Prince Harry Current Events 18: March 2007-May 2007

[Roslyn]

TARGET HARRY

ARMY chiefs have held crisis talks to prevent Prince Harry being posted to Iraq, amid growing fears for his safety.

I'm staggered it's taken these military chiefs so long to work this all out. Why couldn't they foresee the risks when his deployment was initially considered. We could.

 

[MARG]

Daily Express: The World's Greatest Newspaper :: News / Showbiz :: Target Harry

I'm a little disturbed by the fact that the article comes under the heading "NEWS/SHOWBIZ".

How reliable is this paper? Is this just a slow news week and therefore i'ts once more round the block with the same old twaddle?

 

[Skydragon]

Royals fear for Prince in Iraq

PRINCE Harry's planned tour of duty in Iraq was being urgently reassessed yesterday after two British soldiers were killed in a bomb blast doing the same job the young royal will perform.

Royals fear for Prince in Iraq | NEWS.com.au

 

[Royal Fan]

May God Bless Him and the men and Women with him wherever they serve

 

[Polly]

Ditto. May le bon Dieu bless everyone in that carnage-house, which Iraq has become.

I have mixed feeling about Harry's deployment. On the one hand, he's third in line to the throne and it would be ghastly should anything happen to him (or anyone else, for that matter) as I just can't envisage a King Andrew, should anything happen to William.

On the other hand, he's an officer in the army, and it's his duty to serve, particularly in times of conflict, no matter what we might think of any particular conflict.

On balance, and despite the great risks to him and his unit, I think, reluctantly, that Harry should go.

My great hope is that he'll return home again, hale and hearty.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Ditto. May le bon Dieu bless everyone in that carnage-house, which Iraq has become.

I have mixed feeling about Harry's deployment. On the one hand, he's third in line to the throne and it would be ghastly should anything happen to him (or anyone else, for that matter) as I just can't envisage a King Andrew, should anything happen to William.

On the other hand, he's an officer in the army, and it's his duty to serve, particularly in times of conflict, no matter what we might think of any particular conflict.

On balance, and despite the great risks to him and his unit, I think, reluctantly, that Harry should go.

My great hope is that he'll return home again, hale and hearty.

Polly I agree with you 100%. If he is going to serve in the army then he has to go and everyone knew that in advance of him joining the army. He will never be able to truly get the respect of his troops, or fellow officers, if he isn't allowed to go, in my opinion.

If they didn't want him to go then there were, in my opinion, two options - not let him join the army or not deploy his unit to Iraq - say send them on peace keeping duties elsewhere for instance, but to have his unit deploy and him not go is not an option in my opinion if Harry is to have any chance of really succeeding in the army.

 

[HRH Kimetha]

I'm a little disturbed by the fact that the article comes under the heading "NEWS/SHOWBIZ".

How reliable is this paper? Is this just a slow news week and therefore i'ts once more round the block with the same old twaddle?

Apparently they might have gotten something. But, there again, so did other tabloids that may or mayn ot have the story right.

 

[MARG]

Polly I agree with you 100%. If he is going to serve in the army then he has to go and everyone knew that in advance of him joining the army. He will never be able to truly get the respect of his troops, or fellow officers, if he isn't allowed to go, in my opinion.

The BRF, i.e. Dad, Grandma and Grandpa are all behind Harry, not the latest drivel. The Queen's proud grin at her grandson at his Passing Out parade said it all!

If they didn't want him to go then there were, in my opinion, two options - not let him join the army or not deploy his unit to Iraq - say send them on peace keeping duties elsewhere for instance, but to have his unit deploy and him not go is not an option in my opinion if Harry is to have any chance of really succeeding in the army.

Option 1: Fail. They let him enlist.

Option 2. His unit has received notice to deploy. Any notice of redeployment will be viewed (not least by Harry himself) as endorsing the notion that while all men may be equal, some are more equal than others.

All in all a lose lose situation. (Not least of all Harry's resignation).

 

[Skydragon]

Option 2. His unit has received notice to deploy. Any notice of redeployment will be viewed (not least by Harry himself) as endorsing the notion that while all men may be equal, some are more equal than others.

