On April 9, 2003, “At the Pentagon, Secretary [of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld declared, ‘Saddam Hussein is now taking his rightful place alongside Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Ceausescu in the pantheon of failed, brutal dictators, and the Iraqi people are well on their way to freedom.’ ”
– Todd S. Purdum and The New York Times Staff, A Time of Our Choosing, Page 212