ABSTRACT
The region of Afghanistan and Pakistan between the Oxus and Indus Rivers was in the news before 9/11 and continues to be in the news. The people living in Waziristan are called Pukhtuns, or Pushtuns or Pathans. Terrorism has been likened to a "disease". In contrast, health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 as "physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing and not only absence of disease". Accordingly the perpetrators of both terrorism and counter terrorism can spread "disease". An altruistic approach needs to be applied by decision makers rather than retaliation and revenge, such as "an eye for an eye", which, according to Martin Luther King Jr., leaves everyone blind. A systematic application to the problem of Rudyard Kipling's "W's" (Why, Which, When, Where, What) can also help address the root causes of the manmade disasters.
