Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(November 2003)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Last word:
 In the immortal words of William Shakespeare,
or some other writer of words of wisdom, "Pray tell
me, for I yearn to learn", what makes this undistinguished
President of the United States generate so much
ill feeling and hatred towards America and it's
people. America fought, and eventually won the
war against Communism - and in latter years,
after the September 11th 2001 terrorist action,
turned its furore against Muslim extremism. The
debatable question is, who will win this type
of war and what will be the future consequences?
If my correspondent from Canada is correct in his
assertion, (published in the October issue
of the news letter), that there is no way to completely
combat today's extremist guerrilla-type terrorist
warfare, and we have to accept and minimize
collateral damage, (casualties), then current American
efforts in the Middle East using troops which are geared
for conventional warfare, and who apparently
do not have sufficient expertise and training in the
control of a defeated population in the aftermath of
war, (such as the current Iraq situation), we obviously
do not have the answer to the problem and our
efforts will be futile.
 The current fiasco in the Baghdad sector of Iraq, with
American troops shown bashing down doors and terrorizing
Iraqi civilians, and Iraqi hard liners responding by
firing rocket propelled grenades and planting roadside
mines in order to kill American soldiers, shows that
the coalition do not appear to be making any headway
in controlling the vanquished Iraqi regime, and its reign
of terror is continuing.
The people of America are getting very concerned
about the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
maybe are coming to the point of demanding the withdrawal
of American forces from both war zones. When it comes
to supporting losing issues, militarily and financially,
with no immediate results, Americans get very disenchanted
and start demanding changes.
As the Afghanistan, Iraq, situation continues, Americans
are beginning to have increasing doubts
about the enormous cost in American lives and dollars
which are being precipitated by the obvious need for
an increase in the number of American military forces
in these countries, plus a constant supply
of additional military hardware and an ever increasing
flow of American dollars, all aimed at overcoming the
current volatile situations in both countries.
 The
continued supply of military equipment and financial
support to Israel is also a drain on American resources,
with no end in sight to the bloody war against the Palestinian
people. Getting back to the Israeli/Palestine war: It
has recently been reported that a number of Israeli people,
civilians and military, have become horrified and disenchanted
at what appears to be the callous retribution killing
of Palestinian civilians, and in a number of cases there have been
declarations of diminished support for the Israeli government's
aggressive actions against those civilians.
Of course what is good for the goose is good for the gander and
the Palestinian suicide bombing attacks on Israeli civilians must
also stop if there is ever going to be a chance of peace in that
part of the world.
To be fair, I would consider that neither Aerial Sharon nor Yasser
Arafat are doing all that can be done to establish a ceasefire
agreement, and I agree with Russian Foreign Secretary Ivanhof when
he says that Ariel Sharon does not want any process aimed at creating
a Palestinian State.
Disclaimer.
Some of the information
gathered for this news letter has been gleaned from
American and International media sources, (including
the Internet), and as such is quoted as accurately
as possible. I try to obtain confirmation from several
outlets, so the text is a mixture of composite news
items and personal comments and therefore the reader
must make his/her judgement as to the reliability
and degree of accuracy of the subjects discussed. Eric (Bill) Sykes. (California).
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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