North Korea, never a country to take the threat of foreign invasion lightly, has been under virtual lockdown since October to keep the Ebola virus from crossing its borders. But two leading travel agencies that specialize in the small but growing North Korea market say they have confirmed the North may be ready to open up its doors again soon.

“Two different flights of MV-22 Osprey and KC-130 aircraft, along with U.S. Marines, will arrive to support the whole-of-government effort to contain Ebola,” U.S. Army Capt. R. Carter Langston told The Associated Press in an email. They were to land later Thursday at Roberts Airfield outside the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

As a Marine, Sgt. Roman Baca spent eight months in Fallujah between 2005 and 2006. Now, the Queens resident is headed back to Iraq—but this time it is for a cultural effort connected to his work before and after his military service: dance.

"America's Foreign Service officers and military personnel represent our country all over the world... This photography exhibition provides a unique view of their work to resolve conflicts and forge new partnerships and advance America's interests and values.

The U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan... all demonstrates...that the United States is bent on dominating the Muslim world. A decade of public diplomacy has not dented this view, and polls of Muslim populaces indicate that they continue to have a poor opinion of the United States.

Working closely with public diplomacy is a big part of the job, Raval said. He said that many of their projects are funded through public diplomacy grants and some of them allow Afghans to travel to America for eight-to 10-week seminars to learn skills such as business development, and upon return they are able to pass on what they have learned to their fellow Afghans.

During research on media and conflict in Afghanistan, Professor Price came across the interesting phenomenon of "Radio in a Box,"....RIAB is a technique used by the U.S. military, in part, for improving communication with the Afghan National Army.