Brokeback...

Kurdistan? I originally wanted to label this post Kurdish Cowboys when I realized that only one of the handsome guys in this line-up is Kurdish; there is also an Arab and a Turcoman cowboy! It is simple things that would be so ordinary back home, like the friendship between guys of different ethnicities, that make me feel more hopeful/less cynical regarding the future of this institution and the region.... especially as the students here are cherry-picked to eventually take their places as ministers, policy-makers and other governmental big wigs.

These three were in my office two days ago to discuss/hand-in final research projects. I hope the cowboy hats (believe it or not, I have heard it is a burgeoning fashion here) are NOT indicative of sentiments that favor cowboy diplomacy as a method of conflict resolution. I know that at least one of these guys is a risk-taker, but I am hoping none of their essays demonstrate the overly-simple, dichotomous world view favored by other cowboys active in the political arena here...