Bush Cultural Advisor Resigns in Protest

[Manu]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three members of the White House Cultural Property Advisory Committee have resigned to protest the looting of Baghdad's National Museum of Antiquities.

Martin E. Sullivan, Richard S. Lanier and Gary Vikan, each appointed by former President Clinton, said they were disappointed by the U.S. military's failure to protect Iraq's historical artifacts.

"The tragedy was not prevented, due to our nation's inaction," Sullivan, the committee's chairman, wrote in his letter of resignation.

Noting that American scholars had told the State Department about the location of Iraqi museums and historic sites in Iraq, he said the president "is burdened by a compelling moral obligation to plan for and try to prevent indiscriminate looting and destruction."

Lanier criticized "the administration's total lack of sensitivity and forethought regarding the Iraq invasion and the loss of cultural treasures."

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/....ap/index.html

[Snouter]

No surprise there since they were leftover from The Great Stain Maker's administration. They may have been promised jobs by the Democrat machine.

[Xenodamus]

Originally posted by Snouter
No surprise there since they were leftover from The Great Stain Maker's administration. They may have been promised jobs by the Democrat machine.

Nevertheless, their point stands on itself. The Bush Administration has failed to act on those issues despite from their warnings.

[QtrHrsmn]

Let's see. Choice between finding and protecting things the Iraqis can use to better their standard of living, and rebuild Iraq, or some dusty old relics, that have no real signifigance other than what we attach to them. The history that could be learned from them already was. That won't be lost. Now, they were just relics on a shelf. I DO think it's a shame, but HARDLY important.

[soylentgreen]

Originally posted by QtrHrsmn
Let's see. Choice between finding and protecting things the Iraqis can use to better their standard of living, and rebuild Iraq, or some dusty old relics, that have no real signifigance other than what we attach to them. The history that could be learned from them already was. That won't be lost. Now, they were just relics on a shelf. I DO think it's a shame, but HARDLY important.

I must agree. People are much more important than things.

Besides, I think many of the looters will eventually return the items they took once cooler heads prevail.

I find it interesting that people are more concerned about these items than they are about the biological agents that were looted from Iraq's weapons lab.

My last question is this...why the hell does our government have a "White House Cultural Property Advisory Committee" anyway? Another waste of taxpayer money...