As I said on Monday and many times before that, terrorists do their lunatic cause a disservice (much to our benefit) by directly attacking the Iraqi people. Not only will the Allies refuse to budge, but the Iraqis won't, either. And they recognize their true enemies:

Like many Iraqis, Yassen Saeed is convinced that a surge of suicide bombings which has killed dozens of civilians in Baghdad is the work of foreign extremists seeking to sow chaos for US-led occupation forces. “They are criminals. Syrians, Palestinians and Jordanians from the Arab world. Iraqis wouldn’t do this,” said Saeed, a retired oil worker whose son was wounded in Monday’s attack on the Red Cross (ICRC) office which killed a dozen people.

Iraqis are also making distinctions between Muslims and terrorists who serve Allah, similar to a few of the statements made by embattled General William Boykin:

“The people who did this are not Iraqis ­ they are from other countries,” said Najah Shamon, a luggage vendor.

“The people making these attacks are not Muslims. If they were, they wouldn’t attack during Ramadan. I accuse Al-Qaeda,” he added.

Al Qaeda agents aren't real Muslims? It seems that the average Iraqi can wrap his brains around what others cannot. Understandably, some Iraqis are uncertain in these days after the fall of Saddam Hussein - the natural period of instability and lawlessness, as was experienced in Germany and Japan, has been greatly exacerbated by Iraq's neighbors' intention to wage their war inside Iraq's still-porous borders. But the Iraqis won't give up their newfound freedom:

Not all Iraqis believed the bad times will last, saying things have improved over the last six months.

“I think this is a dirty war,” said grocer Mounir Ali Judi, 45. “They are targeting police stations, they are targeting the law, the security of the people. They clearly showed they are against the Iraqi people.”

But Judi expressed defiance, saying that he plans to take his family into the streets to celebrate Ramadan. “Bombs will not make us hide behind the walls of our house. They cannot stop me from having a normal life.”

It's ironic that the Lebanon Daily Star ran this report: contrary to many fears, a Beirutization of Iraq this is not. Yes, the Iraqis will be an inspiration to the region and beyond for courage, vision and faith.