Not to mention the further drop in morale when the UK troops realise that it is OK for them to risk their lives for Queen and country, but not HM's grandson!

If Harry is reassigned now, in an effort to stop him going, he will never live it down, within a couple of weeks the story will be that he chickened out!

 

[MARG]

Not to mention the further drop in morale when the UK troops realise that it is OK for them to risk their lives for Queen and country, but not HM's grandson!

The MoD aren't that stupid are they? Please, please tell me that the second most popular oxymoron is not true... well at least not in this case.

If Harry is reassigned now, in an effort to stop him going, he will never live it down, within a couple of weeks the story will be that he chickened out!

He will become an angry failure and turn into the ultimate party prince and do nothing but drown his sorrows and play polo.

 

[segolen]

I hope he won't go. I can't believe they really want to send him over there. Now all the iraqies know about it, and they will probably target the british troups more ( at his location ) since the prince will be there.

 

[Skydragon]

The biggest danger to Harry and the men and women with him, is the media.

They did not have to start telling everyone when or roughly where he would go. They were involved in the death of his mother and have shown by printing the information they have, that they have no qualms about making more money by endangering her son!

 

[iowabelle]

Harry has to go with his unit, wherever that is. If he drops out of the army, the chances of him becoming another wastrel royal are far too high. The young man needs a meaningful job.

 

[Iluvbertie]

The BRF, i.e. Dad, Grandma and Grandpa are all behind Harry, not the latest drivel. The Queen's proud grin at her grandson at his Passing Out parade said it all!



Option 1: Fail. They let him enlist.

Option 2. His unit has received notice to deploy. Any notice of redeployment will be viewed (not least by Harry himself) as endorsing the notion that while all men may be equal, some are more equal than others.

All in all a lose lose situation. (Not least of all Harry's resignation).

Sorry I didn't make my argument clear in my original post - I meant that they had two options back when he joined the army not now.

I didn't mean to suggest or imply that they should make a change in the deployment now but that they could have deployed the unit elsewhere and never announced a deployment to Iraq in the first place. That is what I meant by Option 2.

Once that deployment was announced I don't see them having an alternative than to sending him.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Not to mention the further drop in morale when the UK troops realise that it is OK for them to risk their lives for Queen and country, but not HM's grandson! :bash:

If Harry is reassigned now, in an effort to stop him going, he will never live it down, within a couple of weeks the story will be that he chickened out!

Which is why I realised when I got up this morning and read people's replies to my post that I wasn't clear in my options.

Now that the deployment has been announced he really has to go. They could have avoided this situation, by deploying his unit to a peacekeeping role somewhere but having annouced the deployment to Iraq I think he has to go.

 

[HRH Kimetha]

Harry 'the mother of all targets' in Iraq

Harry 'the mother of all targets' in Iraq

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The scale of risk facing Prince Harry when he goes to Iraq is revealed in a remarkable series of exclusive interviews with insurgent leaders on both sides. By Mark Townsend[/FONT]

[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Sunday April 22, 2007
The Observer

[/FONT]Prince Harry was left under no illusions of his value as a scalp for Iraqi insurgents. Even so, senior military officers could never have predicted the sheer scale of and nature of the threats lying in wait.

Iraqi militia groups have already hatched detailed plans to seize him as a hostage when he arrives in Iraq next month. In a remarkable series of interviews, some of the most notorious paramilitary factions in southern Iraq claim that informants placed inside British military barracks in Iraq have received orders to 'track' the movements of the third in line to the throne
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The scale of risk facing Prince Harry when he goes to Iraq is revealed in a remarkable series of exclusive interviews with insurgent leaders on both sides. [/FONT]

Harry 'the mother of all targets' in Iraq | Iraq | Guardian Unlimited

 

[segolen]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The scale of risk facing Prince Harry when he goes to Iraq is revealed in a remarkable series of exclusive interviews with insurgent leaders on both sides. By Mark Townsend[/FONT] - [FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Observer[/FONT]

thank you . this was my point

 

