Here’s a story from Iraq you’ve never heard. A friend of mine who’s there just told it to me.
I was talking to some guys from a British Army detachment, and they said early on in the war, while the Brits were securing the Iran/Iraq border near Basra, an American man with a large backpack walked up to them and asked them for directions. The Brits were incredulous. “You do know there’s a war on?”
“No, I’ve been backpacking across Asia now for three years.” the American said, “What’s going on?”
The Brits said they had no choice but to take him as a prisoner of war until his identity could be established. Turned out, he was just some schmuck hiking across Asia. The Iranian border guards must have known there was a war going on, but they didn’t tell this guy anything.