We Plunder and Destroy an Ancient Babylonian Site in Iraq and We Might Apologize?

Well, we're down to just SIX wonders of the world, thanks to Donny Rumsfeld's boys...

Another corker of a story from Blah 3, this time posted by Stranger:

Historical site? Archaeological dig? Who fuckin' cares? We need a goddam heliport!!

A senior US marine officer says he is willing to apologise for the damage caused by his troops to the ancient Iraqi site of Babylon.

US forces built a helicopter pad on the ancient ruins and filled their sandbags with archaeological material in the months following the 2003 invasion. Colonel Coleman was chief of staff at Babylon when it was occupied by the First Marine Expeditionary Force. Babylon's Hanging Gardens were among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. [...] The 2,000 troops who were deployed there did immense damage as they set up camp amidst the ruins of old temples.

A helicopter pad was constructed at the site. The vibration from landings led the roof of one building to collapse. The soldiers also filled their sandbags with archaeological artefacts, just because they were lying around and easy to pick up.

The head of the Iraqi State Board for Heritage and Antiquities, Donny George, is angry and says the mess will take decades to sort out.

And what's with this 'willing to apologize' crap? The Iraqis are pissed, the Marines fucked up, why not just come out and apologize, already? Is this really that difficult??