Normal is a relative term

What is normal in the USA is not always normal in some parts of the world. Most Americans expect the lights to come on when they turn the switch, or the toilet to flush when using the handle, or the heat or A/C to work when they set the thermostat, 24/7. But all this is uniquely American, and it is not normal. It is special. And we should thank our ancestors who made it all happen.

Most stories about where Osama Bin Laden and other bad guys are hiding usually mention the area between Pakistan and Afghanistan called by various names, depending on the time period primarily. Today if you are Paki, it is the North West Frontier Province, but it has many other names more recently going back to the Brits when this area was part of India. The present local boundary between the two States has one local name “Durand Line” for the Brit diplomat who used geography to try divide the Pashtun tribes in the area. Unfortunately then, they did not listen or care, and they still don’t. There simply is no Afghan or Paki federal authority in the area. This is not so amazing if one only goes back just over 100 years ago to the American frontier areas. Even going to old Oklahoma cemeteries one will find many tombstones with the “address” as I.T., or Indian Territories.

Those who, with the best intentions, say something must be done about this need only volunteer to go into the area. Just like where we all live in our local communities, outsiders and new arrivals stick out to those most suspicious. Murder of interlopers can be considered a local form of democracy. And if the area was rich enough in natural resources or some other reason to conquer it, it would have already been done so. Just do a Google Earth visit and see how “uninviting” this land is.

Let ‘em have it seems to be the consensus, unless you are an outsider telling the President of Pakistan how to do his business. Nobody is volunteering for his job. And all outsiders suffer from being outsiders. Another alternative is to give the local person credit for knowing his scene and turf better than anyone else, and back him up. Expect him to sort it out from his point of view. And work like the devil to make sure his point of view coincides with the USA point of view, local compromises accepted. While this course of action may fail, what other courses of action do we have as outsiders? Certainly the turf is not worth an American occupation. And the cultural customs work against us. While any of us Americans might give up Osama Bin Laden for $25 million, the prospects that all my Pashtun family and their families will be later killed is a show stopper. This is locally normal.