Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality And 21st Century Archaeology

In the wake of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, the extent of a systematic campaign of mass exterminations was exposed by the United States and subsequent Iraqi authorities. Shortly after the occupation began, the Iraq Mass Graves Team (IMGT) was mobilized by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Baghdad to undertake a large-scale exhumation and forensic analysis mission. The objective was to collect evidence in support of the prosecutions of former regime leaders. The 2007-8 trial of Saddam Hussein was structured, in large part, by the results of those efforts. Our special guest, Dr. Michael (Sonny) Trimble was the project director for this effort and he provides his perspectives on the excavations, analyses, and ultimate disposition of the results of the campaign for the prosecution's case.