forked from codelucas/newspaper
-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
Expand file tree
/
Copy pathbusinessweek.com1.html
More file actions
978 lines (877 loc) · 75.1 KB
/
Copy pathbusinessweek.com1.html
File metadata and controls
978 lines (877 loc) · 75.1 KB
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
<!DOCTYPE html>
<!--[if lt IE 7]> <html class="ie6 no-js light_layout" lang="en"> <![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]> <html class="ie7 no-js light_layout" lang="en"> <![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 8]> <html class="ie8 no-js light_layout" lang="en"> <![endif]-->
<!--[if gt IE 8]><!-->
<html class='no-js light_layout' lang='en'>
<!--<![endif]-->
<head>
<title>Afghanistan's New Rich Navigate U.S. Pullout - Businessweek</title>
<meta content='BW' name='source'>
<meta content='article' name='content_type'>
<meta content="Can Afghanistan's nouveaux riches stay rich after the U.S. pulls out?" name='description'>
<meta content='Mujib Mashal' name='author'>
<meta content='global_economics' name='channel'>
<meta content='Emerging Markets, Asia, Policy, Middle East, Alpha Investors, Economy' name='department'>
<meta content='2014-12-18T05:58:52-05:00' name='pub_date'>
<meta content="Afghan war,Afghanistan,Afghanistan's megarich,Ashraf Ghani,Entrepreneurs,USAID" name="keywords" />
<meta content="Afghan war,Afghanistan,Afghanistan's megarich,Ashraf Ghani,Entrepreneurs,USAID" name="news_keywords" />
<meta content="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout" name="standout" />
<link href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout" rel="canonical" />
<meta content="L7zxW9ChzqzPwbLIMzRbGzhn-Mly9AIDiF64J6DgQl0" name="google-site-verification" />
<meta content="dEHOKZR1s6GmOfGrPHHJFrXJwDoZXW6BjpnhmxPzRCE" name="google-site-verification" />
<meta content="nm_Na3kYYwG-eQKKUQs9A07nqn-GlhmC2qMzvutTDRA" name="google-site-verification" />
<meta charset='utf-8'>
<meta content='IE=edge,chrome=1' http-equiv='X-UA-Compatible'>
<script type="text/javascript">window.NREUM||(NREUM={});NREUM.info={"beacon":"beacon-1.newrelic.com","errorBeacon":"bam.nr-data.net","licenseKey":"b220098848","applicationID":"138689","transactionName":"c1hbFURcXFsGRRYDRkReVg1TQB9EC1hO","queueTime":0,"applicationTime":536,"ttGuid":"","agentToken":null,"agent":"js-agent.newrelic.com/nr-476.min.js"}</script>
<script type="text/javascript">(window.NREUM||(NREUM={})).loader_config={xpid:"VgMEUVJACQAIUllb"};window.NREUM||(NREUM={}),__nr_require=function(t,e,n){function r(n){if(!e[n]){var o=e[n]={exports:{}};t[n][0].call(o.exports,function(e){var o=t[n][1][e];return r(o?o:e)},o,o.exports)}return e[n].exports}if("function"==typeof __nr_require)return __nr_require;for(var o=0;o<n.length;o++)r(n[o]);return r}({QJf3ax:[function(t,e){function n(t){function e(e,n,a){t&&t(e,n,a),a||(a={});for(var c=s(e),f=c.length,u=i(a,o,r),d=0;f>d;d++)c[d].apply(u,n);return u}function a(t,e){f[t]=s(t).concat(e)}function s(t){return f[t]||[]}function c(){return n(e)}var f={};return{on:a,emit:e,create:c,listeners:s,_events:f}}function r(){return{}}var o="nr@context",i=t("gos");e.exports=n()},{gos:"7eSDFh"}],ee:[function(t,e){e.exports=t("QJf3ax")},{}],3:[function(t){function e(t,e,n,i,s){try{c?c-=1:r("err",[s||new UncaughtException(t,e,n)])}catch(f){try{r("ierr",[f,(new Date).getTime(),!0])}catch(u){}}return"function"==typeof a?a.apply(this,o(arguments)):!1}function UncaughtException(t,e,n){this.message=t||"Uncaught error with no additional information",this.sourceURL=e,this.line=n}function n(t){r("err",[t,(new Date).getTime()])}var r=t("handle"),o=t(5),i=t("ee"),a=window.onerror,s=!1,c=0;t("loader").features.err=!0,window.onerror=e,NREUM.noticeError=n;try{throw new Error}catch(f){"stack"in f&&(t(1),t(4),"addEventListener"in window&&t(2),window.XMLHttpRequest&&XMLHttpRequest.prototype&&XMLHttpRequest.prototype.addEventListener&&t(3),s=!0)}i.on("fn-start",function(){s&&(c+=1)}),i.on("fn-err",function(t,e,r){s&&(this.thrown=!0,n(r))}),i.on("fn-end",function(){s&&!this.thrown&&c>0&&(c-=1)}),i.on("internal-error",function(t){r("ierr",[t,(new Date).getTime(),!0])})},{1:8,2:5,3:9,4:7,5:20,ee:"QJf3ax",handle:"D5DuLP",loader:"G9z0Bl"}],4:[function(t){function e(){}if(window.performance&&window.performance.timing&&window.performance.getEntriesByType){var n=t("ee"),r=t("handle"),o=t(2);t("loader").features.stn=!0,t(1),n.on("fn-start",function(t){var e=t[0];e instanceof Event&&(this.bstStart=Date.now())}),n.on("fn-end",function(t,e){var n=t[0];n instanceof Event&&r("bst",[n,e,this.bstStart,Date.now()])}),o.on("fn-start",function(t,e,n){this.bstStart=Date.now(),this.bstType=n}),o.on("fn-end",function(t,e){r("bstTimer",[e,this.bstStart,Date.now(),this.bstType])}),n.on("pushState-start",function(){this.time=Date.now(),this.startPath=location.pathname+location.hash}),n.on("pushState-end",function(){r("bstHist",[location.pathname+location.hash,this.startPath,this.time])}),"addEventListener"in window.performance&&(window.performance.addEventListener("webkitresourcetimingbufferfull",function(){r("bstResource",[window.performance.getEntriesByType("resource")]),window.performance.webkitClearResourceTimings()},!1),window.performance.addEventListener("resourcetimingbufferfull",function(){r("bstResource",[window.performance.getEntriesByType("resource")]),window.performance.clearResourceTimings()},!1)),document.addEventListener("scroll",e,!1),document.addEventListener("keypress",e,!1),document.addEventListener("click",e,!1)}},{1:6,2:8,ee:"QJf3ax",handle:"D5DuLP",loader:"G9z0Bl"}],5:[function(t,e){function n(t){i.inPlace(t,["addEventListener","removeEventListener"],"-",r)}function r(t){return t[1]}var o=(t(1),t("ee").create()),i=t(2)(o),a=t("gos");if(e.exports=o,n(window),"getPrototypeOf"in Object){for(var s=document;s&&!s.hasOwnProperty("addEventListener");)s=Object.getPrototypeOf(s);s&&n(s);for(var c=XMLHttpRequest.prototype;c&&!c.hasOwnProperty("addEventListener");)c=Object.getPrototypeOf(c);c&&n(c)}else XMLHttpRequest.prototype.hasOwnProperty("addEventListener")&&n(XMLHttpRequest.prototype);o.on("addEventListener-start",function(t){if(t[1]){var e=t[1];"function"==typeof e?this.wrapped=t[1]=a(e,"nr@wrapped",function(){return i(e,"fn-",null,e.name||"anonymous")}):"function"==typeof e.handleEvent&&i.inPlace(e,["handleEvent"],"fn-")}}),o.on("removeEventListener-start",function(t){var e=this.wrapped;e&&(t[1]=e)})},{1:20,2:21,ee:"QJf3ax",gos:"7eSDFh"}],6:[function(t,e){var n=(t(2),t("ee").create()),r=t(1)(n);e.exports=n,r.inPlace(window.history,["pushState"],"-")},{1:21,2:20,ee:"QJf3ax"}],7:[function(t,e){var n=(t(2),t("ee").create()),r=t(1)(n);e.exports=n,r.inPlace(window,["requestAnimationFrame","mozRequestAnimationFrame","webkitRequestAnimationFrame","msRequestAnimationFrame"],"raf-"),n.on("raf-start",function(t){t[0]=r(t[0],"fn-")})},{1:21,2:20,ee:"QJf3ax"}],8:[function(t,e){function n(t,e,n){var r=t[0];"string"==typeof r&&(r=new Function(r)),t[0]=o(r,"fn-",null,n)}var r=(t(2),t("ee").create()),o=t(1)(r);e.exports=r,o.inPlace(window,["setTimeout","setInterval","setImmediate"],"setTimer-"),r.on("setTimer-start",n)},{1:21,2:20,ee:"QJf3ax"}],9:[function(t,e){function n(){c.inPlace(this,d,"fn-")}function r(t,e){c.inPlace(e,["onreadystatechange"],"fn-")}function o(t,e){return e}var i=t("ee").create(),a=t(1),s=t(2),c=s(i),f=s(a),u=window.XMLHttpRequest,d=["onload","onerror","onabort","onloadstart","onloadend","onprogress","ontimeout"];e.exports=i,window.XMLHttpRequest=function(t){var e=new u(t);try{i.emit("new-xhr",[],e),f.inPlace(e,["addEventListener","removeEventListener"],"-",function(t,e){return e}),e.addEventListener("readystatechange",n,!1)}catch(r){try{i.emit("internal-error",[r])}catch(o){}}return e},window.XMLHttpRequest.prototype=u.prototype,c.inPlace(XMLHttpRequest.prototype,["open","send"],"-xhr-",o),i.on("send-xhr-start",r),i.on("open-xhr-start",r)},{1:5,2:21,ee:"QJf3ax"}],10:[function(t){function e(t){if("string"==typeof t&&t.length)return t.length;if("object"!