Allied resolve combined with the bravery and determination of everyday Iraqis hasn't been lost on the forces of terror:

Attacks on American troops in Iraq have declined in the last two weeks and insurgents are increasingly targeting Iraqis working with the U.S.-led coalition in an effort to intimidate them, the top U.S. civilian and military leaders here said Tuesday. L. Paul Bremer III said the insurgents' recent attacks on the coalition itself were not having the desired effect, so they were turning to the Iraqis who help occupation forces.

...They have failed to intimidate the coalition," he said. "They have now begun a pattern of trying to intimidate innocent Iraqis. They will not succeed...If Saddam taught the Iraqis nothing else it was how to endure the depredations of thugs."

[General John] Abizaid said that the number of daily attacks on coalition forces were down by about half over the last two weeks.

The immediate prospect - the potential loss of life - is as disturbing as terrorist attacks on Israelis. But to attack the Iraqi people now seems to be a desperate measure taken by the insurgents. If the terrorists were gaining any sort of strategic upper hand, attacks against troops would be increasing in frequency, potency and duration; operations like Iron Hammer and Ivy Cyclone have helped crush those ambitions. Unable to achieve military superiority, the insurgents have often turned to plying the public. With the exception of pockets that began the occupation as strongly pro-Ba'athist, there's been no luck in Iraq: the ridiculous "Saddam tapes" haven't wooed people, attacks on soft targets have only increased their willingness to aid Allied forces with intelligence, and in spite of this difficult Ramadan the population lurches forward towards progress.

No option remains, it would seem, except cowing people into submission. Some observers are wary of this attrition of the will. And Iraqis see the danger, too. But Alaa wisely attributes recent actions to a force short on time and resources. Civil society in Iraq will produce its own doubt and frustration, but this window of fear and despair is closing fast.

FISH IN A DESERT: More on the insurgency's inherent weakness.