Whether even such a goal, like the overthrow of Saddam's regime because of chemical weapons have not found - to justify civilian casualties? According to the Agency "flag", for the fighting killed about 1300 residents Iraqi cities. However - and this is even before the war was worried UNESCO - marauders looted treasures of the National Museum in Baghdad.

And it can be qualified as a violation of the Geneva Convention, on which the occupying troops are obliged to maintain order and to respect human rights in the occupied territories. The result is lost may be thousands of artifacts that bear witness to the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia.

Chief curator of the Iraqi National Museum Nahhal Amin burst into tears when he saw that the looters had done with the Museum. The floor is strewn with the rubble of the destroyed statues. Broken shop Windows. Most likely, the axe. Stolen 170 thousand Antiques - exhibits, Dating back millennia.

"I can't believe your eyes! Lost all my favorite pieces! I seem to have lost a second family!" - crying Nahhal Amin.

Burglars penetrated even in Museum storerooms, which installed steel door, as in Bank vaults. What can we say about the wooden doors? One of them - antique - broke and took in the sight of the staff of the Museum. The abductors failed.

With the connivance of the us military crowd of looters ransacked the national Museum in Baghdad - the main storehouse of monuments of ancient history not only of Iraq, but for all mankind. For 80 years there were presented unique works of culture. In order to see one of the seven wonders of the world - the hanging gardens of Babylon, Sumerian cuneiform, the very first books - the clay tablets of the oldest and largest library in Iraq was visited by scientists and tourists from all over the world. After all, "History begins at Sumer" was the title of his book, which became a bestseller, respected archaeologist and philologist Samuel Kramer. Sumerian state is present territory of Basra, in which a few days ago there were fierce street battles. Where before Christ appeared the earliest of the great civilizations. In addition to the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian. Here the writing was born and agriculture. According to the Bible, Noah, there was built the ark, and the inhabitants of Babylon - its famous tower.

"For many years there are archeological expedition, and all of found objects of world importance remained in the Museum. It's a huge Treasury of masterpieces and materials for historians" - said the Director of the St. Petersburg Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky.

According to him, these losses for the world culture irreplaceable. One of the leading Russian Arabists, he visited Iraq. And just two weeks ago on behalf of the Ministry of culture the Hermitage Director made a list of the largest cultural monuments located on the territory of Iraq. This list was sent to UNESCO and handed over to the Americans.

"Monuments of culture is the first thing, and to protect their need in the second place after human lives. This is absolutely necessary, because it separates us from the animals. Rob can and animals, to protect only the people", - said Mikhail Piotrovsky.

According to Deputy Director of the Baghdad Museum, if Americans drove one tank and at least a couple of soldiers, nothing would have happened. "I think, " says Nahhal Amin,that American troops are in charge of what happened. They did nothing to protect the value".

"We had tanks to supply immediately, and not only at the Palace of the President, but also at two or three places that should be preserved" - I agree with her Mikhail Piotrovsky.

That looted Iraqi national Museum, said all leading world agencies. Operational reports ended like this: "the Baghdad Museum had one of the richest archaeological collections". That's right - "possessed". In the past tense.

Gulya Baltaeva