Since I got to Baghdad a few days ago, I’ve been asking people about the 6th anniversary of the American invasion into Iraq, and their reflections on the matter.  To my surprise, people stare blankly at me in response.  ”Oh, really?  Is it?”  I somehow figured that it was a day that all Iraqis would know, that would live in infamy, for better or worse.  But it seems to have escaped the notice of the wide range of Iraqi society I’ve asked the past couple days, from students, to people in the market, to politicians alike.  No one, except Americans in the Embassy, was thinking about it.  Clearly, some people were.  I’ve noticed reports on the news about flag burning and anti-American protests down South, and I’ve heard several loud explosions today versus none the days before.  But, all in all, it seems to be a non-event.  When I asked him why, a Sunni politician told me today that he figured people are more concerned with living their lives, with surviving, and do not have time or the energy to sit back and reflect on anniversaries.  Others in the market said why should they dwell on tragedies?  Others have said they did not believe it would really happen, that America would invade, until it actually did start happening, and shared their eager anticipation in the first days about a new life and a new government, followed by dashed hopes in the maelstrom that followed.