Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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."
I refer to the letter A tribute to Benazir Bhutto. Can the writer tell us why was she a great leader? What exactly had she accomplished to earn āgreatnessā. She had been prime minister of Pakistan twice.
What has she done for her country besides giving speeches about democracy? There were widespread allegations of corruption concerning her and her husband. The only thing āgreatā about her was that she was her fatherās daughter. In countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, political power and āgreatnessā are like some kind of heritable as well as sexually transmissible disease. Hence, a progeny of a prime minister (like Indira Gandhi or Benazir Bhutto or Rajiv Gandhi or Sheikh Hasina Wazed or Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga) can be born āgreatā.
Greatness in some Asian countries can also be like an STD (sexually transmissible disease). Hence, the spouse of a leader can also become a leader. Examples? Sonia Gandhi, Khaleda Zia, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Corazon Aquino and perhaps even the husband and son of Benazir Bhutto who were named as her political heirs.The new leader of Benazir Bhuttoās party is a 19-year-old boy! Wow! What a great country is Pakistan. And Iām sure the writer can now tell us why this teenage boy is so great. Did he inherit her motherās greatness like some kind of congenital disease? What is he? Another Kim Jong Il?
Incidentally, Iām not a supporter of Pervez Musharraf or any leader of Pakistan ā past or present or even the foreseeable future. Malaysiakini
