MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (June 3, 2009) -- “There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea,” said the 19th century philosopher, Bernard-Paul Heroux. The Marines, Sailors and civilian personnel of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command learned just how important a cup of tea could be to their missions in Afghanistan, here May 28.
The members of MARSOC sat and listened attentively as Nobel Prize nominee and New York Times best-selling author Greg Mortenson spoke about building relationships as part of the strategic approach to winning the war of influence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The talk was part of a two-day seminar hosted by MARSOC, in which distinguished members of various organizations and political think tanks gathered together to share their insights on Afghani, Pakistani and Indian culture with the special operators.
Mortenson’s talk to MARSOC was based on his New York Times best-selling book, “Three Cups of Tea,” which outlines his quest to build schools in an impoverished Pakistan, and his reliance on meeting and building relationships with tribal elders to understand the culture, thus creating the types of bonds that led to his success.
As of 2008, Mortenson has established over 78 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan which provide education to over 30,000 children, including 22,000 girls.
“I believe that ignorance is the true enemy,” said Mortenson. “(Villages) with the highest illiteracy rates and poorest education are prime recruiting grounds for terrorists. This is because many of the people that they recruit can not read and understand the Qur’an for themselves.”
Mortenson is a living hero to rural communities of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he has gained the trust of Islamic leaders, military commanders, government officials and tribal chiefs from his tireless effort to champion education, especially for girls. He is one of few foreigners who have worked in the rural villages of Pakistan to help promote education and be a advocate for children.
His work has not been without difficulty. In 1996, he survived an eight-day armed kidnapping by the Taliban. He also escaped a firefight in 2003 with feuding Afghan opium warlords by hiding for eight hours under putrid animal hides in a truck. None of these obstacles have stopped him in his quest to bring schools to these regions.
The path that led Mortenson to bring hope to so many in Pakistan began at one of the toughest points in his life. On July 24, 1992, Mortenson’s younger sister, Christa, died from a massive seizure after a lifelong struggle with epilepsy. In 1993, to honor his sister’s memory, Mortenson climbed Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain in the Karakoram Range. After the climb, while recovering in a local village, Mortenson met a group of children sitting in the dirt writing with sticks in the sand. He made a promise to help them build a school. From that rash promise grew a remarkable humanitarian campaign to which Mortenson has dedicated his life in order to promote education for boys and girls in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“We can drop bombs or build roads or put in electricity, but unless girls are educated, society won’t change,” said Mortenson.
Mortenson understood early in his work that understanding the local culture would be vital for him to befriend and build relationships with the villagers.
“Tea plays an important cultural role in Pakistan,” said Mortenson. “(During) the first cup of tea, you are a stranger to your host. After the second, you become a friend, and after the third, you become family.”
A U.S. Army veteran himself, Mortenson complimented the U.S. military on their understanding and use of relationship building in an operational environment.
“In many ways, the military is ahead of the State Department in setting standards to build relationships with the good people of Afghanistan,” said Mortenson. “Within the military over the last three years, there has been a huge learning curve. Instead of firepower, I call it brain power.”
“Three Cups of Tea” is required reading for officers in the Norwegian War College and for some U.S. Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan. Mortenson has met several top U.S. military commanders, including Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. David Petraeus, commander, U.S. Central Command, and Adm. Eric Olson, commander, United States Special Operations Command. He said all three have read his book and advocate its message to build relationships as a part of an overall strategic plan. Mortenson has also spoken at over two dozen military bases, briefed officers and advisory staff in the Pentagon several times, and has lectured at the U.S. military academies. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by bi-partisan U.S. Congressional representatives.
“Three Cups of Tea” is now required reading for the Marines and Sailors of MARSOC, according to Maj. Gen. Mastin M. Robeson, MARSOC commander, who invited Mortenson to Camp Lejeune after attending a talk given by Mortenson in Florida.
“I want every (member) of MARSOC, especially those on the ground in country, to read and truly comprehend the message of this book,” said Robeson.
Mortenson was also joined by Ambassador Jamsheed Marker to speak to the members of MARSOC. Marker was appointed as Ambassador of Pakistan in 1965, and has since served abroad in that capacity in eleven different capitals, with concurrent accreditation to a further nine countries.
Will sitting down and drinking tea with the villagers of Afghanistan solve every problem that presents itself in the war of influence? Probably not, but for the warrior-diplomats of MARSOC, it’s a good place to start.