TALIBAN TELLS HINDUS TO WEAR ID PATCHES

Your May 23 article reporting the Afghanistan Taliban requirement
that the minority Hindus wear identity labels on their clothing was a
remarkable punctuation to the comments of Robert Scheer (Commentary,
May 22). The analogy to the Nazi policies forcing the Jews to wear a
yellow Star of David is both appropriate and chilling. How does the
Bush administration justify the gift of $43 million to the Taliban,
then days later decry the Taliban policy as "the latest in a long
list of outrageous oppressions" by the Taliban. Was the "long list"
not sufficient to preclude the $43-million gift.

It sadly appears there will be open persecution of the Hindu
minority; there is already systematic abuse of women and girls,
including the denial of education and health care.

Joe Hilberman
Los Angeles

The fact that the U.S. government paid $43 million to the Taliban for
participating in our war on drugs makes me laugh. I think the federal
government is living vicariously in that the Taliban can effectively
suppress and, if it wants, even kill its drug users. Without a doubt,
that is what the drug warriors in Washington would do if they could.
But they can't. And Scheer can write that article here, while under
the Taliban he would long since have been history.

Our freedoms are worth preserving and defending, especially now, when
they are under attack by the war on drugs.

Harry D. Fisher
Woodland Hills