We are the Barbarians at the Gate, and not for the first time.
Iraq has hundreds of thousands of archaeological sites. Some 10,000 have been identified, but only a fraction have been explored. Any of them could change what we know about human history, as past excavations have done. Some have already revealed the world’s earliest known villages and cities and the first examples of writing.
So begins

As emailed to me, here’s a quote by Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trials, 1946 (from Nuremberg Diary, by G. M. Gilbert)
“Of course the people don’t want war ….. That is understood. But ….. it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
Every once in a while I wonder if, indeed, the form of government that offers the most equity to the most people is a benevolent dictatorship — rule by an ethical, moral, egalitarian individual who insists on liberty, equality, fraternity, on peace and freedom, on an equitable distribution of wealth. What is it about us humans that we seem unable to build and sustain that kind of sytem for ourselves.