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Two U.S. soldiers were shot dead this morning in Afghanistan by an Afghan border policeman. They were providing security for American trainers in the northern Faryab province. The shooting came on the heels of three days of anti-American protests that have claimed 24 lives. The protests were sparked by news of American fundamentalist Christian pastor Terry Jones, burning a Koran on March 20th. Pastor Jones had last September threatened to burn copies of the Koran to commemorate the September 11th attacks but was dissuaded by high-level officials and public resistance. However, he finally went ahead a few weeks ago in a move that got almost no media coverage. His actions had consequences in Afghanistan however. The violence began in Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday April 1st when a mob attacked a United Nations compound killing at least 12 people. As U.S. and NATO troops become increasingly less popular, American forces are prepared to hand over authority to Afghan government forces starting this June. In response, former U.S. ally and war criminal Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has called for a national uprising against the U.S. backed government of Hamid Karzai. Hekmatyar and what he represents about U.S. policy in Afghanistan is featured heavily in a new book called Crossing Zero: the AfPak War at the Turning Point of American Empire by Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald. Gould and Fitzgerald have a long history of covering Afghanistan. Following from their 2009 book Invisible History: Afghanistan’s Untold Story, in this new book, they explore the war’s expansion into Pakistan, its various contradictions, and consequences for the region.

GUESTS: Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, authors of Crossing Zero: the AfPak War at the Turning Point of American Empire (City Lights)

Find out www.invisiblehistory.com.

Read more about the book here: http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100739330

AUTHOR EVENTS IN LOS ANGELES:

Tuesday April 5th 7:00 pm
Ilene Proctor ‘s Great Mind Series
Hosts: Cheri and Naren Shankar (created and produces CSI)
Moderator: Byron De Lear Author, media producer and former US House candidate. Byron currently chairs the Euphrates Institute, a think-tank promoting dialog and understanding between the Middle East and West.
Fee: $20.00, $15.00 for PDLA
Address available Upon RSVP: Call Ilene Proctor at 310.858.6643 or proctor@artnet.net

Wednesday April 6th 7:00 pm
Whittier College
Villalobos Hall, next to the Campus Center in the southwest corner of campus, near the intersection of Philadelphia and Earlham.
13406 E. Philadelphia St.
Whittier, CA 90608
For more info call John Bak at 562.907.4200 or email jbak@whittier.edu

Thursday, April 7th, 7:30-9:00 pm
Levantine Cultural Center 5998 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90035
Free to the public. Donation of $10 or purchase of book suggested.
For more info, call Jordan Elgrably at 310.657.5511 or email jordane@levantinecenter.org http://www.levantinecenter.org