Elections and constitutions are nice, but they won't do anything to resolve the age old competition between Islam and the (now largely) post-Christian West. The idea that we can make enemies into friends by giving them some shiny new democratic toys to play with was always nonsense, and nothing in current events makes it seem remotely plausible.
Iraq will do our bidding as long as we hold the balance of military power there. With the possible exception of the much abused Kurds, we have no Iraqi friends, only allies of convenience. That hasn't changed and it won't change.
Our military power is very useful, but there are limits on what it can accomplish. It's great for scaring the bejeezus out of people. It can't make enemies morph into friends. George W. Bush never could face this painful truth.
No.
But it is a step in the right direction. Whether Iraq will continue to be an Ally of the United States in the Long Term is yet to be seen, however that does not automatically mean they will revert to authoritarianism or some other extreme. Hell, Germany is not what I would call an Ally these days, but last I checked they have not reverted to Nazism.
But in the long run, yes I do believe we can win the battle of ideas and ideology in the Islamic World. In many ways we have, with a few exceptions, most countries with large Islamic Populations have seen dramatic drops in public approval for terrorism, Osama Bin Laden, and Al Qaeda.
Our Victory is far from certain, and though we have made great strides in the GWOT, we have seen many, many set backs.
The future is not certain, but we do have it in us the capacity to defeat this enemy just like we did Nazism and Global Communism.