Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(Mid-April 2003)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
The post war future of Iraq and its people.
 President
Bush repeatedly presented the same viewpoint daily in
his TV broadcasts at the start of the war, "That
it would be a short and decisive war which would result,
once the war was won, in a peaceful democratic Iraqi society
free from the terrors of the oppressive and violent regime
of the despotic Saddam Hussein".
Colin Powell also stated the same American philosophy
recently, "That when the war is won, Iraq will have
a new government dedicated to Democracy".
I’ve said a number of times in the past that this
is a false premise as there are three factions which will
fight each other for political control of Iraq, and a
fourth one standing poised to take over the rich oil fields
located in northern Iraq. Turkey the fourth contender,
has self-declared interests across their border with Iraq
in the region of oil rich cities of Tikrit, Kirkut, Kifri,
and Mosul. Secretary of State Colin Powell stated during
a visit to Turkey, that he would discourage the Turkish
armed forces from crossing the border and disrupting the
political process that America has envisioned for Iraq.
 Secretary
of State Colin Powell was also said to have proposed,
Friday the 4th of April 2003, that an Interim Administration
be set up quickly in Iraq with exiled Iraqis playing a
prominent role and should include certain internal dissidents
who oppose Saddam Hussein. Powell was reported to have
also said after a meeting with the President, Secretary
of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice, (The
Presidents National Security Assistant), "We are
anxious to move quickly". It would appear that maybe
once again they are jumping the gun. One wonders if they
know what they doeth. The old proverb comes to mind. "Move
in haste and repent at leisure". This is not the
way to handle the internal politics of a country defeated
in war, as once the fighting is over the political war
will start and could be even bloodier than the fighting
war.
(*)My concern still exists that over
the next decade we will not see any change or progress
in the Muslim countries of the world to avoid oppression
and violence. I would predict that immediately the war
appears to be won there will be some rejoicing amongst
the lower echelon Iraqi people, which will turn to civil
unrest, breakdown of law and order, violence, widespread
looting bordering upon anarchy which will be followed
by an internal civil war power struggle amongst the three
religious factions, the Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds,
aimed at attaining autonomous statehood.
A number of European Countries and other world nations
are demanding that the United Nations take a major role
in the rebuilding of the Iraqi political structure - the
Americans are currently violently opposed to this on the
basis, "We won the fighting war and we will decide
the political future of Iraq", or something like
that.
(*) Note: The paragraph entitled, “The
post war future of Iraq and its people”, was written
several days before the fall of Baghdad and Basra and
was based upon similar events that took place in a number
of countries during World War Two where the victors were
met in the initial days by cheers, which in later days
was to turn to Jeers and violence.
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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