As with the conquest of Iraq monuments and artifacts of invaluable cultural worth were a prime objective of, well pointed and well appointed, looters and arsonists.
In the case of Iraq organized crime came with or along the USA army; the Baghdad Museum was looted systematically and many of the loot is presently on the international black market.
Some very old Hebrew manuscripts are rumoured to be in Israel now!
The Baghdad Library was torched and manuscripts of historical importance were burnt.
( THE USA Armed forces were then encircling and protecting the Ministry of OIL and Mineral Resources.)
However in Egypt there was no advancing American army to co ordinate the action and it was up to Mubarak' police to free some selected criminals and point them towards the Egyptian Museum.
They were hoping and banking on an Army crackdown that would spread to the adjacent Tahrir Square.
IN both cases Arab heritage and Arab culture were, not incidently, targeted!