As we continue to look back on the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, we’re joined by Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi native who immigrated to the United States over 35 years ago and became a successful restaurateur and beloved member of the community in Minneapolis. After the U.S. invasion of his home country in 2003, he moved back to Iraq, where he founded the Muslim Peacemakers, a group that works to promote and practice nonviolent conflict resolution and intervention. Rasouli also founded the American Institute for English in Najaf, which was destroyed by a 2020 bombing. He is working on starting a new organization called the American-Iraqi Peace Initiative and currently resides in the U.S. with his family. The war in Iraq has “left scars and a visible legacy” among Iraqis, says Rasouli, who calls for “a just compensation” in the aftermath of the U.S. occupation.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.