[hibou]

Harry 'the mother of all targets' in Iraq

Well at this point he will endanger the lives of his fellow soldiers if he goes. He is in a damed if you do and damed if you don't situation. If his presence causes the deaths of other soldiers the relatives will critize the the Government for allowing him to go. Unless the relatives or soldiers speak out in his behalf I think he is going to have to be reassigned to a less dangerous position. JMO

 

[Roslyn]

Nothing in that Observer article comes as a surprise to me. The military leaders should know enough about this enemy to have been able to foresee it. By agreeing Harry could go and making it public they have placed this keen young man in a very difficult position and it will be hard for him to save face if he doesn't go. And in addition to that I think they have made themselves look incompetent.

 

[MARG]

I can't understand the British press and its extaordinarily intemperate coverage of "the worst possible scenario" for Prince Harry's deployment to Iraq.

It is almost as if they are intent on making their dire predictions come true, with it's accompanying news "scoop" and doubling of the bottom line for the inevitable headline.

In truth, it wouldn't surprise me if they took out full page advertisements in every Iraqi newspaper still publishing, and giving a 'heads up" to Al Jazera!

 

[HRH Kimetha]

Nothing in that Observer article comes as a surprise to me. The military leaders should know enough about this enemy to have been able to foresee it. By agreeing Harry could go and making it public they have placed this keen young man in a very difficult position and it will be hard for him to save face if he doesn't go. And in addition to that I think they have made themselves look incompetent.

In addition, Harry has been very keen on going and the insurgents know this. He will be made an example of, if captured or targeted. Because of his zest to serve in the Iraqi War, he is basically saying, "I want to kill the enemy...", which is killing arabs. Harry in essence represents a sitting Queen, his grandmother, and thus represents her and thus the whole royal family in which they all may become targets wherever they are. Scary situation.

 

[ysbel]

I can't understand the British press and its extaordinarily intemperate coverage of "the worst possible scenario" for Prince Harry's deployment to Iraq.

It is almost as if they are intent on making their dire predictions come true, with it's accompanying news "scoop" and doubling of the bottom line for the inevitable headline.

Oh of course, it will make a better news story! If they had printed a temperate concerned view, no one would have read it but now we're so inured by the over exaggerations of the tabloids that only the direst of predictions and exaggerations are bound to catch our attention.

 

[Roslyn]

Because of his zest to serve in the Iraqi War, he is basically saying, "I want to kill the enemy...", which is killing arabs. Harry in essence represents a sitting Queen and thus represents her and thus the whole royal family in which they all may become targets wherever they are. Scary situation.

I hadn't thought of that aspect of it, but I agree. Whether he goes or not, the damage is done in that sense, and it is indeed a scary situation.

 

[HRH Kimetha]

Things are getting real serious with Harry going to Iraq, if you can believe this article:

EXTREMISTS THREATEN TO KIDNAP HARRY
By Stephen White 23/04/2007

IRAQI militias claim they plan to seize Prince Harry as a hostage when he arrives next month - and send him home to the Queen with his ears cut off.
Pictures of the prince have been downloaded and circulated among insurgent groups, they say.
Abu Zaid, a commander in the Mehdi Army militia, said: "We are awaiting the arrival of the young, handsome, spoilt prince with bated breath and we confidently expect he will come out into the open on to the battlefield.
"We will be generous with him. For we will return him to his grandmother but without ears."​

Mirror.co.uk - News - Top Stories - EXTREMISTS THREATEN TO KIDNAP HARRY

And, yet another article pertaining to Harry and what awaits him in Iraq:

WE'LL SEND HARRY BACK WITH NO EARS
Terror gang threat to snatch prince in Iraq. By Stephen White

A REBEL leader has vowed to snatch Prince Harry in Iraq - then slice his ears off and send him home.The prince is due to begin a six-month tour of duty next month.Two groups of insurgents have said they will target him. Getting to the royal would be a huge propaganda coup.​

The Daily Record - NEWS - WE'LL SEND HARRY BACK WITH NO EARS

 

[Jo of Palatine]

If he is going to serve in the army then he has to go and everyone knew that in advance of him joining the army. He will never be able to truly get the respect of his troops, or fellow officers, if he isn't allowed to go, in my opinion.

