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The German newspaper Spiegel yesterday published gruesome photographs of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan taken of themselves posing with dead Afghan civilians. The photos were considered “trophies” collected by a so-called “kill team” of soldiers, twelve of whom are now facing court martial proceedings. Spiegel has reviewed thousands of photos and hours of video footage, from which it has so far published only three photos. The US Army has apologized for the photos and Army Colonel Thomas Collins has said that they are “repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States.” U.S. officials are bracing for public anger from Afghans at the photos that are reminiscent of the now-famous Iraqi Abu Ghraib photos.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is also facing pressure here at home from an organized network of Americans outraged at the recent visa denial of acclaimed human rights activist Malalai Joya. Joya was due to enter the U.S. on March 19th for three weeks of events spanning over a dozen states to promote the paper-back edition of her book A Woman Among Warlords. She was turned down for her visa application on the basis of living underground and being unemployed. Afghan activists who criticize their government are routinely forced to live underground due to the risks to their lives, and the vast majority of Afghan women are unemployed. Ms. Joya has come to the U.S. at least 4 times before since 2006. She was listed last November by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world, and this month by the Guardian newspaper as one of the top 100 women activists and campaigners in the world. Joya faces incredible security threats – she has survived at least 4 assassination attempts leading her to live underground. The ACLU has called the increased phenomenon of denying visas to international activists and intellectuals, as “ideological exclusion.” On Friday nine U.S. representatives and Senators including Jim McDermott, John Kerry, and Bernie Sanders, wrote to the U.S. Embassy urging them to reconsider their decision.

GUEST: Malalai Joya, former Afghan MP, human rights activist, author of “A Woman Among Warlords” with Derrick O’Keefe

The Afghan Women’s Mission, which Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar runs as a volunteer, has organized Joya’s past trips, and is a lead sponsor of this latest tour.

On Wednesday March 23, people are being encouraged to call Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department at 202-647-5291 between 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Standard Time. Check www.afghanwomensmission.org for more information.

Sign a petition to allow Malalai Joya into the country here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/letmalalaijoyaspeak/

Find out more about Malalai Joya at www.malalaijoya.com.