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."
Jihad Watch : On December 12, 2017, just before a summit meeting of the O.I.C.
(Organization of Islamic Cooperation) in Istanbul, an article was
published in the Turkish daily Yeni Safak, a paper which has close ties
to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under the title āA Call For Action.ā Online,
the article appeared under a more sinister title: āWhat If an Army of Islam Was Formed Against Israel?āThe article called on the 57 member states of the OIC to form a joint
āArmy of Islamā to besiege and attack the state of Israel. It noted
that such a joint army would greatly exceed the Israeli army in
manpower, equipment, and budget, and presented statistics to prove this :
If the OIC member states unite and form a joint military
force, it will be the largest army in the world. These countriesā total
population is 1,674,526,931. The number of soldiers in active service in
these countries is at least 5,206,100. Their [overall] military defense
budget, of $174,728,420,000. is also worthy of emphasis. As for Israel, it is significantly inferior. The population of this
country, which attempted to occupy Jerusalem while surrounded by Muslim
states, is 8,049,314. [the total Jewish population of Israelis 6.5
million] Note that the population of Istanbul alone exceeds 14 million.
The number of soldiers in active service in the [Israeli] occupation
forces is 160,000, and [Israelās] defense budget is approximately
$15,600,000,000.
The statistics marshaled are ind eed impressive: Israelās active duty
soldiers are outnumbered by active duty soldiers in the O.I.C. 33 to 1
(5,206,1000 to 160,000); its military budget is only 1/12 that of the
O.I.C.The Yeni Safak article continued:
It is expected that 250,000 soldiers will participate in
the first [part] of a possible operation. Land, air and naval bases of
member states located in the most critical regions will be used. Joint
bases will be constructed in a short period of timeā¦It is possible for
500 tanks and armored vehicles, 100 planes and 500 attack helicopters
and 50 ships to mobilize quickly.ā
Though Erdogan did not sign the article, this war plan is understood
to reflect his thinking exactly. The source of the article in the Yeni
Safak daily and at its online site has been reported to be the Turkish
international defense and consulting company SADAT. SADAT was founded by
Erdoganās senior advisor on military affairs, retired general Adnan
Tanriverdi. Tanriverdi was fired from the army in 1996 for his Islamist
leanings, the very leanings that now make him so favored by Erdogan as
an advisor.
