A dictator's Mideast legacy

What lessons will region take from Hussein's rule?

Mr. Hussein may be gone, but his legacy lives on in the ethnic and religious conflict undermining a nation that he held together through fear. His attacks on nearby countries - Iran, Kuwait, and Israel - won widespread condemnation and, ultimately, little reward.

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While the architects of the Iraq war hoped his ouster would help spread Western-style democracy in the region, violence in Iraq has grown so bad that recent polls say most Iraqis believe life was better under Hussein.

It remains to be seen whether the lesson of his life will be the end of brutal dictatorships in the region or whether current unrest in Iraq will bolster Middle Eastern autocrats and increase resistance to democratic reforms.

"The downfall of Saddam and its aftershocks only empowered the regimes of the Middle East," says Sami Moubayed, a Syrian political analyst. "Leaders can now say 'Look to Iraq. This is what the Americans will bring.' By failing in Iraq, the Americans actually did democracy a great disservice."

While democracy may have yet to flower in the Arab world, the seeds have been sown, other analysts say, with the Hussein experience in Iraq serving as a stark warning of the consequences should the long-term reform effort falter or fail.

"I do believe that the Middle East is coming to a conclusion and learning from the Saddam lesson," says Shafeeq Ghabra, a Kuwaiti professor of politics and president of Jusoor Arabiya Leadership and Consultancy Company.

"Yet the learning is not as quick and fast as one would like. It will take time for the region to understand that era and go beyond it to an era of pluralism and development where people can express themselves without fear," he says.

Hussein's ambition and sense of self-destiny combined with impulsive and vengeful acts propelled Iraq into a series of disasters that has left an indelible mark on the region.

"He was a catalyst,