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."
A solemn vow has animated the people of the State of Israel and their admirers for over sixty years: "Never again." Those two words have captured a shared, steely determination to prevent another Holocaust - the genocide waged against the Jews by Nazi Germany. Today, alas, there is growing reason to fear that the operative phrase is becoming instead: "One more time."
Barack Obama has had a longstanding enmity towards Israel. Under the influence of his one-time fellow University of Chicago professor Rashid Khalidi, the future president honed a sympathy for the Palestinian cause assiduously promoted by his colleague. Indeed, as far back as 2004, Mr. Obama was letting it be known that he had to subordinate public expression of his anti-Israel sentiments in order to advance politically. In a report published in March 2008, a similarly minded pro-Arab activist in Chicago, Ali Abunimah, quoted the then-Senate candidate as saying four years before, "Hey, I'm sorry I haven't said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race. I'm hoping when things calm down I can be more up front."
Since entering the White House, Mr. Obama has been more "up front" - at least in his actions. He has pressed Israel relentlessly for territorial, political and strategic concessions to the Palestinians. He has reportedly denied Israel access to weapons, including bunker-busting bombs, even as sales of advanced arms to others in the Middle East - all of whom have tried to destroy Israel in the past - continue apace. The effect is to diminish the qualitative edge so vital to the survival of the outnumbered Jews and their state.
Then there is this: Washington Post columnist Jackson Diehl disclosed on March 22 an open secret here: "Behind Obama's deliberate fight with Netanyahu last week [over Israel's Jerusalem housing decision] seemed to lie a calculation that a peace settlement will require the United States to bend or break Israel's current government." Will Israel's enemies interpret such contempt for the democratically leader of an ally as anything other than evidence it is open season on Israel? Read the whole thing here. Hat tip: Eye On The World
