In their own words

Just in case there's any questions about the reason for increased violence in Iraq, the Washington Times clears it all up.

If the U.S. Army suffered numerous humiliating losses, [Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John] Kerry would emerge as the superman of the American people," said Mohammad Amin Bashar, a leader of the Muslim Scholars Association, a hard-line clerical group that vocally supports the resistance. Resistance leader Abu Jalal boasted that the mounting violence had already hurt Mr. Bush's chances. "American elections and Iraq are linked tightly together," he told a Fallujah-based Iraqi reporter. "We've got to work to change the election, and we've done so. With our strikes, we've dragged Bush into the mud."

Unfortunately for him, if word of this spreads, it may weaken the perception that we're losing control in Iraq, which will help Bush and hurt Kerry. Later in the article, there's a very interesting analysis of how the various groups view our choice of President and use it to their advantage.

The most pro-Kerry, he said, are the former Saddam Hussein loyalists — Ba'ath Party members and others who think Washington might scale back its ambitions for Iraq if Mr. Kerry wins, allowing them to re-enter civic life. The most pro-Bush, he said, are the foreign extremists. "They prefer Bush, because he's a provocative figure, and the more they can push people to the extreme, the better for their case."

So if I'm reading this right, the pro-Kerry groups think he'll pull out (at least partially), and the pro-Bush groups want him because it gives their potential followers a more visible focal point for their hatred.