Monuments and Fine Arts in Iraq

by Lance Frickensmith

WITH regards to the looting of the main Iraqi museums in Baghdad and Mosul, the question that needs to be asked, — and asked again and again until there is an adequate answer — is, where were the responsible U.S. Army Civil Affairs people?

I am a former Army Officer, first commissioned into a Civil Affairs unit. Among the Functional Teams was one Arts, Monuments, and Archives. This team was tasked with “maintenance or establishment of protective measures for cultural property . . . including . . . archeological . . . collections” (Dept. of Army Field Manual 41-10, Civil Affairs Operation). While the Field Manual I’m quoting from is old, I cannot believe the sentiment of the message has changed in the current edition.

Being also a former Psychological Operations Officer, I recall how the Germans in World War II made big propaganda capital out of their rescue of the artifacts stored in the Abbey of Monte Cassino prior to its devastation in battle in February 1944. Every account of the battle mentions this. My old childhood ‘Classics Illustrated’ comic book covering all of World War II in one shot has a panel devoted this rescue, thus imbuing even the Nazis with some redeeming quality.

Contrast that with the images the world is seeing of us Americans, guarding the oil fields that fuel our consumer-driven materialistic society, while truly priceless artifacts from the dawn of civilization are looted or destroyed. So much for priorities of values.

While it has been said that nearly all of Iraq is one big archaeological site, surely a few of the most important museums could have been protected. A few Infantry squads could have easily done the job and prevented the looting. I dare say that arming the museum staff with a few pump shotguns with birdshot could have prevented it, with no loss of life and no threat to American military power.

So, where were the responsible Civil Affairs people?

The U.S. Army website shows Civil Affairs people functioning in country in a number of humanitarian roles. But it is not a matter of ‘either/or’. Civil Affairs Functional Teams are tasked with a multiplicity of activities. Where was the functional team for ‘Arts, Monuments and archives”? What exactly have they been doing?

---

Lance Frickensmith is an independent bookseller in Illinois, USA, specialising in popular and hard-to-find books about World War II. [Contact World War II Books.] He regularly exhibits at our Cincinnati Real History weekend