Building schools in Afghanistan - and the Pentagon digs it, too

So cool. Meet Greg Mortenson, who has been building schools in Afghanistan with the aim of promoting education (especially women's education) as a way of helping everyone out - and reducing world-wide violence (a.k.a. terrorism). Paul forwarded me this New York Times article about Greg, and it made me so happy that I thought I'd pass it on.

Especially happy-making for me is the fact that the Pentagon is acknowledging this initiative. From the article:

"The Pentagon, which has a much better appreciation for the limits of military power than the Bush administration as a whole, placed large orders for 'Three Cups of Tea' [EM: the book Greg wrote] and invited Mr. Mortenson to speak.

"'I am convinced that the long-term solution to terrorism in general, and Afghanistan specifically, is education,' Lt. Col. Christopher Kolenda, who works on the Afghan front lines, said in an e-mail in which he raved about Mr. Mortenson's work. 'The conflict here will not be won with bombs but with books. ... The thirst for education here is palpable.'"

And he has an interesting story.

Hope lives on. Go Greg.