In reference to your speculation concerning the reason American troops wear the keffiyeh, I would have to disagree. As a service member who has done quite a bit of desert time, I can tell you that we are wearing them for practical purposes. Keffiyehs keep the sun off of our necks and prevent sand from getting into our cammie blouses. We can wet them down and pace them inside of our brain-buckets to keep cool as well. Desert warfare sucks. It sucks worse when you have sand in your eyes and mouth. I will be headed to Afghanistan soon and I, for one, will be taking my keffiyeh with me. Lots of my guys swear by them. We love them because they are useful...not because we are intent on appropriating Arab culture.
In reference to your speculation concerning the reason American troops wear the keffiyeh, I would have to disagree. As a service member who has done quite a bit of desert time, I can tell you that we are wearing them for practical purposes. Keffiyehs keep the sun off of our necks and prevent sand from getting into our cammie blouses. We can wet them down and pace them inside of our brain-buckets to keep cool as well. Desert warfare sucks. It sucks worse when you have sand in your eyes and mouth. I will be headed to Afghanistan soon and I, for one, will be taking my keffiyeh with me. Lots of my guys swear by them. We love them because they are useful...not because we are intent on appropriating Arab culture.