"Just talk to them"

I was reading an analysis of Iraq/Iran by a government-tied writer in one of the U.S.'s largest newspapers. There seemed to be a concern that we're leading to further problems in Iraq and possibly war with Iran (or at least further problems than we already have), and there's nothing we can do about it.

I was reminded of when I was a counterintelligence agent in South Korea. At the time, the dictatorship policies of South Korea were being replaced with a more open government that came at the cost of major demonstrations and major sacrifices being made by citizens of that country. Yeah, I know. We generally don't talk about South Korea as a dictatorship, because we see it as a "good" country because it was the opposer of North Korea, an "evil" country. But South Korea was no bed of roses. It was just on our side.

Anyway, I was working near the demilitarized zone (DMZ), and the city where we worked was an interesting area because there were no maps of the area. We could find topographical maps from the military, but you couldn't find local maps that showed what was where. They didn't sell Rand McNally maps in the stores. You just couldn't get information. Our field office often remarked that it would make our job so much easier if we could get a map of downtown. So, I asked why we didn't just go to the local authorities, like the police department, and ask them. I was told that we couldn't do that because our relations with the local police were not good.

So, being a foolish agent I was, I drove to the police department with my assistant, set up a meeting with the police chief. In the waiting room area, I spoke with a police lieutenant, and I noticed there was this huge situation map on the wall that detailed every business establishment in our area. I was sent into see the police chief. He told me during our meeting that he was not authorized to give me a map. So, I was about to leave with the expectation of my colleagues made real, but I was stopped at the door by a police lieutenant from the department. He asked if we could meet for lunch one day soon. So, I set up a lunch time meeting with him.

During our lunch, he told me that he was fascinated that I was an American who had taken the time to learn Korean so that I could speak in their language rather than force them to speak in my language. I said it was common courtesy; I was in HIS country. He then handed me a Manila folder and told me to open it when I got back to my office. When I returned to my office, I found a map of the area where we were located. Several days later, a special delivery came to my office from the police chief; it was the situation map (a huge map that showed where every local establishment was, a virtual copy of the main map they had on their wall, the one they used to monitor the local area). He thanked me for coming to his office to ask, something our people refused to do in the past (they used to "summon" him to our office instead).

So, I wonder how much of this is about what we can't do or what we won't do.

Stumble It!