Exactly what achievements? Saddam's gaudy palaces? Tons of small arms stashed all over the country? Rampant corruption? There wasn't even regular trash pickup in Baghdad before the war, unless you were on the preferred list. Ditto for electricity, medical care and just about every other government service. It's difficult to achieve when the slightest offense against the regime results in torture and death. Self-respect means nothing when you're dead.
Ironically, the very jihadis that Saddam's regime attempted to stamp out are fighting and dying on Iraqi soil.
This author is living in the past. After the first gulf war, Saddam embraced the jihadists -- including the Ayatollahs -- as useful idiots. The enemies of his enemy became his friends.