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."
Malaysiakini : This is why the party lacking political credibility has to ride on the bandwagon of the Taliban victory in Afghanistan.
It is a party neither here nor there. Its
hallmark is to keep the Muslim population in Malaysia in a state of
confusion, hoping that such a state might be helpful to the party.
Taliban forces on patrol in Herat, Afghanistan
PAS has gone to town with the victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan. While
other Malay-Muslim parties took a cautious approach to the victory of
the Taliban, PAS went the extra mile to welcome the victory.
It
was the son of the PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, Batu Buruk
assemblyperson Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi, who said that he was glad the
Taliban was able to end the "clutches of imperialism" in a tweet. When
he was taken to task for supporting a terrorist organisation, he
removed his tweet. This speaks well for his consistency and bravery in
the face of the odds.
The Taliban's victory in August 2021 has been used by the party to gain maximum political mileage. Not
to be undone, PAS Youth wing chief Khairul Nizam Khirudin said that if
China could engage in negotiations with Taliban, why shouldn't Malaysia
take the effort to recognise the new Afghanistan administration.
A
few months after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, Hadi met with
the Afghan UN representatives in the Middle East. The objective was how
Malaysia could play a role in addressing the country's deteriorating
human rights and economic situation. Foreign Affairs Minister
Saifuddin Abdullah defended Hadi on the grounds that as a special envoy,
he had a role in the Middle East.
But Saifuddin missed the point
that Afghanistan was unfortunately not in the Middle East. Unless, of
course, there was a change to give special status to Afghanistan as part
of the Middle East.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
The remarks by Bukit Aman's counter-terrorism chief Normah Ishak might have infuriated the PAS leaders. She
said that PAS, by creating narratives of Taliban, was trying to endear
the organisation to the Muslims or the "fans of terrorism in the
country.
PAS was offended by Normah's remarks. Both the party
information chief, Khairil Nizam and its spiritual advisor Hashim Jasin
took umbrage at her remarks. They argued that the support of PAS
for the Taliban was on the basis of religious or fraternal affiliation
and had nothing to do with violence or the persecution of women and
minorities in the country.
Hashim was of the opinion that Normah's remarks had cast negative aspersions on the party. Taliban is a banned organisation at the international level. The
fact that it has come to power by expelling the Americans has not
drastically changed its status as a terrorist outfit known for the
extreme persecution of women and minorities.
The reasons are
well-known why PAS is desperate to link it with the Taliban. They are
purely based on political and electoral considerations. It is easy for PAS leaders to say that their affiliation with the Taliban is mainly from a religious or Islamic point of view.
How
can PAS leaders dismiss the fact that Taliban and violence are
inseparable? Is PAS prepared to acknowledge the fact that supporting the
Taliban is as good as supporting violence?
How the holier than
thou PAS leaders are going to get out of the conundrum of supporting the
Taliban and yet not supporting violence is difficult to tell.