Iraq: U.S. uses ur-symbol of civilization

Iraq: U.S. uses ur-symbol of civilization

Oliver Burkeman, Guardian News Service, Washington

When the Bush administration said last week that a crucial meeting of Iraqi politicians would take place "outside Nasiriyah", there was little hint of how powerfully symbolic the chosen location would be.

It may yet prove to have been appropriately ambitious - or foolhardy - that Tuesday's meeting to begin construction of a new Iraqi government took place at the site of the ancient city of Ur, arguably the birthplace of civilization and a name that has entered the English language as a prefix meaning "original".

A center of the Mesopotamian culture, Ur was the home of Abraham, founder of the Islamic, Jewish and Christian faiths. It was also the center of worship of the Sumerian moon god, Nanna.

A 21 meter-high ziggurat to the god was a famous monument even before it took on a starring role in the 1991 Gulf war, when Iraqi forces stationed two MiG fighter jets beside it to underline its role as a "heritage shield".

The site could be crucial to any future tourist trade in Iraq. But because of its proximity to the Tallil air base, where yesterday's meeting took place, it has been difficult to visit.

If White House strategists wanted to send a message of religious unity by choosing the supposed birthplace of all three of the 'Abrahamic' religions, they may have erred.

"If you're picking a place like Ur to make the link explicitly to Islam as well as Christianity and Judaism, this is going to appear more symbolic to people steeped in the Bible than people steeped in the Koran," said Bruce Feiler, author of the bestselling popular history Abraham.

Ominously, Ur was known as "the bureaucratic center of the kingdom, mostly known for tying everybody up in red tape", according to Professor Elizabeth Stone of the State University of New York.