Mesopotamia, mon amour. While we have previously worried here about the collateral damage the new Mideast war is expected to wreak on archeological sites in Iraq, some thought also should be given to the environmental damage likely to result -- which Eric Pianin, writing in the Washington Post, fears may be catastrophic:

Environmental groups and experts say a new war in Iraq could do even more harm to the region's environment and precious water resources and kill off dozens of endangered species of birds and animals--especially given the sophistication and fierce power of a new generation of U.S. weaponry.

"The first Gulf war was the biggest environmental disaster in recent history," said Gar Smith, former editor of Earth Island Journal and a spokesman for Environmentalists Against War. "Unfortunately, with advances in military technology, a new Gulf war has the potential to be even worse."

Hans Blix, the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, said in a recent interview with MTV that "to me the question of the environment is more ominous than that of peace and war."