[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Comparing Saddam to Hitler is quite a stretch

At no point do I compare the two. I compare public opinion about how dangerous to the US each was perceived at given points in time.

However, in 1938, there was no hard evidence available that Hitler was murdering German citizens because of their ethnicity (he was, of course). On the other hand, 60 Minutes ran the video of the Kurd villages on which Saddam had used nerve in the early 90's long before we attacked Iraq.

My point was that proactive military action often leaves doubt as to whether that action was necessary. Had we attack Germany in 1938, we'd still be debating whether or not we were justified in doing so from a national defense perspective.