Robert Fisk has been covering the Middle East for over thirty years as a correspondent for The Independent. His father, a soldier in World War I, received a medal for fighting what was called the Great War for civilization. That war, in many ways, still rages. In his new collection of essays, The Age of the Warrior, Fisk outlines how America has adopted the civilizing mission of its imperial predecessors, believing that with bombs and tanks we can bring freedom and the rule of law to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Despite the failures of the war thus far, we seem unwilling to acknowledge that victory has slipped from our grasp. What Fisk calls the warrior ethos has come to define American military doctrine in the 21st century. It is belligerent and typifies the superpower’s need to project military strength. We globally dominate. And we can so we will. At least that has been the view for the last eight years. But the light is fading fast and our only option, Fisk says, is to withdraw our military forces from the Muslim world.

How is the war being read here at home? Well, in ways you might not expect. This summer, a three-story mural appeared in Sunset Park, NY just off the Brooklyn-Queens expressway. “Arm Yourself With the Knowledge to Think for Yourself,” the mural read, “We Are Not Government Issue.”

Organized by Groundswell, a New York City based non-profit, the mural reflects the military experience of women in Iraq and reveals the deceptions that recruiters use to target young people in poor neighborhoods. Katie Yamasaki, an artist and muralist with Groundswell, says that the project is part of a larger effort to give young women of color the opportunity to create large scale public art projects about issues that affect them directly. Menshahat Ebron, an Assistant Artist at Voices Her'd, Ebony Thurman, a student at Medgar Evans College who worked on the mural, and Helen Benedict the author of The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq, discuss why the mural and projects like it are important.

Finally, Soldiers Speak Out. American veterans and their families talk about how they came to join the military and why they now oppose the war and the occupation. We're showing you the trailer on tonight's show; can order a copy here, from The Empowerment Project.