Freedom is on the march! Business Booming at Baghdad Brothels!

[Ian David]

A Sexy Signal of Iraq's Recovery
February 28, 2008 05:19 PM ET | Paul Bedard | Permanent Link

It's a sign of the times that some see as proof Iraq's war-tattered economy is on the mend. Our people in Baghdad report that the, ahem, sex business is back in the saddle. The proof: Two brothels located outside the highly protected Green Zone are experiencing a resurgence in customers.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/

[samdogmom]

1. Sad!

Our culture on the march again!

I'm curious were there ever brothels in Iraq when Saddam was in charge?

[Ian David]

2. It depends on whether the human trafficking trade started before or after the invasion. n/t

[samdogmom]

8. Exactly--that's my question!

Do you think these things existed under Saddam? I don't!

What a great contribution we've made to the Iraqi society!

[Ian David]

9. To answer your question, yes...

Baghdad Prostitutes Fall on Hard Times

After decades of semi-official tolerance, prostitutes are under attack from local residents’ groups and religious extremists.
By Hussein Ali and Ali Marzook in Baghdad (ICR No. 92, 29-Nov-04)

The disappearance of the protection that prostitutes once enjoyed under Saddam Hussein’s regime has led to a vigilante campaign against on the world’s oldest profession.

In the vacuum left by Iraq’s still undeveloped police service, local residents and Islamic vigilantes are taking the law into their own hands to close down brothels and drive prostitutes out of residential neighbourhoods.

Prostitution flourished largely unchecked under Saddam’s regime, and officials not only turned a blind eye to it but also made up a large part of the clientele. With members of the Baathist government and security agencies as regular customers, prostitutes in Baghdad were assured protection as well as payment for their services.

After the fall of the regime in 2003, that protection disappeared and angry residents across Baghdad took matters into their own hands, forcing prostitutes out of their neighbourhoods.

In summer last year, people in the Abu Ghraib district west of Baghdad destroyed homes in a nearby gypsy encampment, where they said prostitution had been rife under the Baathists.

More:
http://iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=167190&apc_state=heniicr2004

[samdogmom]

10. Thank you!

With this information, I withdraw my comments about our country's contribution. However, I find it sad that this is the first "industry" to spring back up!

Oh well--I guess people have to live until they die!

[Bright Eyes]

3. So will they be catering to David Vitter, or does he only

like American whores?

;-)

[Turbineguy]

7. Didn't you get the memo?

Diapers were in short supply during Saddam Hussein's tenure.

[calimary]

4. Explosions are booming in Baghdad again, too.

But hey! Let's vote republi-CON and make sure we have a LOT more!!!

:sarcasm:

[Ian David]

5. Freedom is messy. And sometimes sticky. n/t

[calimary]

11. EEUUUWWW! Gross!

But funny!

:evilgrin:

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. Yeah, well, we're getting f****d pretty good over here, too

Thanks to MonkeyMan and his ilk.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. Yea, but to get there you have to stop and pay at Governor J Le Petomane's toolbooth

"Somebody's gotta go back and get a shit load of dimes"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbWg-mozGsU