In remarks to the National Press Club earlier this week, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld likened Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Adolf Hitler. The Secretary had this to say:
Uh oh, “Rummy� is concerned. If I were Mr. Chavez, I’d seriously consider investing in some Kevlar fashion wear. What concerns me about the Secretary’s comments, all saber rattling aside, is that this is not the first time he has played the “Hitler card.� Less than a year ago, of militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Rumsfeld said:
Well, if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is. Interestingly, it was not so very long ago that many in the Bush Administration were comparing Saddam Hussein to Hitler in order to justify intervention in Iraq. I have to say that these comparisons are more than a little shopworn, not to mention inflammatory and verging on hysteria. Now, I know that playing the Hitler card has become almost as common as playing gin rummy (as documented by the website, Beautiful Atrocities), but it would be nice if our less than esteemed leaders would make more of an effort to get their stories straight. I mean, they can’t all be Hitler, can they? Particularly not when Rummy’s boss appears intent on laying claim to that dubious analogue. For more on that subject, I refer you to an interesting article entitled “How Will History Treat George Bush?�
Kmareka.com 
And now Jonah Goldberg has a new book called Liberal Fascists that has a smiley face with a Hitler moustache on the cover. We’re all Hitlers. Or terrorists. Whichever analogy works better to get your hate up, you know?
found this in google blogsearch. I didn’t know Hugo’s main goal was to kill millions of people and take over the world. this was one of the most outrageous comments ive heard from anyone associated with the white house. terrible.
Oh, brother. Worstweatherever should read the quote from Rumsfeld before you knee jerk. He didn’t say he wanted to kill millions all over the world. He said he came to power under similar circumstances as Hitler. Why aren’t y’all mentioning all the libs referring to the President as Hitler?
Chavez is an anti-Semite, he wants the destruction of all Americans. He supports terror groups and is an oppressive dictator. Another thing, how is Rumsfeld’s quote on Al-Zarwakawi “the pot calling the kettle black? This administration was elected and has moved their agenda through. Tax cuts, defending America by taking the fight to them instead of fighting them over here? He liberated millions from an oppressive dictator who slaughtered his own subjects, ran rape rooms and torture chambers, harbored terrorists and would not prove to the world that he didn’t have WMD? Newly appointed Supreme Court Justices? It looks to me that his agenda is advancing nicely. Does it mean anything to you that women can actually vote over there, that vaccinations are given to children that have never had any health care, and that schools are being built for the same children? Regardless of what you read in the mainstream
media, we are winning the war on terror, spreading democracy, and making like better for people over there, and it is welcomed by the majority of the citizens in Iraq.
I agree that the comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis are overused and, in the long run, diminish the unique evil that was Hitler’s Germany. The left, however, has been just as, if not more, guilty of these comparisons. It wasn’t that long ago that a liberal website showcased a commercial that had President Bush morphing into Hitler. And at that other liberal RI blog, it’s common to have Republicans accused of “goose-stepping”. In fact, when you suggest Secretary Rumsfeld is the pot calling the kettle black, you seem to imply that Rumsfeld is actually the one like Hitler. Are you making this comparison?
There’s plenty of evil in this world. At this point, none of it rises to the level of Hitler and the Nazis.
Big D,
There is little doubt the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein in power, but we have to weigh the benefits you cited against the costs:
2245+ American servicemen and women killed.
50,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed (only God knows the actual number)
$300+ billion of additional debt hoisted on the backs of our children.
We turned Iraq into a terrorist recruiting and training ground the likes of which Al Qaeda’s leadership could not have imagined in their wildest dreams.
We severely limited our ability to respond to North Korea and Iran – states that pose a real threat to American security and have or will soon have real WMD’s – because our military is tied down in Iraq.
We diverted resources away from initiatives that could have actually made Americans safer – eg. securing ports of entry and power plants and providing additional funding for local law enforcement.
We introduced instability in the middle east, a region of vital strategic importance.
We alienated some of our closest allies – allies whose cooperation is absolutely essential in fighting the global war on terror.
By shifting our focus to Iraq, we missed a critical opportunity to capture Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for orchestrating the murder of over 5000 innocent Americans.
The bottom line: we are the greatest military and economic power on earth, but our resources are still limited. We need to make smart decision about how we exercise our power. President Bush’s war in Iraq was not a smart decision.