I've longed maintained that authoritarian societies, brutally repressed to keep modern communication at a minimum, cannot compete with the cultural power of democracies — in this case, the West. But with Afghanistan and Iraq already offering innumerably greater freedoms than neighboring countries and on their way to further liberalization, totalitarians — failing to disrupt democratization in each country — face an impossible task and inevitable defeat. Be it religious teaching or prosperous livelihoods, their populations will be inexorably drawn away from the misery of life in a police state. Iraqis' embrace of new life is already well along:

Need a skull, a dragon or a naked woman? Descend a flight of steps to a dingy corridor and step into Baghdad's only tattoo parlor. In a city better known for bombs than body art, a self-taught Iraqi tattoo artist is pioneering a new style of designs forbidden under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. Working with a home-made needle and architect's ink, Sarmad Shamael says his Celtic crosses, screaming eagles and death's heads are catching on among a small circle of youths.

"Now people have more freedom, people have a choice about what they do, there's no laws to restrict them," he said, speaking in his shop where pin-ups of bikini-clad models adorn the pastel pink walls. "A lot of people ask me, why are you so strange? Why are you so Westernized? I tell them: because I like it," said Shamael, a softly-spoken 29-year-old who began painting as a child.

Indian chiefs, scorpions, dragons: Iraqi police are even declaring solidarity with the Death from Above image. The war on terror will be won by defeating the Near East's terrorist culture and letting the populations — like the Iraqis in this article — follow their own paths. Freedom will win hearts, anchors, nudies and spider-webs-on-elbows. (Hat tip to Omar.)