Made to Order News? -- "Looters Destroying Ancient Treasures"

This story showed up on the IraqCrisis list today: http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=345785&apc_state=henpicr

The "Institute for War and Peace Reporting" posted the report. I for one can't help but wonder about the timing. Archaeologists who excavated in Iraq during the Saddam years have expressed outrage about recent Art Newspaper and Wall Street Journal reports suggesting that they had exaggerated the extent of looting of archaeological sites. Only one thing is certain. No doubt one's prejudices one way or the other will strongly influence their conclusions.