FOX TV News Engineer Charged with Smuggling Stolen Iraqi Art
*
FOX TV News Engineer Charged with Smuggling Stolen Iraqi Art
WASHINGTON - Several members of the media and a U.S. serviceman have been
caught attempting to ship Iraqi paintings, weapons and other war souvenirs
to America, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.
At least 15 paintings, gold-plated firearms, ornamental knives, bonds and
other items have been seized at airports in Washington, Boston and London in
the last week, according to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
Items seized in the military case were flown to Fort Stewart, Ga.
"These seizures should serve as a warning to anyone who would take advantage
of the transition currently under way in the newly liberated Iraq,"
Commissioner Robert Bonner said.
Benjamin James Johnson, who worked as an engineer for Fox News Channel, is
the only person charged or identified by the government.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va.,
charges Johnson tried to bring 12 paintings into the United States last
Thursday. They were contained in a large cardboard box that was examined by
Customs agents at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.
An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint says that Johnson, who
accompanied U.S. troops in Baghdad, gathered up the paintings at a palace
that belonged to Odai Hussein, one of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's sons.
The paintings depict Saddam and Odai.
An examination of Johnson's luggage also turned up 40 Iraqi Monetary Bonds
and a visitor's badge from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait. Johnson, 27, of
Alexandria, Va., has not been arrested but is to appear before a federal
magistrate next Tuesday.
Johnson initially told Customs officials he was given the paintings by Iraqi
citizens, then said he had planned to keep them "for decoration" and to
provide one to his employer, the affidavit said. It is U.S. policy that all
such items belong to the Iraqi people.
Johnson worked for six years as a satellite truck engineer for Fox, which
fired him after learning he had acknowledged taking the paintings, a network
statement said.
"This is an unfortunate incident and his supervisor took the appropriate
action for this transgression," the statement said.
Museums, businesses, government offices and homes were looted in Baghdad and
other cities after the fall of Saddam's regime. Among the items stolen were
thousands of artworks and other antiquities, some thousands of years old,
from Iraq's vast collections of items from Assyrian, Mesopotamian, Sumerian
and other cultures.
Customs bureau officials said an unidentified U.S. serviceman attempted to
ship a rifle, pistol, and AK-47 assault rifle - all gold-plated - taken from
an Iraqi government facility to a military base in the United States. The
items were seized last Friday at London's Heathrow Airport.
Customs officials in Boston said they confiscated several souvenirs,
including a painting, from Boston Herald reporter Jules Crittenden when he
returned Saturday from Kuwait. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office
in Boston said the decision was made not to charge Crittenden with a crime.
A statement from The Herald said that Crittenden declared the items and
cooperated with Customs officials.
Additional Iraqi items, including a painting, gold-plated emblem, gun
holster and knife, that were being shipped by several other members of the
media were seized at Dulles on Monday.
Authorities declined to place a monetary value on the items, but did say
that none involved in these seizures appeared to have been taken from
Iraqi's famed museums.
wakefield
coalition had never any intention to respect , saveguard , or promote Iraqi
culture. USA and UK ahve allowed 8000 years of history to be plundered and -
worse - destroyed . Destroying a ulture is a GENOCIDE. Sending
Evangelists as missionanries to Iraq is a GENOCIDE.
UK is helping USA and this is a very sad information , as far as
CIVILIZATION is concerned.
Until Iraq issues , the world thought Uk belonged to civilization.
"*" <windri...@yahoo.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
3ea768a3_3@newsfeed...
Chip Anderson
news:b97b04416bc0eaa6...@news.nntpserver.com:
> which prroves they were a rotten part of a rotten system, and that the
> coalition had never any intention to respect , saveguard , or promote
> Iraqi culture. USA and UK ahve allowed 8000 years of history to be
> plundered and - worse - destroyed . Destroying a ulture is a GENOCIDE.
> Sending Evangelists as missionanries to Iraq is a GENOCIDE.
>
> UK is helping USA and this is a very sad information , as far as
> CIVILIZATION is concerned.
>
> Until Iraq issues , the world thought Uk belonged to civilization.
>
>
-->snip<--
These incidents only prove that people like to collect souvenirs. Of
course the UK is still civilized. I think they're slipping up here and
there but there's still hope. After all, they did pitch in with us on
Iraq.
After we're finished with Iraq, they'll be civilized too.
The history is still there and now that we will be installing a
constitutional republic, the rest of the world may get to view this history
also.
I don't have a problem with Christians proselytizing among Muhammadans just
as I am untroubled by Muhammadans proselytizing among Christians. As long
as they (Muhammadans) don't resort to violence and other similar coercions.
--
---
Chip
http://www.chip.ods.org
"Oderint dum metuant."
