connect ipad mini to mac mini via USB

GENIUS system tells me to connect ipad to mini using iTUNES

____AS A WAY TO CONTINUE SETUP of the IPAD.___

ERGO, there is no running OS on the ipad YET.

True to form, iTUNES says I do not have "permission"

PERMISSION? From WHO? These are both MY MACHINES.

KINDLY DO NOT "suggest" I use another method (i.e., WiFi). That is not the question being asked.