15th April 2012, 08:06 PM
Interesting topic. Am unsure as to what reminding British forces would achieve though as a hugely disproportionate amount of damage to heritage assets worldwide does not involve British forces. Issues with Babylon in particular relate to the behaviour of US forces if memory serves me correctly. There are some nations who get away with destroying cultural sites consistently and some who do so as a form of cleansing. There are plenty of academic institutions (and a number of commercial units) out there who have inflicted damage equivalent to that seen at Babylon on a daily basis. As an issue, I think it warrants discussion within far wider frames of reference. If we are talking about protecting assets from damage during conflict then it follows that we place value upon those assets. Why is damage inflicted by a developer any less of a threat? Are we suggesting that when damage is done by someone in khaki that it is a crime but when inflicted by someone wearing a suit it is progress?
It is virtually impossible to call armed forces to account for the murder of tens of thousands of civilians in a modern world where governments are shielded by Teflon shoulders and I have to say that until we have put a stop to that, I can`t really take this concept seriously. I can think of at least two nations who deliberately destroy cultural heritage and have done so for at least 30 years. One of them believes that they are exempt from international law and the other is desperate to join the EU. The former continues to avoid prosecution and the latter will likely be admitted to the European family very soon. Any archaeologists out there who volunteer to be conflict umpires? A kind of tank-battle watching brief?
It is virtually impossible to call armed forces to account for the murder of tens of thousands of civilians in a modern world where governments are shielded by Teflon shoulders and I have to say that until we have put a stop to that, I can`t really take this concept seriously. I can think of at least two nations who deliberately destroy cultural heritage and have done so for at least 30 years. One of them believes that they are exempt from international law and the other is desperate to join the EU. The former continues to avoid prosecution and the latter will likely be admitted to the European family very soon. Any archaeologists out there who volunteer to be conflict umpires? A kind of tank-battle watching brief?