Why do women wear the hijab (or don't)?

Fascinating declarations from women in seven countries.  They sincerely and insightfully explain why they do (or don't) wear the Muslim head scarf.

U.S. withdrawal from Iraq/Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

Iraq/Kuwait border, 2010:

Afghanistan/Soviet border, 1989:

Restrepo movie trailer

I went into the theater today to see Agora, but I should have seen this documentary about our attempt to secure the Korangal Valley in Afghanistan instead.  Here is an article about our failed and futile efforts there.  All I have to say after watching this trailer is that we need to at least quintuple the resources we put into providing mental health care for our veterans.

$1 trillion worth of minerals discovered in Afghanistan

To quote Homer Simpson: "To beer, the cause of, and solution to, all of our problems."

No good can come of this.

Article here.

In the Footsteps of Marco Polo video

I just watched a 90 minute documentary on PBS.  It's about two Americans who retraced Marco Polo's journey in the early 1990s, right after the fall of the Soviet Union.  The production value is so-so but the story is amazing.  You can watch the entire documentary online.  My favorite parts include:

• World of Warlords (their meeting with a Northern Alliance warlord and being kidnapped by AK-47 brandishing Hazaras).
• Through the Wakhan Corridor.
• The Deserts of Western China (Kashgar and the Talkamakan).
• Mongolia and Tibet.

Soviet Veterans of Afghanistan War Documentary

Soviet Army Afghan War Manual (1987)

These pictures are from a manual which was passed out to Soviet soldiers during an unsuccessful, drawn-out, bloody, expensive effort to occupy Afghanistan and drive out Islamic extremists. Oh, and the soldiers returned to Mother Russia with PTSD and strung out on heroin.

Loose lips sink ships.

No macking on the local ladies.

Locals frown upon looking at Ivan Drago's pecs and six-pack.

Don't buy anything from the locals, especially booze and drugs.

Attempts to win hearts and minds of locals will only result in painful stabbings.

Source

The Domino Effect: Central Asia Version

Instability in Afghanistan begets instability in Tajikistan begets instability in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.