King Abdullah — King Hussein's kid, who runs Jordan — makes a favorable impression. Most of his education took place in Britain, but he sounds like an American. (Georgetown U is in his background — he and Clinton share that!) He is articulate, modulated, and assured. Speaking in the Congress Center, before a large and alert crowd, he appeals to the world to help Iraq's transition. That transition will go more easily, he says, if everyone pitches in. It will also go faster. But no matter how long it takes — one year, five, ten, whatever — it must be done. A lot is riding on it.

Jordan is by no means a governmental model for the Arab world - it has never been pluralistic and over the past decade the King has ruled solely by decree - but its standing as a traditional Western ally means one less enemy, and a nation that can liberalize peacefully.

Also here is Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister. He is the one who so thrillingly told off the U.N. Remember what he said? "The United Nations as an organization failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny that lasted over 35 years. Today we are unearthing thousands of victims in horrifying testament to that failure." In my view, Kofi Annan has yet to recover from Zebari's audacity. It was an unforgettable instance of truth spoken to power. And I believe — along with others — that it was Zebari's words, his tongue-lashing, that got Annan & Co. moving on the help-Iraq front.

Zebari is a Kurd, and he was once a militant in the Kurdish movement. He now represents an Iraq that is open to all, not just to the privileged Sunni minority. The prospect of a democratic Iraq is more exciting, for Iraqis ordinary and elite, than most Americans appreciate, I believe. Imagine being given a chance to have a decent, modern country, after a long night of barbarism. To walk and talk with democratic Iraqis here in Davos, who actually have political power and responsibility, is inspiring.

Stable and integrated institutions will be created, including a new Baghdad Stock Exchange as well as a domestic bond market. The restructuring of state-owned banks, the introduction of foreign banks and micro-lending programs will contribute further to our efforts to mobilize savings for the benefit of the real economy. Public trust in the banks will ultimately benefit everyone as banks re-invest their profits and put wealth at the service of development. Government price controls will end in sector after sector, each in accordance with its own realities and be replaced by market-clearing prices that will provide fair value for consumers and serve as reliable signals of economic opportunities for investors.

You have every reason to want to be part of this new marketplace.

Iraq is open for business. I have now seen both the Kuwaiti and the Iraqi business climates and I can tell you that Iraq is ready for you. Before long it will enjoy an efficient, fully capitalized active capital market and effective financial regulation provided by an independent Central Bank and a modern Ministry of Finance with professional staffs. Certainly there are real risks, but there will also be great rewards. Businessmen are already visiting and those who wait too long will be sorry. In April the Baghdad Expo will be held, and all potential investors are encouraged to attend. Come to free Iraq to see the changes and your opinion of the possibilities will alter dramatically.

Jones has certainly read writing from off the wall: With low taxes, nearly unlimited foreign investment and an eager work force, Iraq is destined for success. A middle class will explode in size. Iraqi entrepreneurs will achieve market feats enjoyed by other free and market-friendly nations, and the whole of the Near East will gradually become transfixed with Iraq's ways and its people's livelihood. That's winning the war on terror, one newly productive life at a time.