Say what you want about current recruitment rates for the US forces--Zarqawi's are apparently much worse.

I wonder if this actually works or if someone was trying a new tactic. Definitely appears to be a sign that they're running low on volunteers.

I don't think it demonstrates a shortage of volunteers, but it speaks to the difficulties of convincing even the most hardcore jihadist of dying for his cause.

It's a well-established fact that many of the car-bombs have remote detonators, so "Jihad Joe's" buddies can blow him up in case he loses his nerve. Drugs have also been used extensively by the enemy. The Fallujah insurgents fought fanatically because they had taken drugs to give them the courage to fight to the death.

If martyrdom is the goal of every Wahhabi, why don't we see al Qaeda leaders like Zarqawi or bin Laden blowing themselves up? Part of it is the hypocrisy of the enemy leadership, but I'm sure that our innate desire to live and to enjoy life plays a part in it.

Suicide bombing isn't a simple choice, like in the Comedy Central sketch where Norm MacDonald and Rob Schneider argue over how many virgins MacDonald will get for blowing himself up (MacDonald is eventually offered 72, but he would have settled for 50.) Only the most extreme idealogues are able to die for Allah without outside assistance.