The Destruction of Iraq's Once-Great Universities

Harperdog writes "Hugh Gusterson has written a devastating article about what has happened to Iraq's once great university system, and puts most of the blame for its total collapse on the U.S. Quoting: 'While American troops guarded the Ministries of Oil and the Interior but ignored cultural heritage sites, looters ransacked the universities. For example, the entire library collections at the University of Baghdad's College of Arts and at the University of Basra were destroyed. The Washington Post's Rajiv Chandresekara described the scene at Mustansiriya University in 2003: "By April 12, the campus of yellow-brick buildings and grassy courtyards was stripped of its books, computers, lab equipment and desks. Even electrical wiring was pulled from the walls. What was not stolen was set ablaze, sending dark smoke billowing over the capital that day."'"

Comments

Re:U.S. is not to blame.

[SplashMyBandit]

Stuff got looted in Iraq with or without a US invasion. I understand you disagree with the reasons for going to war in Iraq but ffs you can't pretend Iraq was a paradise - not by a long way. The US may have bungled the war and left a mess behind, but it is still far far better than if Saddam had of stayed in power. Don't let your antipathy to the US blind you to the reality of what Iraq was actually like and would have remaind if not given an unwelcome (by the ruling Tikriti's; the majority of Iraqis didn't like the US, but actually tolerated them as an end to a means - most of the real trouble came from Sunni-Shia sectarian violence) course-correction this decade.

Re:That's one way to look at it..

[Totenglocke]

The US military are scum and soldiers are criminals.

There was no reason for this war and yet the US won't take responsibility for the consequences. Fuck the US military and those who support it. Scumbags.

And that's all very true - but it still has jack shit to do with Iraqi's looting their own universities,

Re:News?

[TheGratefulNet]

re-educate? their whole culture (islam) is not about learning. its about being force-fed, under pain of death, fairytales and myths.

give it up, guys. they don't want us and frankly, I'm quite tired of funding anything that goes their way. 100% pull-out and shunning is what is needed. economically isolate them and then let them realize that no country is truly an island.

until they want to join the world, isolate them. and I mean totally isolate the middle east. no more computer parts when their shit breaks, no more consulting, all westerners pull out, etc.

lets see how long they live on islam and islam alone.

education does not work when they refuse to join the modern age. they must first be learn that islam is NOT the whole world and the rest of the world is basically sick of their shit.