US damaged historic Iraqi site of Babylon: UNESCO

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2009/July/international_July764.xml§ion=international


9 July 2009

PARIS — US troops and contractors inflicted considerable damage on the historic Iraqi site of Babylon, driving heavy machinery over sacred paths, bulldozing hilltops and digging trenches through one of the world’ most important archaeological sites, experts for UNESCO said Thursday.

The UN cultural agency vowed to make Babylon a World Heritage site and prevent similar vandalism in future wars.

Once home to the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of antiquity, the 4,000-year-old city lies 56 miles (90 kilometers) south of Baghdad. Soon after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the site became military ‘Camp Alpha.’

American troops and contractors, notably from KBR — then a Halliburton subsidiary — dug trenches several hundred yards (meters) long through the ruins, bulldozed hilltops, and drove heavy military vehicles over the fragile paving of once-sacred procession paths, according to a report presented Thursday at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.

‘There has indeed been a considerable amount of damage,’ said archaeologist John Curtis of the British Museum, who inspected the site just after US troops handed it back to Iraqi authorities in late 2004.

[indepat]

1. With all that shock and awe, who woulda thunk it?

:P

[WCGreen]

2. Shit, I'm sorry. I meant to rec and hit unrec by mistake...

I humbly appologise...

[yy4me]

3. I have thought about Babylon since the start of this ill conceived

war. Our self righteous and despicable war has decimated a great deal of history. All that will be left when we finally go is a great deal of pain, suffering and sand.

[Canuckistanian]

4. Do the fundies not even care about preserving Biblical sites?

After all, the invasion was a "Christian" operation from day one.

Or is this some "fulfilling of a prophecy"?

[bertman]

6. The heathens of Babylon didn't believe in Jaheezus Christ so why should we protect their

old, worn-out ruins?


:mad: :mad:


Did anyone in the U.S. actually think that born-again Bush and his Christian Crusaders would do ANYTHING to protect those ancient ruins from destruction? I always guessed that they intended to pillage them for whatever they could find (not to mention the Iraqi National Museum which was raided and emptied), then do as much damage to these old "Satanic" sites as possible.

Recommend.

[Wednesdays]

5. K&R

:kick:

[scubadude]

7. There was an exhibit at the Oriental Institute in Chicago...

who's subject is Iraq Before/After. It has dozens of pics of various sites before the war, and after it. Soldiers digging up archeological ruins to fill sand bags. Part of the problem is also looting, where folks previously held in check by Sadaam suddenly had no restraint and dug up hundreds of sites to pillage. The exhibit was simply stunning and very sad.

http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/special/catastrophe/summary.html

Scuba