After literally hundreds of firefights, Chosen Company became increasingly battle-hardened. And they also became increasingly suspicious of their Afghan counterparts, believing - with their lives on the line at the end of the day - that they could only truly rely on themselves. Richard Engel afghanbattlebelieve share on social
Fences and walls can be effective and even soothing, at least for those who build them. Richard Engel buildeffectivefence Change image and share on social
Persia is 7,000 years old and will fight to survive. Richard Engel 000fightpersia Change image and share on social
Iraq was home of the Abbasid Caliphate, a golden age when the Muslim world was at the forefront of math, science and medicine. Richard Engel abbasidagecaliphate Change image and share on social
The U.S. invaded the wrong country, destroying an odious government that was not responsible for 9/11. I don't know how you recover from invading the wrong country, no matter how you spin it. Richard Engel countrydestroygovernment Change image and share on social
Bin Laden is dead, and most of his friends are dead. But did it need to cost a trillion dollars and two land wars, including one that didn't have to do with Al Qaeda? Probably not. Richard Engel bincostdead Change image and share on social
You gotta love the names. They're so eager, earnest, and hopeful: Camp Prosperity, Camp Liberty, and Camp Victory are the names of just a few of the U.S. military bases in Baghdad. Richard Engel baghdadbasiscamp Change image and share on social
Afghanistan does have an air force: It has two C-130s. I saw one of them. It was nice, a gift from the United States. But two planes don't even make a Caribbean charter airline, let alone an air force for a country at war. Richard Engel 130safghanistanair share on social
Hezbollah and the government are only two of 18 political factions in Lebanon, most of them armed. There are militant Christian groups, Palestinian radicals, al-Qaida, Druze militias and even armed bands of Marxists still operating in Lebanon. Richard Engel armbandchristian share on social
Foreigners who speak Arabic in the Middle East are often assumed to be working for the C.I.A. or Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad. Richard Engel agencyarabicassume Change image and share on social
