Signs of change amidst the carnage

The deadly suicide attacks that rocked the Sunni triangle Thursday killed over 125 people, but the reaction from survivors has been very interesting:

"Neither the Americans nor the Shiites have any benefit in doing this. It is Zarqawi," said Khalid Saadi, 42..

The attackers chose a police station where new recruits were lining up, a familiar MO, except this time the recruits were Sunnis, something not allowed in the past. That's why, despite the tragic loss of life, this event could have a net positive outcome.

Izzat al-Douri, er sorry, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi clearly wanted to send a strong-arm message to his own followers--join the new government and die. The survivors seem neither impressed nor frightened:

The Ramadi residents responded to the attack with fury. Nearly everyone at the scene said they believed it had been ordered by Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq, considered the most ruthless and best-organized faction in the insurgent movement.

"People in this city helped Zarqawi a lot, and I hope this would make them change their minds," said Saad Abid Ali, a captain in the Iraqi army hit by shrapnel in the legs.

That's not all. Get a load of this:

Another group of people beat a doctor in the hospital after he told an Iraqi journalist that U.S. forces were to blame for the attacks.

The locals surely needed those police jobs and it will be tough convincing them that getting blown to bits is in their general welfare. So chalk this up as yet another bonehead PR move for Zarqawi, following his idiotic attack on the Jordanian hotels.

Z-man's time might be getting very short, but catching al-Douri, with his high level relationship to Saddam and access to all the money and ammo he needs might be a bit more problematic. Our forces know that a capture of the Z-man might actually give the false impression we'd scored a hit on the insurgency, while in reality al-Douri would simply replace him with someone else. The bigger question is why a 60+ year old man with health problems can remain elusive for so long. Pre-planning, or something else?

NEWEST SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEMS? 1/7/06

His withdrawal rhetoric sounds familiar.