I was shocked and saddened by the Collegian's business decision to print Leonard Peikoff's jingoist diatribe, regardless of the fact that it was a paid advertisement.

Such hate-mongering is the last thing we need in an already tense situation, both at home and abroad.

A Sikh man was killed and countless other Muslims and Hindus have been attacked and harassed due to this sort of pedagogy.

The advertisement has several problems.

It has convenient omissions, for example, the fact that such an extreme fundamentalist revolution in Iran was only possible because the pro-Western Shah the United States placed into power was using secret police to arrest, torture, and murder those critical of his policies.

His implicit racism, disguised as nationalism, is apparent in the idea that we rightfully own the Middle Eastern oil reserves because "the West" (namely, rich Western oilmen) had the technology to dig it up and could enlist military might to make sure they could access the oil.

Would Peikoff argue that another country be justified in commandeering American resources simply because they had the means to access them?

I doubt it.

The most sickening part was his statement that we should proceed "in the manner most beneficial to the American cause, regardless of the suffering and death this will bring to countless innocents caught in the line of fire."

Substitute the words "Islamic extremist cause" for "American cause," and Mr. Peikoff's rhetoric has justified the atrocities of Sept. 11. Bravo, Mr. Peikoff and Objectivism.