In the absence of any insane Islamist motivation for blowing one's self up to kill infidels, we must conclude that Saddam is so desperate to kill coalition troops that he's resorting to "fake surrender" dirty tricks, using civilian shields, shelling his own marketplaces in Baghdad (probably), and now deploying his most hardcore supporters as homicide bombers. And I think we all know what's coming next - I predict that Saddam will use WMD on Iraqi civilians and blame the horrifying results on the US. Sad fact is, many people in the Middle East are ignorant enough to believe such absurd accusations. Committing terrible atrocities not only allows Saddam to terrify Iraqi soldiers and civilians into silence and obedience, his skillful political manipulation of terror tactics also allows him to score points with anti-war crowds in the region.

This is a war of US and UK military might against the political weapons of an admittedly highly skilled, bloody, ruthless tyrant.