[Peace-discuss] yet another US gov't official steps down in protest of Bush

[patton paul]

Bush's top cultural adviser steps down over looting of Iraqi museum

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The chairman and two members of President George W.
Bush's cultural advisory committee have stepped down in protest over the
United States failing to stop the looting of Baghdad's museum, sources
said.

In a letter to Bush dated Monday, Martin Sullivan said he was resigning as
chairman of the President's Advisory Committee on Cultural Property, a
position he had held since 1995.

"The reports in recent days about the looting of Iraq's National Museum of
Antiquities and the destruction of countless artifacts that document the
cradle of Western civilization have troubled me deeply, a feeling that is
shared by many other Americans," he wrote.

Calling the looting a "tragedy," Sullivan said that it was not prevented
"due to our nation's inaction."

Baghdad's museum, which housed one of the world's great collections of
artifacts from early Mesopotamian civilizations, was ransacked by looters
on Friday in the upheaval following US troops' entry into the city.

A source close to the advisory committee told AFP on condition of
anonymity that two other members, Gary Vikan and Richard Lanier, were also
quitting.

Sullivan is executive director of the Historic Saint Mary's City
Commission, dedicated to one of the first British colonies, in the state
of Maryland. Vikan is director of the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore,
Maryland.

Lanier is director of the Trust for Mutual Understanding in New York.

The 11-member committee is made up of experts and professionals in the art
world who are appointed to three-year terms.

Two are museum representatives, two are experts in archaeology and
ethnology, three are specialists in worldwide art trade and four others
are designated based on their areas of expertise.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that the United States was
offering rewards for the return of items from the museum, or assistance in
their recovery.

But critics have faulted US forces for failing to intervene in the
extensive pillaging of the capital and other Iraqi cities after President
Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed.

Likening the looting to a post-football game riot, Rumsfeld said Tuesday:
"No one likes it. No one allows it. It happens and it is unfortunate, and
to the extent it can be stopped, it should be stopped."

"To the extent it happens in a war zone, it's difficult to stop," he
added.