The New Pharaohs
An Egyptian national here in New York passes on some chatter from home. Apparently Cairo is buzzing about a wave of Iraqis snapping up property at some of the city's tonier addresses and in the nicest suburbs. Strangely, the new arrivals often have two things in common: suitcases full of crisp dollars, and employment experience with U.S.-funded "reconstruction projects" in their home country.
Hopefully not a scene to be repeated in places like Baku and Yerevan in coming years...
Hopefully not a scene to be repeated in places like Baku and Yerevan in coming years...
posted by The Cunning Realist at Friday, August 15, 2008
7 Comments:
I thought we were exporting _democracy_ to our allies with repressive ruling regimes like Egypt and Kuwait. Turns out our plan was to export the "Housing Bubble".
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20508.htm
Not the first time we've heard of Iraqis buying property around the world with bags of cash... remember those planeloads of cash sent over immediately after the invasion? It was supposed to provide quick funding-- read: no bureaucratic red tape-- that would help pay for reconstruction and so forth, until the Iraqi currency could be restablished. After a government audit we learned something like a $Billion went missing altogether. Meanwhile, Iraqis were buying property all over Europe...
I don't get it - I'd be happy to buy property right here in New England, hence keeping the dollars working hard in the good ol' USA - Who do I call to get in on this "reconstruction" racket?
Go on, take the money and run...
Okay, it's official: the Iraq war has now passed from tragedy into farce.
I get a lot of those Nigerian spam e-mails in one particular account, you know what I'm talking about, the ones where Madam Doctor T'mb'Uktu greets you in the name of God and explains that ever since the military junta shot her husband, the respected Bishop Generalissimo Ubuntu, she has been hoping to meet a kind and trustworthy soul such as yourself to help her transfer the Bishop's life savings of US$275,500,000 out of the country, if only you will give her your bank account details...
Well today I received the following e-mail in that spamcatcher account:
Greetings,I am Captain Philip Camberwell of the US Marine Force on Monitoring and Peacekeeping mission in Baghdad-iraq. On the 26th day of October 2007, we were alerted on the sudden presence of some terrorists camping in a suburb not too far from Karbala here in Iraq . After immediate intervention, we captured three (3) of the Terrorists, twenty-six (26) were killed leaving seven (7) injured.In the process of torture they confessed being rebels for late Ayman al-Zawahiri and took us to a cave in Karbala which served as their camp. Here we recovered several guns, bombs and other Ammunitions including some boxes among which two contains suspected nuclear weapons, one filled with hard drugs(cocaine) and the other four to my amazement contain some US Dollars amounting to $12.6Million after I and two of my junior intelligent officers counted them. I however used my position and with a help of an associate move the box consignment that contain the cash amount of $12.6Million out to an unspecified Security company locatated in Europe depending when we find a reliable and trusted person who can travel in a short notice on our behalf to the location for claim.I am in keen need of a Reliable and "Trustworthy" person like you who would receive, secure and protect these boxes containing the US Dollars for me up on till my assignment elapses here in Iraq. I assure and promise to give you 20% of this fund, however feel free to negotiate what you wish to have as your percentage in this business. Further details shall be given to you as soon as you acknowledge the receipt of this mail and your willingness to proceed with me on these respect.Capt. Philip Camberwell.
Do you think I should follow through? No? Where's your respect for The Troops?!
T. Boone Pickens wants your water : Well, it could be like T. Boone Pickens forming his own town, with 2 voters (his employees), and obtaining government funds and using eminent domain to seize your land, all for his sole profit. Guess that is what we are exporting to Iraq too.
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