the Sirte military region and an outspokennopponent of Qaddafi’s downgradingnof the Libyan army. By then,nQaddafi had little affection for thenUSSR and may even have feared thatnthe Kremlin might act to remove himnfrom power. This growing oppositionnin the Libyan army, and Qaddafi’sndisillusionment with the Soviet Union,nwere dealt major setbacks by the Americannattack on Libya.nBy spectacularly demonstrating thenincompetence of the Libyan army, thenU.S. raid reduced the prestige of thenvery entity most disaffected withnQaddafi. Given the military’s failure atna moment of crisis, Libyan officersncould hardly argue any longer that theyncould provide more effective leadershipnfor the country than Qaddafi. Indeed,nthere have been no known coup attemptsnby the army during the last twonyears. The military’s humiliation hasnonly benefited the fanatical Qaddafinsupporters in the Revolutionary Committees.nThe U.S. raid also seems tonhave stilled Qaddafi’s fears concerningnthe Soviet Union. Now, Qaddafi assertsnthat the defense of Libya is “vital”nto Soviet interests and that Libya andnthe USSR are involved in a “commonnstruggle.”nOn ThenGenderless Society’nMatthew Kaufman’s article on the newnage genderless military {Chronicles,nMay 1988) reminds me of an experiencenI had last year. I drove into an AirnForce Base which hosted two strategicnAir Command wings, including strategicnalert aircraft. My identification wasnexamined, and I was waved through byna military security guard … in a maternitynsmock. As it turns out, alertnaircraft now are being guarded bynyoung girls carrying M-16’s. My wifenhit the nail on the head when shenremarked that our terrorist enemiesnaround the world must be getting angood chuckle out of that situation.nPerhaps you could build an interestingnarticle around the AF Social Actionsnoffices. Some critics portray themnas the military parallel to NOW andnNAACP.n—Name and addressnwithheld by requestnOn a ‘Letter Fromna State of Mind’nHaving worked on the Commentarynstaff when Norman Podhoretz’s predecessornElliot E. Cohen was editor, Inbelieve that a partial answer to ProfnNeusner’s quandary about why thenmagazine does not print “religiousnthinkers” {Chronicles, June 1988) isnthis: The magazine was (as it still is)npublished under the auspices of thenAmerican Jewish Committee — ansocial-action organization, not an associationntied to a particular segment ofnthe Jewish faith. If AJC had religiousnleanings at all in those days, they werentoward Reform Judaism, which tendsnto be less interested in exegeses ofnScriptures than in getting out the popularnvote, particularly when civil rightsnare at stake. While Orthodox Judaismnand to an extent Conservative Judaismnmay root their arguments in the Biblenor later commentaries and allow thesenarguments to bear fruit as decisions onnmodern questions. Reform tends tonpluck the fruit, taste it, and discuss itsnbenefits and hazards — sometimes butnnot always examining the trunk andnNEW!nFrom ThenRockfordnInstitutenthe roots.nAlthough the American JewishnCommittee, when it started Commentary,nwanted a Jewish magazine, it didnnot want one which thrashed out thenissues heard in seminary and templenstudy halls, but rather one which dealtnwith Jewish social and political problemsnsuch as coping with anti-Semitismnor eking out existence in the far reachesnof Soviet Russia. Cohen and laternPodhoretz, with their stable of youngnpolitical-science oriented editors, eventuallynconvinced the Committee thatnthe magazine should not be half Jewish,nhalf social science, and finally thisnmagazine published under Jewish auspicesnmade those auspices synonymousnwith the best critical thought on Americannand world affairs. AJC then begannto publish Present Tense, a magazinenwhich dealt richly with Jewish affairs —nprobably just what was intended fornCommentary, glossy stock, photographs,nand all. But even this publicationndoes not, to my knowledge, publishnthe great religious thinkers.n—Marcia FriedmannThe American Council for JudaismnNew York, NYnA first-of-its-kind directory of religious organizations,npeople, and publications engaged in public affairs.nMore than 160 listings with backgrounds and budgets.nFormatted for quick reference for those who need thenfacts fesf. ONLY $6.95!nTo order, send name and address plus $6.95 per copyn(includes postage and handling) to: The RockfordnInstitute, 934 N. Main St., Rockford, IL 61103.nPayment is required before order is processed.nnnZ93nSEPTEMBER 1988/SIn