=typeof t)return void 0;if("undefined"!=typeof ArrayBuffer&&t instanceof ArrayBuffer&&t.byteLength)return t.byteLength;if("undefined"!=typeof Blob&&t instanceof Blob&&t.size)return t.size;if("undefined"!=typeof FormData&&t instanceof FormData)return void 0;try{return JSON.stringify(t).length}catch(e){return void 0}}function n(t){var n=this.params,r=this.metrics;if(!this.ended){this.ended=!0;for(var i=0;c>i;i++)t.removeEventListener(s[i],this.listener,!1);if(!n.aborted){if(r.duration=(new Date).getTime()-this.startTime,4===t.readyState){n.status=t.status;var a=t.responseType,f="arraybuffer"===a||"blob"===a||"json"===a?t.response:t.responseText,u=e(f);if(u&&(r.rxSize=u),this.sameOrigin){var d=t.getResponseHeader("X-NewRelic-App-Data");d&&(n.cat=d.split(", ").pop())}}else n.status=0;r.cbTime=this.cbTime,o("xhr",[n,r,this.startTime])}}}function r(t,e){var n=i(e),r=t.params;r.host=n.hostname+":"+n.port,r.pathname=n.pathname,t.sameOrigin=n.sameOrigin}if(window.XMLHttpRequest&&XMLHttpRequest.prototype&&XMLHttpRequest.prototype.addEventListener&&!/CriOS/.test(navigator.userAgent)){t("loader").features.xhr=!0;var o=t("handle"),i=t(2),a=t("ee"),s=["load","error","abort","timeout"],c=s.length,f=t(1);t(4),t(3),a.on("new-xhr",function(){this.totalCbs=0,this.called=0,this.cbTime=0,this.end=n,this.ended=!1,this.xhrGuids={}}),a.on("open-xhr-start",function(t){this.params={method:t[0]},r(this,t[1]),this.metrics={}}),a.on("open-xhr-end",function(t,e){"loader_config"in NREUM&&"xpid"in NREUM.loader_config&&this.sameOrigin&&e.setRequestHeader("X-NewRelic-ID",NREUM.loader_config.xpid)}),a.on("send-xhr-start",function(t,n){var r=this.metrics,o=t[0],i=this;if(r&&o){var f=e(o);f&&(r.txSize=f)}this.startTime=(new Date).getTime(),this.listener=function(t){try{"abort"===t.type&&(i.params.aborted=!0),("load"!==t.type||i.called===i.totalCbs&&(i.onloadCalled||"function"!=typeof n.onload))&&i.end(n)}catch(e){try{a.emit("internal-error",[e])}catch(r){}}};for(var u=0;c>u;u++)n.addEventListener(s[u],this.listener,!1)}),a.on("xhr-cb-time",function(t,e,n){this.cbTime+=t,e?this.onloadCalled=!0:this.called+=1,this.called!==this.totalCbs||!this.onloadCalled&&"function"==typeof n.onload||this.end(n)}),a.on("xhr-load-added",function(t,e){var n=""+f(t)+!!e;this.xhrGuids&&!this.xhrGuids[n]&&(this.xhrGuids[n]=!0,this.totalCbs+=1)}),a.on("xhr-load-removed",function(t,e){var n=""+f(t)+!!e;this.xhrGuids&&this.xhrGuids[n]&&(delete this.xhrGuids[n],this.totalCbs-=1)}),a.on("addEventListener-end",function(t,e){e instanceof XMLHttpRequest&&"load"===t[0]&&a.emit("xhr-load-added",[t[1],t[2]],e)}),a.on("removeEventListener-end",function(t,e){e instanceof XMLHttpRequest&&"load"===t[0]&&a.emit("xhr-load-removed",[t[1],t[2]],e)}),a.on("fn-start",function(t,e,n){e instanceof XMLHttpRequest&&("onload"===n&&(this.onload=!0),("load"===(t[0]&&t[0].type)||this.onload)&&(this.xhrCbStart=(new Date).getTime()))}),a.on("fn-end",function(t,e){this.xhrCbStart&&a.emit("xhr-cb-time",[(new Date).getTime()-this.xhrCbStart,this.onload,e],e)})}},{1:"XL7HBI",2:11,3:9,4:5,ee:"QJf3ax",handle:"D5DuLP",loader:"G9z0Bl"}],11:[function(t,e){e.exports=function(t){var e=document.createElement("a"),n=window.location,r={};e.href=t,r.port=e.port;var o=e.href.split("://");return!r.port&&o[1]&&(r.port=o[1].split("/")[0].split(":")[1]),r.port&&"0"!==r.port||(r.port="https"===o[0]?"443":"80"),r.hostname=e.hostname||n.hostname,r.pathname=e.pathname,"/"!==r.pathname.charAt(0)&&(r.pathname="/"+r.pathname),r.sameOrigin=!e.hostname||e.hostname===document.domain&&e.port===n.port&&e.protocol===n.protocol,r}},{}],gos:[function(t,e){e.exports=t("7eSDFh")},{}],"7eSDFh":[function(t,e){function n(t,e,n){if(r.call(t,e))return t[e];var o=n();if(Object.defineProperty&&Object.keys)try{return Object.defineProperty(t,e,{value:o,writable:!0,enumerable:!1}),o}catch(i){}return t[e]=o,o}var r=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;e.exports=n},{}],D5DuLP:[function(t,e){function n(t,e,n){return r.listeners(t).length?r.emit(t,e,n):(o[t]||(o[t]=[]),void o[t].push(e))}var r=t("ee").create(),o={};e.exports=n,n.ee=r,r.q=o},{ee:"QJf3ax"}],handle:[function(t,e){e.exports=t("D5DuLP")},{}],XL7HBI:[function(t,e){function n(t){var e=typeof t;return!t||"object"!==e&&"function"!==e?-1:t===window?0:i(t,o,function(){return r++})}var r=1,o="nr@id",i=t("gos");e.exports=n},{gos:"7eSDFh"}],id:[function(t,e){e.exports=t("XL7HBI")},{}],loader:[function(t,e){e.exports=t("G9z0Bl")},{}],G9z0Bl:[function(t,e){function n(){var t=p.info=NREUM.info;if(t&&t.agent&&t.licenseKey&&t.applicationID&&c&&c.body){p.proto="https"===d.split(":")[0]||t.sslForHttp?"https://":"http://",a("mark",["onload",i()]);var e=c.createElement("script");e.src=p.proto+t.agent,c.body.appendChild(e)}}function r(){"complete"===c.readyState&&o()}function o(){a("mark",["domContent",i()])}function i(){return(new Date).getTime()}var a=t("handle"),s=window,c=s.document,f="addEventListener",u="attachEvent",d=(""+location).split("?")[0],p=e.exports={offset:i(),origin:d,features:{}};c[f]?(c[f]("DOMContentLoaded",o,!1),s[f]("load",n,!1)):(c[u]("onreadystatechange",r),s[u]("onload",n)),a("mark",["firstbyte",i()])},{handle:"D5DuLP"}],20:[function(t,e){function n(t,e,n){e||(e=0),"undefined"==typeof n&&(n=t?t.length:0);for(var r=-1,o=n-e||0,i=Array(0>o?0:o);++r<o;)i[r]=t[e+r];return i}e.exports=n},{}],21:[function(t,e){function n(t){return!(t&&"function"==typeof t&&t.apply&&!t[i])}var r=t("ee"),o=t(1),i="nr@wrapper",a=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;e.exports=function(t){function e(t,e,r,a){function nrWrapper(){var n,i,s,f;try{i=this,n=o(arguments),s=r&&r(n,i)||{}}catch(d){u([d,"",[n,i,a],s])}c(e+"start",[n,i,a],s);try{return f=t.apply(i,n)}catch(p){throw c(e+"err",[n,i,p],s),p}finally{c(e+"end",[n,i,f],s)}}return n(t)?t:(e||(e=""),nrWrapper[i]=!0,f(t,nrWrapper),nrWrapper)}function s(t,r,o,i){o||(o="");var a,s,c,f="-"===o.charAt(0);for(c=0;c<r.length;c++)s=r[c],a=t[s],n(a)||(t[s]=e(a,f?s+o:o,i,s,t))}function c(e,n,r){try{t.emit(e,n,r)}catch(o){u([o,e,n,r])}}function f(t,e){if(Object.defineProperty&&Object.keys)try{var n=Object.keys(t);return n.forEach(function(n){Object.defineProperty(e,n,{get:function(){return t[n]},set:function(e){return t[n]=e,e}})}),e}catch(r){u([r])}for(var o in t)a.call(t,o)&&(e[o]=t[o]);return e}function u(e){try{t.emit("internal-error",e)}catch(n){}}return t||(t=r),e.inPlace=s,e.flag=i,e}},{1:20,ee:"QJf3ax"}]},{},["G9z0Bl",3,10,4]);</script>
<link href="http://static.btrd.net/assets/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" />
<link href="http://static.btrd.net/assets/BW-bubble.png" rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" />
<link href="http://www.businessweek.com/feeds/homepage.rss" rel="alternate" title="Businessweek.com Top News RSS" type="application/rss+xml" />
<!-- * font definitions */ -->
<style>
@font-face {
font-family: 'BloombergLBold';
src: url("/assets/type/bloombergl_heavy.eot?#iefix") format('embedded-opentype'),
url('/assets/type/bloombergl_heavy.ttf') format('truetype');
font-weight: bold;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family:'BWHaasHead';
src: url('/assets/type/hinted/haas/bwhaasgroteskhead-95black.eot?#iefix') format('eot'),
url('/assets/type/hinted/haas/bwhaasgroteskhead-95black.woff') format('woff'),
url('/assets/type/haas/bwhaasgroteskhead-95black.ttf') format('truetype');
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 700;
