‘ 60 Minutes’ on Greg Mortenson
By Dr Zafar M. Iqbal
Chicago , IL
Steve Kroft of “60 Minutes” (CBS) on Sunday (17 April) had a piece on Greg Mortenson, which raised several troubling issues about Greg, the widely popular book he wrote with David Oliver Relin in 2006 (‘ Three Cups of Tea’), his school-building projects in Afghanistan and his non-profit charity, Central Asia Institute of Bozeman, MT.
There have been countless laudatory reviews worldwide on Mortenson himself and his book. In Pakistan Link itself, a tribute to Mortenson appeared a few months ago (“Thank You, Greg!” 12/24/10), eulogizing him and his charitable humanitarian efforts: http://pakistanlink.org/Community/2010/Dec10/24/06.HTM .
And some four years earlier ( 7/7/06), Riz Rahim had a rave review in Pakistan Link of ‘Three Cups of Tea’: http://pakistanlink.org/Commentary/2006/July06/07/02.HTM .
This ‘60 Minutes’ report was the result of CBS investigation in Bozeman, MT and elsewhere in the US and Afghanistan, together with interviews in Bozeman and in US and Aghnaistan with those who knew and worked with Mortenson and were familiar with the details of the accounts published in his book.
A number of unflattering things emerged in the Kroft’s report:
No one seems to deny that he has built schools or done various humanitarian things in Afghanistan but those who know found his claims to be “grossly exaggerated” and his account not accurately reported and fabricated. American Institute of Philanthropy has serious questions about the abuse of funds from the nonprofit Central Asia Institute, an organization Mortenson started. It seems more was spent on Mortenson’s personal expenses (including travel on private jets, etc.) than on building schools in Afghanistan. And there was just one audit in years. He reports in ‘Three Cups of Tea’ of his kidnapping by the Taliban: this was denied by Afghans who knew him. Kroft, who had been seeking an interview with Mortenson for some time, came to a Mortenson book-signing ceremony but Mortenson refused to be interviewed and abruptly left the hotel, canceling the scheduled speech at that hotel.
After the accolades heaped on him over the years, the ‘60 Minutes’ piece by Steve Kroft challenging Mortenson’s various claims came as a great shock, a belated eye opener.
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