Prince Harry Current Events 24: May 2009-August 2010

[wbenson]

Prince Harry is offered chance to fly fearsome Apache helicopters - Telegraph

As the Prince of Wales returns from visiting British soldiers in Afghanistan, where he spent the night at Camp Bastion in Helmand, his son is looking forward to the prospect of a much longer spell on the front line.

Mandrake can disclose that Prince Harry has been offered the chance to fly the lethal Apache attack helicopters, paving the way for him to serve in Afghanistan again.

 

[Lumutqueen]

So because he's allowed to fly apache's that means his chances are increased?
I doubt this is true cause i don't think they would announce it.

 

[Iluvbertie]

They have been saying all along that if he is good enough he will get to fly the apaches and only last week they said that he was in the top 10% of his class so it would then be a given that he would get to fly the apaches.
This will mean that he would have to see frontline service in order to repay the enormous expense the British taxpayers are spending on his training. The figures for the training of both William and Harry are very high and I would be expecting them to do the same service as others who have received that training in order to repay the taxpayers for their spending on them.

 

[Opal]

So because he's allowed to fly apache's that means his chances are increased?
I doubt this is true cause i don't think they would annouce it.

Yeah, who knows if it's true or not.

 

[mcarroll-royal]

it's probably true.

the only thing they would not annouce is if he was due for iminent deployment for active service.

also, having said this, i think his chances of serving againa re slim due to the fact that the media were not able to keep their side of the bargain the last time.

 

[Russophile]

The media, it seems, is never able to keep their mouths shut!

 

[Opal]

Ha ha - so true russophile. I understand the media's need to report on things in order to make money but when they put someone's life in danger as they did in this case with Harry (not to mention his comrades as well) then that's taking it too far.

 

[Iluvbertie]

When you look at the timeline of events I think it shows that the Harry's life wasn't all that much in danger.
The news embargo was broken on January 7th in Australia so it was on the internet from that date but...it was a further 8 weeks before Harry was recalled - so much for him being in extra danger if the media broke the story.
What forced the recall was when the American Drudge report put it on their website 8 weeks after New Idea had already run with the story and put it on their website.

 

[MARG]

Well let's get real here. How many people with anti-social or terrorist leanings read the Australian New Idea?

Now the online American Drudge Report? That's a whole new ballgame!

 

[Iluvbertie]

Who knows but the point is that the news was out there for anyone who was interested and was front page on the covers of the magazine at all Australian supermarkets etc. Any terrorist with Australian connections (and there could be many) would have had access to that information.

Australia has a large Islamic population who cheered during September 11th, the attacks on the American embassy in Beirut, the attacks on the Cole etc (these are incidents from the students I teach/taught at the time) and so it would be probable that they could pass on that information. I remember getting to school on the day after September 11th to have the Muslim kids saying that it was a 'great day for freedom in the world'. There were others from other backgrounds saying the same thing - any attack on America or their allies was a good thing. As a result I do believe that the news would have been able to reach terrorist organisations if they truly wanted to attack Harry - but then he did have the Ghurkas acting as his bodyguards.

I know many Muslim women (and others from terrorist backgrounds such as Irish with connections to the IRA etc) who would have read that article. Based on comments I have heard being said at the local mosques I have no doubt that they would have told their families in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon etc.

I think Harry and William are easier targets left in London where they visit all sorts of places with limited security compared to the security around Harry in Afghanistan and if anyone truly wanted to get them they wouldn't be that hard to get in London.

Since writing the above I have been talking to my next door neighbour who is a Saudi Arabian lady and asked her if she ever read NI. Her reply was that she reads it every week so I then asked if she had read that edition and again she said 'Yes'. She even rang her mother in Saudi Arabia and told her mother that Harry was in Afghanistan and her mother rang her sister in Iran and told her the same thing. Now if it can spread that quickly I have no doubts that it could have reached terrorists. I am not saying that my neighbours are terrorists - the opposite I would say but...