font-stretch: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family:'BWHaasHead75Bold';
src: url('/assets/type/hinted/haas75/bwhaasgroteskhead-75bold.eot?#iefix') format('eot'),
url('/assets/type/hinted/haas75/bwhaasgroteskhead-75bold.woff') format('woff'),
url('/assets/type/haas75/bwhaasgrotesktext-75bold.ttf') format('truetype');
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 700;
font-stretch: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family:'BWHaasRegular';
src: url('/assets/web_fonts/bwhaasgroteskhead-65medium.eot?#iefix') format('eot'),
url('/assets/web_fonts/bwhaasgroteskhead-65medium.woff') format('woff'),
url('/assets/web_fonts/bwhaasgrotesktext-65medium.ttf') format('truetype');
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 700;
font-stretch: normal;
}
</style>
<link href="http://static.btrd.net/assets/application-8dbe4f401e91d915a219d2496d6923c5.css" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="http://static.btrd.net/onlineopinionV5/oo_style.css" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="http://static.btrd.net/assets/content-b0162cf4173963330e4669cb4bad8a69.css" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<meta content="Businessweek.com" property="og:site_name" />
<meta content="article" property="og:type" />
<meta content="Afghanistan's New Millionaires" property="og:title" />
<meta content="Can Afghanistan's nouveaux riches stay rich after the U.S. pulls out?" property="og:description" />
<meta content="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-17/feat_contractors52__01__970.jpg" property="og:image" />
<meta content="summary" name="twitter:card" />
<meta content="@BW" name="twitter:site" />
<!-- BEGIN Krux Control Tag -->
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/krux-2219e2e7b21a9027972af37eaeb5ee88.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type='application/ld+json'>
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Afghanistan's New Millionaires",
"url": "http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout",
"thumbnailUrl": "http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-17/feat_contractors52__01__970-630x420.jpg",
"dateCreated": "2014-12-18T10:58:52Z",
"articleSection": "Global Economics",
"creator": "Mujib Mashal",
"keywords": "Aerospace &amp; Defense, Asia, corruption, Economy, Emerging Markets, Entrepreneurs, International, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, The Middle East, Trade, story"
}
</script>
<script>
var AVAILABLE_BUCKETS = []
</script>
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/buckets-d84e1f4dcb5b5442542ec0a4b3fb1865.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<meta content='width=1000px' name='viewport'>
<script>
var googletag = googletag || {};
googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || [];
(function() {
var gads = document.createElement("script");
gads.async = true;
gads.type = "text/javascript";
var useSSL = "https:" == document.location.protocol;
gads.src = (useSSL ? "https:" : "http:") + "//www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js";
var node =document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node);
})();
</script>
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/jquery.dfp.gpt.logger.override-33aaf061a2d76891ddeea42a7aa62b43.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script>
var ROOT_URL = "http://www.businessweek.com/";
var FACEBOOK_APP_KEY = "381515401910729";
var FACEBOOK_APP_NS = "bw_prod";
var COOKIE_DOMAIN = "businessweek.com";
var SECURE_DOMAIN_URL = "https://secure.businessweek.com";
var STICKY_NEWS_ENGINE= "none";
var VIDEO_AD_PREFIX = "http://ad.doubleclick.net/N5262/pfadx/";
var VIDEO_SITE = "mgh.bw.video";
var VIDEO_SUB_SITE = "/general";
var DOUBLECLICK_URL_PREFIX = "http://ad.doubleclick.net/N5262";
var AD_SITE = "bw";
var AD_LAYOUT_DESC = "article no_pagination channel global_economics";
var AD_SUB_SITE = ".globaleconomics/emerging_markets";
if (AD_LAYOUT_DESC.indexOf("video") >= 0){
AD_SITE = VIDEO_SITE;
AD_SUB_SITE = VIDEO_SUB_SITE;
}
var AD_ZONE = ""; // TODO: this is used to tag "department" pages
var AD_KEYWORD = "issue14_52"; //TODO: This is used on article and department index pages
var AD_URL = (window.location.pathname == undefined) ? "/" : window.location.pathname.replace(/\/?$/, '/');
var YIELDEX = true;
var AD_INTERVAL_TO = 450;
var AD_DEPT_TRACKING = false; //Temporary flag to be removed when the time is right
var VIDEO_AD_SIZE = "1x1";
var VIDEO_AD_YIELD_EX = (YIELDEX) ? '"u=sz='+VIDEO_AD_SIZE+'|' + ';' : '';
var RANDOM_NUMBER = ("1"+(""+Math.random()).substring(2,11));
var VIDEO_AD_SUFFIX = ";sz="+VIDEO_AD_SIZE+";tile=15;tp_video=null;dcmt=text/html;"+encodeURIComponent(VIDEO_AD_YIELD_EX)+"ord="+RANDOM_NUMBER+";";
var TILE_NUMBER = 1;
var URL_HASH = window.location.hash.replace(/#video=/, '');
var google_ad_channel = "6537084077 3231123392";
var discus_car, lead_module_interval;
var NEGATIVE_AD_CATEGORIES = "bw_bpkeywords,bw_malaysia,bw_current_events,bw_delta,bw_synchrony";
var AD_SLOTS = {};
var GPT_ADS_ENABLED = true;
var GPT_NETWORK_ID = 5262;
var SHOW_NATIVE = "true";
var NATIVE_PROPERTY_ID = "NA-BUSIWEEKCOM-11236051";
</script>
<script>
if (!GPT_ADS_ENABLED) {
var COMPANION_AD_SITE = AD_SITE + AD_SUB_SITE; //these create the video companion ads
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.defineSlot(COMPANION_AD_SITE, [728, 90], 'header-companion-ad').addService(googletag.companionAds()).addService(googletag.pubads());
googletag.defineSlot(COMPANION_AD_SITE, [300, 250], 'right-companion-ad').addService(googletag.companionAds()).addService(googletag.pubads());
googletag.defineSlot(COMPANION_AD_SITE, [728, 90], 'bottom-companion-ad').addService(googletag.companionAds()).addService(googletag.pubads());
googletag.companionAds().setRefreshUnfilledSlots(true);
//googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad();
googletag.enableServices();
});
}
</script>
</head>
<body class='article no_pagination channel global_economics' data-action='show' data-controller='articles' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/WebPage'>
<div id='fb-root'></div>
<div class='clearfix' id='container'>
<div class='clearfix' id='sign_in'>
<div class='sign_in_frame'>
<span class='login facebook'>
Sign in with Facebook
<span class='facebook_button'>
<a href="#"><span class='inline_icon icons-connect_with_facebook facebook_login'></span>
</a></span>
</span>
<span class='login'>Or use your Businessweek account</span>
<div class='login_form'>
<form accept-charset="UTF-8" action="https://secure.businessweek.com/login" class="new_user_form" id="new_user_form" method="post"><div style="margin:0;padding:0;display:inline"><input name="utf8" type="hidden" value="✓" /><input name="authenticity_token" type="hidden" value="z12DMthJdgdeAHfuskpYlTQzLpO9y8J70Es1uyVa3u8=" /></div>
<label class="for_email" for="user_form_email">Email</label>
<input class="" id="user_form_email" maxlength="100" name="user_form[email]" size="100" type="text" />
<label class="password" for="user_form_password">Password</label>
<a href="https://secure.businessweek.com/password/forgot" class="forgot_password">Forgot password?</a>
<input class="" id="user_form_password" maxlength="20" name="user_form[password]" size="20" type="password" />
<input name="user_form[remember_me]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input id="user_form_remember_me" name="user_form[remember_me]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
<label class="checkbox_label" for="user_form_remember_me">Remember me</label>
<input class="button" name="commit" type="submit" value="Sign In" />
</form>
</div>
<p class='bloomberg_user'>
Already a Bloomberg.com user?
