Narcotecture

Affluent Afghans make their homes in opulent 'poppy palaces'

"KABUL -- For rent on Street 6 in the neighborhood of Sherpur: 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 this district favored by former warlords and bureaucrats -- 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 ranks among the world's worst and is fueled both by an enormous influx of U.S. dollars and by the opium trade. They have paralleled a building boom sweeping this and other Afghan cities, fed by the donor money that has helped distort an economy of haves and have-nots."

This is absolutely to be expected, because this is the same thing that in all US client states, or in this case, colony, always happens.

Forget all the flowery language. Democracy, freedom, the fascists are just pulling your middle leg. Resource theft, drugs and power prejection are the driving forces. The pattern should be familiar to anyone by now - identify the target country (Vietnam, Kosovo, Columbia, Haiti etc), find a pretext to insinuate your influence (WOT, outside threats, earthquake etc), and remold the social situation, which seldom varies much. American client states will have a corrupt, Vichy oligarchy tied at the hip to empire, wielding a generously funded and ruthless security apparatus over an oppressed population perpetually kept in squalid poverty. This never changes because it's the preferred state of affairs. It's what US foreign policy aims for.

I'll say again what I've seen for decades - if you want to know what american life will be like in the future, look no further than our masters' handiwork in their client state acquisitions. Narcotecture coming to a gated community near you.