The Iraqi Side

Very interesting, very moving read. Concluding paragraph:

On the second day of the collapse, American armored trucks entered Diyala. They were welcomed by the villagers, but I remember an old man saying, “There will be a day when you realize what you have lost; the occupation will not offer you anything,” while the locals were dreaming of the goodness the days would bring them.

We were welcomed as liberators -- and threw it all away.