Greg Mortenson's Response to Allegations on CBS

Important Messages from Central Asia Institute
For further questions, concerns and inquires, please email media@ikat.org.

• Greg Mortenson’s Message to Supporters
• An Important Message from Greg Mortenson 04/15/11
• CAI Board of Directors Statement 04/16/11
• Please see Central Asia Institute’s Financials here
• CAI Board of Directors Response to “60 Minutes” Questions
• Greg Mortenson’s response to “60 Minutes” Questions

Greg Mortenson: A Face of America Commentary (July 2010)

Greg Mortenson: A Face of America Commentary

By Tony Mussari
Copyright 2010
The Face of America Project
Mussari-Loftus Associates, LTD

The seats in the Kirby Theater are empty. The room is dark, the books, pictures, graphics and all the other external trappings of Greg Mortenson’s visit are packed away. The letters on the marquis announce another event, but the memory of this magical moment will forever be recorded in the hearts and souls of the 1,800 people who filled the Kirby Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday last.

Among those memories are ten statements and five quotations that, if applied, can change our world for the better:

1. Use books not bullets to bring peace to our world;

click here for complete article

3 Cups of Tea With Greg Mortenson (05/08/10)

SBMS Teen Press

A blog by the Santa Barbara Middle School Teen Press

May 8th, 2010

UCSB Arts and Lectures and Direct Relief International treated Santa Barbara to yet another inspirational evening this week. Greg Mortenson, peacebuilder and author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools overflowed the Direct Relief warehouse and the Arlington Theater, sharing his vision for peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the world.With palettes of aid wrapped and ready for far off neighbors their backdrop, theSanta Barbara Middle School Teen Press, working with Santa Barbara Kids Magazine, shared three cups of tea with Greg, shoes off, on the floor of the Direct Relief warehouse.

For complete article, please <click here>

Greg Mortenson on Canada's # 1 Late Night Show (01/20/10)

Greg Mortenson on Canada's # 1 Late Night Show

'The Hour' with CBC TV host George Stroumboulopoulos

Wednesday, January 20, 2010,

Ten minute video, click below:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/The_Hour/ID=1393356940

Philadelphia Inquirer (01/17/10)

Philadelphia Inquirer

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Worldview: A surge in schools

A best seller describes a compelling way to build ties with Afghanistan.

By Trudy Rubin

Readers often ask me if I've read Three Cups of Tea, the best seller by a self-styled "crazy American" named Greg Mortenson. The book describes how he came to build girls' schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Often the questioners are quite passionate. This is no surprise, since Three Cups of Tea has topped the charts for three years, Mortenson's lectures pack huge halls, and America's top military brass frequently cite the book. Nearly four million copies have been sold, in 41 countries, and of the 131 schools that Greg's Central Asia Institute has built, none has been shut down by the Taliban . . .

read on click here:

www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20100117_Worldview__A_surge_in_schools.html

Bill Moyer's Journal, PBS TV 30" feature with Greg Mortenson (01/15/10)

Bill Moyer's Journal
PBS TV 30" feature with Greg Mortenson
Sunday, January 15, 2010

Click link below
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01152010/watch2.html

Garrison Keilor discusess Greg Mortenson's birthday and his hew book Stones into Stones on Writer's Almanac NPR (12/27/09)

The inspiring sequel to "Three Cups of Tea" ... (12/21/09)

Stones Into Schools

The inspiring sequel to "Three Cups of Tea" follows Greg Mortenson into remote Afghanistan where he continues his quest to build schools.

By Marilyn Gardner

Monday, December 21, 2009

Until this year, children living in one of the remotest corners of eastern Afghanistan could only dream of getting an education. No schools existed to nourish hungry young minds. But now, a simple wooden structure in the heart of a valley stands as a beacon of hope for a brighter future . . . Perched at an altitude of 12,480 feet, this schoolhouse sits on the “roof of the world,” where transporting construction materials is virtually impossible. It represents one of the proudest achievements of Greg Mortenson, an American mountaineer-turned-humanitarian. His passion for educating girls has led to the building of 131 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, often against daunting odds and amid considerable danger . . .

Read more . . . click here

www.csmonitor.com/Books/2009/1222/Stones-Into-Schools

Greg visits students at Bosque School - Alburquerque NM (12/08/09)

Greg Mortenson greets students at Bosque School, Alburquerque NM on Dec 8th, 2009. Photo: Jeff McMillan. Greg visits over 200 schools a year in the U.S., from public to private, and rural and urban schools, and says it is his favorite thing to do, and is very inspired by children.

