What I don't want this to be is a chance for me, or anyone else, to be maudlin. I'm dead. That sucks, at least for me and my family and friends. But all the tears in the world aren't going to bring me back, so I would prefer that people remember the good things about me rather than mourning my loss. (If it turns out a specific number of tears will, in fact, bring me back to life, then by all means, break out the onions.)

The cease-fire has allowed the U.S. military to concentrate on pursuing al-Qaida in Iraq, which was pushed out of Anbar province by the Awakening Councils and largely expelled from swaths of Baghdad by the U.S. and Iraqi armies.

The majority of the insurgents are thought to have sought shelter in Diyala province, its northeast Diyala river valley region, and around the town of Muqdadiyah and the northern city of Mosul.

The U.S. military said it killed two insurgents and detained 12 in that area. The operations also resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and the wounding of another in a small-arms attack Thursday.