Ok, I figure Zarqawi is bugging out of Iraq as he has predicted he would have to do once democracy came to Iraq.
So perhaps the killing spree that the Islamists are inflicting on the Iraqi people is related to Zarqawi's retreat from Iraq.
Really, in any withdrawal from contact, the rear guard has to simulate the main body to keep the enemy from figuring out the main body is actually withdrawing. If the rear guard fails in this deception, the enemy will attack, overwhelm the rear guard, and pursue the main body to destroy it before it can break contact and escape.
Certainly, this is not completely analagous to an army trying to break contact with another army. But if Zarqawi wants to escape Iraq, he would have a better chance if the good guys are tied down fighting an enemy surge within Iraq.
Sheer speculation on my part, but everybody and their brother has noted that Zarqawi's tactics are alienating Iraqis. Either Zarqawi is truly that stupid, or he has another effect he's trying to accomplish.
Is the car bombing spree Zarqawi's rear guard?