TIKRIT -- "We were really thinking of packing up and going home," said a shadowy insurgent told reporters around Tikrit on Friday. "Then we realized that we ought to be reasonable, come to the table and meet the President half way on this one. It's the only thing that makes sense if we want to put our differences behind us."
    Another elusive fighter outside Fallujah responded to the moral breakthrough: "We were reluctant at first. [...] But sometimes, you've got to pick your battles."