Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(Summer 2003)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Worldwide terrorism. (A short essay describing
a troubled world).
Terrorism is gaining ground worldwide, and what
if anything is being achieved by those acts of terrorism,
which kill thousands of innocent civilians?
Before we ask that question, perhaps we should look at
why the terrorist groups are growing and which countries
are supporting and financing them, and above everything
else what are their objectives.
-
Why are the terrorist groups expanding so
rapidly?
Is it because they feel oppressed by world politics,
world banks, and frustrated by the fact that the rich
industrial nations are getting richer by the day and
interfering in the internal politics of sovereign
nations, whilst at the same time the poorer countries
are striving to survive poverty, famine, disease and
political corruption?
If so, then something is radically wrong, as it has
been demonstrated that in many of the poverty ridden
countries of this world the people are not the victims
of exploitation by their richer neighbours but are
being exploited by their own radical and despotic
governments.
 Take
for instance Mugabe and the on-going tragedy in Zimbabwe,
where white farmers were evicted and the so called
war veterans, encouraged by Mugabe, looted and set
fire to the farm buildings, destroyed the farm machinery,
and set fire to the crops. This misguided action not
only put all the black employees working on the farms
out of work but also destroyed the economy and caused
a state of famine in the country. This was followed
by a form of ethnic cleansing, which didn’t
stop at the white farmers, but overflowed to the people
of Zimbabwe who had not supported Mugabe’s dominant
and oppressive rule. The world condemned South Africa
for apartheid but apparently have done very little
to alleviate the suffering in other African Nations,
such as the genocide in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo where untold thousands of people have been
killed during the five year, six nation war. There
is also turmoil, unrest, and violence, which has killed
thousands in the Ivory Coast country of Liberia.
Perhaps these are reasons or excuses, (which I obviously
do not understand), for the expansion of global terrorism!
-
Which countries are supporting and participating
in acts of terrorism?
I’m sorry to say that most countries have some
axe to grind, cross to bear, or strong political agendas
aimed at colonial or religious dominance of the world.
The actions of several countries and organizations
are extremely complex and cannot be described a few
words. There are the religious problems in Ireland,
which have caused conflict and many deaths over the
past half a century.
The Basque National Liberation Front with its Basque
Separatist Group, Euskadi Ta Askatasuma, (ETA), established
in 1958. The prime objective of the conflict between
the Basque people and the Spanish Government is that
the Basque people wish to establish a separate autonomous
socialist Basque State. Over 800 people have been
killed since ETA started its bombing campaign in 1959.
Then there is the on-going problems in the Philippines,
were the Moro National Liberation Front, (MNLF), which
dates from 1984, and is headquartered in Mindanao,
is a political front for the Muslim Separatist rebellion.
The MNLF has broad popular support in the outlying
rural villages were there is much poverty.
Comment:
The facts are there, religion, political oppression, corruption,
poverty, and disease are major contributing factors to
the formation of radical groups, which commit heinous
acts of terrorism.
In addition to poverty, politics, religion, there is the
addition problem of corruption, which is a major threat
in today’s society.
 I
must maintain that the corrupt governments of some of
the poorer countries are also major contributors to their
own people’s deprivation, abject poverty and oppression.
I have read, re-read, and changed these comments many
times during my review of this paragraph, as I really
must confess that not being on the spot personally, (Which
is an essential factor in good reporting), I do not fully
understand or comprehend the particular problems of each
and every country that sponsors terrorism as fully as
I should, and have no clear answer to how these terrorist
problem can be solved.
Terrorist weapons of the future.
There is growing evidence, and concern, that
terrorists are planning to use shoulder-fired missiles,
(such as the "Stinger" missile), which is around
five feet long and weighs approximately 30 lbs. These
missiles are equipped with a heat seeking warhead device
and can reach altitudes of 15,000 feet.
A missile of this type, secreted about a mile away from
the perimeter of any airport, could be aimed and fired
at an aircraft on take off, or landing approach, in a
matter of seconds. Apparently as many as 30 terrorist
groups have access to these weapons, which will fit into
the trunk of a car and can be assembled and fired in minutes.
Aircraft are not the only targets of opportunity for these
missiles and there are many other applications, which
this type of terrorism could be adapted to. These missiles,
along with thousands of Soviet and Chinese copies can
be acquired for as little as $5000.
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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