Looted Iraqi Art Funds Terrorism
Art Patrons Buy Stolen Artifacts, Inadvertently Help Terrorists
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Play CBS Video Video Senate Hammers Rumsfeld In a contentious appearance before the Senate, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stood by his comments about the Iraqi insurgency and said that American policy there is working. David Martin reports.
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Video Baghdad Bomb Spree Baghdad suffered another wave of deadly attacks, and this month almost 60 car bombings have killed nearly 200 people. Kimberly Dozier reports on the widespread violence.
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Baghdad museum curator Donny George, right, talks with Iraqi culture Minister Nuri Farhan Al-Rawi after a press conference on the state of Iraq's cultural heritage. (AP)
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An Iraqi civilian walks through the vault of the National Museum in Baghdad after looting in April, 2003. (AP)
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Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
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Special Report War On Terror Complete coverage of the military's battle against terrorism.
Farhan al-Rawi urged UNESCO to help the Iraqi government transform 170 buildings - including Saddam's former palaces and other government buildings - into cultural centers, public libraries and tourist centers. Some are located in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi government and U.S. Embassy.
"Today, the Ministry of Culture is not in a position to recuperate and run the palaces," said Farhan al-Rawi, noting that guards outside the national museum were sometimes shot at.
The committee praised efforts by several countries holding Iraqi treasures for safekeeping, including Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United States. But it said more cooperation was needed from Turkey and Iran, which were represented at the meeting.
The cultural heritage committee, formed in September 2003, aims to distribute international aid to help protect Iraq's cultural treasures.
It has received $3.5 million from direct contributions and $5.5 million from the United Nations, said UNESCO's deputy director-general for culture, Mounir Bouchenaki.
UNESCO's World Monuments Fund this week placed the entire country of Iraq on the list of the world's most endangered cultural sites. It was the first time an entire country has been listed.
By Sophie Nicholson
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
