The signatories of the letter have expressed their concern over the damage and loss inflicted on the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad and other museums, libraries and archives, the looting of archaeological sites, and the damage to historic monuments that took place during the war and subsequent occupation.

UNESCO: UK National Commission for UNESCO :: Destruction of Cultural Heritage should not be left out of Iraq Inquiry

The exhibition charts the looting of the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad and the continuing looting of archaeological sites in the country.

UNESCO: UK National Commission for UNESCO :: Launch of Catastrophe! The Looting and Destruction of Iraq's Past

Brownfield lent them books on American art and heard tales of heartbreak at watching the looting of ancient treasures from Iraq's national museum.

FORBES: Smart Collecting

Some 20, 000 pieces--including arms, armour, ceramics, earthenware, seals and decorative arts from ancient Persia, Mamluk Egypt and the Mughal emperors in India and Kuwait of the Bronze Age--were packed in crates and driven to the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad in a 17-lorry convoy.

FORBES: Connoisseur's Guide

This has prompted ominous comparisons to postinvasion Iraq, where the collapse of security led to much-publicized looting of the National Museum, along with ancient sites such as Babylon and Nineveh.

WSJ: Saving Syria | by Christian C. Sahner