</p>
<p>Sign in with the same account.</p>
<p class='other_options'>
Don't have an account?
<a href="https://secure.businessweek.com/register">Sign up.</a>
</p>
<p class='account-help'>
<a href="https://secure.businessweek.com/users/forgot-account">Help! I can't access my account.</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='branding_hat'></div>
<div id='consent-track' style='display:none;'>
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
<a class='close-consent-track' href="#closeConsentTrack">X</a>
<span id='consent-track-image'>
<script src='http://consent.truste.com/notice?domain=businessweek.com&c=consent-track-image' type='text/javascript'></script>
</span>
</div>
<div class='clearfix' id='header'>
<div class='inner_wrapper'>
<div id='logo'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/" class="ir" id="home_link">Bloomberg Businessweek</a>
<h2 id='channel_name'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/global-economics">Global Economics</a>
</h2>
</div>
<div id='promo'>
<span class='house_ad non_blank_ad'>
<div class='gpt_ads_slot' id='circ_header'>
<div class='gpt_ad_container' data-gpt-size='[[200, 92], [1, 1]]' data-original-position='circ_header' data-position='circ_header' data-pt='t2' data-size='200x92,1x1' data-tile='2' data-tz='circ_header'></div>
</div>
</span>
</div>
<div id='search'>
<div id='sub_sales_header'>
<a href="https://subscribe.businessweek.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=BWK&cds_page_id=160281" class="sub_sales"><div class='sub_sales-cover'>
<img alt="The Good Business Issue" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-23/bbw_good_business_issue_122914.jpg" width="75px" />
</div>
<div class='sub_sales-background'>
<div class='sub_sales-content'>
<span class='sub_sales-offer'>
LIMITED-TIME OFFER
</span>
<span class='sub_sales-subscribe'>
SUBSCRIBE NOW
</span>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<form action='http://www.businessweek.com/search' method='get'>
<div class='with_search_icon'>
<input class='toggle_text' id='search_input' name='q' title='Search' type='text' value='Search'>
</div>
</form>
<div id='social'>
<div class='fb-like' data-font='arial' data-href="http://www.facebook.com/bloombergbusinessweek" data-layout='button_count' data-send='false' data-show-faces='false'></div>
<a class='twitter-follow-button' data-lang='en' data-show-count='false' data-show-screen-name='true' href="http://twitter.com/BW"></a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id='global_nav'>
<div class='inner_wrapper'>
<ul class='navigation clearfix'>
<li class='global_economics has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/global-economics" class="channel_link">Global Economics</a>
</li>
<li class='companies_and_industries has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/companies-and-industries" class="channel_link">Companies & Industries</a>
</li>
<li class='politics_and_policy has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/politics-and-policy" class="channel_link">Politics & Policy</a>
</li>
<li class='technology has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology" class="channel_link">Technology</a>
</li>
<li class='markets_and_finance has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/markets-and-finance" class="channel_link">Markets & Finance</a>
</li>
<li class='innovation_and_design has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/innovation-and-design" class="channel_link">Innovation & Design</a>
</li>
<li class='lifestyle has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle" class="channel_link">Lifestyle</a>
</li>
<li class='business_schools has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/business-schools" class="channel_link">Business Schools</a>
</li>
<li class='small_business has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/small-business" class="channel_link">Small Business</a>
</li>
<li class='media has_sub_menu tracked'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/media" class="channel_link">Video & Multimedia</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<span class='banner_ad top_banner_ad companion_replace'>
<div class='gpt_ads_slot' id='leader_board'>
<div class='gpt_ad_container' data-gpt-size='[[728, 90], [970, 66], [1, 1]]' data-original-position='leader_board' data-position='top' data-pt='t2' data-size='728x90,970x66,1x1' data-tile='3' data-tz='top'></div>
</div>
</span>
<div id='flash'>
</div>
<div class='column_container clearfix'>
<div class='column full_width primary'>
<div id='content'>
<div class='design_full_width'>
<article class='businessweek' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/Article'>
<div class='department_text'><h3>Features</h3></div>
<h1 class='headline' itemprop='name headline'>Afghanistan's New Millionaires</h1>
<div class='design_byline clearfix'>
<div id='authorial'>
<span class='byline'>
<span class='byline-text' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'>
By <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/authors/55362-mujib-mashal" itemprop="name" rel="author">Mujib Mashal</a>
</span>
</span>
<time class='byline-text' datetime='2014-12-18T05:58:52-05:00' itemprop='datePublished'>
December 18, 2014
</time>
</div>
<div class='share_buttons' data-headline="Afghanistan's New Millionaires" data-host='http://analytics.bloomberg.com/images/analytics-bw/dot1.gif' data-id='88e6ec1c-8616-11e4-b1e0-d8d38560fdc0' data-ping-uri='/,/global-economics,/global-economics/emerging-markets,/global-economics/asia,/global-economics/policy,/global-economics/middle-east,/global-economics/alpha-investors,/global-economics/economy,/authors/55362-mujib-mashal' data-pub-date='2014-12-18 05:58:52 -0500' data-summary="Can Afghanistan's nouveaux riches stay rich after the U.S. pulls out?" data-type='story' data-uri='http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout'>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-facebook_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via Facebook' data-actions='click' data-button-type='facebook' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on Facebook'></span>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-twitter_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via Twitter' data-actions='click' data-button-type='twitter' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on Twitter'></span>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-linked_in_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via LinkedIn' data-actions='click' data-button-type='linkedin' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on LinkedIn'></span>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-gplus_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via Google+' data-actions='click' data-button-type='google_plus' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on Google+'></span>
<a class='print_button inline_icon icons-print tracked' data-action-type='Print' data-actions='click' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' href="http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/240966-afghanistans-new-millionaires" rel='nofollow' title='Print'></a>
<span class='clickable kindleWidget inline_icon icons-send_to_kindle tracked' data-action-type='Sent to Kindle' data-actions='click' data-button-type='kindle' data-category='Sharing' title='Share on Kindle'></span>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div id="lead_graphic"><img alt="Afghanistan's New Millionaires" data-image-id="436513138" height="647" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-17/feat_contractors52__01__970.jpg" title="Afghanistan's New Millionaires" width="970" /><p class="photo_credit">Photographer: Lorenzo Tugnoli for Bloomberg Businessweek</p></div>
<div class='module advertisement rectangle floating_ad'>
<div class='gpt_ads_slot' id='right2'>
<div class='gpt_ad_container' data-gpt-size='[[300, 250], [300, 600], [300, 1050], [1, 1]]' data-original-position='right2' data-position='right2' data-pt='t2' data-size='300x250,300x600,300x1050,1x1' data-tile='4' data-tz='right2'></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id='article_body' itemprop='articleBody'>
<p>“Do you want to listen to Taliban cassette?” Matiullah Matie asks as he steers his white Toyota Corolla along a narrow road surrounded by cornfields and mud huts. He keeps the tapes in the car for long drives, Matie explains, just in case he picks up a hitchhiker who looks like a Talib. “They think I am such a pious mujahid man,” the round, bearded businessman laughs. “They don’t know I am screwing them all.”</p>
<p>We are driving to the Nawa district, just 30 minutes outside Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province in the southwest corner of Afghanistan. Matie is going to show us how he first became a millionaire.</p>
<p>Earlier that morning, photographer Lorenzo Tugnoli and I found Matie sprawled on his office floor. He’d spent the night Facebooking—until he passed out. In the corner, on the armrest of a brown couch, a Dell laptop flashed an error message. Stacks of blue posters for the cell phone company Salaam lay against the wall. Matie had recently bought the local Salaam distribution license. It’s his latest project.</p>
<p>When we drive into the bazaar at Nawa, people recognize Matie immediately. Many wave at him. He’s done business here before—and he’s already brought Salaam to the district. That’s the reason one man with a neatly trimmed beard approaches the car and leans in to chat. Matie curses his luck under his breath.</p>
<p>“I have bought 100 SIM cards but no one buys,” says the guy, a retailer representing Matie’s franchise. Matie tells him to be patient. It’s a new company, he explains, business will pick up.</p>
<p>“Will you come back for lunch, all of you be my guests?” the man asks.</p>
<p>“Sure,” Matie says. “Make some chicken for lunch once we drive back from Garmsir.”</p>
<p>Matie has no intention of going to Garmsir or lunch with the man. “The bastard’s son still has links to the Taliban,” he says as we drive on. “You really can’t trust anyone.”</p>
