NATO, Cultural Heritage and the Way Forward’ with Dr Laurie Rush

In recent years cultural heritage, or rather the threat of its destruction, has become weaponized as a means of terrorizing communities, gaining global attention, radicalizing followers, and propagating cultural genocide. How should military forces and organizations such as NATO respond to this increasingly sophisticated use of cultural heritage as a strategic weapon in contemporary conflicts? In this lecture, Dr. Laurie Rush will analyze the challenges that face us today in protecting cultural heritage and preserving community identity during war.

Dr. Laurie Rush is an Anthropologist and Archaeologist who has served as a US Army civilian for over twenty years managing Cultural Resources at Fort Drum, NY. and serving as Native American Affairs Liaison. Dr. Rush was the military liaison for the return of the Mesopotamian City of Ur to the Iraqi People in 2009, represented US Central Command at Environmental Shuras in Kabul in 2010, and analyzed cultural property protection lessons learned from the Iraq and Afghan conflicts for the US Central Command Environmental Program. Dr. Rush is internationally recognized as a specialist concerning the importance of military education and operations planning for cultural property protection in crisis areas.