Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4-14-03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=U-S/IRAQ/MUSEUM (S)

NUMBER=2-302203

BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST

DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The United States, under criticism for not preventing last week's looting of the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, is promising to take a leading role in protecting remaining artifacts, and prosecuting those who possess, or traffic in, stolen Iraqi antiquities. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

TEXT: The museum and its priceless collection of artifacts were virtually stripped clean last Friday, as U-S-led coalition forces, the Pentagon said, were preoccupied with securing Baghdad, and dealing with holdout loyalists of Saddam Hussein.

Now, Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States is reaching out to UNESCO (U-N Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the European Union, among others, on how to protect Iraq's remaining historical treasures, and will take a "leading role" in trying to restore the plundered collection.

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The United States will be working with a number of individuals and organizations, to not only secure the facility, but to recover that which has been taken, and also to participate in restoring that which has been broken.

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The State Department said the United States is working with the international police agency, INTERPOL, to try to intercept stolen Iraqi artifacts, before they reach the illicit world market. It warned Americans who purchase or trade in such items that they face prosecution under the U-S National Stolen Property Act, and other laws protecting cultural treasures. (Signed)

NEB/DAG/TW/FC