teshupbelia

While military service is certainly honorable, does it trouble you that this is apparently becoming one of the main criteria for being an attractive candidate for a Hill job? Kurt Vonnegut said it better than I can in his novel 'Bluebeard,' "That was an ordinary way for a patriotic American to talk back then. It’s hard to believe how sick of war we used to be. We used to boast of how small our Army and Navy were, and how little influence generals and admirals had in Washington. We used to call armaments manufacturers “Merchants of Death. Can you imagine that?" EDIT: Also, thanks for a great AMA! Definitely one of the best in a long while.

North Jersey, too, but Union County. Erbil is kinda meh and I've definitely heard that Suli is more liberal. That being said, I lived in a Christian neighborhood and there was literally a liquor store on every corner and people would leave their house wearing shorts. I've spent a lot of time in the Middle East and the shorts thing shocked me. As for things to do...if you can swing a tour of the Citadel that's probably the most interesting. The Bazaar is also worth a visit. The museum is, like the city itself, meh. If you get to know any expats, there is literally a party somewhere every night.

Hey! from a NJ guy who was in Erbil for two months this summer. It was great to be working in Kurdistan, but I wasn't a huge fan of Erbil itself. I've heard that both the culture and the climate are much nicer in Sulaymaniya.