In a perfect world, the situation in Iraq would have unfolded quite differently. Freed from their Baathist masters, the people would have taken stock of their cities and formed bucket brigades, set up homeless aid centers, and having secured food and water they would have begun the laborious process of clearing away bomb damage and reestablishing their cities' infrastructures.

But none of that happened. Instead, we've seen lawless rampaging sprees in a post-apocalyptic nightmare. And then, of course, they blamed us for it. Same thing happened in LA's South Central district, where rioters torched their own markets and stores after looting them bare, then wandered around looking for someone to pin the carnage on, pointing the finger everywhere but at themselves.

I'd very much like to believe that there's something more to civilization than armed police. It can't be that fragile. When the Titanic starts to sink, I want to think that the men will gently assist the women and children into the lifeboats first before securing their own safety—no, emphatically no, those days aren't "long gone by," we haven't lost those values and we aren't the kind of people who would trample grandmothers underfoot in a mad dash for the exits. Yet the cynic in me can readily picture my neighbors sacking the local WalMart and Sam's Club, and laughing while they do it.

What we have seen in Iraq, however, indicates that the lower down the economic scale you go, the closer you get to the mindset of the looter. This is entirely consistent with sociological observations that correlate wealth (or poverty) with the ability to look beyond short-term goals. If you're the kind of person that plans for the future and postpones immediate gratification for larger objectives, you'll tend to defend social order when the chips are down; conversely, if you live paycheck-to-paycheck and obey the ID-muse of self-indulgence, you'll have a great career in your local roving band of pillagers.

Welcome Home

Here's some good news from the Washington Post: Seven Missing American Troops Rescued . Advancing Marines discovered the POWs, who appear to be two airmen and five members of Jessica Lynch's maintenance unit close to the town of Samarrah, about 70 miles north of Baghdad. This is preliminary, however, and their names haven't yet been given to the press:

The rescued prisoners, who were described as U.S. Army soldiers but not officially identified, were reported in good condition, although two had suffered gunshot wounds, the officers said. The soldiers were flown to a military medical facility near Baghdad.

On that note, I caught this in my local paper last Wednesday, in a story titled "Iraqi Forces Overwhelmed," about the defenders of the last bridges leading into Baghdad:

Despite the display of resistance—U.S. officers saluted the Iraqi fighters for their determination—government authority appeared to be collapsing rapidly...

Shia Madness

Back to the looters, the sacking of the Baghdad museum has been an appalling tragedy committed by mindless lunatics.

Here you see the museum's deputy director, Nabhal Amin, and her husband touring the devasted remains of over 5,000 years of recorded history. "If there were five American soldiers at the door, everything would have been fine," Amin said. Just a partial listing of the damage is enough to make anyone weep.

Even storage rooms and workshops were trashed. An old Babylonian wooden harp was broken in two and its gold inlay scraped off. But most inexplicable to her was the destruction of rooms that contained no artifacts, just archaeological records and photographs.

"I cannot understand this," she said. "This was crazy. This was our history. Our glorious history. Why should we destroy it?"

"They wanted to let these robberies happen so the Iraqi people will be bankrupt and they will need American assistance," said Mehdi Zuemi, a clerk in the Foreign Ministry who observed his office being destroyed today. "They'll use our oil to pay for it."

The reality, which the Americans—and, of course, Mr Rumsfeld—fail to understand is that under Saddam Hussein, the poor and deprived were always the Shia Muslims, the middle classes always the Sunnis, just as Saddam himself was a Sunni. So it is the Sunnis who are now suffering plunder at the hands of the Shia.

The Love Shack

Lots of coverage about the discovery of Saddam's playboy pad, which looks like something out of an Austin Powers movie. Turns out Big Daddy was quite the booty hunter himself. The following linked stories have photos of the place, although none of them show the navy-blue shag carpeting. Nice shots of the artwork here at SF Gate, and also here at Yahoo.

11:19:06 AM