Baghdad Museum looting: putting back the pieces

This article in Lebanon's Daily Star seemed at first glance to contain little new -- though it does describe several international efforts to retrain and re-equip Iraqi museum professionals that have not gotten much press -- but I don't recall having read this before:

An undercover agent, Riad Hussein, was assigned this mission [of recovering museum objects] for a few months. His mission turned out to be very successful. He returned four artifacts to the museum from a list of 32 most-wanted objects. "I have unearthed the Warka Lady in a farm in a suburb of Baghdad and discovered the Bassitki statue from under animal excrements. I have risked my life for the recovery of the statue of Ea and the Braiser of Ninveh - and in return, all I received was a letter of gratitude. My superiors were decorated with silver medals. Good for them, it wasn't good enough for me," he sneered. Hussein was hoping to receive a financial reward for each object he brought back. But that was not negotiable with his employers.

Donny George is cited as explaining that money for rewards or compensation isn't available. It sounds as if someone should see that it is.

Posted by David on October 9, 2004 9:19 PM