<p>In a few minutes we reach the compound of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines—“The Walking Dead,” as a yellow logo proclaims inside one of its rooms. The U.S. Marines packed up a year ago, and all that’s left is a series of shipping-container offices that once housed U.S. Agency for International Development contractors. The desks and furniture are locked inside; the windows are covered in dust and cobwebs. But when the Marines ruled Nawa—the district governor’s office was within their compound—the Americans started Matie on his road to prosperity. In the U.S., wartime contracting is often associated with such names as Blackwater (now known as Academi), DynCorp International, Triple Canopy, and others, but on the ground in Afghanistan, the Pentagon depended on a small army of locals. And as hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer money poured into the country, it created a new class of wealthy, entrepreneurial Afghans.</p>
<p><img style="margin-left: -90px;" alt="9th Battalion" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-17/feat_contractors52__03__B__970.jpg"></p>
<p>The October 2001 U.S.-led invasion and the subsequent allied military campaigns transformed the country. At the end of 2014, however, as the American troop presence draws down to 10,000 from a height of 98,000, it’s becoming clear that the U.S. dollar has reshaped Afghanistan even more than the military did. In private, U.S. officials admit they don’t know how much they’ve spent on the Afghan war. Independent analysts estimate its cost at about $1.6 trillion—factoring in inflation and long-term care for veterans. The money found its way not just into the hands of ruthless oligarchs, as in post-Soviet Russia, but also into those of teachers, translators, restaurant owners, and drivers who tapped into the gusher of cash to become millionaires and multimillionaires.</p>
<p>In the five years that Mullah Omar and his Taliban regime dominated Afghanistan, “foreign currency was rare. There probably wasn’t even $2 million in the market,” says Khan Mohammad Baz, the bespectacled head of the currency exchange union at Sarai Shahzada, Afghanistan’s central exchange market. “By 2003 there was probably $1 billion circulating.” These days, Baz says, about $20 million worth of business deals are made in a day. The central bank alone pumps about $60 million a week into the market to buy back the Afghan currency and keep it stable.</p>
<p><img style="margin-left: -90px;" alt="Sarai Shahzada" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-17/feat_contractors52__02__B__970.jpg"></p>
<p>About 36 percent of Afghanistan’s 30 million people live below the poverty line. “If you ask people on the streets whether we have a billionaire, they will shrug and say no,” says a senior Afghan economic official, who asked to remain anonymous because he is privy to sensitive information. “But I can tell you with confidence we have many. If the top 10 wealthy men in Afghanistan—I would say 9 of them products of the past 10 years—came together, they could buy this government, the bank, this whole system.”<br> <br> <br><strong>Afghanistan’s megarich are not shy about their wealth. Many</strong> are driven around in $150,000 armored vehicles, trailed by convoys of cars and pickup trucks full of security guards. Several live in Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul’s diplomatic enclave, but others have illegally carved up Sherpur, an historic hill district in the capital. Some have second homes in Dubai, Istanbul, or various European cities. Just like Russia’s oligarchs, many members of this wealthy class owe their fortunes to politics. Some are warlords who helped the U.S. topple the Taliban; others are technocrats who returned from abroad to work in the new government. Both groups enriched themselves through the country’s system of patronage and influence—and by drawing on the immense sums of American cash flowing into it. Afghanistan runs on connections, and many of the biggest dealmakers operate with impunity. A clan can have one brother in the administration, another in parliament, and yet another running a huge company or state enterprise. The family of former President Hamid Karzai was the object of much criticism for that reason.</p>
<p>Trailing behind the politically influential is a much larger—and younger—class of nouveaux riches, which includes Matie. Spread around the country, they’ve made money by getting close to the American military and responding to its immediate needs. Many were translators who saw gaps in the Pentagon’s supply chain and took advantage of the situation by becoming contractors. Others were simply entrepreneurs who fed off the donor money being doled out to every sector of the post-Taliban society.</p>
<p>There’s still money to be made from the American military—though it’s a much smaller pie, and more local contractors fight over it. The U.S. and its NATO allies will continue to provide Afghanistan with more than $5 billion annually for its security forces and $5 billion to $8 billion for reconstruction. But the largesse will now flow through the central government, with its propensity for playing favorites. From now on, ministries in Kabul will be in charge of dispensing the contracting cash.</p>
<p>The new president, Ashraf Ghani, is promising to bring order to procurement and contracting, but transparency may be difficult to achieve. Among Ghani’s first appointments was Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, a finance minister under Karzai who was entangled in the country’s biggest banking scandal, among other controversies. Zakhilwal, who denies any wrongdoing, now has oversight over the entire financial portfolio of the country.<br> <br> <br><strong>In 2009, Matie, then in his late 20s, trundled up to the Marine</strong> compound on a donkey, after treading slowly through a heavily mined field. “Out of control mines,” he recalls. The son of a religious studies teacher, he had already tried many jobs, including joining the Taliban, twice. He had been working as a customer-care representative—making a lucrative $300 a month—with one of the new telecom companies when he realized he wanted to start his own company. He was sitting through a business development training seminar conducted by Malaysians when he thought to himself, “I want to be my own boss.” He quit and got a license to start a construction company. He wrote up a company profile and fact sheet—as the Malaysians had taught him—and, two weeks before Ramadan, put the papers in a saddle, mounted his donkey, and headed for the Marines in Nawa. “Hi, sir! Is there anybody to talk to me?” he’d shouted in his elementary English at a Marine manning a watchtower. They were happy to let him in.</p>
<p><img style="margin-left: -90px;" alt="Sarai Shahzada" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-17/feat_contractors52__05__B__970.jpg"></p>
<p>The Marines were part of Obama’s surge to push back a Taliban onslaught that threatened to overwhelm the towns loyal to Karzai’s government. In Nawa the surge expanded the U.S. military presence from 100 troops to 1,100; a contingent of that size needed local logistical support. When the Marines arrived, they found the local bazaar deserted—except for a boy selling cans of Pepsi. “You couldn’t find a single contractor here, they were all too afraid,” recalls Abdul Manaf, the aging district governor, as he puts on his hearing aid. “Matiullah was the first to come.”</p>
<p>The Marines had cash and lots of it. Congress has appropriated about $3.7 billion over the past 10 years for the Commanders Emergency Response Program (CERP), a fund that officers in Afghanistan and Iraq could draw on for “urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction requirements in their areas of responsibility.” In Helmand province—one of the areas fiercely contested with the Taliban—the U.S. military would spend $153 million on 2,164 CERP projects. USAID also poured money into the area through foreign contractors who implemented so-called stabilization projects—such as rebuilding bazaars and supplying technology to district offices. For example, according to the <em>Washington Post</em>, USAID spent $30 million on agriculture in Nawa over the course of nine months in 2010. All of this created opportunities for enterprising Afghans such as Matie.</p>
<blockquote class="pq right"><p>“My only wish is to prove to the American public that in my case your tax money has not been wasted”</p></blockquote>
<p>His first project was the reconstruction of the district governor’s office. It needed new doors, windows, fresh plaster—and walls. When the Marine captain proposed the project to him, Matie calculated an estimate on the spot: $10,109. He asked for five days to get things going.</p>
<p>Only later did he realize what he’d agreed to do. The area between Lashkar Gah and Nawa was strictly Taliban country—and Matie had to transport gravel, shovels, and barrels from the provincial capital to the Marine compound. So when Matie recruited laborers, he didn’t tell them he was sending them to Nawa but rather to another, safer district nearby. “I went ahead on a motorcycle,” he recalls. “When they got here, I said, ‘Don’t you worry. I will give you more money than you want. As much as you want.’ ” The workers stayed for the entire 15 days of the project.</p>
<p>To deliver supplies, he rented a Mazda dump truck for $600. He didn’t have funds to hire a security escort, but this time he didn’t lie. “We are going to Nawa,” he said to the driver. “But I am riding alongside you, and whatever happens to you will happen to me first.”</p>
<p>He found two motorcycles, one for himself and one for his assistant. He dressed in Taliban style: white clothing, a large <em>paaj</em> turban on his head, his beard oiled, black shades over his eyes. In his pocket he had a small radio that captured Taliban military signals, which he played loudly. As the motorcycles escorted the truck on the bumpy road to the base, they passed several Taliban. “<em>Salaam u alikum</em>,” he’d shout—the traditional “peace be with you”—with authority, and the Taliban would respond the same way, addressing him as <em>Mullah sa’eb</em>, a term of reverence.</p>
<p>To keep up the masquerade, Matie says he’d curse at the driver. “Keep going, you son of a swine. You f---er, this is what you get for supplying infidels. Keep driving.” (“I had informed him I’d be cursing at him,” Matie explains. “I told him not to take it to heart.”)</p>
