It may seem a bit premature for a country in which large chunks of the population are still without power, private homes, and schools, but a group of U.S. arts leaders have been dispatched to Iraq to survey the damage caused to the country’s cultural scene. Iraq’s global cultural significance cannot be overstated – this is the cradle of civilization, after all – but at a time when the future could not be more uncertain, many arts leaders are concerned that even the country’s most venerable institutions will have a hard time making the transition to a post-Saddam Hussein reality.