The following is a letter to the editor that I submitted to the Richmond Times Dispatch on August 21, 2002, and was published on August 27. Editor, Times Dispatch: It is ironic that some of the loudest calls for a U.S. attack on Iraq are not coming from within our own government but from Israel. Even though they would be a likely first target of a desperate counterattack by Saddam Hussein, Israelis understand the threat posed by dictators who do not let their people live in freedom. Due to the philosophy of multiculturalism, there are many who feel that America’s interests are at stake only if we are first met with a devastating offensive attack. Since multiculturalism teaches that all nations and cultures are equal, these opponents say that we should not make judgments about the intentions of maniacal dictators. Rather, we should get approval from those who hate America and it’s freedoms, such as the U.N. This moral relativism persists in light of the evidence that not all cultures are moral equivalents: The civilized nation of Israel transformed a Middle Eastern desert into an oasis of freedom and technology, while oppressive monarchies like Saudi Arabia use oilfields stolen from the West to finance hatred for the U.S. While leading this war to preserve America, let us hope that President Bush follows the example of the rational thinking coming from Israel, and not the irrational philosophy of the multiculturalists. -Bob Murphy. Richmond