119 Number 74, June 2012 CULTURAL HERITAGE, ETHICS AND THE MILITARY Peter G. Stone (editor) Boydell and Brewer, Woodbridge, 2011, xi+228pp, ISBN 9781843835387 Reviewed by Umberto Albarella Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffeld, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffeld S1 4ET, United Kingdom This edited volume is the third of a Newcastle University (UK) series dedicated to a discussion of the role of archaeologists in managing cultural property in situations of conflict and/ or in collaboration with the military. The purpose of the book, as stated by the editor, is ‘to place the relationship between cultural heritage experts and the military into both a historical and a wider contemporary context’. The book begins with an introduction by Stone, providing a background to his involvement with the UK Ministry of Defence in preparation for the invasion of Iraq. This is a well- known story already detailed elsewhere (Stone 2005), and thus here only the main points of the debate are summarised. The chapter also includes a section that Stone specifcally dedicates to his ‘critics’ (Albarella 2009; Bernbeck 2008; Hamilakis 2009) and a commented summary of the remaining contributions. I will not abuse my role as book reviewer to respond to Stone’s comment on my criticism, but I do need to point out, as an aid to the potential readers of the book, that he entirely misses the core point of my argument, quite possibly because I had not explained it suffciently well in the frst instance. More generally, I wish that Stone did not insist on defning any word of criticism as an ‘attack’, as if we were involved in some form of military combat rather than an academic dialogue. There are other areas of his argument – which are echoed elsewhere in the book – which I also fnd rather unfortunate, such as his insistence that his opinion represents the majority view. This is an arguable, and suspiciously defensive, claim, particularly in view of the position expressed by the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) general meeting in Dublin in 2008. In addition, Stone (like other contributors) repeatedly confuses the refusal of some archaeologists to collaborate with the military (at least in certain circumstances) with an alleged, and in my view grossly incorrect, unpreparedness in debating with the military. The frst chapter of the book, ‘Still in the aftermath of Waterloo: A brief history of decision about restitution’, is by Margaret Miles and provides an historical account of plunder and restitution. Though interesting and beautifully written, it is only indirectly related to the subject of the book. In one of the most revealing chapters, ‘Physicians at war: Lessons for archaeologists?’, Fritz Allhof (a self-defned ‘academic philosopher’) discusses the ethical dilemmas associated with the involvement of physicians with the military, then draws parallels with the role of archaeologists. He is strongly pro- engagement and even justifes the possibility of collaboration in torture and the making of biological weapons. He believes that archaeological organisations should not express opinions on issues of politics and legality, therefore confning academics and intellectuals to the role of technocrats that many governments of the world would so much like to see. His is the sort of argument that would make people like Donald Rumsfeld cheer. In ‘Christian responsibility and the preservation of civilisation in wartime: George Bell and the fate of Germany in WWII’, Andrew Chandler discusses Bishop George Bell and his contribution to the debates surrounding military strategies during WW2. The chapter presents us with a remarkable historical fgure and an interesting case study, but the relevance to the book is very indirect. Despite the general title of Oliver Urquhart Irvine’s chapter, ‘Responding to culture in confict’, this will only be of interest to those engaged with the legality of keeping and acquiring library collections; its link with the subject of the book is tenuous at most. Chapter 5, ‘How academia and the military can work together’, is by Barney White-Spunner, an army general who has commanded British forces in southern Iraq. He briefy presents a history of the close relationship between heritage operators and the military through to the present-day ‘Operation Heritage’ carried out in southern Iraq. A signifcant omission in this historical overview is represented by the close collaboration that occurred between some archaeologists and the Nazi army as discussed by Arnold and Hassmann (1995). This is followed by a long, thoughtful and interesting article, ‘Archaeologist under pressure: Neutral or cooperative in wartime’, by one of the main participants in the debate. René Teijgeler has had experience of working in Iraq during the recent conflict, therefore facing personally some of the dilemmas that he presents in his chapter. His main focus is drawing parallels between the challenges faced by humanitarian and ‘heritage’ forces operating either during a conflict or, more generally, collaborating with the military. Similarities and differences are highlighted, and the possibility for such operators to be ‘neutral’ is explored. Teijgeler correctly identifies some of the key ethical issues, though I found the structure of the chapter to be, in places, chaotic, which detracted from the prose. Most peculiar is the inclusion of a section called ‘Medécins Sans Frontières’, where the organisation is not even mentioned (p.88). I found the logic of some of his concluding arguments also to be confused, with any ideological stand (such as an anti-war sentiment) interpreted as some kind of dogmatism that prevents open discussion. Pacifism is interpreted as feeding ‘prejudice’ (p.107). Comments such as, ‘That the military is, in principle, a bad employer is an untenable position nowadays’ (p.107), seem to be far more dogmatic than any of the anti-war (or even anti-military) positions that he refers to in the article. Chapter 7 by Katharyn Hanson, ‘Ancient artefacts and modern conficts: A case study of looting and instability in Iraq’, looks at the extent of looting during the 2003-2009 period of invasion of Iraq, as illustrated by satellite images of archaeological sites. BOOK REVIEWS