Egyptian soldiers profited from commerce during the Yemen war

Evidence

Even the war in the Yemen was not without its rewards. Egyptian troops were rotated fairly rapidly, and many found the opportunity in Arabia, in the usual manner of armies abroad, to buy and sell their way to moderate and relative wealth. Many a Cairo taxi-driver acquired his vehicle with money brought back from the Yemen. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1258

Categorization

• CANDY: The detail that Cairo taxi drivers bought their cabs with Yemen war profits is a vivid, tweetable surprise.
• SEED: Could be an essay angle on how failed wars still redistribute wealth through army-abroad commerce — the unglamorous economics of imperialism.