Legal looting

According to the Pakistan's Daily Times the families of US soldiers killed in the 1983 barracks bombing are attempting to loot ancient Persian artefacts as part of their revenge against Iran.

At the time the US soldiers were part of a force attempting to occupy Lebanon following the 1982 Israeli invasion. The troops fled shortly after a militant drove a truck bomb into their barracks in south Beirut.

We could be forgiven of thinking this is part of a sick joke, but it isn't. Americans roam around the world killing, occupying and stealing (and destroying ancient Iraqi heritage sites)… why should we be surprised that their camp followers shouldn't be up for a bit of loot?

For the record there is no question of any compensations for the 30,000 Lebanese and Palestinians who were killed in the invasion.

Pictured is the prize they are after:

"Thousands of the tablets and fragments have been on loan from Iran to the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute since they were excavated nearly 80 years ago by university archaeologists. Each tablet could be worth thousands of dollars. Several hundred of the thick, candy bar-sized tablets have previously been returned to Iran."

For the full story go to the persepolis tablets blog.