Is Carl Icahn Just a Pawn in Microsoft's Pursuit of Yahoo?

At the rate this is going we may have to move on to soap opera metaphors. As you may recall all the buzz this week-end was about the “stupid” takeover deal Carl Icahn and Microsoft presented Yahoo with (go here for a refresher), which they immediately, and loudly, turned down. However, some people are now wondering whether Microsoft head Steve Ballmer is actually intentionally playing stupid and using Icahn as a (unknowing?) pawn in his larger takeover game.