U.S. fought to protect Iraqi history, Marine says

Soon after the U.S. Marines seized the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon in 2003, Iraqi treasure hunters were picking through the ruins of a 2, 600-year-old palace.

Capt. Emilio Marrero Jr., a Navy chaplain, watched from atop a fortress wall with a few Marines and two Iraqi guides.

An Iraqi host whispered, "Ali Baba." Thieves.

Armed with little more than indignation and the cross on his left collar, Marrero hollered down in his Bronx accent at the looters: "Ali Baba! Stop."

A pair of armed Marines climbed down from the wall and drove the looters from the ruins.

It was a small victory.

It also was a glimpse into the difficult job of winning the Iraqis' trust while occupying the cradle of civilization. "We're trying to preserve this place, we're not trying to loot it," said Marrero, now the chaplain for Navy Expeditionary Combat Command in Virginia Beach.

Babylon sits on the Euphrates River, about 55 miles south of Baghdad and near the city of al Hillah. Its history stretches back more than 4,000 years and it's the site of the biblical stories of Daniel and the lion and King Nebuchadnezzar. The king built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

In April 2003, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force swept into Babylon and established a military base. Preservationists from Europe and the Middle East later condemned coalition forces for building on the historic site.

British archaeologist John Curtis inspected the site in 2004 and found substantial damage. Heavy machinery pitted roadways and likely compacted the fragile, buried remains of the ancient civilization, he wrote in a report.

Enormous fabric and wire containers, known as HESCO barriers, were filled with soil containing shards of human bones, the report noted. Nine of the molded brick dragons set on the original Ishtar Gate were damaged, one seriously.

Curtis, a curator at The British Museum in London, questioned the very idea of placing a fire base - with parking lots, a helicopter pad and office trailers - on top of archaeological ruins. "This is tantamount to establishing a military camp around the Great Pyramid in Egypt or around Stonehenge in Britain," he wrote.

Marrero has written a memoir, "A Quiet Reality," about his experiences in Babylon in which he disputes many of the charges leveled against the Marines.

According to Marrero, the Americans weren't the first to build at Babylon. Several years earlier, he said, Saddam Hussein built replicas of the ancient palaces and structures to draw tourists. Military construction occurred on those sites, and his Marine unit disturbed as little of the ruins as possible.

Marrero said he and other American officials worked to protect Babylon from further damage.

At first, Iraqis were wary of the new occupiers, he said. The curators and museum workers knew all too well Babylon's history - centuries of looting by foreign armies and colonial powers.

Much of the original Ishtar Gate, the deep blue, ornately decorated 40-foot tiled portal that greeted visitors to Babylon, is displayed in a German national museum. Other pieces reside in museums in Chicago, New York and Paris.

Marrero befriended two Iraqi caretakers, visited the site regularly, and became the liaison to the Iraqis. He won approval from the region's commander, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, to bring order to the site. The Marines expanded their security perimeter to include it and deter looters.

Marrero organized tours so troops on leave could visit the ruins with Iraqi guides. Thousands came, he said. A small souk, or Middle Eastern market, sprung up to cater to them.

Marrero said that by the time he left after four months, the Iraqi curators had come to trust the Marines. They reviewed Marine plans for new military construction and digging, keeping machinery away from sensitive areas.

"We were very conscientious," Marrero said. "I really felt like a steward."

Polish forces assumed control of the base in September 2003. About 16 months later, they returned the site to the Iraqi government.

Violence in the area has declined, and archaeologists and preservationists continue to supervise the site, according to a Marine Corps spokesman.

In January, the U.S. Department of State announced a $700,000 grant to launch a Future of Babylon project. It will bring together Iraqi and American officials and non-governmental organizations to plan for archaeological research, scholarship and, eventually, tourism.

The preservation group World Monuments Fund recently concluded that Babylon is still "deteriorating from neglect, insensitive reconstructions, and the use of the site as a military base."

Marrero, 48, now serves at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, tending to service members outside of combat. He has stayed in touch with Iraqi friends, and hopes the days of Ali Baba controlling Babylon are history.

"This is not just an Iraqi historical site," he said, echoing the goals of the Iraqi curators. "This is a world historical site. It deserves to be preserved."

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com