Looting

Looting is theft undertaken in the wake of war, riot or natural disaster. Sacking and plundering are more traditional terms which refer to looting by soldiers. The words "looting" and "loot" enter English via the British Army in India and the experience of some of its units in China during the Opium Wars. Opportunities to loot may threaten discipline in an army. Looting is associated with other crimes committed against civilians and other non-combatants. Looting also makes establishing the poltiical legitimacy of a miltiary occupation more difficult, a fact that is often lost on the leadership of occupying powers distant from the theatre of operations. When questioned about widespread looting in Iraq in the wake of the U.S. invasion, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed concerns with the phrase stuff happens [1]

References

• Jack Beeching. 1975. The Chinese Opium Wars. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. ISBN 0156170949.
• Joanne Mariner. "Liberation and Looting in Iraq." Human Rights Watch. April 14, 2003. [2]
• "The Looting Of Iraq: An e-mail interview with Paul Street." ZNET. May 4, 2003.[3]

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