Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(May 2004)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Readers letters:
Sean writes from UK:
I have recently been reading about a book called "The
New Pearl Harbour", which is all about conspiracy
theories surrounding the 11th of September terrorist action
and who did what and when to protect the American people
against potential terrorism.
Whether conspiracy theories existed or not, there are
certainly many unanswered questions about what really
happened that day, and the days proceeding the incident.
I personally cannot imagine that it was all a gigantic
government conspiracy to give the United States an excuse
to start an active imperialistic foreign policy, but I
certainly wonder how much was known by certain people
in the administration about the perceived plots, real
or imagined.
 The
sad thing about the American President’s decision
for a unilateral invasion of Iraq is the continuing deaths
of both American troops and Iraqi civilians. The figure
of at least one hundred American being killed this past
month alone, although miniscule in comparison to the deaths
which occurred during World War One, World War Two, or
the Vietnam War, makes one wonder just how long the American
troops can occupy Iraq, and I certainly can’t see
power being handed over to the Iraqi Interim Government
at the end of June this year.
If one adds the current situation in Israel/Palestine
to the war equation, then indeed we are in a difficult
and very sad situation.
On a happier note, I don’t know whether you remember
when I first contacted you two years ago requesting assistance
with information as to your World War Two experiences
for a book that I was researching - I’m glad to
inform you that the book is finally completed and is being
published at the end of May 2004, under the title, "To
the Victor the Spoils".
The book tells the story of actions by the British and
Canadian Armies between "D" day and "VE"
day. It may prove to be somewhat controversial since it
does not tell the story of military campaigns but focuses
more on the day-by-day lives of the soldiers participating
in and out of the battles. It strips away much of the
gloss of war and reveals how war is really about death
and destruction and the ways that young men coped with
death and the fear of death, and how terrible experiences
influenced their future lives.
My comment:
Sean’s book, "To the Victor the Spoils",
should make for interesting reading.
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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