FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - MORNING
PETER is watching TV. There's a banner: CIA Director met with Taliban Leader.
PETER (V.O.): Last night, I saw a live report that the Taliban wasn't happy that Afghans were leaving Afghanistan.
Peter sees another banner:...stick to the Aug 31 deadline...contingency plan...
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): Would the contingency plan include the re-invasion of Afghanistan?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): I just can't keep recalling the 1965 Hollywood film Von Ryan's Express, staring Frank Sinatra.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): The fictional story is about Allied prisoners of war, hijacking a freight train and fleeing the German-occupied Italy.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): Most made it onto the train but Ryan (Frank Sinatra) didn't make it, being killed by gunfire still running for the train.
Act 2
EXT. GOLDEN BEACH - AFTERNOON
Not far away from the shore, Peter is swimming against the current.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, I've to swim harder to counteract the drift.
Having changed from breaststrokes to freestyle, Peter soon sees rolling stones underneath him. He gets back to the beach.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): I've swum non-stop for about 45 minutes.
Using the beach facilities, Peter is changing and bathing.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): I don't know if drumming is harder than swimming.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): I learned from TV this morning that Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones has died today at the age of 80.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): When I was in my teens, I also dreamt to become a drummer.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): But few drummers can become the front person.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): Karen Carpenter - the singer and drummer was the exception.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): But she died of a heart failure due to eating disorders. She was just 32.
Wet-haired, Peter is strolling along the promenade towards the car park.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If swimmers like to wear burqa-style swimwear, is it only good and right to require them to wear bikinis?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): In my early 20s when I was studying the Philosophy of Religion, I was struck by the concept of cultural relativism.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Cultural relativism is the objective analysis of other cultures, understanding a culture's beliefs and practices from that culture's point of view.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On the other hand, ethnocentrism is the evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions in the standards and customs of one's own culture.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Ethnocentrism usually entails the notion that one's own culture is superior to everyone's.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Early Taliban fighters were backed by US' CIA. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops and the fall of the government, the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 2001, the Taliban government was toppled from power by the US-led invasion. When the occupying forces failed in achieving their goal, they changed their goal to nation building.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): All sorts of training and equipment aside, there's no reason why Afghans should kill Afghans as they share the same culture, despite some political differences.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On political issues, there isn't any absolute good or bad, right or wrong, if one understands cultural relativism.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - EVENING
Peter is watching TV. We see the banner: Kabul Airport refugee plight. We see moving images of armed uniformed personnel on patrol.
PETER (V.O.): The Taliban are back again. And they've refused to extend the end-August deadline that wasn't initially set by them.
We hear from the TV an interviewee's remarks:...We make mistakes... we've to fix them...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The CIA Director and the occupying forces wouldn't have made the mistakes if they understood cultural relativism.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If cultural relativism has never been their concern, they can avoid the mistakes simply by complying with international law.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Waging a war on terror is itself an illegal war of terror.
We see on TV the banner: Afghanistan: Pentagon briefing. We hear:...I don't know...we do the best we can...I know my answers are unsatisfying...I don't have any information to update...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's hollow. I can imagine how awkward it was when the Taliban rejected the CIA Director's request to extend the deadline.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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