Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(September 2003)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Current Middle East situation.
Afghanistan:
 Members
of the Taliban, including units of Usama bin Laden’s
Al Qaeda terrorist organization, who were financed, armed,
and trained by the American CIA in the early 1990s to
fight a war against the Russian Invasion forces, (why
the Russians ever invaded Afghanistan escapes me), and
when the Russian Forces pulled out of Afghanistan the
Taliban were declared to be religious zealots who persecuted
the Afghan people, and Al Qaeda was a terrorist organization,
so America conducted a war against them which would appear
to be still an ongoing operation.
The two factions, plus the local warlords, are now back
in the business of fighting what they consider to be an
occupation by American Imperialistic forces. How things
change - today’s friends are tomorrow’s enemies
and vice versa.
Iraq.
The argument still goes on as to whether the United States
has enough armed forces in Iraq to complete the job, [whatever
job description they may have—is it defending the
oil fields, (which are being sabotaged on a daily basis)---is
it installing Democracy, (which has yet to happen)---
or is it just another policing action], whatever it is,
it obviously is not succeeding.
 United
Sates Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, against the
better judgement of several of his Field Generals, has
stated that the numbers of American Forces in Iraq is
adequate and there is no need for an increase in order
to do the job that they have been assigned. Yet at the
same time, the United States is suggesting and requesting
that the coalition of the willing, (whom so ever they
may be), should be prepared to send troops to Iraq to
supplement the American and British forces, but at the
same time the Americans are not prepared to give up any
of the overall command structure.
There have been few if any takers, with blunt refusals
coming from three major European countries, France, Germany
and Russia. (That is if Russia can be counted as being
part of Europe).
The bottom line: The American and British coalition’s
war in Iraq has not solved the goal of freeing the people
of Iraq from tyranny, and giving them a Democratic system
of government.
Iran and Syria.
Secretary Rumsfeld has been quoted recently as saying
that Iran and Syria are to be blamed for allowing foreign
Islamic terrorist to cross Iraq’s borders to fight
what they consider to be the infidels occupying Iraq.
An Iranian group of dissidents located in the United States
were said to have been planning a rogue operation aimed
at overthrowing the Iranian government. This caused some
concern to the American Administration and even the Pentagon
expressed a negative attitude to the suggested coup. Just
what we need is another battlefield in the Middle East!!!
Israel.
The wall is still going up and the settlements are not
coming down. How can anyone expect a peaceful solution
with the continuing killings? Jews kill Arab leaders by
the use of rocket firing helicopter gun ships, and Arabs
kill Jews by indiscriminate suicide bombing. Will the
problem ever be resolved? I don’t believe it will
until religion is taken out of the equation.
The estimated cost of rebuilding Iraq.
 The
American Chief Administration Executive in Iraq, Mr. Paul
Brenner indicated today, the 27th August 2003, that Iraq
would need, "tens of billions of dollars" from
abroad in the next year alone to rebuild its electricity
and other essential systems. Even some Republican Politicians,
such as Representative James Kolbe of Arizona, who leads
the House Foreign Operations Sub-Committee, appears to
be getting concerned. Mr. Kolbe was said to have stated
that, "The cost of repairing and replacing the Iraqi
infrastructure is going to be higher than anticipated
before the war commenced".
(Please refer to the latest breaking news item, Dateline:
28th August 2003. Washington. DC.)
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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