To check out Greg's book tour, visit:
www.stonesintoschools.com/events/calendar

Fighting Terrorism With Schools (11/22/09)

PARADE Magazine,

Sunday, November 22, 2009

By Greg Mortenson

Greg Mortenson featured in PARADE Magazine, Sunday, 22, 2009 discusses his 17 years effort to promote literacy and education for girls in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan, the progress of the U.S. military to listen more, build relationships and empower the elders in the AF-Pak region, and announces the release of his new book, Stones Into Schools (Viking) on December 1st, 2009. Excerpts below.

. . Young women are the developing world’s greatest agents of progress. Just one year of schooling will dramatically raise a girl’s later economic prospects, and where girls get to fifth grade, birth rates and infant mortality plunge. Teaching girls to read and write reduces the ignorance and poverty that fuel religious extremism and lays a groundwork for prosperity and peace . . .

. . . To succeed as nations, Pakistan and Afghanistan require the full engagement of their women. But not just their women. In every village in which CAI operates, we seek the support of local religious leaders and elders . .

For full article, click to www.parade.com/news/2009/11/22-fighting-terrorism-with-schools.html

Greg Mortenson on CBS WISH 9 TV (11/02/09)

Greg Mortenson on CBS WISH 9 TV, Indianapolis, IN
Monday, November 2, 2009

Click Here for the Video

AMERICA'S BEST TWENTY LEADERS (10/22/09)

US News & World Report

AMERICA'S BEST TWENTY LEADERS

October 22, 2009

Greg Mortenson: Promotes Peace With Girls Education

Greg Mortenson, coauthor of the wildly successful book Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace.. . One School at a Time, can recall the precise moment he knew that he had created a movement. A girls' school that Mortenson helped to open south of Kabul, Afghanistan, had been attacked by the Taliban in the summer of 2007 . . .

Read on <click here>

A Peace Prize to Share (10/15/09)

Greg Mortenson with Jafarabad community

schoolgirls in northern Pakistan in 2003.

(Courtesy Greg Mortenson -- Central Asia Institute)

A Peace Prize to Share

By Tom Brokaw

Thursday, October 15, 2009

In one way or another, President Obama's critics will dog him all the way to Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and even his admirers will continue to have doubts about his accomplishments if not his promise.

He's getting a lot of advice on how to handle the moment when he accepts the prize, so here's an idea that may lift this discussion out of the partisan soup that is now the main course on our national agenda, whatever the issue.

The president should invite a high-profile and wide-ranging delegation of interests to accompany him. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, representing diplomacy and arms in pursuit of peace. Greg Mortenson, the author of "Three Cups of Tea," who has spent years working for education and literacy (especially for girls) in mountainous parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Field representatives from organizations such as Refugees International, the International Rescue Committee (where I am a volunteer overseer), CARE, Save the Children and other groups doing the hard work of caring for the victims of war. Bill and Melinda Gates should be in his delegation, as well as Republican Sam Brownback, the senator from Kansas, who's been a tireless advocate of greater U.S. involvement to stop the genocide in Sudan.

Tom Brokaw is a special correspondent and former "Nightly News" anchor for NBC.

complete article can be found under: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/14/AR2009101402966.html

Teacher, Can We Go Now? NO (07/19/09)

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman Joint Chiefs Of Staff and Greg Mortenson in Pushgur village, Afghanistan, July 15, 2009

NEW YORK TIMES
Sunday, July 19, 2009
By Thomas Freidman
Teacher, Can We Go Now? NO

I confess, I find it hard to come to Afghanistan and not ask: Why are we here? Who cares about the Taliban? Al Qaeda is gone. And if its leaders come back, well, that’s why God created cruise missiles.

But every time I start writing that column, something stills my hand. This week it was something very powerful. I watched Greg Mortenson, the famed author of “Three Cups of Tea,” open one of his schools for girls in this remote Afghan village in the Hindu Kush mountains. I must say, after witnessing the delight in the faces of those little Afghan girls crowded three to a desk waiting to learn, I found it very hard to write, “Let’s just get out of here.” . . .

Which is why it was no accident that Adm. Mike Mullen, the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — spent half a day in order to reach Mortenson’s newest school and cut the ribbon . . . .

Read more at:
www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19friedman.html

Good Housekeeping (June 2009)

Good Housekeeping

June 2009

Teach a Girl, Change the World

By Judith Stone

Together, a visionary dad and his intrepid daughter are on a mission to help needy kids in a troubled part of the globe — one penny at a time. Before Greg Mortenson reveals the most powerful piece of advice ever imparted to him by his 12-year-old daughter, Amira, he wants to chat a bit about whether or not he's a bad dad.

For more click here . . .

