Email to CBS News

Margaret Brennan's report on documents seized from a terrorist financier in Syria contains some serious errors. (see http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/isis-records-show-millions-raised-by-antiquities-smuggling/) 

First, the report states that documents seized from Abu Sayyaf prove that ISIS has made $100's of millions of dollars from stolen antiquities. However, the documents themselves only support a far lower number, $1.25 million. (See https://gatesofnineveh.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/new-documents-prove-isis-heavily-involved-in-antiquities-trafficking/) 

Second, the story again suggests that Apamea  has been looted by ISIS.  In fact, the city has been in the hands of the Assad government since the beginning of the conflict. (See http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-perils-of-limited-sourcing.html) 

These errors would be more forgivable if it were not that a CBS producer was on a panel at the MET event where these issues were discussed.

Michael Danti of the State Department/ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiative spoke about Apamea being in Assad's hands at the conference.  In addition, several speakers put far lower values on stolen antiquities. (See http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2015/09/forging-publicprivate-response-to-save.html)

All this begs the question whether facts are being distorted in order to help justify proposed legislation in Germany and the US that would create intrusive new bureaucracies to regulate the longstanding trade in cultural goods.

 
Sincerely, 

Peter Tompa