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."
The Lesson of the Afghanistan Debacle By Hugh Fitzgerald
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Jihad Watch : Jonathan Ariel argues that the American debacle in Afghanistan can be
traced back to Washington’s failure, decades ago, to confront Pakistan
over its support of the Taliban, which has sometimes been hidden but
never wavered. His analysis is here.
The seeds of the humiliating American withdrawal
from Afghanistan were laid shortly after the post 9/11 US invasion of
the country, when the United States refrained from confronting Pakistan
over its continued support of its Taliban proxy.
The Taliban was founded in 1980 as a joint US-Pakistani-Saudi
effort to combat Soviet troops in Afghanistan shortly after the USSR’s
invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.
Pakistan provided the geographical base and an almost endless
supply of manpower, primarily Pashtuns, who comprise about 40% to 45%
of Afghanistan and approximately 20% of Pakistan. About 85% of them live
in “Pashtunistan,” which straddles the Durand Line. The United States
provided the weapons while Saudi Arabia provided the funding to buy
those weapons and cover the costs of maintaining Afghan refugee camps in
Pakistan.
The Pashtun-dominated Taliban rapidly emerged as the biggest
and best-armed component of the mujahideen, the umbrella organization of
Afghan rebels fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan….
The Taliban consists almost entirely of ethnic Pashtuns, who are
spread between Afghanistan and Pakistan; the border – demarcated by the
Durand Line – does not exist for them; they cross the porous border at
will.
Pashtuns from Pakistan helped Afghani Pashtuns in the “Taliban”
movement that the U.S., Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia together created to
fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. That effort proved successful; the
Taliban turned out to be the most numerous and best fighters against the
Russians in Afghanistan.
