The Americans said in 2003 that they had come to liberate the Iraqis from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, which sought to acquire Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). Yet it quickly became apparent that they were merely invaders and occupiers who were after other goals, among them oil, control of the region and changing the balance of power there by force. But what none dared candidly say is that they were also thieves like those of Ali Baba, as they still are. The news item states that Iraq's Ministry of Culture is negotiating with US authorities to recover the millions of documents that were “transferred” by the US Army to the United States, but that the latter does not seem enthusiastic about fulfilling its commitments as per an agreement between the two sides in this respect. The news clarified that the issue regards the archives of the Baath Party and the archives of Iraqi Jews, both of which represent an essential part of the country's history and cultural heritage. It also indicated that the Americans did not allow the negotiating Iraqi delegation to examine the stolen archives because they are “classified”. The issue is not limited to these documents, as there are in fact tens of thousands of archaeological artifacts, which were systematically looted by American soldiers and shipped to their country under the supervision of their military leadership, and the fate of the greater part of these artifacts remains unknown. Yet the question that finds no answer is: why did US troops rob Iraq's archives and archaeology, and so openly as well? Did the occupation's leadership believe that defeating Saddam Hussein meant violating his country and looting its riches – as used to take place in ancient times when besieged cities would fall to invaders who would seize everything in them, or as the Nazis did when they occupied European countries and moved the contents of their museums to Germany or hid them in their barracks? Or did they believe that Iraq would never rise again after being destroyed and broken apart, and that the governments which would be established there would be overwhelmed by “gratitude” towards the Americans and too shy to ask them to return what they have looted? Certainly some remember the famous image of US soldiers standing in awe before the ruins of the Sumerian city of Ur in the Dhi Qar Governorate, a city that dates back to more than four thousand years. It is only natural for them to be amazed by so much history, as people who come from a “culture” dating back a mere 234 years exactly, one effectively established on negating the history and culture of the land's native inhabitants. Yet these United States quickly turned into the strongest and wealthiest country on the face of the Earth, despite the fact that it still behaves with the bandit mentality that prevailed in its early days. Iraqi officials had talked about Israel stealing valuable archaeological artifacts from their country, through specialized gangs condoned by occupation forces and using advanced methods unknown to security services in the countries which the archaeological artifacts pass through, and about the fact that there are among the looted artifacts a group of statues and engraved clay tablets dating back to Sumerian and Babylonian times. Some accused US occupation forces and the same Israeli gangs of damaging and obliterating Iraqi archaeological sites, especially in Babylon, and in particular those that document the military campaigns of Sennacherib, his father Sargon, Assurbanipal and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to besiege the cities of Lachish, Samaria and Jerusalem – a fact asserted by the UNESCO organization on several occasions. Israel has in the past committed similar organized robberies, when its army invaded Lebanon in 1982 and moved to Israel archaeological artifacts which had been looted either from known archaeological sites or been excavated by Israeli soldiers in the villages and towns of the South. A few days ago, Baghdad rejected Libya's request to the United Nations to conduct a judicial investigation into the US and British invasion of Iraq, under the pretext that this represents “interference in Iraq's affairs” and is politically motivated. But why does the Iraqi government itself not file a “cultural lawsuit” against the United States in order to retrieve the historical treasures that were stolen with total premeditation, as they are the birthright of the Iraqi people and of future generations of Iraqis?
