In general I have to say how relieved I am that the fighting has not been as intense or bloody as it seemed like it was going to be last week. Obviously we in the U.S. have not been told the whole story yet -- see this Canadian TV report about what the Red Cross is finding in terms of civilian casualties -- but by invading foreign army standards (as set earlier in world history), we seem to be acquitting ourselves reasonably well.

U.S. TV has had to strain pretty hard to find the desired images of the Iraqi people welcoming the liberators and being cared for by our troops, one would have to strain even harder to depict the war as a battle between the U.S. and the entire Iraqi population. I saw a fairly emblematic image on a CNN commercial fade-out this morning: a wary-looking Iraqi boy being offered what looked a piece of candy by a smiling female American soldier. The boy did not seem too joyous, showed little interest in the candy, but the solder's warmth and concern seemed genuine. I guess the question of this war is whether that little boy is going to remember the candy or the battle that preceded as he grows up.

I think that question is a genuinely open, and the answer will probably be influenced by the degree to which we can appear to be more helpful than controlling in the months and years to come. Unfortunately, as European colonialists discovered, it is almost impossible not to seem oppressive and demeaning to the locals in these situations. Americans should think about Boston and New York before our Revolution, or the South during Reconstruction. There the occupying troops and occupational/colonial governments were of the same language and culture as the local populations, and still found themselves on the receiving end of riots, vigilantism, and hatred. Bush has put us in a very tough spot.