December 31, 2002

  The December 29th shooting incident on the Pakistani border was murkier than it seemed. The man who shot the American soldier was dressed as a Pakistani Border Scouts. But the man has escaped and the other Border Scouts in the area did not recognize him. The Scouts were first formed over a century ago by the British. Recruited from local tribesmen, the Scouts act as police as well as border guards. But their uniform uses cloth that is used for school uniforms and work clothes, so anyone with a rifle and a tailor could disguise themselves as a Border Scout. It appears that the "Border Scout" was a Taliban supporter operating in disguise.