Protecting the past in Iraq

Interesting profile in yesterday's Boston Globe of John Russell -- an archeologist whose name was much in the news during the Iraq war (some citations here).

Russell is still very much involved with preservation of Iraq's archeological heritage. For those who remember how the art historical community reacted to the war, note the following, about Russell's current work for the new Iraqi government:

It is a job other American archeologists, reluctant to partner with the US government and loathe to take time from their research, shied away from and for which Russell is especially well suited. Much of his day-to-day work in Iraq is bureaucratic drudgery, such as negotiating contracts to revamp the devastated national museum. But by the time he leaves this month, Russell intends to have the museum ready to reopen, thanks to a $1.7 million grant from the US State Department. And the atmosphere for the staff is vastly changed. Before the US invasion, he says, museum personnel put themselves in danger speaking their minds. Now, things are opening up. Asked how he feels about working for the US government, he retorts: "I'm working for the Iraqi government -- that's why I took this job."

The past months have mellowed his criticism of the United States' actions during the early days of the invasion. Initial reports that all of the Iraq Museum's artifacts were stolen proved exaggerated, though some 13,000 items that vanished in the days immediately following the American assault on Baghdad remain missing. "It is fair to say the US military could have done more," he says, "but I can't pretend to know what should have been done."

Posted by David on April 5, 2004 9:40 AM