NEW YORK – The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) strongly supports the use of American military force to facilitate world peace by removing Saddam Hussein from power.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said:

“Saddam Hussein’s development of weapons of mass destruction, and his continuing sponsorship of international terrorism, are a threat to world peace. Defanging Iraq by ousting Saddam’s regime is important to the peace and security of America, the West, and Israel. Using force to get rid of Saddam will also send a powerful message that the United States will no longer tolerate terrorist regimes. We dare not wait until Saddam acquires nuclear weapons before we act—by then it will be too late.

“During the 1930s, too many Western leaders preferred to turn a blind eye to Nazi Germany’s military buildup. Some believed that Hitler could be appeased by sacrificing small countries such as Czechoslovakia. If the Free World had acted sooner against Nazi Germany, millions of lives would have been spared. The policies of appeasing or ignoring terrorist dictators did notwork in the 1930s, and will not work today.

“In his speech at the United Nations on September 12, President Bush described Saddam’s dangerous military buildup and his wanton violations of international sanctions. We look forward to President Bush making a speech in which he will describe the Palestinian Authority’s military buidup and its wanton violations of the conditions that the president himself set down in his June 24 speech about the Middle East. The principles that Mr. Bush has established with regard to dealing with Iraq should also apply to other terrorist regimes, including the PA.”