' "Yet an increasing number of Iraqis disagree: they believe that the attacks are being carried out by organized forces — motivated by nationalism, Islam and revenge — that feed off public unhappiness.

According to a survey this month by the Iraq Center for Research and Strategic Studies, nearly half of the Iraqis polled attribute the violence to provocation by American forces or resistance to the occupation (even more worrisome, the Arabic word for "resistance" used in the poll implies a certain amount of sympathy for the perpetrators). '

And "resistance" in English doesn't imply a certain amount of sympathy for the perpetrators???
The accurate way to describe this "resistance" is to say it's criminal or terrorists. The purpose of the attacks has little to do with "working towards" making life in Iraq better. It's not "for the Iraqis". It might be for money. Some might do it because of their hate of infidels. Some might even be "for fun". With broad brush I would say it's an effort by these terrorist networks which we are at war with.
So "enemy" also works.