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 police reckon the car hit me at around 46 miles per hour …”
Tuesday, January 03, 2023
BCF : The Home Office shouldn’t shy away from exposing Islamist extremism
Like many with an interest in national security, I’ve spent this week
closely following the news that there has been yet another delay to the
release of the long-anticipated review into the government’s
counter-extremism programme, Prevent.
But unlike many of my colleagues,
these issues feel more intimate and closer to home for me, given my
personal experience. In March 2017 I sustained serious injuries in the
Westminster Bridge terrorist attack when an Islamist extremist targeted
pedestrians, including me and my friends, with an SUV before stabbing a
police officer outside Parliament.
The police reckon the car hit me at around 46 miles per hour; I was thrown over the bonnet and hit the windshield, before being thrown into the air and landing back down on the concrete. In the end I fractured my left leg in two places, suffered a shrapnel wound to my thigh, and broke four of the fingers on my left hand as well as fracturing the hand itself.
Even so, I’ve been incredibly lucky, and I was able to make a full recovery from my injuries. But the effects of that day remain with me even now, and likely will for the rest of my life.
This is the raw and visceral reality for those of us who experience terrorism. The violent, selfish acts of a few individuals can shatter lives into a million pieces in only a few seconds, whether someone loses a loved one, or is left with physical and psychological scars.
From the Twin Towers to the streets of Kabul; from a shopping mall in Kenya to a concert in Paris, terrorism truly can affect any one of us, anywhere, at any time.
But these threats do not develop in a vacuum. And often many of those who support Islamist extremism take advantage of the values which we cherish most in a liberal society.
