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."
It is only two weeks since his re-election, and his second term
remains two months away, but Barack Obama is already blundering again on
the world stage, with the kind of gaffes that would have been plastered
on the front page of The New York Times if they had been committed by George W. Bush when he was in the White House. Obama's first term was littered with foreign policy gaffes, and there is every chance the second term will be more of the same. On his trip to Asia this week, President Obama struggled to pronounce
the name of Aung San Suu Kyi, the most prominent human rights activist
in the world. As The Associated Press reports (hat tip: Drudge Report):
As Obama stood next to the world's most recognized democracy icon, he mispronounced her name repeatedly. Ever gracious, Suu Kyi did not correct her American guest for calling
her Aung YAN Suu Kyi multiple times during his statement to reporters
after their meeting. Proper pronunciation for the Nobel laureate's name is Ahng Sahn Soo Chee.
Obama also “botched” his greeting of Burma’s new president, according to the AP:
The meeting came after Obama met with Myanmar's reformist new President Thein Sein – a name he also botched. As the two addressed the media, Obama called his counterpart
"President Sein," an awkward, slightly affectionate reference that would
make most Burmese cringe. Note to presidential advisers: For future rounds of diplomacy, the
president of Myanmar is President Thein Sein – on first and second
reference.
In addition, as The Weekly Standard notes,
Obama was quick to use the Burmese regime’s preferred word “Myanmar”,
to describe Burma, which is not the term officially used by the US
government, or by Burma’s opposition activists.
President Barack Obama called Burma 'Myanmar' after a
bilateral meeting with Thein Sein, the president of that country. From
the pool report: Obama used the word "Myanmar," the preferred terminology of the
former military government and currently nominally civilian government,
in a spray following the bilat, rather than use "Burma," the former name
of the country, and the one preferred by Aung San Suu Kyi as well as
the name the U.S. uses."I've shared with him the fact that I recognize this is just the
first steps on what will be a long journey," Obama told reporters, with
Thein Sein at his side. "But we think a process of democratic and
economic reform here in Myanmar that has been begun by the president is
one that can lead to incredible development opportunities.
It is rather embarrassing, as well as sad, that the leader of the
free world can’t even pronounce the name of the most famous human rights
activist on the planet. Or that he is so quick to appease Burma’s
authoritarian regime by calling it “Myanmar”. Barack Obama’s gaffes
demonstrate not only a marked lack of attention to detail and a high
degree of amateurishness on the part of the White House, but also a
disturbing willingness to curry favour with unsavoury regimes. Hardly a
good omen for Obama’s second term. Nile Gardiner in The Telegraph
