Investigator: Antiquities fund Iraqi extremists

[tanyev]

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The smuggling of stolen antiquities from Iraq's rich cultural heritage is helping finance Iraqi extremist groups, says the U.S. investigator who led the initial investigation into the looting of Baghdad's National Museum.

Marine Reserve Col. Matthew Bogdanos claimed that both Sunni insurgents, such as al Qaeda in Iraq, and Shiite militias are receiving funding from the trafficking.

Bogdanos, a New York assistant district attorney, noted that kidnappings and extortion remain the insurgents' main source of funds. But he said the link between extremist groups and antiquities smuggling in Iraq was undeniable.

"The Taliban are using opium to finance their activities in Afghanistan," Bogdanos said during a two-day UNESCO-organized conference on returning antiquities to their countries of origin. "Well, they don't have opium in Iraq," he said. "What they have is an almost limitless supply of is antiquities. And so they're using antiquities."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/18/iraq.antiquities.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories


How could they make so much money just selling the same vase over and over again?
:shrug:

[Fumesucker]

1. With "extremist" being defined

As anyone who doesn't like the US occupation..

Doh!