<p>By 2012, Matie’s company had more than $2 million in the bank. It had delivered fertilizer and seeds; it had helped repair clinics, schools, and government buildings; and it had graded more than 77 kilometers of local roads, smoothing them with gravel. He also helped deliver USAID cash to far-flung districts as part of a jobs program called Cash for Work. He started other businesses as well, importing Iranian biscuits and shampoo from Nimroz, a large border province and hub for smugglers, distributing the products across the country. He invested his earnings abroad, including putting $100,000 into a bakery in the United Arab Emirates. He had become rich—thanks to American spending.</p>
<p>Because the prosperity of Matie’s newly rich class often stems from loose American money, it can carry the odor of malfeasance and corruption. The office of the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is investigating several cases, following the money to see if American funds were misappropriated or even spent to support the insurgency. Double-dealing is almost instinctive here, part of a survive-at-all-cost mentality ingrained by decades of chaos and war. When the country emerged from Taliban rule at the end of 2001, “it’s like we were stuck in a dark well of isolation, then someone threw us a rope to pull us up,” says Naseem Akbar, a former economic official in the Afghan government. “But we somehow got all strangled up in that rope.”</p>
<p>Corruption is pervasive and visible: the flashy car belonging to a tax clerk whose monthly salary is $200; the fancy bungalow of a precinct police chief. Money purchases status, buys protection—from the law and perhaps even from God, judging by the number of mosques built with ill-gotten funds and the many hajj pilgrimages financed by dirty money. “Has corruption become what holds everything together in Afghanistan?” one Western official asks. “Maybe.”</p>
<p>Unlike some of the extremely rich—who put their profits into foreign bank accounts—the entrepreneurial class tends to keep much of its cash within the country’s borders. “There’s everything-to-myself corruption,” the same official explains, “and then there’s this Tammany Hall kind of corruption, a sort of Robin Hood style, where you are generous to the community.” <br> <br> <br><strong>Hikmatullah Shadman doesn’t look like Robin Hood, though</strong> the American investigators have grave suspicions about him. He works in what used to be the Kabul home of Ahmad Zahir, a legendary entertainer known as the Afghan Elvis. Shadman, 29, likes flowers. His pastel-colored compound in Wazir Akbar Khan looks like a dollhouse, with plastic flowers strung across the ceiling and framing paintings, mirrors, and photographs. “Flowers make me happy,” Shadman says as he sits down for an interview about his businesses and philanthropies—which are mainly in Kandahar, almost 300 miles to the south. He wears a black sports jacket over a black tunic embroidered in silver. On the table in front of us are platters of dried fruit and bottles of Gatorade, Starbucks frappuccino, and Ocean Spray cranberry juice. A cleanshaven elderly man—whom Shadman refers to as <em>mama</em>, or maternal uncle—is thumbing his prayer beads while lounging on a couch to the businessman’s right.</p>
<p>Shadman prefers not to talk too much about his philanthropic activity—though it has earned him a degree of influence with the public as well as the government. The Afghan media says he arranged to set up dormitories for university students in the eastern city of Jalalabad; that he was one of the first to send a convoy of aid after mudslides devastated the northern province of Badakhshan in May; that he supports more than 60 students on scholarships, including 13 he sent to schools in India. Most recently, Shadman launched a Mr. Facebook contest in Kandahar to identify and award citizens who use the social media site for public good. He has supplied food—through the government—to 180 families in a Taliban-controlled village in Kandahar province. “We show that Talib means mines and explosions; government means aid,” he says. While he still instinctively refers to the ousted Taliban leader reverently as <em>Mullah sa’eb</em>, Shadman is trying to create a different kind of Afghan identity and nationalism—out from the shadows of the white-robed jihadis. In October he announced he would build a mausoleum for Malala of Maiwand, perhaps the most famous woman warrior in modern Afghan history, whose campaign against British invaders in 1880 led to her being described as the country’s Joan of Arc.</p>
<p><img style="margin-left: -90px;" alt="Hikmatullah Shadman" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-17/feat_contractors52__04__B__970.jpg"></p>
<p>Shadman also traces his riches back to U.S. military money. The son of a literature teacher in Kandahar, he sold almond sweets in the bazaar after school. When the U.S. ousted the Taliban, he went to work for a local mason rebuilding the airport. Soon, he became an interpreter for a U.S. Army Special Forces unit that, within six months, conducted more than 50 combat operations in the area. Accompanying the U.S. soldiers kept Shadman away from home for weeks at a time but allowed him to save much of his monthly salary. He bought a Land Rover for about $4,000 and leased it back to the Special Forces. “I was making two salaries after that. I made $800, and my vehicle made $800.”</p>
<p>In a couple of years, he’d purchased hundreds of vehicles, renting them to the U.S. military and foreign contractors who came to Afghanistan. He also started doing construction projects for Canadian units that were part of the International Security Assistance Force, as the U.S. and its allied troops were called. His Special Forces bosses helped him with connections that got him contracts to supply propane to NATO bases in the south. Shadman’s main line of business, however, became trucking. Working first as a middleman for a Hungarian firm that provided the exuberantly decorated “jingle trucks” for ferrying goods throughout the country, Shadman quickly built a fleet of his own vehicles. Profits escalated with the U.S. surge. According to court documents, he carried out 5,421 transport missions for the ISAF.</p>
<blockquote class="pq left"><p>“Someone threw us a rope to pull us up. But we somehow got all strangled up in that rope”</p></blockquote>
<p>Shadman is accused of defrauding the U.S. government of $77 million. According to court documents, SIGAR alleges that Shadman managed to expand his trucking empire only because he “bribed and paid kickbacks” to managers of the Hungarian contractor, who then allegedly inflated prices for Shadman so he could charge the ISAF even more. In October 2012, at 4:30 a.m., the U.S. military raided his compound in Kandahar. He says they flashed a light in his eyes, blindfolded him, tied his hands, and flew him to the prison at the American military base at Bagram. He was held there for 74 days and accused of funding the enemy and supplying women to the Taliban and alcohol to U.S. soldiers. In a civil forfeiture lawsuit, SIGAR and the U.S. Department of Justice asked for Shadman’s accounts in an Afghan bank to be frozen. However, they were quickly unfrozen by Afghan authorities and some of the money has made its way to Dubai, where he has three homes.</p>
<p>Shadman says he is heartbroken by the way the Americans turned against him. “I grew up with them, with their soldiers.” He insists he’s not afraid of litigation, because the evidence against him is flimsy. “My only wish is to prove to the American public that … in my case your tax money has not been wasted.” Then he turns from being politic to blunt. “My money is clean. I don’t hide it. It’s there in the open, for America to see it, for London to see it. I have no fear.”<br> <br> <br><strong>Shadman has been able,</strong> so far, to withstand the legal assault on his reputation. While he no longer has any contracts with the U.S. military, he imports German energy drinks, which are extremely popular among young Afghans. He is planning to build a pomegranate juice factory in Kandahar.</p>
<p>Matie’s trajectory, however, has shifted. He’s gone from rags to riches to starting all over. In 2012 he decided to use some of his largesse to travel to Mecca for the hajj—one of the five “pillars of Islam” that pious Muslims are enjoined to do. When he returned from the monthlong trip, his money was gone. He says his partner had cooked up a scheme with locals, taking advantage of his absence to complain that 1,450 people hadn’t received their USAID Cash for Work payments because Matie was out of the country. His partner, he says, told him the laborers had already been paid. As USAID and the Marines tangled with Matie over details, the partner packed up and fled to Kabul. Matie says he’s appealed to the government for help, but so far nothing has happened to remedy the situation. “He will fight me by bribing the government with my own money,” Matie complains. “I can’t do anything in this government.”</p>
<p>He says his fortunes fell so low that he didn’t even have gas money when he was stuck in the countryside, his fuel tank and his pockets empty. “I called Marine friends, and they sent me fuel for my car.”</p>
<p>With U.S. money now being dispensed by the political elite, contractors such as Matie who aren’t at the top of the food chain have to change gears completely. That’s why he acquired the telecom distribution contract with some cash he saved from a couple of small projects for the U.S. embassy. What he makes now doesn’t compare to his income at the height of the surge. He’s philosophical about his new financial situation: “You make little, but it’s more sustainable.”</p>
<p>He acknowledges the pain of losing so much money but says it’s easier on him than others who’ve also seen riches come and go. He never let money change his modest “nomadic” way of living, moving from town to town to do business and sell services. “When I had money, I lived like this also,” he says. “I have lived because of my honesty and my parents’ prayers.” He adds: “Those who stole money from me, I know what kind of wrath God will inflict on them.”</p>
</div>
</article>
<div class='design_bio clearfix'>
<div class='author_bio_container'>
<div class='author_short_bios'>
Mashal is a <em>Bloomberg Businessweek</em> contributor.
