Bagdad Museum:

First of all, let me tell you that I am glad that the war is over with Saddam being removed from power.
I understand the danger of shooting at looters with relatively few troops present. Urban warfare might have erupted with lots of casualties.
But some things should have been protected by troops along with the oil ministry building, especially hospitals and the national museum.

That can't be too hard. Put a tank and three soldiers at the front door and that's it. When the Russians took Berlin they immediately secured the museums for example. They had cultural officers with them who took care of that. I mean scientists, experts in the field. Of course, Russia wanted to take some of the goods from the museums, so they had to secure them first, but that is beside the point.
If America can take reporters with them they could have taken cultural experts as well.

From what I read in the papers, American scientists had demanded from the Pentagon that this one museum had to be secured immediately because it is one of the six great museums in the world for the ancient near east. (The others being the Louvre in Paris, the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, the Museum in Kairo, the British Museum in London and The Met in New York)

A sidenote to the museum:
My father is an archaeologist. He has excavated in Iraq in the 1950s. He found the tomb of the latest ancient olympic champion in the boxing competition. It was a persian prince. In this tomb his boxing gear and his golden olympic branch were found. (You know, the thing that would be the gold medal today).

As far as I know, it was the only such antique award ever found. It used to be in the Bagdad museum which was looted. This is the only item from the museum I personally know of. Many way more important items are gone. The first traces of writing on this planet, for example. And what could not be carried away was destroyed: Great statues were smashed and so on.

One tank in front of the museum might have been enough.

Yes, the living are more important than the dead, so why weren't the hospitals secured?
You know, I don't want to badmouth everything the troops do in Iraq. It is great how fast Saddam was kicked out with few casualties. I am not easily carried away into cheering escapades, though when anarchy takes Saddam's place.

Well, it seems, that the neighborhood watches being formed are doing a fine job by now. Good, I cannot give merit to coalition troops for it, though. Basically, they faced the Iraqi people with two options: Let your country go to waste or protect it yourself.

However, I am glad that American troops have joined in by now, assisting Iraqis in protecting hospitals, patrolling the streets and stuff like that.