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Neil Shea ©Stars and StripesBamiyan province, Afghanistan, August, 2011: A New Zealand police officer, part of a team mentoring Afghan police officials, takes a morning walk on the barren slopes outside the provincial capital. A Stars and Stripes story noted that Bamiyan was led by the only female governor in Afghanistan, roads were being built, and the capital's central bazaar was safe enough that NATO troops could travel there without body armor. “It’s like an island here, and oasis, compared to the rest of the country,” said an American soldier. But at the same time, the story continued, Bamiyan "remains one of the nation’s poorest regions. The capital is without electricity, and few households in the province have access to clean drinking water."

RELATED MATERIAL: Stars and Stripes' 2011 story about Bamiyan province.