Prince Harry In Afghanistan

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02-28-2008
Billy Ruffian

Prince Harry In Afghanistan

Well, ten weeks is about as long as they were able to keep it a secret to the general public.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7269743.stm

Quote:

Prince Harry has been fighting the Taleban on the front line in Afghanistan, the MoD has confirmed.

Harry, 23, who is third in line to the throne, has spent the last 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province.

The prince joked about his nickname "the bullet magnet", but said: "I finally get the chance to do the soldiering that I want to do."

The deployment was subject to a news blackout deal, which broke down after being leaked by foreign media.

Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt, who is head of the British Army, said he was disappointed the news had leaked. In a statement, he said: "I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us.

Does Harry have any importance as a symbolic target? While the Monarchy does enjoy some rather high esteem in large sections of the British public, would the death of a potential heir to the throne have any impact on the Afghan mission in terms of calling for its end, or would it actually rally more people around the mission? If Harry became the "Martyr of Helmand," or some such thing, could that be exploited for the mission's benefit?
02-28-2008
MattC86

I hope you're not suggesting we bump off Harry boy to improve support for ISAF ;)

My guess would be if, God forbid, such a thing were to happen it would not make that much a difference in the UK (media circus a la Princess Diana aside), but the Taliban or AQ might not see it that way and view him as a big juicy target.

Regards,

Matt
02-29-2008
Ray

Good for Harry and the Royalty.

Leading from the front!

His death, God forbid, may not affect the outcome of ISAF, but it sure would indicate the resolve of Great Britain.

It will put to shame those who avoid standing up for their nations or escaping the call of the nation by subterfuge via political connection or using nondescript religious norms to save their bacon!!
02-29-2008
Tom Odom

A grand gesture by Harry to go and the Brits should be proud of him but he is now an even greater liability for his exposure and they are rightfully pulling him out after the news leak...

Quote:

UK pulls Harry from Afghanistan

(CNN) -- Prince Harry is to be pulled out of Afghanistan immediately amid fears for his safety after news of his deployment was made public, the British defense ministry said Friday.
02-29-2008
SWCAdmin

I'm amazed they made it 10 weeks. Pretty good OPSEC.

Although one could always say that was part of the plan.
03-01-2008
SWJED

Two words...

... ef Drudge.
03-01-2008
LawVol

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWJED

... ef Drudge.

Ditto. It's too bad that getting a scoop is more important than protecting the lives of Britian's finest.
03-01-2008
selil

Drudge put a soldier's life at risk for no other reason than because they could. I don't care if the soldier was a prince. Drudge went to far and has no credibility going forward.
03-01-2008
Ken White

An Australian magazine beat him to it by over a month

and Der Spiegel beat him by a week or so. The Australian mag was New Idea. Drudge gets the blame because he's Drudge, he's American -- and he has far more world wide viewers than the other two.

Not to excuse him, he shouldn't have done it. Just for the record.
03-01-2008
selil

Dang, and here they (CNN, HN, NBC) are saying it was Drudge that broke the news and now he's guilty of publishing and taking credit when he shouldn't....
03-01-2008
Ken White

I cannot believe that you pay any attention to

Quote:

Originally Posted by selil

Dang, and here they (CNN, HN, NBC) are saying it was Drudge that broke the news and now he's guilty of publishing and taking credit when he shouldn't....

What any of those hack outlets say. Bad, bad, bad... :o

Here's a LINK from one that's not much better -- may even be worse, however, they've got it right and it tallies with the Sydney papers and London Times stories I saw earlier today. Even the Independent got it wrong...

You'll note you can't even believe me; I said it was Der spiegel and it was actually Bild. I knew that. Sorry, been a long day.:(
03-01-2008
Ron Humphrey

All things considered you could probably bet the farm

Quote:

The embargo was almost exclusively a British one, although The Associated Press, Reuters and CNN also joined the agreement. American newspapers including The New York Times were not made aware of the British press blackout.

that if this hadn't been the case it sure wouldn't have lasted more tan a few days.

Still good to hear he got to do his part.
03-01-2008
Gian P Gentile

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Humphrey

...Still good to hear he got to do his part.

Ron, agree with you and the other postings on this thread. Isn't a great thing to have a country's elite involved in the day-to-day skirmishing of the business end of the country's foreign policy? Prince Harry makes me nostalgic of better days in America when such was the case.

gg
03-01-2008
SWCAdmin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Humphrey

that if this hadn't been the case it sure wouldn't have lasted more tan a few days.

Still good to hear he got to do his part.

+1

Almost no way they could have pulled this off to the point where he completed his tour.

But bless the empire for trying. Which strikes to Gian's last.
03-01-2008
Tom Odom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gian P Gentile

Ron, agree with you and the other postings on this thread. Isn't a great thing to have a country's elite involved in the day-to-day skirmishing of the business end of the country's foreign policy? Prince Harry makes me nostalgic of better days in America when such was the case.

gg

You got an Amen on that from me, Brother Gian

Tom
03-01-2008
selil

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gian P Gentile

Ron, agree with you and the other postings on this thread. Isn't a great thing to have a country's elite involved in the day-to-day skirmishing of the business end of the country's foreign policy? Prince Harry makes me nostalgic of better days in America when such was the case.

gg

In few words you said a lot. So true.
03-03-2008
Steve Blair

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gian P Gentile

Ron, agree with you and the other postings on this thread. Isn't a great thing to have a country's elite involved in the day-to-day skirmishing of the business end of the country's foreign policy? Prince Harry makes me nostalgic of better days in America when such was the case.

gg

Except that it's worth remembering that Harry had to fight his own people to get there in the first place. I'd say it's good on HIM for wanting to do his part as opposed to the country's elite in general. McCain has a couple of kids in the military if memory serves.

All in all, I'd say it's damned rare on either side of the ocean. The difference is that the Army was often considered the refuge for the second son within the British aristocracy, while here the Army was looked at as the refuge for foreigners and those who couldn't get jobs anywhere else (the Civil War being the one major exception to that...and then it was the state units that got the bulk of the blue blood).
03-03-2008
William F. Owen

I actually saw Officer Cadet Wales cueing for the heads at a firepower demo at Warminster. Hands in pockets, beret on backwards, chewing gum, and looking bored. - Top chap by all accounts and comes across as a typical cavalry officer, yet smart enough to be a JTAC, so a pretty rare cove by any measure!
03-03-2008
Granite_State

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gian P Gentile

Ron, agree with you and the other postings on this thread. Isn't a great thing to have a country's elite involved in the day-to-day skirmishing of the business end of the country's foreign policy? Prince Harry makes me nostalgic of better days in America when such was the case.

gg

Agreed. Reminds me of the opening quote from Webb's Field of Fire: "And who are the young men we are asking to go into action against such solid odds? You've met them. You know. They are the best we have. But they are not McNamara's sons, or Bundy's. I doubt they're yours."