Iraq’s cultural heritage in ruins

This video is George W. Bush’s Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld making his infamous “stuff happens” comment following the fall of Baghdad regarding the rampant looting and violence that broke out in the aftermath of the toppling of the Iraqi government, in response to questions on how we allowed it to happen.

“Free people are free to […] commit crimes and do bad things”.

From Archaeonews:

Iraq’s archaeological and artistic culture is in danger of being wiped out due to a lack of protection and targeted assassinations, a group of archaeologists and artists have told Al Jazeera.

According to figures from the ministry of culture, 18 archaeologists and researchers have been killed since late 2005.

Fuad Rassi, an Iraqi archaeologist and professor of antiquities at Baghdad University, said: “We are unable to protect important historical sites and the remaining books and parchments documenting Iraq’s culture have been stolen from local libraries.”