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> The Iraqi government is building a dam wich will destroy the capital of the ancient assyrian empire

8 July 2005, 01:57

Uruknet recently posted an alarming article from the current
(July 2005) Art Newspaper website about an Iraqi dam threatening
Assur with flooding. This article was then sent around on iraq-meet
(and likely elsewhere).

It turns out that that article was written 3 May 2002 (see
http://www.arcl.ed.ac.uk/a1/stoppress/stop_1114.htm ).

The Art Newspaper mistakenly published this Friday without
giving its original date. I am writing them to inform them
of their error.

One thing that should make it clear that it is not a current
article is the text, "[w]ith the present shortage of government
funds because of the economic problems resulting from international
sanctions it is difficult to see Saddam Hussein being willing
to divert resources for a coffer-dam."

I don’t think that sanctions are what prevents Saddam from spending
money on this project these days. 8)#

A March 2004 article quotes an occupation official as saying "that
the relevant Iraqi ministry has put the project forever ’in the drawer’".
http://www.nzz.ch/2004/03/04/to/page-article9DW3V.htm [in German]
http://iwa.univie.ac.at/iraqarchive23.html [has English summary]