Those of us who did make a stand still failed, however noble and dedicated our efforts. We have to learn from our failings in order to stop future wars; denying that we failed and thus must shoulder some blame for this would only lead to further stagnation. We didn’t present our case clearly, forcefully or effectively enough to sway a majority in America, and we have to recognize that other tragedies such as the war in Iraq will continue unless we become more effective, and we simply can’t risk failing more people.

I find Riverbend an effective writer in general. I think she does a good job at expressing her experiences in Iraq. Of course, I don’t have any attachment to the term American, so maybe that bias would make a difference, but I don’t see it as insulting because it’s clear from the whole body of her work that she differentiates between aware Americans and the government and its supporters.