Dear Editor,

Please, let us not commit further evil by using religion, politics, or economics to rationalise the horrible crime against humanity of September ll. Instead, let us all support the joint international effort to rid society of Osama bin Laden and the scourge of terrorism throughout the world.

Right now it seems that he is headquarterd in Afghanistan - a country with a population of 26.8 million, a GDP of US$21 billion, and a per capita income of US$800. It is ruled by the Taliban, who are Muslim fundamentalists. The irony of the situation is that the US government has for this year alone provided US$177,088,887 in humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.

The following is a breakdown of the US Government Humanitarian Assistance for FY 2001 which is administered through the US Agency for International Development, state agencies, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations(Afghanistan situation Report#2 - USAID, Bureau of Humanitarian Response and Office of US Foreign Disaster dated 20.9.2001):

US$ 18,934,362: Disaster relief assistance - health, nutrition, etc.

131,000,000: Wheat and complementary commodities
22,235,000: Population, refugees and migration
2,800,000: Contribution to mines action programme, etc.
1,500,000: UN drug control programme/crop substitution
569,525: UNICEF polio eradication
1,140,691: Blankets, tents, food, etc.

How ironic indeed. Instead of reciprocal co-operation in surrendering Osama bin Laden, the Taliban is biting the American hand that feeds Afghanistan.