Iran remains a nation in flux, constantly on the edge of great things happening. If you don't doubt it, dig this: the L.A. Times reports that most Iranians will be happy to see the U.S. topple Saddam Hussein. (It unfortunately requires registration, but it's worth it, the Times is a decent paper.) "The day Saddam Hussein is arrested, killed or exiled, Iranians will pass out sweets in the streets," one Iranian is quoted. The article goes on to explain how many young Iranians believe that a liberated Iraq will further increase pressure on their ruling Mullahs to liberalize things further in Iran.

I want to make something clear: I do not believe that taking out Saddam Hussein is going to be some miraculous pool shot that clears the table. The Middle East will still be a headache. But I see every reason to believe that eliminating Saddam will help make the world a better place, including that part of the world. There are no guarantees, but I honestly believe the odds favor action over continuing the status quo. (Link via Pejman.)

* Update * - While we're at it, you might as well check out this story about a man imprisoned by Saddam for selling film to an Iranian journalist. 14 years in Saddam's hellhole for that. "I am surprised to hear of all the anti-war demonstrations in the West," he said. "I wish that the demonstrators could spend just 24 hours in the place I have come from and see the reality of Iraq....Fourteen lost years of my life. Nothing but bread for food — darkness, filth, beatings, torture, killings, bitterness and humiliation. I wish they could experience it for just 24 hours." The Iranian journalist, by the way, was executed. (via Andrea Harris.)