New look at the “war on looting”?

Incredibly, it has taken British politicians seven years to conclude something that it seems to me was obvious to anyone with half a brain cell from the start. According to the Guardian:

The foreign secretary, David Miliband, today argues that the use of the "war on terror" as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks has been a mistake that may have caused "more harm than good". In an article in today's Guardian, five days before the Bush administration leaves the White House, Miliband delivers a comprehensive critique of its defining mission, saying the war on terror was misconceived and that thw west cannot "kill its way" out of the threats it faces.

It took the British government seven years to conclude that killing to stop killing is a stupid idea which inevitably did more harm than good (no Mr Miliband, not “may have caused”). How long will it take them to decide that the way to stop the exploitation of archaeological sites as a source of collectables for personal entainment and profit is not to become “partners with” the people responsible?

So can we assume that only a government review which takes in the summer of 2015, seven years from now, will conclude that this was another ill-considered extemporaneous idea of the current government that did “more harm than good”? Until then, therefore, THIS will be going on (link leads to Heritage Action erosion counter).

(actually recent discussion in the UK is suggesting that as a result of PAS propaganda and media interest in Treasure hunting this causes, “metal detecting” in the UK is getting more popular, so this timer will be even more of a minimum indication than it is at present).

Let us have a proper survey of the effects of current policy on artefact hunting and collecting on the erosion of the archaeological record in the UK, now, not in seven years time.
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