[mburbank]

Truthfully, it didn't cross my mind. But it DID cross the mind of Martin Sullivan's mind, and the reason he resigned his Bush appointed position is so he could say so.

"Earlier this week, antiquities experts said they had been given assurances from U.S. military planners that Iraq's historic artifacts and sites would be protected by occupying forces."

I've heard this in several interviews. In more than one, Museum currators asserted there were US tanks and troops on the same block as the museum while the looting took place.

We secured the oil fields immediately, (and the buerocratic agencies connected with them! Those buildings we prevented from being looted!) but hospitals and Museums weren't on the list.

Don't get me wrong. I don't see this as a CONSPIRACY, I see it as a fuck up, and one we ought to admit to. I think the administration should say "Of course this is terrible. As the occupying power, we should have at very least tried to do something about this once it started. Failing that, we absolutely should have protcted the national library after the major Museum lootings occured." We can't do that though becuase as a nation we must never be wrong about anything.

Sullivan didn't resign because it happened, he resigned because we didn't try to stop it. And this is a guy appointed by the Bush adminsitration to what is a VERY plumb job for a Museum professional.