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."
Erdogan "acted like a spokesman for an organization that is classed as terrorist". The Turks know that their Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is something of a hothead. Critics warn that his fit of rage at the World Economic Forum has damaged Turkey's important relationship with Israel. By Daniel Steinvorth in Istanbul
There are plenty of stories making the rounds in Turkey about Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rage. The son of a sailor from Istanbul's working class neighborhood of Kasimpasa who made it all the way to the top of the Turkish government, Erdogan has always been a bit of a Kabadiyi, a ruffian or hothead. He is someone who never avoids a fight -- whether it be on the streets, on the football pitch or now, years later, in politics.
This political leader has never made much of an effort to keep his exuberant temper in check. Quite the opposite in fact. "Anger is an art of rhetoric," Erdogan once said in a TV interview in response to a question about his character. "This idea of showing the other cheek -- we don't have that. I am not some kind of patient sheep."
This is why Turks either love him or hate him. Mostly they admire him and never more so than after his performance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.It was here that Erdogan, with a particular feeling for the mood in his country, didn't mince his words during a debate with Israeli President Shimon Peres. He called the recent Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip a "crime against humanity" and "barbaric." He said a "curse" would fall on Israel for their actions during the 22-day military operation and then stalked out of the session after complaining that the moderator was not giving him the chance to respond to Peres. In a meeting with the United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon he even called for Israel to be excluded from the UN. Continued here...
