My friend Briana has a friend (friend, ex-boyfriend, something, whatever) who's a Marine serving in Iraq. She writes him all the time, and now she's looking for pen pals for everyone in his unit. She asked me to write to the only woman. I thought it was a good idea. Life isn't exactly rosy over there. They live in squalid conditions. It's dangerous. They probably don't get many letters. And the woman is surrounded by 30 guys. Poor her.

I thought about what to write. "Thanks for spreading freedom and democracy?" That's not why they're there. "Thanks for being in Iraq so I don't have to"? Sounds pretty selfish. I don't even know this person, anyway. I wish she didn't have to be there either.

Some people don't even want to write to the troops, Briana told me. Though the occupation of Iraq isn't popular, it's not their fault that they're there. I thought about it some more. It kind of is their fault. I mean, I wish they didn't have to be there, but they brought it upon themselves by joining the military. When you join, you have to expect that you might be needed for war or war-like actions. We haven't been hanging around in Germany and Japan for 63 years just for giggles.

I thought about what would motivate someone to join the military. Nothing came to mind immediately. I think it's rarely because they want to kill people. I have friends who are going to join the Army and the Marines, and another who just joined the Navy. It seems that they want to be part of an institution that they think is honorable, and for some of them, it might be the only viable career choice after finishing school. I know one of them would love to kill lots of people, but he's the exception that proves the rule. (It's not you, Evan.)

Even so, people aspiring to join the Marines should know that they'll be trained to kill without remorse. So, do they deserve my sympathy? I grappled with that question for a little while. It is tough. I could give this woman the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe she was hoping just to hang out in Okinawa and pick up some Japanese. I think few people look with excitement on being sent to Iraq. And even if she did, she might regret it now. Anyway, what's done is done; she's already there. She probably needs some love right now. Marines are people too. That's good enough for me.

I wrote a letter this morning. It's hard to start contact with a pen pal, especially if you don't know anything about her and she's not even expecting a letter from you. In fact, it was easier for me to think of things not to say:

• "What made you want to be a Marine? Do you regret it now?"
• "Have you ever killed anyone?"
• "What are some things you're not allowed to tell me?"
• "Do you miss home? How much? A lot?"

I don't want to depress this person. Instead, I wrote about myself and how I got her name and address. I asked her where she was from and what she was interested in. Now, I will spend a few weeks waiting for a reply. And even though my first letter hasn't yet been picked up from the mail slot downstairs, I've already learned things from this correspondence.

Here's a coincidental link. It's an interactive map showing US military presence worldwide from 1950 to 2007.

One of those demonstration videos: Capturing 3D Surfaces Simply With a Flash Camera.

These are pretty weird: 20 of the World’s Weirdest Endangered Species.