Were the American neocons right about anything? If so, what?

Writing for Foreign Policy earlier this month, Stephen Cook (of the Council on Foreign Relations) argued that they were wrong about Iraq but right about Syria, Iran and democracy:

"The neocons' perspective on the nature of the Syrian and Iranian regimes [was] largely accurate, and their forceful advocacy of democracy and freedom in the Middle East may have grated on many, but it did much to advance those causes in a region once described as 'democracy's desert'." 

Now, Gregory Gause (of Vermont University) has responded, arguing that they were wrong about those things too.

Coincidentally, Juan Cole has some sharp words about American efforts to spread democracy in the region.