Intense1

There is a difference in what someone is required to do/not do (i.e. wear a burkha off base) and what is prudent to do/not do. If the US is truly trying to "win the hearts and minds" of those countries in which we have military stationed, then it is incumbent upon us to do the "little things".

And female military personnel wearing burkhas when they are off duty and off base is not too much to ask, if it will win some hearts and minds. Or at the least, give extremists one less reason to try and blow up the aforementioned military personnel.

Being a woman myself and having to wear salwarkurta (also known as punjabies - the long dress like top with matching pants and a head scarf around the neck) when I spent four months in Nepal was not a chore for me, as it attracted less attention to the fact that my hair is medium brown, my eyes are green, and my face is white, unlike most every other woman on the street. And since I was there as a part of a Christian youth workers' training school, every little bit of anonymity I could get in this very Hindu kingdom helped.

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(none yet, still thinkin')