Thousands of stolen Iraqi artifacts found

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NEW YORK -- Roughly half of the 15,000 items looted from the National Museum of Iraq in 2003 have been recovered, said its director, who thanked American officials for assistance in restoring the building.

Archaeologist and museum director Donny George said law-enforcement and customs officials in the United States had intercepted at least 1,000 artifacts stolen from the museum in the chaotic days after the fall of Baghdad.

Another 3,000 or so artifacts have been found and secured in Jordan, Syria, Italy and other nations, said the museum director, an Iraqi-born Christian. However, he said, the governments of Iran and Turkey -- both neighbors with porous land borders -- have failed to respond to legal and diplomatic inquiries.

Many stolen Iraqi artifacts or their counterfeits still are advertised on EBay and change hands through channels known to collectors. U.S. law-enforcement and customs agencies say they are on the lookout for antiquities but cannot provide current information on interceptions or prosecutions.

U.S. troops, journalists and contractors returning from Iraq are among those who have been caught with forbidden souvenirs -- mostly paintings and small seals and cylinders that can be carved exquisitely and hidden easily.

"We are grateful to our friends and dear brothers" for intercepting the artifacts, Mr. George said Tuesday evening during a slide presentation to the National Arts Club in New York.

Much of Baghdad was plunged into chaos after U.S. troops captured the capital on April 9, 2003. As Iraqi troops fled, looters and professional thieves quickly overran the museum, which was left unguarded.

Mr. George -- like many Iraqis and much of the American press -- blamed U.S. military planners at the time for ignoring the history and culture of the country they had come to liberate.

But the museum director was much more conciliatory at the National Arts Club, where he told a well-heeled audience that he was "satisfied" with the level of financial and technical support to rebuild the shattered museum.

Asked whether the Pentagon had offered an apology for failing to guard the museum, Mr. George said U.S. assistance allowed his staff to rebuild the museum's offices and galleries, install new security systems and create computer networks where there had been none.