He makes interesting points; however, I have to disagree with him.
These three examples demonstrate how good intentions expressed through military force and money can be frustrated by cultures that are not congenial to democratic institutions. The Bush administration's idea that "These values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society" ignores the lessons not only of these three cases, but also of the more generalized problems of democratization in the Islamic world, Africa, and Latin America.
Surely past and present Bush advisers such as Paul Wolfowitz and Condoleezza Rice have read Alexis de Tocqueville's classic "Democracy in America." But they – and Senator McCain – must have forgotten its overriding lesson: When it comes to the viability of democracy, more than anything else, culture matters.
Japan's culture was more foreign to democracy than any of the countries mentioned (unless you believe "god-emperors" are congenial to democracy).
Ultimately, it was not about culture. It was very, very, very, very, very simple. Japan and Germany were vital to American security interests, and so America was more willing to put in blood and treasure for the effort to succeed. Iraq will probably succeed for the same reason. Iraq is key to American strategic interests in the Middle East. Even Obama, who is the anti-war candidate, has stated during the debates that if conditions in Iraq worsened, he would put more soldiers back in to stabilize Iraq.
America did not want to get involved with the mess that is the Middle East for a long, long time, understanding the complexity, cost, and violence associated with long-term involvement in an area rife with dictators, religious extremists, and tribal divisions. 9-11 changed all of that. The US essentially took on the direct role of policeman of the Middle East and began an active strategy to bring about change.
Also, one of the reasons why Iraq was invaded was because of culture. Many of the neo-cons felt that Iraq was the most Westernized and secular out of the bunch, and so would be easiest to modernize into the Germany / Japan of the Middle East. Culture may help foster native growth of democracy, but ultimately, force of will, power, and monetary investment are necessary to transplant democracy into a foreign nation resistant to democracy.