Word: iraqi
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...chat first about the reopening of the Iraqi museum recently in Baghdad. When you saw that on the news, what was on you mind...
...time until opening for a day in 2003 and then until this opening. [It's] only been open fewer than a half dozen times and never open to the general public. The museum itself, in the last several decades has been called Saddam's gift shop by the average Iraqi. (See pictures of treasure hunting in Afghanistan...
...devastated, closed, sealed-shut museum that had been looted by neighborhood residents, government officials and some museum staff members - to today where it's able to open a couple of galleries for a couple of hours relied almost exclusively on the extraordinary heroism, conscientiousness and integrity of the Iraqi people. From April of 2003 until November 2003 - the last time I physically hand-counted the items - almost 2000 different antiquities stolen from the museum were returned to the museum under our amnesty program by almost 2000 Iraqis. That's exceptional; that's courage...
...also took some courage on the part of the Iraqi government. There is controversy within the government. The minister of culture believes that the museum should not be opened until all galleries are able to be opened and the security situation improves. That's a legitimate, fair argument. I disagree with that argument, but it's a fair one. The ministry of tourism and antiquities, on the other hand, shares my belief, which is: open it today, one gallery for one hour. And tomorrow it's one gallery for two hours. And on and on. And you enable...
...Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, encouraging them to return to mainstream politics. But Iraq isn't a place with short memories. Reconciliation is difficult in a land where the 1,400-year-old Shi'ite-Sunni schism is still very much alive. Gone are the days when some Iraqi men carried three national identification cards - one listing their name as Omar (a predominantly Sunni name), another as Ali (predominantly Shi'ite) and a third as Ammar (which can be either). Still, few families have trickled back to the homes they fled in areas that witnessed the fiercest sectarian cleansing...