</div>
</div>
<div class='share_buttons' data-headline="Afghanistan's New Millionaires" data-host='http://analytics.bloomberg.com/images/analytics-bw/dot1.gif' data-id='88e6ec1c-8616-11e4-b1e0-d8d38560fdc0' data-ping-uri='/,/global-economics,/global-economics/emerging-markets,/global-economics/asia,/global-economics/policy,/global-economics/middle-east,/global-economics/alpha-investors,/global-economics/economy,/authors/55362-mujib-mashal' data-pub-date='2014-12-18 05:58:52 -0500' data-summary="Can Afghanistan's nouveaux riches stay rich after the U.S. pulls out?" data-type='story' data-uri='http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout'>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-facebook_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via Facebook' data-actions='click' data-button-type='facebook' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on Facebook'></span>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-twitter_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via Twitter' data-actions='click' data-button-type='twitter' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on Twitter'></span>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-linked_in_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via LinkedIn' data-actions='click' data-button-type='linkedin' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on LinkedIn'></span>
<span class='clickable share_button inline_icon icons-gplus_share tracked' data-action-type='Share via Google+' data-actions='click' data-button-type='google_plus' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' title='Share on Google+'></span>
<a class='print_button inline_icon icons-print tracked' data-action-type='Print' data-actions='click' data-category='Sharing' data-label='/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout' href="http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/240966-afghanistans-new-millionaires" rel='nofollow' title='Print'></a>
<span class='clickable kindleWidget inline_icon icons-send_to_kindle tracked' data-action-type='Sent to Kindle' data-actions='click' data-button-type='kindle' data-category='Sharing' title='Share on Kindle'></span>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
</div>
<div class='slideout_container' data-show-slideout?='yes'></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='column rail'>
</div>
</div>
<div class='bottom_container clearfix'>
<div class='bottom_column primary'>
<div class='taboola_bottom' id='taboola_wrapper'>
<div id='taboola-below-main-column'></div>
<div id='taboola-bmc-mix'></div>
</div>
<a href="https://subscribe.businessweek.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=BWK&cds_page_id=160309" class="sub_sales"><div class='sub_sales-cover'>
<img alt="The Good Business Issue" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-23/bbw_good_business_issue_122914.jpg" width="75px" />
</div>
<div class='sub_sales-background'>
<div class='sub_sales-content'>
<span class='sub_sales-offer'>
LIMITED-TIME OFFER
</span>
<span class='sub_sales-subscribe'>
SUBSCRIBE NOW
</span>
</div>
</div>
</a>
<div id='disqus_thread'></div>
</div>
<div class='bottom_column rail'>
<div class='module advertisement rectangle'>
<div class='gpt_ads_slot' id='right3'>
<div class='gpt_ad_container' data-gpt-size='[[300, 250], [1, 1]]' data-original-position='right3' data-position='right3' data-pt='t2' data-size='300x250,1x1' data-tile='6' data-tz='right3'></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='clearfix module' id='google_ads'>
<h3>Ads by Google</h3>
<ul></ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='clearfix' id='footer'>
<div class='social module'>
<h3>Social</h3>
<ul>
<li class='twitter'>
<a href="http://twitter.com/BW">Follow us on Twitter</a>
</li>
<li class='fb'>
<a href="http://facebook.com/Bloombergbusinessweek/">Join us on Facebook</a>
</li>
<li class='linked_in'>
<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/businessweek">Connect with us on LinkedIn</a>
</li>
<li class='google_plus'>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/102524048968901635455" rel="publisher">Connect with us on Google+</a>
</li>
<li class='subscribe last'>
<a href="https://subscribe.businessweek.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=BWK&cds_page_id=160308">Subscribe to Bloomberg Businessweek</a>
</li>
<li class='bloomberg_logo last ir'>
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class='links module clearfix'>
<h3>Links</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://bloomberg.com/company">Our Company</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/now/bloomberg-news-mission-statement/">News Mission</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bloombergmedia.com">Advertising</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bloomberg.com/careers">Careers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/contentlicensing">Content Licensing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/contact">Feedback</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/adsections/">Custom Publishing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/manage-subscription">Manage Subscription</a></li>
</ul>
<ul class='last'>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/mobile">Mobile</a></li>
<li><a href="https://secure.businessweek.com/newsletters/sign-up">Newsletters</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/privacy">Privacy Policy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://reprints.ygsgroup.com/m/bloombergbusinessweek">Reprints & Permissions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/sitemap.htm">Sitemap</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/terms">Terms of Use</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="opinion-lab">[+] Rate This Page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/sponsor-content-terms">Sponsor Content Terms</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class='current_issue module clearfix'>
<h3>Get Businessweek Delivered</h3>
<a class='cover_image_thumbnail' href="https://subscribe.businessweek.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=BWK&cds_page_id=160308">
<img alt="The Good Business Issue" height="155" src="http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-12-23/bbw_good_business_issue_122914.jpg" width="110" />
</a>
<h6>
<a href="https://subscribe.businessweek.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=BWK&cds_page_id=160308">The Good Business Issue</a>
</h6>
<a class='subscribe_button' href="https://subscribe.businessweek.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=BWK&cds_page_id=160308">Subscribe</a>
</div>
<div class='copyright'>
<p>
<span>©2015 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved. Made in NYC</span>
<span class='ad_choice'>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/privacy#advertisements">Ad Choices
<span class='icons-ad_choice'></span>
</a></span>
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/gpt_ads-17bd6d266c9884f927d44c22606dea3e.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/application-fc306c584a33fa24888a4729dca180a2.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script>
var _gaq=[["_setAccount","UA-11413116-6"],["_trackPageview"],["_trackPageLoadTime"]];
(function(d,t){var g=d.createElement(t),s=d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];g.async=1;
g.src=("https:"==location.protocol?"//ssl":"//www")+".google-analytics.com/ga.js";
s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s)}(document,"script"));
</script>
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/jquery.bloomberg_hat-7c768497a3670c3f9da1b9420a9c3801.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/jquery.truste-consent-1f59258579d7f178906f4d9042377f96.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<link href="http://cdn.gotraffic.net/projector/latest/bvp.css" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /><script src="http://cdn.gotraffic.net/projector/latest/video.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('header-companion-ad'); });
</script>
<script>
try {
$(window).load(function() {
$('.branding_hat').bloomberg_hat({ 'active_link':'businessweek'}, function(){
BLOOMBERG.bw_user.init_sign_in_box();
}); //create the hat, all markup is in the jquery plugin file
$.each(
$('.lazy'), function(index, value){
$(value).attr('src', $(value).attr('data-original'));
}
);
});
} catch(err){}
try {
var tracking_code = window.location.hash.match(/#r=[a-zA-Z_-]*/);
if (tracking_code != null && tracking_code != "" && tracking_code.length > 0)
_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', tracking_code[0], document.referrer, location.href]);
} catch(err){}
// Lazy load navigation submenus, see also layouts/_navigation
$('#global_nav').ready(function() {
var params = window.location.href.split('?');
if (params.length == 2) {
pass_along_params = "?" + params[1];
} else {
pass_along_params = "";
}
$(window).load(function() {
if ($('body').hasClass("admin") == false) {
$.ajax({
url: '/layout/navigation'+pass_along_params,
dataType: "html",
success: function(data) {
$('#global_nav').replaceWith(data);
BLOOMBERG.event_track.linkTrack();
}
});
}
});
});
</script>
<script src='http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js'></script>
<script>
function disqus_config() {
this.callbacks.onNewComment = [function() { trackComment(); }];
};
function trackComment(){
var tracking_img_src = "http://analytics.bloomberg.com/images/analytics-bw/dot1.gif?id=88e6ec1c-8616-11e4-b1e0-d8d38560fdc0&pub_date=2014-12-18 05:58:52 -0500&type=story&activity_type=discussed&uri=/,/global-economics,/global-economics/emerging-markets,/global-economics/asia,/global-economics/policy,/global-economics/middle-east,/global-economics/alpha-investors,/global-economics/economy,/authors/55362-mujib-mashal";
$('body').append('<img src="'+tracking_img_src+'" style="visibility:hidden;" />');
};
var disqus_shortname = "bwbeta";
var disqus_identifier = "88e6ec1c-8616-11e4-b1e0-d8d38560fdc0";
var disqus_title = "Afghanistan\'s New Millionaires";
var disqus_developer = 0;
var disqus_url = "http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout" ;
/* * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */
$(window).load(function() {
var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true;
