Why are property prices in Baghdad as high as in London?

The Green Zone breach is a reminder that Islamic State isn’t Iraq’s only problem.

Assassins' Gate, one of the entrances to Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, pictured in this file photo. The protesters who crashed into the Green Zone a couple weeks ago will be back in the streets soon, with their demands unmet, predicts Gwynne Dyer.Wikimedia photograph by John Crockett

Opinion

BY GWYNNE DYER

May 11, 2016

LONDON, U.K.—Property prices in central Baghdad are as high as London’s, even though Iraq’s national income is down by 70 per cent since the collapse in the oil price. Islamic State’s bombs devastate parts of the capital, and still the real estate market booms. Why? Because there is so much...

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