- Lucius Accius
Roedy Green
wrote or quoted :
>FOX TV News Engineer Charged with Smuggling Stolen Iraqi Art
Jay Leno joked about this saying that no wonder Fox got such good
pictures of the looters. They were with them. He also joked that the
guy could hope to get a jury as fair and unbiased as Fox news.
--
Canadian Mind Products, Roedy Green.
Coaching, problem solving, contract programming for €30 euro per hour or fixed price.
See http://mindprod.com/iraq.html for links about the Iraq war.
Padre
wrote:
>which prroves they were a rotten part of a rotten system, and that the
>coalition had never any intention to respect , saveguard , or promote Iraqi
>culture. USA and UK ahve allowed 8000 years of history to be plundered and -
>worse - destroyed . Destroying a ulture is a GENOCIDE. Sending
>Evangelists as missionanries to Iraq is a GENOCIDE.
The People who did these things were caught by the US so the system
itself isn't all bad.
As for the Evangelist well they have 2 chances to convert those people
away fron Islam 0 and none. Iraqis should take what they have and
then show the to the border.
With comments made by a US senator "Rick Santorum" lately can see why
many countries don't want Christian nuts in their countries.
I hope it doesn't come to this but iraqis seem to have a way of
dealing with religious people they don't like.
Hello Man
> course the UK is still civilized. I think they're slipping up here and
> there but there's still hope. After all, they did pitch in with us on
> Iraq.
>
> After we're finished with Iraq, they'll be civilized too.
>
> The history is still there and now that we will be installing a
> constitutional republic, the rest of the world may get to view this history
> also.
I love your terminology: "we will be installing a constitutional
republic". It's like saying, "yeah, we're doing the installing of
government here, not the iraqis, and what ya gonna do about it,
punk??!"
How about, "helping the iraqis install their *own* government"?
Fact is, Bush lied when he said that their next leader is their
choice. Yeah, they might have a choice. A choice between a handful
of guys we approve of. Not an all out choice. If we actually gave
them their choice, like we should, they'd put in an anti-american
islamist. We will not allow that, sir. And the reason we will not
allow it, like I've been saying all along, is that the U.S. couldn't
care less about democracy - we want OUR guy - dictator or not. As
long as he's pro-US, he's alright. So much for our principles.
> I don't have a problem with Christians proselytizing among Muhammadans just
> as I am untroubled by Muhammadans proselytizing among Christians. As long
> as they (Muhammadans) don't resort to violence and other similar coercions.
Do you refer to Muslims as "Muhammadans" because you are unaware of
the fact that they consider that term insulting? Or do you do it
because you are aware and *want* to insult them?
Chip Anderson
news:b036f05.03042...@posting.google.com:
>> These incidents only prove that people like to collect souvenirs. Of
>> course the UK is still civilized. I think they're slipping up here
>> and there but there's still hope. After all, they did pitch in with
>> us on Iraq.
>>
>> After we're finished with Iraq, they'll be civilized too.
>>
>> The history is still there and now that we will be installing a
>> constitutional republic, the rest of the world may get to view this
>> history also.
>
>
> I love your terminology: "we will be installing a constitutional
> republic". It's like saying, "yeah, we're doing the installing of
> government here, not the iraqis, and what ya gonna do about it,
> punk??!"
>
> How about, "helping the iraqis install their *own* government"?
>
> Fact is, Bush lied when he said that their next leader is their
> choice. Yeah, they might have a choice. A choice between a handful
> of guys we approve of. Not an all out choice. If we actually gave
> them their choice, like we should, they'd put in an anti-american
> islamist. We will not allow that, sir. And the reason we will not
> allow it, like I've been saying all along, is that the U.S. couldn't
> care less about democracy - we want OUR guy - dictator or not. As
> long as he's pro-US, he's alright. So much for our principles.
>
The Iraqis obviously need guidance in forming a government. We are
responsible for this because we have taken control of their country from
the Baathists. Once we have accomplished this, they are own their own. It
will be a government of Iraqis for Iraqis.
Are you saying we should just leave and let the local powers fill the void?
That would indeed be a foolish and unjust thing to do.
The most suitable government is a federated constitutional republic. We
already have several examples and can apply the model to Iraq. Helping the
Iraqis to install this as their *own* government should take five to ten
years at most.
>
>> I don't have a problem with Christians proselytizing among
>> Muhammadans just as I am untroubled by Muhammadans proselytizing
>> among Christians. As long as they (Muhammadans) don't resort to
>> violence and other similar coercions.
>
> Do you refer to Muslims as "Muhammadans" because you are unaware of
> the fact that they consider that term insulting? Or do you do it
> because you are aware and *want* to insult them?
>
I refer to Muhammadans as Muhammadans because that is what they are.