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This week on Uprising — A Third Anniversary Special on the War on Iraq

• Iraqi blogger Faiza Al Araji, dispels current American views on Iraq.
• Journalist and author of “How America Lost Iraq,” Aaron Glantz, dissects current and past US actions in Iraq.
• Plus Empire Notes on the third anniversary of the War on Iraq, and the Black Commentator on the Dubai Ports Deal.

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Iraqi Blogger Faiza Al Araji Visits US

GUEST: Faiza Al Araji, a civil engineer, and blogger from Iraq, now based in Jordan.

This week anti-war groups around the country are marking the anniversary of the beginning of the US war on Iraq. Meanwhile in its own commemoration of the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration is overseeing Operation Swarmer – the largest air raid against Iraqis since 2003. US troops are leading an agressive campaign on Samarra, the Northern Iraqi city where a Shite shrine was recently bombed.

Today we begin the program talking about Iraqi women and war. The Iraq based “Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq” reports that violence against women has increased dramatically since the 2003 US invasion . Women have been kidnapped, killed, raped, and even sold to foreign countries for the prostitution. More than 2,000 Iraqi women have been kidnapped since April 2003. A delegation of Iraqi women is currently touring the United States this Women’s History month. Their tour is sponsored and organized by Code Pink. One of them, Faiza Al Araji joins me in studio. Faiza is a religious Shia married to a Sunni. She is a mother of three – one of her sons was recently held as a political prisoner by the Ministry of the Interior. Al Araji’s family has now relocated to Jordan.

Visit Faiza’s blog at afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com.

Empire Notes on Third Anniversary of Iraq War
GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade

Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is about the anniversary of the war on Iraq.

Empire Notes is online at www.empirenotes.org.

How America Lost Iraq

GUEST: Aaron Glantz, reporter for Pacifica, author of “How America Lost Iraq.”

Iraq’s new parliament was sworn in recently, with parties still deadlocked over a number of important issues. The long-expected first session of the parliament lasted just over 30 minutes and was adjourned indefinitely because the legislature still has no speaker. The session took place just days before the third anniversary of the 2003 US invasion, and during the violent aftermath of the bombing of an important Shiite shrine in late February. In fact, Iraqi police just discovered 29 bodies discarded in various parts of Baghdad late Wednesday and Thursday. The victims were all men, some with their hands bound, who had been shot execution-style and dumped in both Shiite and Sunni Muslim neighborhoods, according to Iraqi officials. As we mentioned earlier, US soldiers have just launched the biggest air raid on Iraq since 2003. Some Iraqis contend that the on-going US occupation is the real trigger of violence. Polls show that majority of Iraqis and Americans want an end to the occupation. But President Bush vows to continue his policy. We turn next to Aaron Glantz, a journalist for Pacifica Radio was was reporting from Iraq in the weeks after the invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein. His book, how America Lost Iraq is just out in paperback. Aaron spoke with me earlier in the week and I began by asking him about the often-repeated prospect of civil war in Iraq.

For more information, visit www.aaronglantz.com.

Black Commentator on the Dubai Ports Deal

Glen Ford, co-publisher of The Black Commentator

The Black Commentator is an online political magazine bringing you commentary, analysis and investigation from a black perspective. Today’s commentary is about Dubai Ports deal.

The Black Commentator is online at www.blackcommentator.com.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

500 anti-war marches are planned to commemorate the third anniversary of the war on Iraq. I’d like to end the show with a quote from Michael Albert about activism – “Being activist is not rolling rocks up hills, or digging useless ditches, or blowing into the wind, or opposing gravity. It is part of the single most important, courageous, and productive undertaking in all human history, one with deep roots and a winning future.”