For complete article click here:

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/real/education-for-girls

Sailors & U.S. Marines hear unique viewpoint from best-selling author (06/26/09)

NAVY COMPASS Sailors & U.S. Marines hear unique viewpoint from best-selling author

By MCC Bill Gowdy

Friday, 26 June 2009

SAN DIEGO (June 25, 2009)-- Individual Augmentee (IA) and Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Support Assignment (GSA) sailors currently assigned to the Navy Mobilization and Processing Site (NMPS) at Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) were treated to a presentation on life in the rural hinterlands of Afghanistan and an interesting perspective on the war by a best-selling author.

Greg Mortenson, author of the N.Y. Times best-seller Three Cups of Tea, offered stories of his experiences and unique views that are increasingly being shared by senior military leaders.

Many of his views run counter to what is considered conventional wisdom.

Read more - click here . . .

http://www.navycompass.com/index.php/top-stories/1623-mccawsw-bill-gowdy-

'Tea' author speaks to NC special op Marines (05/28/09)

Associated Press - News Observer, North Carolina

'Tea' author speaks to NC special op Marines

by KEVIN MAURER, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, May 28, 2009

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) - Special operations Marines trained to infiltrate enemy lines and kill Taliban fighters spent Thursday morning with a man known for winning allies in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan one cup of tea at a time.

for the complete article, please follow the link below:

http://www.newsobserver.com/1565/v-print/story/1545623.html

ABC News Person of The Week (03/27/09)

'Three Cups of Tea' Author Never Gave Up on His Peacebuilding Efforts To Establish Girls Schools

By ALICE MAGGIN

To view ABC News video clip, click here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7193877

Mortenson @ West Point (03/13/09)

Times Herald-Record (Hudson Valley, NY)
Mortenson tells West Point Army cadets how to win in Afghanistan
Friday March 13, 2009
By Alexa James

WEST POINT — Author and Greg Mortenson introduced himself to an auditorium of Army cadets, then told them how to win in Afghanistan: "Drink more tea."

Mortenson met with students in West Point's Counterinsurgency Operations class on Tuesday to discuss his humanitarian work in Central Asia and his best-selling book, "Three Cups of Tea."

The Army veteran explained: "First cup you're a stranger, the second cup a guest. On the third cup you become family."

"That doesn't mean you just go around drinking tea and having peace and freedom in the world," he said. "What it means is, you have to build relationships."

For complete article, please click below:
www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090313/NEWS/903130339/-1/NEWS

Author Greg Mortenson to speak at West Point (03/09/09)

Times Herald Record (Middletown - Hudson Valley, NY)

Author Greg Mortenson to speak at West Point

Monday, March 09, 2009

By Alexa James

 

WEST POINT — Best-selling author Greg Mortenson will deliver a public lecture on Tuesday night to Army cadets taking a Military Science Counterinsurgency Operations course at West Point.

 

Mortenson wrote “Three Cups of Tea,” a story about his effort to fight terrorism and promote peace by building schools in impoverished parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. As of 2008, he's established more than 78 schools for roughly 28,000 children.

 

Mortenson's work has been rife with conflict. In 1996, he survived an eight-day armed kidnapping in Pakistan. In 2003, he escaped a firefight between feuding Afghan warlords by hiding under animal hides in a truck heading for a leather-tanning factory.

 

After 9/11, he received hate mail and death threats from Americans who were angry about his education efforts for Muslim children.

 

In August 2008, Pakistan's government gave Mortenson its highest civil award, the Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) for his humanitarian efforts. Pakistan's president will confer the award on March 23 in Islamabad.

 

“Mortenson’s involvement in central Asia is critical to a holistic approach to assisting other countries,” said Maj. James Spies, the Counterinsurgency Operations course director at West Point.

 

“The military has re-learned the lessons of counterinsurgency that point out the need to build up the whole of a society to assist them in solving the core problems that created an insurgency.”

 

The lecture will take place in Thayer Hall’s Robinson Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Attendees should enter West Point through Thayer or Stoney Lonesome gates and bring valid identification. Vehicles are subject to search. Visitors may park in Clinton Lot or other available spaces.

 

www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090309/NEWS/90309037

(c) 2009. All Rights Reserved.

To The Point (02/27/09)

NPR

Friday, February 27, 2009

Greg Mortenson featured live on NPR "To The Point", hosted by Warrn Olney. Other guests are renowned Pakistan author, Ahmed Rashid ("Taliban", "Descent into Chaos") and Harlan Ullman at the Atlantic Council and National Defense University in DC. 

Click here or visit:

www.kcrw.com/news/programs/tp/tp090227religious_violence_a