Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Britain's biggest bases east of Suez are in jeopardy—Aden, with its 14,000 men, is expected to become unusable in two years due to Arab pressure; Singapore-Malaysia, with 51,000 men and the best strategic location in Southeast Asia, is likely to be evacuated by 1970 at the latest, depending partly on how great a threat Indonesia continues to pose in its confrontation with Malaysia.
Both bases put a tremendous strain on Britain's badly stretched economy: Aden costs $168 million a year to maintain, Singapore and Malaysia $630 million. Whitehall planners, currently preparing next February's defense review under the most stringent of cost-accounting standards, are confronted with a knotty dilemma. Britain must pare its projected 1970 defense costs from $6.7 billion to $5.6 billion; at the same time, the "ghastly blank" in the thin red line of defenses that will exist between Europe and Hong Kong must be filled if Britain is to meet her responsibilities in foreign policy, and provide support for her allies. To the source in full......
