To the editor:

The editorial “Priorities” (Journal-World, April 18) states, “It is fashionable and easy for people to blame the United States for virtually everything anymore.” No, the U.S. fashion is to deny all blame. The editorial asks: “Has any military commander in history gathered his troops before an assault or invasion and said something like: ‘Whatever the cost, we have to get to the local museum and protect it?'” The answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ That’s what the U.S. military did in World War II, knowing the responsibility of an occupying force to protect cultural property. The Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section of the military had this responsibility. The priority was shown and the duty done.

In Iraq, the 1991 Gulf War had shown the dangers. Before the recent invasion, the Pentagon, repeatedly warned of these dangers, promised protection. But after the U.S. took Baghdad, looting began of the national museum, and U.S. troops were requested for defense. When U.S. troops appeared, the looting stopped; then they left, and it resumed. Later, two national libraries and additional museums were looted and burned. The U.S. was careful, however, to protect the Interior Ministry (with secret files) and the Oil Ministry. The U.S. priorities were clearly shown.

The editorial states it would have been “tremendous if our forces could have moved in quickly.” No, it would have been their simple duty. Instead, the destruction of so much of Iraq’s and of the world’s cultural legacy is a blot on U.S. honor.

James H. Swan,

Wichita