Can we do something about this?

Big cats are starving in the Baghdad zoo (or what's left of it, anyway).

You know, if they let the big cats out of their cages, too, the looters would probably cease to be a problem.

Still--we need to get humanitarian aid in and some stability in place, too. I think the US forces (and everyone else) were somewhat caught off guard by how quickly the regime in Iraq fell. The troops cannot be expected to fight fires (as in the trashed and burned National Library), etc.--they do not have the training or the equipment to do so. Neither do the majority of Iraqis. But the Coalition administrations better get some people in there soon to prevent further crises. Let's worry about who gets to rule what/UN role/who to blame/who pays for it later. People are dying. Priceless cultural treasures are being destroyed. I've never experienced true anarchy, and so it just flabbergasts me that anyone would destroy these sorts of targets, along with hospitals. It's one thing to be scrounging for your survival. It's another thing altogether to be killing your society in a free-for-all. But those of us who do have the resources should do what we can. I guess what is needed, though, is an organisation that can get the money and materials to where they need to be before it's too late.