From a reader: ""QUESTION: The Syrian Government is making allegations that a
lot of artifacts have been stolen and taken across the border to Turkey. Are you
aware of that situation? In fact, they're also accusing members of the
opposition of dismantling factories and furniture and all kinds of things that
are just being taken across the border. Are you aware of anything like
this?"
"MS. NULAND: I think we are always concerned in situations like this, and we've seen it in other areas of conflict, whether it was in Afghanistan or in Iraq, that criminal elements, bad actors would take advantage of the chaos and of the violence to loot, to steal patrimony that belongs to all the people of the country, to spirit it across borders, and anybody involved in the conflict could conceivably be guilty of that, including members of the regime themselves.""
"MS. NULAND: I think we are always concerned in situations like this, and we've seen it in other areas of conflict, whether it was in Afghanistan or in Iraq, that criminal elements, bad actors would take advantage of the chaos and of the violence to loot, to steal patrimony that belongs to all the people of the country, to spirit it across borders, and anybody involved in the conflict could conceivably be guilty of that, including members of the regime themselves.""
