“Ten thousand years ago, the foundations of human civilization were laid in the fertile floodplain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what was Mesopotamia and is now the modern nation of Iraq. […] Decades of political isolation, a protracted war with Iran, and, more recently, the invasion and continuing conflict, which began in 2003, have put this extraordinary heritage at risk. Today, such famous sites as the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, the ziggurat at Ur, the temple precinct at Babylon, and a ninth-century spiral minaret at Samarra have been scarred by violence, while equally important ancient sites […] are being ravaged by looters who work day and night to fuel an international art market hungry for antiquities. […] In response to such widespread damage and continuing threats to our collective cultural heritage and the significance of the sites at risk, WMF [World Monuments Watch] has taken the unprecedented step of including the entire country of Iraq on its 2006 list of 100 Most Endangered Sites.” (my emphasis) - story

Yes, we can really be proud of ourselves and of our follies.