From: "John Beamish" 

Far too many reports suggest otherwise.

In addition, there were reporters in Baghdad long, long before "shock
and awe".  This would have been a big story.

"Glenn Meadows"  wrote in message
news:3e9a1f86$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> Agreed.  Who's to say that the museums hadn't been emptied months ago and
> moved to a private collection (maybe of his) somewhere, or somewhere else.
> I doubt that the artifacts meant much to him.
>
> --
> Glenn M.
>
>
> "Tony Ingenoso"  wrote in message
> news:3e99f54f{at}w3.nls.net...
> > The NYT is perfectly capable of repeating other's propaganda.
> >
> > Doesn't the 170K number strike you as a bit odd?   I don't see where
> ordinary looters will be interested in that sort of thing.  All
> > the other reports showed them hauling off more common household stuff.
To
> haul off 170,000 of anything within 48 hours will require
> > quite a number of looters and substantial logistics.  One can't eat
> artifacts and any that come on the market will be highly suspect
> > and compared against existing records for quite some time.  Its sort of
> like stealing the Hope diamond - how do you sell it or
> > profit from it once you've got it?
> >
> > My belief?  The place had been pre-looted quite some time ago by Saddam.
> It would not suprise me if we find all this stuff in some
> > sub-sub-sub basement bunkers in one of the palaces.  Palaces sprout like
> mushrooms over the last 10 years, museum closed for past 10
> > years.  Coincidence?
> >
> > "Judy Folkenberg" 
wrote in message
> news:3E99D4A2.C59E7747{at}mail.nlm.nih.gov...
> > >
> > > "Geo." wrote:
> > >
> > > > From the NY Times...hardly a propaganda sheet:
> > >
> > > "...it took only 48 hours for the museum to be destroy,
with at LEAST
> (emphasis
> > > mine) 170,000 artifacts carried away by looters."
> >
> >
> >
>
>

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