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."
Almost
the entire first half of his 45-minute closing speech was spent
building his case for party members to accept his choice of "winnable
candidates" for the coming general election. 
Najibās
predicament is notable as previously, local party leaders had much
clout in determining the choice of candidates. The system usually meant
that many leaders could nominate themselves repeatedly, even if it was
to the detriment of Umno's chances at the polls. 
"It is a public (open) secret that there are many camps in Umno, all paying loyalty to different leaders. 
Even the "Hidup Melayu (Long
live the Malays)" chants occurred with far less frequency than at
previous AGMs. Most top leaders used the more race-neutral "Hidup Umno", "Hidup BN" and "Hidup Malaysia" to cap off their respective speeches. 
The
attention shift from the breakaway PKR to PAS appears to be a response
to the latter's aggressive recruitment drive of former civil servants in
recent months, which include former chiefs in the police force, army,
religious authorities and public service - Umnoās traditional support
bases. 
