On the evening of September 20, 2002, President Bush “hosted Republican governors for dinner in the State Dining Room. With no reporters present, Bush condemned Saddam Hussein as ‘a brutal, ugly, repugnant man’ but then alluded to the broader agenda. ‘I’m gonna make a prediction,’ he told the governors. ‘Write this down. Afghanistan and Iraq will lead that part of the world to democracy. They are going to be the catalyst to change the Middle East and the world.’ ”
– Peter Baker, Days of Fire, Pages 219-220