Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(March 2005)
An ex-Brit gives his views - (without
fear or favor) - of the American Scene
America’s
new Secretary of State:
 I watched with interest various TV reports
of Secretary Condoleezza Rice’s first visit to
European and Middle East countries in her new role
as the American Secretary of State.
I must say that
I was pleasantly surprised by her initial speeches
indicating knowledge of the subject matter and the
ability to field questions posed by various members
of the audience. She spoke with a degree of clarity
that previously had apparently been hidden from the
general public under a cloak of subservient posturing
in the shadow of the President. Perhaps one can say
that if she does not regress back to being the subservient
mouthpiece for the American President espousing his
un-diplomatic type of philosophy, her new found authoritative
intelligence should serve her well in the job that
she now occupies.
I must add that I consider she must
be prepared to say with honesty and integrity what
she means, and above all mean what she says, in order
to establish some degree of credibility in the tough
political environment she now faces. I still have some
misgivings as to whether she will gain respect and
acceptance by the male dominated Muslim countries and
only time will tell whether Secretary Rice is the right
person for the job.
I would suggest that it would be beneficial to American
prestige in the world political arena if she continued
to use a low key diplomatic approach in dealing with
possible adversaries that she will obviously meet along
the way during future trips abroad. Above all, she and
the American Administration must remember that the civilizations
of Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, have been around
far longer than the United States and it would be in America’s best interests,
and that of Ms. Rice and members of the State Department, to always remain
cognisant of that fact.
 With respect to the Middle East, may I suggest that
one must be prepared to look back at the history of the
wars that have been fought between Iran and Iraq over
many decades in order to understand the basic mentality
of not only the people of both these nations but also
the people of the Middle East in general. At the same
time one must remember that the world will still continue
to question American, and also some European nation’s, association
with Middle East nations such as Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Of course America
has a vital interest in the vast Saudi Arabian oil deposits which keep
the economies of many countries afloat, whilst American monetary and weaponry
support of the Israeli military establishment will be questioned as the world
in general is somewhat uneasy with the America’s
vision that Israel has got to be supported in order to act as a buffer between
the Middle East warring factions.
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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