq and the Context of Looting	p. 1
Preserving Iraq's Heritage from Looting: What Went Wrong (within the United States)	p. 5
Preparations at the Iraq Museum in the Lead-Up to War	p. 27
Thieves of Baghdad: The Looting of the Iraq Museum	p. 33
Who Are the Looters at Archaeological Sites in Iraq?	p. 49
See No Evil: Museums, Art Collectors, and the Black Markets They Adore	p. 57
The Western Market in Iraqi Antiques	p. 63
Preventing Future Looting after Armed Combat
The Way Forward for Legislative Bodies with Respect to International Law	p. 77
The 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict: Its Background and Prospects for Ratification in the United States	p. 79
The Implementation of International Treaties at the National Level: Law and Practice	p. 89
The Way Forward for Legislative Bodies and Military Commanders: Beyond Implementing International Law	p. 101
Congressional Responses to the Looting of Iraq's Cultural Property	p. 103
The Chain of Command	p. 117
The Way Forward for Military and Civilian War Planners	p. 125
Bridging the Public Security Gap: Stability Police Units in Contemporary Peace Operations and the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units	p. 127
Italian Carabinieri and the Protection of Iraq's Cultural Heritage Carabinieri Unit for the Protection & Safeguarding of Italian Cultural Heritage	p. 135
Technology for the Prevention of Cultural Theft	p. 141
The Way Forward for Postwar Reconstruction Planners	p. 151
The Way Ahead: A Five-Point Plan for Future Action	p. 153
Assignment Blue Shield: The Looting of the Iraq Museum and Cultural Property at War	p. 163
The Role of NATO and Civil Military Affairs	p. 175
The Way Forward for Government and Intergovernmental Agencies	p. 193
Practical and Policy Considerations in Protecting Cultural Heritage and Preventing Looting during International Peace and Stability Operations	p. 195
UNESCO and the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Postconflict Situations: Efforts at UNESCO to Establish an Intergovernmental Fund for the Protection of Cultural Property in Times of Conflict	p. 207
Engaging Interagency Processes to Protect Cultural Sites: Communities, Authorities, and Capabilities
The Way Forward for Cultural Ministries, Departments, and Agencies 235
Governmental Agencies and the Protection of Cultural Property in Times of War Nancy C. Wilkie	p. 237
What Cultural Ministries and Heritage Sites Should Do to Prepare for Conflict	p. 249
The Way Forward for Cultural Heritage NGOs	p. 255
Preventing Looting after Armed Combat: The Way Forward for U.S. Nongovernmental Cultural Organizations	p. 257
International Conventions and Recommendations Related to the Protection of Cultural Heritage	p. 275
Excerpts from the 1954 Hague Convention and the 1954 First Protocol	p. 277
Policy Recommendations as of August 2006	p. 281
A Closer Look at NATO CIMIC Doctrine	p. 287
Technologies for the Protection of Cultural Property	p. 291
Suggested Further Reading	p. 295
Index	p. 299
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.