dsq.src = 'http://' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js';
(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq);
});
</script>
<div id='BF_WIDGET_1'> </div>
<!-- BEGIN DISQUS -->
<a class='dsq-brlink' href="http://disqus.com" title='blog comments powered by'>
blog comments powered by
<span class='logo-disqus'>
Disqus
</span>
</a>
<!-- END DISQUS -->
<script>
$(window).bind("load", function() {
var tracking_img_src = "http://analytics.bloomberg.com/images/analytics-bw/dot1.gif?id=88e6ec1c-8616-11e4-b1e0-d8d38560fdc0&pub_date=2014-12-18 05:58:52 -0500&type=story&activity_type=read&uri=/,/global-economics,/global-economics/emerging-markets,/global-economics/asia,/global-economics/policy,/global-economics/middle-east,/global-economics/alpha-investors,/global-economics/economy,/authors/55362-mujib-mashal";
$('body').append('<img src="'+tracking_img_src+'" style="visibility:hidden;" />');
});
</script>
<script>
$(window).load(function(){
BLOOMBERG.bw_core.deferred_load_js("http://static.btrd.net/onlineopinionV5/oo_engine.min.js");
});
</script>
<script>
__reach_config = {
pid: '530523d097b0c9220a00000b',
title: "Afghanistan's New Rich Navigate U.S. Pullout - Businessweek",
url: 'http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-18/afghanistans-new-rich-navigate-u-dot-s-dot-pullout',
date: '2014-12-18T05:58:52-05:00',
authors: ["Mujib Mashal"],
channels: ["global_economics"],
tags: ["Features"],
iframe: true,
ignore_errors: false,
};
(function(){
var s = document.createElement('script');
s.async = true;
s.type = 'text/javascript';
s.src = document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/js/reach.js';
(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(s);
})();
</script>
<div id='parsely-root' style='display: none'>
<div data-parsely-site='businessweek.com' id='parsely-cfg'></div>
</div>
<script>
(function(s, p, d) {
var h=d.location.protocol, i=p+"-"+s,
e=d.getElementById(i), r=d.getElementById(p+"-root"),
u=h==="https:"?"d1z2jf7jlzjs58.cloudfront.net"
:"static."+p+".com";
if (e) return;
e = d.createElement(s); e.id = i; e.async = true;
e.src = h+"//"+u+"/p.js"; r.appendChild(e);
})("script", "parsely", document);
</script>
<script>
$(window).load(function() {
var REMOTE = "https://secure.businessweek.com";
var xhr = new easyXDM.Rpc({
local: "/easyxdm/name.html",
swf: REMOTE + "/easyxdm/easyxdm.swf",
remote: REMOTE + "/easyxdm/cors/",
remoteHelper: REMOTE + "/easyxdm/name.html"
}, {
remote: {
request: {}
}
});
BLOOMBERG.bw_user.ajax_sign_on = function(form) {
$(".report_error").remove();
form.find('input').removeClass("error");
request = {
url: "https://secure.businessweek.com/login",
method: "POST",
data: {
email : $('#new_user_form #user_form_email').val(),
password : $('#new_user_form #user_form_password').val(),
remember_me : $('#new_user_form #user_form_remember_me').val()
}
}
var responseHandler = function(response) {
var json = easyXDM.getJSONObject().parse(response.data);
if (json.message == "success") {
$('.sign_in_frame').fadeOut("fast", function() {BLOOMBERG.bw_user.replace_with_username('#sign_in')});
}
};
var errorHandler = function(error) {
var json = easyXDM.getJSONObject().parse(error.data.data);
if(json.message == "migrate"){
window.location = json.url;
} else {
$("<span class='report_error'>"+json.message+"</span>").insertBefore($("#user_form_email"));
$('#new_user_form input').addClass("error");
}
};
xhr.request(request, responseHandler, errorHandler);
};
});
</script>
<script>
$(".facebook_button").bind('click', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
FB.login(function(response) {
if(response && response.status == 'connected' ){
login_with_facebook();
}
}, {scope: 'email'});
});
$(".facebook_link_button").bind('click', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
FB.login(function(response) {
if(response && response.status == 'connected' ){
link_account(response);
}
}, {scope: 'email'});
});
function show_protected_content(){
$("#facebook_wall").hide();
$('.protected_content').removeClass('protected_content');
if ( $('body').hasClass('article_old_article')){
$('body.article_old_article #story_body div.unprotected_content').remove();
$('body.article_old_article #story_body p.sign_in').remove();
}
};
function login_with_facebook() {
var REMOTE = "https://secure.businessweek.com";
var xhr = new easyXDM.Rpc({
local: "/easyxdm/name.html",
swf: REMOTE + "/easyxdm/easyxdm.swf",
remote: REMOTE + "/easyxdm/cors/",
remoteHelper: REMOTE + "/easyxdm/name.html"
}, {
remote: {
request: {}
}
});
request = {
url: "https://secure.businessweek.com/auth/facebook/callback",
method: "GET",
data: {
referrer_url : window.location.href
}
}
var responseHandler = function(response) {
reg_enabled = "true";
if (reg_enabled == "true"){
$('.sign_in_frame').html('<span class="success">Success!</span>');
$('#sign_in a.opened').removeClass('opened');
$('.sign_in_frame').fadeOut("fast", function() {BLOOMBERG.bw_user.replace_with_username('#sign_in')});
if ($('body').hasClass('registration')){
var json_response = easyXDM.getJSONObject().parse(response.data)
window.location = json_response.url;
}
}
};
var errorHandler = function(error) {
};
xhr.request(request, responseHandler, errorHandler);
};
function link_account(facebook_user) {
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
data: facebook_user,
dataType: "json",
url: "https://secure.businessweek.com/users/link-account",
success: function(response) {
$('.facebook_account').html('<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/users/unlink-account" class="unlink_facebook"> Unlink your facebook account</a>');
$(".unlink_facebook").bind('click', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
BLOOMBERG.bw_user.unlink_account(e);
});
},
error: function(response){
$('.errors').append(JSON.parse(response.responseText)["message"]);
}
});
}
</script>
<script>
$(window).load(function() {
if ($.fn.trusteConsent) {
$("#consent-track").trusteConsent({
consentButton: "span#consent-track-image",
closeButton: "a.close-consent-track",
domain: "businessweek.com",
footerCallback: function() {
var $links = $("#footer ul");
$links.find("li").last().attr("class", ""); // remove class from last el
$links.append('<li class="last"><a href="#consentManager">Cookie Preferences</a></li>');
return $links.last();
}
});
}
}
);
</script>
<script src="http://content.dl-rms.com/rms/mother/516/nodetag.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script>
$(window).load(function(){
var script_tag = document.createElement('SCRIPT');
script_tag.src = "http://static.btrd.net/foresee/foresee-trigger.js";
script_tag.type = "text/javascript";
document.body.appendChild(script_tag);
});
</script>
<script>
$(window).load(function(){
if(true == true){
BLOOMBERG.bw_user.show_reg();
}
});
</script>
<!-- BEGIN DISQUS COMMENTS COUNT -->
<script>
var disqus_shortname = "bwbeta";
var disqus_developer = 0;
var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true;
s.type = 'text/javascript';
s.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://') + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/count.js';
(document.getElementsByTagName('HEAD')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('BODY')[0]).appendChild(s);
</script>
<!-- END DISQUS COMMENTS COUNT -->
<script src="http://static.btrd.net/assets/interstitial-024ac073073e2eed55f3891bb6d35cbf.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<div id='showInterstitial'>
<div id='backgroundInterstitial'></div>
<div id='intro_ad_header'>
<div id='skip_ad'>
<a class='skip-ad' onclick='disableInterstitial(); return false;'>Continue to Businessweek</a>
</div>
</div>
<div id='intro_ad'>
<div id='ad-interstitial'>
<script>
var interstitialStatus = 0;
hideIntroAd();
</script>
<script>
if (show_interstitial_ad()) {
var site = AD_SITE+AD_SUB_SITE+AD_ZONE;
var noad = 0;
var size = "640x480";
var url = (window.location.pathname == undefined) ? "/" : ""+window.location.pathname;
var tile = 1;
var dcopt = (parseInt(tile) == 1) ? "ist" : "";
var keyword = (AD_KEYWORD != "") ? AD_KEYWORD : "";
var tz = "interstitial";
var pt = "t2";
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
var slot = googletag.defineSlot('/' + GPT_NETWORK_ID + '/' + site, [640, 480], "ad-interstitial");
slot.addService(googletag.pubads());
slot.setTargeting("sz", size);
slot.setTargeting("url", url);
slot.setTargeting("tile", tile);
slot.setTargeting("dcopt", dcopt);
slot.setTargeting("keyword", keyword);
slot.setTargeting("page", pt);
slot.setTargeting(pt, tz);
googletag.enableServices();
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("ad-interstitial") });
});
}
</script>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- BEGIN COMSCORE -->
<script>
BBBW_comScore.params = {"bb_groupid":"","bb_c_type":"story","bb_attributor":"","bb_pub_d":"20141218","bb_cg_1":"Global Economics","bb_cg_2":"Emerging Markets","bb_cg_3":"Afghanistan's New Millionaires","bb_author":"Mujib Mashal","content_fullwidth":"1","content_goognews":"1"};
if (_BUCKET != "" && _BUCKET_GROUP != ""){
BBBW_comScore.params['bb_bucket'] = _BUCKET;
BBBW_comScore.params['bb_bucket_group'] = _BUCKET_GROUP;
}
BBBW_comScore.track();
BBBW_comScore.write_cookie(comScore_track_key,"",-1);
</script>
<noscript>
<p>
<img alt='*' height='1' src='http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&amp;c2=3005059' width='1'>
</p>
</noscript>
<!-- END COMSCORE -->
<!-- Chartbeat Monitoring -->
<script>
var _sf_async_config= {uid: 15087, domain: "www.businessweek.com"};
_sf_async_config.useCanonical = true;
_sf_async_config.sections = "Global Economics";
_sf_async_config.authors = "Mujib Mashal";
(function(){
function loadChartbeat() {
window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime();
var e = document.createElement('script');
e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript');
e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript');
e.setAttribute('src',
(("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://s3.amazonaws.com/" : "http://") + "static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat_pub.js");
document.body.appendChild(e);
}
var oldonload = window.onload;
window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ? loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); };
})();
</script>
<!-- Last Update: 2015-01-03 05:04:39 -0500 -->
</body>
</html>