quote: Soldiers put Iraq 'war trophies' on eBay By Matt Smith CNN Thursday, March 18, 2004 Posted: 8:35 PM EST (0135 GMT)
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A year after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq, items touted as having come from Saddam's palaces have turned up for sale on the auction Web site eBay.
The seller of one secondhand rug lists the previous owner of the roughly 6-by-9-foot piece of carpet as ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Customers can also bid on silverware embossed with the Iraqi army's crest and a copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, which is purported to be from a Baghdad compound.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command told CNN that U.S. troops should have been prohibited from bringing such items home from Iraq. But the men selling the items say they had no trouble bringing them back.
Spc. Adam Dearinger, who is asking a minimum of $850 for the rug, is among those who brought home war trophies with no problems.
"We didn't think we were going to be able to get them home, but they said we could take 10 items," Dearinger said.
He and other members of his unit at first took rugs from one of Saddam's many palaces to soften their quarters in a hangar at Baghdad International Airport, he said.
Dearinger, 21, was part of the 3rd Forward Support Battalion -- part of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which led the advance on the Iraqi capital from the west.
"We went through about 15 or 20 different palaces," he said. In one, "There were 15 rugs there, and every one of us grabbed one and we took them."
Another Iraq war veteran, Brian Cramer, is asking $150 for a Koran he said he found in one Baghdad compound.
Cramer's unit, the 519th Military Police Battalion, followed the 3rd Infantry Division into the Iraqi capital as Saddam's government collapsed.
"We got up there to Baghdad International Airport, and then we went around -- the guy told us it was sort of palace hunting. We were looking for a place to stay," he said.
"I went in there and there was this room that was all blown up," he added. "I found this Koran and I found, like, a prayer robe -- that's what the Iraqis told me it was."
Cramer, who now lives in Pennsylvania, said he found two copies of the book in a section of the palace hit by a precision-guided bomb during the three-week invasion. He said he is saving the other copy for his 5-month-old son.
Both Cramer and Dearinger said the items they're now selling were declared and cleared by U.S. Customs upon their return home.
"They didn't say anything bad about taking the rugs home, or artifacts. They considered them war trophies," Dearinger said.
But Cmdr. Dan Gage, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said soldiers are not allowed to bring back "war trophies" -- only legally purchased souvenirs.
"Would this fall under that? I don't know," Gage said.
Dearinger said decisions about what was a legitimate souvenir were left up to individual commanders. But Gage said the regulations covering war trophies don't appear to leave much to an officer's discretion.
"How strictly that's enforced, I really couldn't speak for these units," he said.
Cramer, 24, was sent home in August after he re-tore a previously injured knee ligament while on patrol in Baghdad. He left the Army in October and is now studying to be a civilian police officer.
He said Customs classified his copies of the Koran "as a piece of history."
Dearinger is still in the Army, stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He's also offering silverware from an Iraqi palace for sale.
He said he brought home numerous items from the palaces, including crystal and a teapot with a woman's figure inlaid in colored glass -- "different little things I thought would be nice to take home to the wife."
I'm just a little bit pissed off. I'm hard pressed to feel badly for the plight of our armed forces when they engage in this behavior. It's plain, simple THEFT.
Can't the military prosecute this behavior? Not only does this behavior reflect poorly on the intentions of the United States, but it reflects poorly on the armed forces. Isn't their a statute or code in the military preventing theft like this?
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This has been military "tradition" ever since Alexander the great. This is not Theft; the owners are presumed dead, it is not taken forcefully. The men that they are taking from have shot at them and killed their friends.
Posts: 515 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Much like arbitration, I always thought the loosers of a war help pay for the cost of the war. Since I keep hearing reports that our troops are not being compensated apporpriately, I say more power to 'em.
What do people think of using Iraqui oil finance the war? We could buy it from the people at 1/4 cost. They get some money and we offset the cost of oil significantly for our Country.
Posts: 1034 | Registered: Mar 2004
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so it's a time-honored tradition, now there's justification
The previous owners shot and killed their friends. And were shot and killed BY them. Injuries were done on both sides, not just ours. And who needs money and the things more? our soldiers, or the Iraqi citizens? Our soldiers may not be being compensated fairly-but they need to take that up with the government, not try to rectify it by stealing things from people who need it more.
This is a war version of murderabilia, and just as disgusting.
Posts: 3493 | Registered: Jul 2001
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What would you honestly expect 19-year-olds with minimal supervision to do? I mean, go back and watch that video of the armor guys crushing a suspected looter's car -- these aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.
Posts: 1839 | Registered: May 1999
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Richard-does that excuse them? The boys will be boys argument is crap. They still do things they shouldn't and are still wrong to do it.
Posts: 3493 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote: This is not Theft; the owners are presumed dead, it is not taken forcefully.
So, if I enter your home while you're gone, armed with my M-16 (I don't really have one ), and steal your rug, it's not theft? Yeah, I think I might hide if I saw men with automatic guns coming into my apartment complex. Blame my absence for their theft? No, this IS THEFT.
quote: The men that they are taking from have shot at them and killed their friends.
Two wrongs, in this case, do not make the theft right.
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Since there aren't any WMDs to be found, we're now telling the world we went into Iraq to "liberate" it.
Yep. "Liberating" one piece of Iraqi property at a time and taking it back to America.
Seems to me if you're going to be claiming the highest of moral high grounds - something our president does frequently in reference to Iraq - looting undermines the credibility of that stance.
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![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
), and steal your rug, it's not theft? Yeah, I think I might hide if I saw men with automatic guns coming into my apartment complex. Blame my absence for their theft? No, this IS THEFT.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
