Babylon damaged in war

I just mentioned that Sadam had been rebuilding this city as a pet project in the previous entry. This article makes mention of that fact at the end.

At any rate, the United States and Poland are being blamed for damage to this historical city. Allegations are that we crushed 2,600-year-old pavements with our military vehicles.

January 18, 2005 - 8:17AM "If it wasn't for the Americans, Babylon would have been looted like all other museums in Iraq ... and we would now be buying back Babylon artefacts on bazaars and markets," he said.

Polish Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski made that statement in our defense. It's very likely a true statement.

"Babylon is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world and the damage caused by the military camp is a further blow for the cultural heritage of Iraq," John Curtis, keeper of the museum's Ancient and Near East department, said in the report.

I think this guy needs to chill out. I agree that it is a very prestigious site. It proves biblical history and is an amazing testament to early civilization. However, this comment of his becomes personal - as if we intend to deal blows to Iraq's cultural heritage. This city not only belongs to Iraq's cultural heritage since it happens to be located in their present-day country, but it is a heritage in art, story-telling and knowledge to biblical scholars, historians, and archaelogists...to name a few.