Items from his palaces and such have been seen on ebay for over two years this is nothing new.
Saddam curios for sale online
Soldiers put Iraq 'war trophies' on eBay
I know that is some cases such as one item purported to be from the statue in the center of Baghdad were believed to be fake and ebay ordered them
removed.
I also recall some mention a while back from the US where they stated they had taken action to recover stolen artifacts that were allegedly removed by
US forces, which once recovered were then returned to Iraq.
I am sure this is not considered legal however you have to keep in mind that the Iraqis themselves did a lot of looting of palaces also and then sold
those items for profit to US forces. Under those conditions one could assume they would have to determine who took the items in the first place.
The second source indicates it is unlawful to bring back stolen items however it is legal to bring back items that were purchased.
Both Cramer and Dearinger said the items they're now selling were declared and cleared by U.S. Customs upon their return home.
"They didn't say anything bad about taking the rugs home, or artifacts. They considered them war trophies," Dearinger said.
But Cmdr. Dan Gage, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said soldiers are not allowed to bring back "war trophies" -- only legally purchased
souvenirs.
Soldiers put Iraq 'war trophies' on eBay