Letters

Iraq vs. Iran

To the Editors:

The Iranian-Iraqi war [Oct. 6] reminds me of our presidential election: neither side is any good, and I can't decide whom to root for.

Larry S. Pollak Toledo

I wonder if people are beginning to understand that the instability in the Middle East is the result of differences among Muslim nations rather than so-called Israeli stubbornness.

David Tatarsky Elizabeth, N.J.

It seems to me that we should ask the Iranians in the U.S. if they are patriotic and would like to return to Iran to help fight against the invading Iraqi army. Christ P. Zivalich Jr. Honolulu

Wouldn't it be funny if civilization started and ended in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley?

James P. Gunn St. Louis

Judging Judges

Your article "Judging Reagan's Judges" [Oct. 6] points up an issue that has kept surfacing throughout this year's political campaigns. That is, certain people are distressed that the right might have some say in the political future of this country. Why would anyone in his right mind oppose a judge who will respect traditional family values and the sanctity of life? Shouldn't we all, right or left,'have input into the system? Or does the Committee for an Independent Judiciary want only its views to predominate?

John W. Whitehead Washington, D.C.

"Judging Reagan's Judges" recites the fears of prominent attorneys who are leaders in the civil rights movement and other liberal causes that if Reagan is elected he would appoint federal judges with a "monolithic right-wing ideology." Actually, it isn't so much that liberals disagree with other points of view; mostly, they are shocked to learn that there are other points of view.

Julian Bamberger Indianapolis

The Desk Set

It is a shame that Bendix Corp. [Oct. 6] Vice President and Chief Corporate Planner Mary E. Cunningham's qualifications as a magna cum laude undergraduate and Harvard M.B.A. graduate are underplayed just because she is rated a "10." If the water-cooler gossips would quit gossiping, maybe their cups would overflow too.

Doree Martin St. Louis

Perhaps some day society will accept the fact that women, too, can successfully climb the corporate ladder--without stopping in every bedroom along the way.

Ann Herring Fullerton, Calif.

War Is Heck

As a member of the New York Army National Guard [Sept. 29], I was gratified to read an article that was complimentary to "weekend warriors." We are often scoffed at and maligned as being inept misfits, incapable of performing our tasks. If more men and women would join our thin ranks and we were provided with more modern equipment, no one would have to be concerned about a draft.

(SGT) Edward P. Strieder 42nd Aviation Battalion Verbank, N. Y.

Am I supposed to feel protected knowing that it takes twelve hours for the Army National Guard to reach Fort Drum from Staten Island? Once there, the men spend a few days playing at their war games.

Bring back the draft.

Marguerite H. Sanzone Rome, N. Y.

Is Woody Still Funny?

Richard Corliss, in his review of Woody Allen's Stardust Memories [Sept. 29], has put his finger on a fact that has become painfully obvious to moviegoers who like to laugh: the legendary Woody Allen is no longer funny. Allen's God-like view of himself is boring. He used to spoof pseudo intellectuals and phonies. But unlike Groucho, who really didn't want to belong to the country club, Woody always did; he just didn't think he was worthy. The problem was in society's conception of success, but Allen continued to believe he was at fault. Now a firmly entrenched member of the Establishment, he has betrayed the anarchic feeling of his past work to cater to the same effete crowds he once chided.

Dan O'Neill Los Angeles

Stealth and Secrecy

TIME's account of my testimony on the Stealth aircraft to the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, "Chronicle of a Security Leak" [Sept. 29], misstates the facts in several Important respects. First, I did not ask the Senators "to make a joint statement calling for a press conference to announce Stealth." Second, I did not fail to tell the committee of my discussion with Armed Forces Journal. Third, though I did give the Journal a further briefing, the result was to get features damaging to national security removed from the magazine's story, while adding nothing classified.

William J. Perry Under Secretary of Defense Washington, D.C.

TIME's reporting on Secretary Perry's testimony was based on information from two sources who attended the committee hearing. TIME has been unable to check the verbatim record because it is classified.

Wrong Party

Your article "Arafat's Nudge" about the peace conference in Bulgaria [Oct. 6] Incorrectly identifies me as a member of Rakah, the Israeli Communist Party. I am a member of the Israeli Black Panther Party, which, together with Rakah and other groups, forms the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality.

Charlie Biton Member of the Knesset Jerusalem

A Wolf in Hardcover

I read with interest your review of Michael Fox's book on wolves [Oct. 6]. I was raised on the grand old tales of Rudyard Kipling. It was a pleasantly eerie sensation to read an ethologist's discussion of wolf customs and mores --so much like those that Kipling fancied in his Jungle Books: Akela, the leader of the pack (or Alpha male), lying alert on his great rock, crying, "Look, look well, O Wolves."

Mildred Kemper Terrill, M.D. Austin

I have often wondered why they call a playboy a wolf when the animal wolf is so different.

Maure Lee Talley Whitehaven, Tenn.

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