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 Philippines, Tired of China's Bullying, Restores Military Alliance with the U.S.
Thursday, March 09, 2023
Filipinos protest China's incursion in the West Philippine Sea, on June 21, 2019
Gatestone Institute : Manila apparently ran out of patience.After a decade of suffering China's aggressive acts against
Philippine vessels, fishermen and energy exploration efforts in waters
within the archipelago country's Exclusive Economic Zone.
President
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently welcomed an expanded US military presence. Marcos now has responded to continued Chinese belligerence by granting US forces access to five additional military bases on Philippine territory.
In a direct rebuke to China, two of these new bases are on Palawan,
one of the disputed Spratly Islands, which are also claimed, as is much
else, by Communist China. A US military presence on Palawan will be a
direct challenge to the Chinese Communist Party's plan to ultimately
seize Taiwan: Palawan is the closest
large Philippine island to Taiwan and the equally disputed waters of
the South China Sea. US air and naval assets on Palawan could
potentially play a large role in supporting the Free World forces
against China.
Despite Chinese President Xi Jinping having agreed to manage maritime differences through consultation,
during Marcos' state visit to China in January, the Chinese Coast Guard
initiated another incident with the Philippines in disputed waters in
the South China Sea. A Chinese Coast Guard vessel on February 6, 2023, lasered
a Philippine Coast Guard ship. The Chinese vessel directed a
military-grade laser at the bridge crew of the Philippine ship twice, temporarily blinding a Filipino sailor.
On February 14, Marcos summoned China's Ambassador to the Philippines
Huang Xilian. Marcos then condemned the Chinese Coast Guard vessel's "dangerous maneuvering," in which it came within 150 yards of the Filipino ship. The US government called China's use of laser beams against the ship "provocative and unsafe." Both the Australian and Japanese Embassies
in the Philippines followed up the US diplomatic protest with similar
condemnatory notes to their Chinese counterpart in Manila.
