It's Working
Proponents of regime change in Iraq, including President Bush, said that removing Saddam and planting seeds of democracy would foster positive change throughout the Middle East.

It seems to be working:

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The capital is abuzz. Everywhere, it seems, from sidewalk cafes to women's salons behind closed doors, Saudis are talking about societal changes. Religious extremism and democratic and educational reforms, as well as women's issues, are paraded for public discussion in what has long been one of the most tight-lipped and tightly controlled lands in the Middle East. While actual political reform may be moving at a snail's pace by Western standards, the new degree of openness is earthshaking here.

"There is a dialogue in society," says Khaled al-Maeena, editor in chief of Arab News, an English-language daily in Saudi Arabia. "Newspapers are flourishing. Papers are talking about accountability, corruption, leaders not being up to the mark, women, children, and empowerment."

A leading indicator, says Mr. Maeena, was a Nov. 28 commentary by Mansour al-Nogaidan, a reformed militant Muslim and Saudi columnist, published in The New York Times. The article bluntly questioned the Saudi government-sanctioned extremist religious culture - and was widely reproduced here. "I think the whole of Saudi Arabia read it and is talking about it," Maeena says.

Meanwhile, in Iran, the mad mullahs running that nation have relented to Washington's demand for real inspections of their nuclear facilities.

UPDATE: Paul Greenberg on what the capture of Saddam means for the War on Terror:

Psychologically everything has changed. ... Saddam can now be seen for what he is: a cornered rat. ... There are some things that not even whatever remains of his Baath Party will be able to depict as a great victory. Saddam has been denied even martyrdom. ... Throughout the Middle East, terrorism has been dealt a psychological blow. Difficult and uncertain as this post-war has been, here is another sign that the Americans, for all our naive faith in freedom and democracy, are serious about this. Iraq will not be another Somalia or Lebanon, where Americans lost heart and crept back to what we only thought was safety. Saddam Hussein's capture represents a victory on the most decisive front, the home front. The Vietnam Syndrome has been dealt another blow. Morale back home took a leap up with the news; it was suddenly a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

The capture of Saddam Hussein was not just a singular feat in itself, but it was a good omen for the war on terror in general. Americans are learning to excel at it, too. Even more impressive than American triumphs in combat has been the armed forces’ flexibility, their willingness to adapt to new and ominous threats, to learn from setbacks, adopt new tactics and fight a new kind of war.