Man of the World - Transcript

Professor Tom Gouttierre has been busier than usual. Ever since September 11, he has been consulting major news networks on Afghanistan.

[CNN/MSNBC news anchors:] "...from time to time a CNN consultant, Thomas Gouttierre. Now he's director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies..."

In the past year, Gouttierre has given fifteen hundred interviews.

[CNN/MSNBC news anchors:] "...I want to talk to you about each one of them. First there is of course..."

Even at home, in his kitchen, Afghanistan is not far away. On this day, the brother of the President of Afghanistan has called concerned about recent events that could adversely affect the new Afghan government.

[Tom Gouttierre:] "Yeah, but what would they get out of it? So one Pashtune is down and he's replaced by another Pashtune. I mean it's not..."

Much like his path in life, Gouttierre has a talent for taking the ordinary and creating something unexpected. he loves to cook. A pinch of this, a dash of that. This is his favorite recipe.

[Gouttierre:] "This is for Afghan Spinach, or Subzee Paalak, and I chose this because it's the most popular vegetable dish in Afghanistan."

Spinach is common to Afghanistan and the United States. Gouttierre understands both countries. He is Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He got there through a series of tough choices.

He was born in Ohio and spent his childhood playing sports and working in the family bakery. When he graduated from college, Gouttierre faced a tough decision. Stay in Ohio and the family business, or study abroad...if he could find the financial resources. His answer came with new program introduced by President Kennedy... the Peace Corps.

[Gouttierre:] "My wife Marylu and I applied as an engaged couple. And shortly after we were married (about a half year later) off we went to Afghanistan and where we served for two years in the Peace Corp. And then another ten years, nearly ten years there over that period where I went back as a Fullbright Fellow and I was head of the Fullbright Foundation.

"When we lived there in the sixties and seventies it was really in some ways an ideal place for someone who wanted to work in a developing country. For Afghans, many of whom were poor, it wasn't an ideal life but it's certainly better than anything they've had over the last thirty years. And it was a great place to travel around, it was very secure and safe."

Gouttierre found the Afghan people hospitable and became enamoured with their culture. His love of sports opened a unique opportunity for him. The chance to coach the Afghan National Basketball Team.

[Gouttierre:] "And the thing that it provided me with, in addition to the fun of basketball, is the youth of a country are much more spontaneous than anybody. I learned an awful lot about Afghanistan and about the culture through that spontaneity so I liked that very much."

For over ten years, the Gouttierre's lived and worked among the Afghan people. Their first child was born in Kabul. Tom's future in the Peace Corp was bright. But again, he faced a difficult decision. Become Director of the Peace Corps in Afghanistan, or return to America and accept the position of Dean of International Studies at UNO. It took him almost a year to decide. He then sent a telegram on April 1, 1974.

[Gouttierre:] "And I said, this is no April Fool's joke, I accept. I thought maybe I'd stay a couple of years and do something else, but I fell in love with the city of Omaha and with UNO. It's a great place to be. I had children, they found it was a great place to be as well.

Nearly thirty years later, Gouttierre has built a model International Studies program, working with exchange students from around the world. He has also kept close ties with Afghanistan.

Raheem Yaseer came to America from Afghanistan in 1988 and works as Tom's Assistant Director. The two men have been friends since Tom's Peace Corps days.

[Raheem Yaseer:] "Well, I remember all the dirty words in English that he taught me. And he remembers all the dirty words that I taught him. They are Farsi words. So that's something that stays with us for a long time."

There's been some controversy in regard to UNO's International Studies Program. According to Gouttierre, a Nebraska newspaper reprinted an article from the Chicago Times that accused him of working with the Taliban.

[Gouttierre:] "And was about this five week dialogue that we had with thirteen influential Afghans, which this guy from the Chicago Tribune. I mean I don't know how he ever, you know -- I mean it doesn't show a very good solid job of reporting -- could determine that these were Taliban. When indeed this whole thing, which was supported by the U.S. government, was a dialogue for reconciliation for a post-Taliban Afghanistan and none of the people involved were from the Taliban. They were from all of the opposing groups other than the Taliban.

"Now you know it's a country that's very destitute. It's been devastated by years of war. And then I did lose a lot of close personal friends. That certainly is a very sobering kind of experience in one's life."

[Gouttierre:] "And take it and just add it to this onion mix that you have.

"And I think we belong there as a nation, the United States. We kind of abandoned the Afghans. I think it's appropriate we're back there helping them. And I'm glad to be a part of it."

Gouttierre's relationship with Afghanistan and its people has remained strong.

[Gouttierre:] "It smells good though."

With a splash of private donations, a generous portion of grants, and the ability to combine multiple ingredients into the mix; Gouttierre has created an International Studies program that benefits Nebraskans and the people of Afghanistan.

[Gouttierre:] "It's not too hot, right?"

[Guest:] "No, it's very good."

Tom Gouttierre. Citizen of Nebraska. Man of the world.