Bill Sykes' - In Retrospect
III.
(September 2006)
Bill Sykes
looks back in retrospect at material which has been published
in previous editions of "View from America",
in an attempt to determine whether the subject matter
written then is still applicable in today’s world.
A World in Turmoil!!!
The human animal has since time immemorial, (since
the days of the cave dweller, even as far back as when
we transitioned from our ape like ancestors and started
to walk upright), wantonly killed their neighbours and
destroyed their habitat for many and varied reasons, and
apparently in today’s world a major reason includes
first and foremost the fight for religious domination.
I certainly will not attempt to go as far back as the Stone Age, (or even the
iron age), and you will have to suffice with militant struggles for power which
have occurred since the start of the twentieth century.
Where on earth shall I begin, as the turmoil extends worldwide?
Conflicts stretch from the Middle East nations, which include Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, and since the break up of the USSR
the southern Russian states of Georgia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,
Azerbaijan, and of course the Chechnya situation, (to name but a few), through
many African countries, north to the Balkans, and then on to the Far East regions
of the world. Of course one must not forget to include the Israeli/ Palestinian
conflict, as that is one of the major pivotal countries in this turmoil, and
the India/Pakistani military warlike incidents over possession of Kashmir has
got to have a mention, and finally the unrest in Sri Lanka.
I obviously cannot
cover every major conflict that is currently going on in the world, so I will
try to cover part of the Middle East, which has always been a hot bed of war
and strife.
Shall I go on - certainly not - enough is enough - if
nothing else, I hope that you have gained some geographic
knowledge.
-
The American/Iraqi war:
President Bush’s state visit to London was
accompanied by very tight security, and anti-war demonstrations
were conducted by a large contingent of British people
who from what I saw were in opposition not only to his
aggressive war against the Iraqi people but the continued
post war conflict which America does not appear to have
made any plans for, or headway in. It is very apparent,
even six months after President Bush declared the war
over, that his "Mission Accomplished" message
has turned out to be "Mission Impossible" as
it is increasingly apparent that America does not know
how to handle the post war fragile peace situation, politically
or militarily.
President Bush of course denied the accusations,
(the President’s reasons for going to war were
supported by Prime Minister Blair), and stated that the
American invasion of Iraq was aimed at ousting Saddam
Hussein and his brutal regime and was not against the
Iraqi people. No mention of weapons of mass destruction.
This part of the war was "partially" accomplished,
(although Saddam Hussein was not killed or captured),
and the reign of terror still continues, and will continue
to pit Iraqi militants against Americans.
Battles amongst
the Iraqi people for religious domination will still
continue, (as it has done for thousands of years), between
Kurds, Sunni Muslims, and Shiite Muslims.
It appeared
to me that the TV coverage of the state visit of President
Bush to London was barely adequate and very subdued and
of course was devoid of the pomp and circumstance that
usually accompanies state visits by foreign dignitaries,
for obvious reasons that demanded that high security
be provided to protect the President. The TV coverage
given was curtailed by many of the American TV news stations
in favour of the Michael Jackson alleged child molestation
charges. Indeed, very little of the anti-war demonstrations
by the British people were shown, (even by the
American BBC newscasts), as obviously it would have
been a major embarrassment to the American people
if so many members of the only country alleged to
be allied to the American cause had expressed such
a vocal disagreement with the reasons given by the
American President to go to war against Iraq in the
first place.
The tragic bombing of the British Embassy and a British
bank in Istanbul, Turkey, by a militant Muslim extremist
group, which cost the lives of thirty people, and
caused injuries to more than 400 others, received
major coverage in the United States, as it certainly
should do.
What on earth is the world coming to, when radical
extremists kill their own people, (in addition to
what they consider to be non-Muslim infidels), in
order promote their own particular religious point
of view? Is there so
much hatred in this world that the extremists have
become monsters who have no regard for human life
and who kill many innocent civilians with no signs
of remorse in the name of religion?
I would like to bet that right about now, the American
people are beginning to rue the day that they got
bogged down in this terrible quagmire of Iraq - oil
or no oil!!!
The current situation with respect to Iran:
Several items of information have been culled from the
editorial of a local newspaper which had the headline
"Don’t
jump the gun in Iran", and gave the news paper’s
opinion as to what should, or should not, be done about
the suspected Iranian nuclear program. The editorial
goes on to say that Iran is being pressured by the United
States to disclose any secret work being done on a nuclear
program suspected of being associated with nuclear weapons.
Most European countries, including Great Britain, (President
Bush’s closest ally), are warning against assuming
the worst before the weapons inspectors have done their
work in investigating the situation. Apparently the United
States Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell, has persuaded
only Canada, Australia, and Japan of the need to censor
Iran.
Moderate Iranian leader, Mohammad Khatami who wants
to avoid a confrontation with the Western powers, has
assented to unannounced inspections of suspected nuclear
sites. It was suggested that the United States should
avoid undermining the United Nations, and give the weapons
inspectors enough time to do their work instead of insisting
upon sending the Iranian case to the Security Council.
The final word of the editorial was to state an opinion
that instead of widening the transatlantic rift, the
Bush Administration should compromise with Europe and
avoid precipitous and premature action against Iran.
My comment: What we certainly do not need at this time
is another war to fight, as we currently have more than
we can handle!!!
Note: to view the complete December 2003 edition of “View from
America” please click HERE.
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.
We
welcome feedback about any of the contents of these articles.
Please send all correspondence to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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