Once-Fancy Baghdad Street Is Suffering (AP)

An Iraqi man closes up his watch shop on the nearly empty Arrasat street Monday April 10, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq. Arrasat was Baghdad's fanciest commercial strip during the 1990s under Saddam Hussein, thriving on goods smuggled in under U.N. sanctions. After the collapse of Saddam's regime, it saw a short-lived boom that brought hopes of economic prosperity. But before long, its fortunes reversed as car bombings, kidnappings and a general feeling of insecurity took a toll on the street, turning it into a shadow of its former self. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)AP – Even while Iraq languished under crippling U.N. economic sanctions, upscale Arrasat Street thrived. Trendy stores with foreign names brimmed with sexy lingerie and Swiss watches. Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs whizzed past pricey restaurants where Western love songs played.


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