More from Mark Bowden on Slate:

The oddest thing about these first few days of the assault is the juxtaposition of vehement anti-war protests from America interspersed with reports of the war's rapid progress. In the old Vietnam War days, we were protesting against a failed war, trying to bring our government to its senses before it threw another 10,000 to 20,000 lives into the ever-widening maw of defeat. Now, on the same day, I watch Iraqi civilians jumping for joy at the arrival of American and British troops, and American youth actively protesting their liberation. Maybe it's just the use of force being protested, although it is hard to imagine how Saddam would have been toppled otherwise.

The protests are, for the most part, simply reflexive statements against force. Would they, I wonder, protest against police officers using force to apprehend a dangerous suspect? 'Cause, you know, violence is always bad, man.

Its use is regrettable, but sometimes necessary.

The protests in the rest of the world make more sense, because they are rooted in anti-Americanism.

And they don't make any sense here for the same reason? I think many Americans have a mixed sense of self-loathing and shame that manifests itself in a "We can do no right" frame of mind, which incidentally is as harmful as the staunch "We can do no wrong" attitude espoused by radical nationalists.

Actually, Bowden goes on to explore this issue. Have a look.