It depends on how you count. If you group desks+chairs together with vases+cuneiform+manuscripts, we are now seeing the second wave of looting in Iraq. Still to come: US-imposed mass privatization of the Iraqi infrastructure/patrimony opening the Iraqi economy to foreign investment, but I digress. [And just sounded alarmingly like a lobster-puppet-wielding globalization protester for a minute, there. Just one of those fluctuations in The Matrix.]
Anyway, the second wave: journalists and soldiers, or Our Troops, as they're known on TV.
There's the guy from Fox who had 12 undeclared paintings from Saddam's palaces "embedded in his luggage." He's being charged with felonies, even though he planned to give "one to his employer." Oh, and he got fired. See a tiny picture, or the Getty press conference photos. TSG has the complaint and a photo.
And Jules Crittenden declared (and had confiscated by Customs) another palace painting, but didn't get charged with anything. A Customs official said the painting wasn't worth enough to trigger any penalty. (The Fox dude should've flown back through Boston.)
And remember how the LA Times reported that 3rd Infantry found $656 million in a bunch of sheds last week? Well, at least six soldiers are under investigation for lifting/hiding either $12.3m, $13.1m, or $900k from the stash. FWIW, the LAT guy, David Zucchino, is owning this story, with a detailed tally of how and where the sealed aluminum boxes--each with $4mm in sealed $100k bricks of $100's--and bricks went missing.
For the benefit of those whose last shock-and-awe came from applying buy-and-hold to dot-com-stocks, this US soldier is holding up a $100K brick. image: Rick Loomis, latimes.com
[Rule #1 of Three Kings: There should only be three of you. Rule #2 of Three Kings: You can say "don't tell anyone about Three Kings," but, hell-o, every one of you and your bosses has seen it. WTF]
