Bill Sykes' Newsletter from America.
(Christmas 2002)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Piracy on the high seas?
In a series of reports issued today the 11th
of December, 2002, it was reported that Spanish naval
forces, part of the International Naval Defense Force,
(apparently under the command of the United States Central
Command), on the look out for dangerous weapons deliveries
in the Persian Gulf region, intercepted and boarded an
unflagged ship "So San", (assumed to be of North
Korean origin, registered in Cambodia), in international
waters east of the Island of Socotora, which is south
of Yemen in the Arabian Sea.
 It
was found that the cargo included "SCUD" missile
components carefully hidden under a load of powdered cement.
The United States then issued orders for the ship to be
seized and diverted to the Island of Diego Garcia.
This order was later rescinded when Yemeni officials stated
that they had contracted with Korea to supply the missile
components to Yemen for defense purposes.
The ship was then released and permitted to make the delivery.
Note: Yemen is the ancestral home of
the Bin Laden family and is a questionable ally in the
global war on terrorism due to its past strained relations
with the United States.
Late breaking news. (16th of December 2002).
The United States media have just reported that 15 gun
boats, which include several submersibles with torpedo
capabilities, have been delivered to Iran by Korea. Wonder
how they slipped through the Naval cordon?
 Correct
me if I’m wrong but isn’t the United States
the largest purveyor of weapons worldwide, and I’m
sure that many of those weapons systems that we have exported
have found their way into the wrong hands, so how can
we adopt the more righteous than thou attitude in dealing
with other countries who export similar weapons systems?
Reminds me of the poem “Drake’s Drum”.
Let me see if I can remember the words from my school
days, such along time ago.
"Drake is in his hammock and a thousand miles
away,
Captain art thou sleeping down below.
Slung a’tween the roundshot in Nombre Deous Bay
And dreaming all the time of Plymouth Hoe,
Yonder lies the Island,
Yonder lies the ships with sailor lads a’dancing
heel and toe.
If the Dons strike Devon I’ll quit the port of Heaven,
And drum them up the channel as we drummed them long ago"
We welcome feedback about any of the contents of these
newsletters. Please send all correspondence to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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