Arts and Arms: An Examination of the Looting of the National Museum of Iraq

Abstract

In April 2003, the National Museum of Iraq was extensively looted. At the time, the United States was an occupying power of Iraq and subsequently bore the brunt of considerable international press speculation that the United States was, at best, ill-prepared to protect the museum and, at worst, indifferent to the devastation wrought upon the considerable number of priceless artifacts. Beyond international dismay, however, lay the possibility that the United States was bound by both custom and treaty to protect Iraq’s cultural property. Though the damage to the artifacts may be irreparable, there are solutions available to the United States that serve to both remedy past and protect against future destruction and loss of cultural property.