FOR THE RECORD

The Bush Administration's spin campaign to equate dissent on the war with Iraq to undermining the American cause got a new twist last week when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld compared critics of the war to those who sought to appease Adolf Hitler prior to World War II.

Rummy contended that those calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq were suffering from "moral or intellectual confusion," adding that there were those who "seem not to have learned history's lessons" about fighting fascism to prevent it from spreading.

The Daily News quoted U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid saying in response that it was the Defense Secretary who had "failed to learn the lessons of history. Rumsfeld ignored military experts when he rushed to war without enough troops, without sufficient body armor, and without a plan to succeed."

Mr. Rumsfeld's comments had echoes of those made three weeks earlier by Vice President Cheney in the wake of Sen. Joe Lieberman's defeat by Ned Lamont - caused largely by his support for the Iraq war - in the Democratic primary in Connecticut. "The thing that's partly disturbing about it," the Vice President said of Mr. Lieberman's loss, "is the fact that, [from] the standpoint of our adversaries, if you will, in this conflict, and the Al Qaeda types, they clearly are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people."

It took a special kind of demagoguery to interpret the outcome of a democratic election as a victory for terrorism, but Mr. Cheney's comments weren't that surprising considering that a major theme of President Bush's re-election campaign - voiced by surrogates like Mr. Cheney and Bernie Kerik - was that electing John Kerry would have a similar effect. As West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd reminded us prior to the Bush Administration's misguided invasion of Iraq, seeking to discredit your opponents in the fashion that Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rumsfeld did is a tactic straight from the playbook of Hermann Goering, Nazi Germany's equivalent of the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Mr. Byrd quoted Mr. Goering's explanation to a prison psychologist at Nuremberg of how you could overcome citizens' misgivings about going to war. "All you have to do," he said, "is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.

"It works the same in any country."

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Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, and Mike and The Mad Dog, look out: The Sergeants' Benevolent Association Sept. 2 launched its own weekly radio show.

The half-hour "On the Job" program will be hosted by veteran radio and TV news reporter Penny Crone. The next three shows will air Saturday evenings between 8 and 8:30 and can be heard on WMCA 570 AM.

The show, which is being produced by R.E.M. Multi-Media, Inc., will discuss the 9/11 health-related issues and how family members of four SBA members who lost their lives during the rescue effort have adjusted. Other topics will include talk about Mayor Bloomberg's "apathy" toward first responders now suffering from an array of illnesses and a debate on the merits of the NYPD Rant Web site as an appropriate avenue for free speech.

Future programs will discuss how NYPD officers have left for higher-paying positions in surrounding jurisdictions, the death penalty, gun legislation, and pension and retirement issues.

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To commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the New York City Police Museum will unveil a photo exhibit Sept. 10 of 55 images from the NYPD Photo Unit, the New York Times and the Daily News that capture the heroism, sacrifice and generosity that took place on 9/11 and in its aftermath. "United Response: Commemorating 9/11" will also depict the spontaneous memorials erected in cities and towns throughout the world.

The museum, which is located at 100 Old Slip between Water and South Sts. in lower Manhattan, will be open for the debut from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission on that day and on Sept. 11 - when the hours will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - is free. The exhibit will run through Jan. 13. For more information, call (212) 480- 3100.