Last year, during a visit to Pakistan's Northern Areas, I travelled to the remote Kalash Valley of Rumbur, in "Kafiristan". The area is known as Kafiristan because the local residents, known as the Kalasha, are essentially animists, and since they do not practice Islam, they are not Muslims, but Kafirs. Kafiristan in Pakistan borders Nuristan in Afghanistan. "Nur" means "light", and the region was named Nuristan because a long time ago, the inhabitants converted from animism to Islam.
We had some difficulty getting into the valley, as we had arrived too late to register with the police in Chitral, and there had been a bit of a security incident involving a foreigner a few months before our visit.
The foreigner in question was named Gary Brooks Faulkner. Faulkner, an unemployed construction worker, from Colorado in the US, was arrested carrying a sword, some hashish, Christian literature, a pistol and nightvision goggles. He had slipped away from his police minders and was making his way over the border to decapitate Bin Laden with a Samurai sword and collect the $25 million reward.
Unsurprisingly, Faulkner was released without charge and sent back to the States (I wonder what would happen to a Pakistani man caught with drugs, religious material, a Samurai sword and nightvision goggles in the US).
According to newspaper reports, Faulkner is "overjoyed" at Bin Laden's capture, and relieved that he won't have to return to Pakistan to take OBL out.
However, he's also claiming credit for Bin Laden's death, and wants his reward:
"I had a major hand and play in this wonderful thing, getting him out of the mountains and down to the valleys ... Someone had to get him out of there. That's where I came in," he said. "I scared the squirrel out of his hole, he popped his head up and he got capped.
"I'm proud of our boys, I'm very proud of our government ... They were handed this opportunity on a platter from myself." (Samurai Sword-Wielding Bin Laden Hunter Demands Share of the Reward)
Another 30 year-old, anonymous American has been hunting Bin Laden in Afghanistan, and maintaining a blog about his efforts. Judging from the blog, the guy has been hiring locals to take him around to various caves, in search of the terrorist mastermind. He doesn't have any cash to support his mission, but as he points out in his Hunting Bin Laden Blog, he is an American, which means he has credit cards.
Hard luck boys, looks like you won't be getting your hands on the cash after all. I wonder how this 30 year-old guy plans to pay his credit card bills.
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