IMHO the army is not about young officers telling their superiors and the MoD what they want out of their army career. Young officer's first duty is to serve - not to demand things.

I don't think Harry would have been sent to Iracq if it wasn't for his own publicity voiced wish. What happens now was foreseeable for everybody who cared to think about it. Harry can now not really back out, the army leaders have to let him go and he will be the prime target there.

If anything happens to him, then the Iraqis rebels have shown that they are well able to strike against the very heart of that powerful and far away country called the UK which sends troops against them. That's an irresistible lure for them.

But what can be done now? One can only hope that the British army is able to protect Harry. And that he will one day come to the conclusion´that sometimes lying low is a better way to serve than to storm forward into battle.

 

[P-crown]

they seem spend most time in clubs, i often find articles which they go clubbing till dawn... aren't they supposed to wake up in early morning for military training?

 

[HRH Kimetha]

The biggest danger to Harry and the men and women with him, is the media.

The media is one of the biggest dangers to Harry and the men/women with him indeed. Another big danger is whether those with him, such as British-Arabs, who sympathesizes with the Iraqis/Iranians. An old saying that "you can take the boy out of the country, but not the country out of the boy" has been seen in all wars. Even in the Iraqi war with Arab-Americans spying or releasing information of American coordinates & movements with fellow Arabs. It is hard to love one's adopted country over the home country no matter how one tries. I for one have had that problem and still do. I lived in Europe for a time because I couldn't take the States anymore. Yet, I did miss the states and even though I could 'bash' the US's politics, I felt unnerved whenever my fellow European neighbors did. So, I worry not just what the media shows on the tele for it to be regurgitated in the war zone, I also worry about the British-Arab soldier sitting next to Harry or within his company/squadron and the British soldier trying to make a buck on Harry's head.

 

[MARG]

IMHO the army is not about young officers telling their superiors and the MoD what they want out of their army career. Young officer's first duty is to serve - not to demand things.

You are absolutely correct Jo, any Officer's first duty is to serve, however, I think you misunderstand the situation.

It is hardly unreasonable for a young person enlisting for a career in the British Armed Forces to expect to see action (serve) with their unit, be it in Devon, Afganistan, Iraq or one of the many Peacekeeping posts around the world.

Harry demanded nothing. All he did was state, uncategorically, that he was unwilling to drag his sorry arse through Sandhurst and specialist training and not be allowed to join his men on the front line. That was prior to his enlistment date. If he is prevented from participating with his unit, it would have been better not to allow him to enlist at all. This is his career, not a ceremonial post.

His life is worth exactly that of any other serviceman. Protecting his royal "arse" from harm and putting any other serviceman in harms way is a slap in the face for all servicemen and women. Not to mention an affront to every family of those who have fallen, dead or injured, on the field of battle.

Here in NZ we are 'celebrating' ANZAC day. Not glorifying war, but honouring the sacrifice of men, in many cases, far younger than Harry. I am sure that the British do the same on Rememberance Day.

Harry, and many others just like him are continuing that tradition... For God, for Queen and for Country. We cannot condemn him for that.

 

[Elspeth]

Unfortunately, wars are somewhat different now than they were when George VI and Prince Philip saw active service. Then, the Army was fighting on behalf of monarch and country against another country with whom we had declared war. Now the Army is going into a country which is allegedly on our side, in order to get involved in an internal dispute and hunt terrorists that may or may not be being sponsored by that country's or any other country's government. That makes Harry's position somewhat less clear, because as HRH Kimetha has pointed out, he's going to Iraq to fight and kill Iraqis who happen to object to what another outside country is doing on their own territory. Since this sort of war is more likely to be the pattern of the future, I suppose if princes still want military careers, we'll just have to put up with the much less clear situation they end up in when they're deployed.

 

[Avalon]

Prince Harry running with the Blues and Royals Regiment, Windsor, Berkshire, Britain - 24 Apr 2007

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