AFGHANISTAN
WHY IT'S HOT
Pakistan, with UN and other international assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees with less than a million still remaining, many at their own choosing; Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistan protests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portions of their border; Coalition and Pakistani forces continue to monitor remote tribal areas to control the border with Afghanistan and stem terrorist and other illegal activities.
WHAT WE LOVE
Languages: Dari (Persian), Pashto
Persian Poetry (gorgeous)
Naan (the best bread on the planet?)
The cricket team (kicked Scottland’s butt!!)
Scaly-bellied Woodpeckers (yeah, it’s actually a bird with a kick-ass name)
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BAGDHAD
WHY IT'S HOT
Coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq. War, war, war.
WHAT WE LOVE
Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
Tea Houses (who doesn’t like an afternoon gossip session with good tea?)
Falafel (as much fun to say as it is to eat!)
Guitars (yeah, they actually came from ancient Iraq!)
Respect for Elders (wrinkles are a good thing, here)
Kulthum and Fairouz (these women have pipes, man)
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MYANMAR
WHY IT'S HOT
Despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities.
WHAT WE LOVE
Language: Burmese
Ohnnukhaukswe: (a chicken stew cooked in coconut milk with a very cool name)
Green Tea: (usually instead of booze. No hangovers, AND it’s delicious!)
Puppets: (they go way beyond a sock, here)
Chinlan: (one cane ball, a stick, no winners or losers. Now there’s a sport you can get behind).
Have you eaten? (this is how they actually greet each other instead of hello. How cool is that?)
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TEHERAN
WHY IT'S HOT
Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors.
WHAT WE LOVE
Language: Persian, Azerbaijani
Persian Gardens: (paradise on earth?)
Eggplant (the potato of Iran)
Inventors of wine AND the brick (who knew?)
havij bastani (who wouldn’t love a place that can make a carrot juice ice cream float taste delicious?)
Aab Anaar (pomegranate juice! Yeah, it’s from here!)
Kabab (enough said)
Polo (way before Ralph Lauren, Iranian tribes were diggin’ it)
Persian Carpets (they don’t fly but they look fly)
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