Posted on 06/05/2010 10:40:34 PM PDT by gandalftb
KABUL -- For rent: a four-story, 11-bedroom dwelling of pink granite and lime marble, complete with massage showers, a rooftop fountain and, in the basement, an Asian-themed nightclub. Price: $12,000 a month.
It's a relative bargain in Kabul's version of Beverly Hills. There's a war on, but carnival-colored mansions are mushrooming alongside cratered streets and sewage streams. Vast outdoor chandeliers, heated indoor pools and acres of mirrored, skyscraper glass windows abound.
The grandiose houses, derided here as narco-tecture, have become the most obvious symbols of Afghanistan's corruption, which is fueled both by an enormous influx of U.S. dollars and by the opium trade.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“which is fueled both by an enormous influx of U.S. dollars...”
Sad. Our blood...wasted
The Compost is making a bigger deal out of this than it deserves. Part of the Iraqi idea of “corruption” is free access to liquor.
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