US Still at Risk from Terrorists and Fostering Corruption

Nelson did not see one either

"A former senior US Customs official has stated at a public forum held at the National Press Club on April 30th that while in government service, he did not see any real, actionable connection between terrorism and the antiquities trade". ('Waving the bloody shirt' Tuesday May 1st 2014)

Which is why the US is still at risk from infiltration by terrorists and organized criminal gangs. Time for the barrier of bubbles at US border to be strengthened by better vigilance. That's what Homeland Security is supposed to be doing. That this official did not see anything that was "actionable" does not mean the problem does not exist.

Peter Tompa, paid lobbyist for the antiquities trade, has "observed" that "antiquities generally make unattractive funding sources for insurgents and criminals who have access to far more lucrative items". Not having any contacts in the world of insurgents and criminals myself, I could not say from personal observation whether Mr Tompa's assessment of what he sees is true or not. Even if it is "not general", does that mean we can ignore the problem when looting and smuggling antiquities are used as one of the sources of revenue for insurgents, terrorists, criminals and other enemies of civil society? Can we just assume that because (we are told), it is "not general" that this means it's not a problem to be addressed by Homeland Security and others at all?

Mr Tompa has "observed" that "unbiased reports" (which ones are they? references please) "seem to suggest that most illicit antiquities can be traced either to “subsistence diggers” (typically poor farmers seeking to supplement their income) or that they were uncovered during road building or construction projects". Really? How did Mr Tompa and his "unbiased sources"  go about "tracing illicit antiquities" to the specific events which led to them coming on the market? Are they arriving in the US with labels on them saying "found by Manuel Garcia, 58, unemployed farmer, seven children, Casa Findelmondo, Ecuador", or "found by Juan DiGera, box scraper driver, sixteen miles down the A455 from Casa Findelmondo"?   Really? I think Mr Tompa is bluffing and having us on, once again. I do not think that what Mr Tompa is telling his readers is reliable information.

The whole problem with illicit antiquities is that the market is set up in such a way that as soon as they enter the market, all traces by which they can be linked back to a specific middleman, let alone digger, are permanently lost. This is why a seizure of dodgy artefacts in Denver almost never leads to a middleman in a Third World country being questioned, let alone have him point to a group of villagers who are then arrested as the actual looters (the Denver dealer gets off too, as they cannot actually pin anything on him, not being able to prove dealings with the criminals because all traces of that are covered up). This is how the illicit market works, and I say Mr Tompa is making it up when he says there are reports suggesting otherwise.

Oh, but please do, Mr Tompa, publish the actual references to these "unbiased reports" to which you refer. There are now a number of academic centres researching the illicit antiquities market that would like to see your (proper) presentation of the other side of the story. 

Mr Tompa furthermore suggests that there is no "cultural racketeering" going on (Cf Deborah Lehr, 'Cultural Racketeering and Why it Matters: Robbing the World of History', Huffington Post, 1st October 2013). According to Mr Tompa:

"To the extent there are any "cultural racketeers" involved, wouldn't it be far more likely that in a military dictatorship like that in Egypt, that they would be corrupt government officials?". 

No, actually not really. Mr Tompa with his rather black-and-white vision of the country (has he lived and worked there?) ignores the fact that that there are other players in Egypt far more powerful than 'the generals'.  I would suggest that if any "corrupt officials" are involved in any illicit trade (of anything) its more likely that it is as part of the activities of an organized criminal group (well-enough organized that their involvement is not too obvious) involving other shady figures from the business world and 'nomenklatura'. Mr Tompa accepts that corruption exists and therefore suggests regulation of the market is impossible. The rest of us see that fighting corruption must involve regulation of the markets which facilitate it. It is the people who buy the products of this illicit activity at the other end which foster such corruption.

 So, yes, let's fight any putative "corrupt generals" by intercepting any antiquities they might try to sell off in the USA. and if the documentation of licit export is lacking, send them back. Let US dealers and collectors join together in their resolve not to put money into the pockets of any corrupt foreign government officials, especially when doing so may even threaten US interests.