occupation

Micha Kurz was an Israeli soldier during the second intifada, and when he left the military he co-founded Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects stories from members of the service (which is compulsory in Israel for young men and women) who served in the occupied territories. Breaking the Silence allows soldiers to confidentially speak out about the things they did and saw while in the military. Kurz is now with Grassroots Jerusalem, where he helps bring together grassroots social justice activists from across Israel.

Malalai Joya, the youngest person elected to the Afghan parliament and a delegate to the Loya Jirga, the constitutional convention joined us to talk about her new book, "A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice," and the future of her country. For more information, visit the Afghan Women's Mission.

The US media have reported on the withdrawal of American troops from Iraqi cities. But 130,000 troops remain in Iraq and many argue that the occupation will continue only under a different guise. Have things really changed? Or has the occupation simply been rebranded? Jeremy Scahill, best selling author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, Patrick Cockburn, journalist and author most recently of The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq, and Kristele Younes, an Advocate at Refugees International on what the US withdrawal means.