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Men with an abusive background are just substituting one form of control over their female partners for another. Instead of physically brutalizing women, the Promise Keepers apply their version of biblical authority over the opposite sex. Either way, men have the upper hand while women are kept in a subservient role. JONATHAN SPIVAK North York, Ont.
The Promise Keepers should be celebrated. Whether or not we are Christian, we should be thankful for men who promise to uphold godly principles. If we all lived according to Christ's teachings, our world would be a Utopia. We have heard only good reports from those who have attended Promise Keepers meetings. We pray this movement will not become corrupted by greed or disharmony, but can fulfill its potential. JOE AND CHERYL HOLLINGER Pontypridd, Wales
Like a lot of men, I sympathize with some of the Promise Keepers' stated goals. But the fact that these men feel they cannot do right by their wives and families unless supported by a religious cult with political aspirations is pretty pathetic. A real man does the right thing because it's right, not because he is shamed into it by a group of his peers. STEVE VANDEN-EYKEL New Westminster, B.C.
At a time when men are generally portrayed by the media as spineless, TV watching couch potatoes, the Promise Keepers movement comes as a ray of hope. These men recognize the need to repent for their sins and play the part in their families ordained for them by God. By assuming this long-lost role, the Promise Keepers are bound to have a positive effect on society. Boys will have caring role models to look up to, and girls will have fathers who are men of integrity. THEO E. KOTZE Pietersburg, South Africa
As a former president of a women's organization, I was deeply stirred by the coverage of the Promise Keepers. Far from being disturbed by the group and its goals, I was moved to tears by the image of the fervent men on your cover. KERRY COLE Plymouth, England
STANDING UP FOR THE ROYALS
One really does get sick and tired of all the pro-Diana, antiroyals letters by so many of your readers [LETTERS, Oct. 6]. After all, Diana was killed not while distributing soup in a charity kitchen but in a mad race through the streets of Paris. And that the Queen should be so criticized is bewildering. Diana was her former daughter-in-law who waged a tough fight for money during a tasteless divorce. The princess was killed in an accident with her new and extremely wealthy lover. What former mother-in-law would demonstrate great grief? I think all the royals behaved with as much dignity as the situation called for. KATERINA VESTMAN Zwingenberg, Germany
COVERT OPERATIONS IN CUBA
Your report on the new book about President John F. Kennedy's White House tapes made during the Cuban missile crisis [NATION, Oct. 13] stated, "The confrontation started when the Soviet Union began covertly shipping into Fidel Castro's Cuba 72 nuclear-armed ballistic missiles capable of wiping out U.S. cities." You are right to say there were covert operations, but they started with Operation Mongoose, the CIA project to blow up installations in Cuba, contaminate Cuban sugar shipments to other countries, wage psychological warfare and make plans for another invasion of the island.