 

[muriel]

It would be pretty irresponsible to send William or Harry to Afghanisan at the moment, not just for their safety but also for the safey of the tropps alongside whom they may serve as they are likely to be specifically targetted by the Taliban. Thats the simple and pragmatic fact on which key decisions have been made. Harry was sent, and served inm Afghanisatn till an irresponsible American journal "broke" the stroy.

 

[Iluvbertie]

The American jounalist didn't break the story. The Australian New Idea did some 8 weeks earlier and nothing happened. It was the front page story of NI in the first week in January and the Drudge report broke the story 8 weeks later.
The Taliban could easily have found about it if anyone was monitoring the internet or had family in Australia.

As Harry had the Ghurkas protecting him rather than serving their country it would seem a waste of time to send them - certainly as they can't really serve and cost more to have there than anything...but I don't see why that can't serve without extra protection. It isn't as if they are more important than any other soldiers. They are supposed to be serving officers but at the moment they certainly aren't and thus can't be seen as such or deserve the respect given to those who have served. The entire military training is a farce and a waste of the British taxpayers money. William spends more time on holiday then any officer I know (and I know quite a few). Harry also seems to spend a lot of time doing not much. They are playing at serving (Harry at least went there and cost an arm and a leg to protect while being there - money that could have been better spent on supplies and equipment for genuine soldiers rather than on a young man who simply isn't able to be deployed properly - it was a PR exercise and nothing more).

They are the best advertisment for the republican movement the royals have had in a couple of generations - they remind me of Edward VIII - all fluff and no substance.

 

[muriel]

As I previously said, killing or capturing Harry or William in Afghanistan will be a major coup for the Taliban. As long as the confidentiality of Harry's presence was maintained, it was safe to leave him there. Once harry's deployment was widely reported, it was not safe for either Harry or the people around him as it was likely to attract an unnecessary attack from the Taliban. There is no spin around then, just simple common sense.

 

[Wisteria]

Once harry's deployment was widely reported, it was not safe for either Harry or the people around him as it was likely to attract an unnecessary attack from the Taliban. There is no spin around then, just simple common sense.

Do you mean that until it was reported it was unnnecessary for him to be surrounded by ghurkas? Perhaps no spin until after the fact, when he had to be brought home, but it seems to me that it was just a waste of money letting him go in the first place.
It really seems to me that all this training is a lot of hype and it would be much better to train real soldiers instead of these "play soldiers" who, rightly or wrongly, seem to the public to be more on holiday than actually doing anything military.

 

[Russophile]

Seems to me Bertie, you are saying "Loose lips sink ships" and our media--American media--IMO has the loosest lips I know!

 

[Iluvbertie]

Do you mean that until it was reported it was unnnecessary for him to be surrounded by ghurkas?...

He was surrounded by Ghurkas from Day 1 - men who could have been deployed to actually fight rather than protect one soldier.
A total waste of British taxpayers money to send him and even train him or his brother.

 

[muriel]

He was surrounded by Ghurkas from Day 1 - men who could have been deployed to actually fight rather than protect one soldier.

A total waste of British taxpayers money to send him and even train him or his brother.

Is that a matter of public record, ie an announcement to that effect or official papers disclosing this, or merely conjecture on your part or heresay?

 

[Iluvbertie]

Is that a matter of public record, ie an announcement to that effect or official papers disclosing this, or merely conjecture on your part or heresay?

It was reported at the time of the deployment ending and not contradicted by the MOD or the palace.

 

[muriel]

It was reported at the time of the deployment ending and not contradicted by the MOD or the palace.

It is not normal practice for either the MoD or the palace to comment on every rumour or heresay a tabloid may publish, so I am afraid, IMO, your suggestion has little credibility

 

[Iluvbertie]

It is not normal practice for either the MoD or the palace to comment on every rumour or heresay a tabloid may publish, so I am afraid, IMO, your suggestion has little credibility

Did I say 'tabloid'?

Will you believe Prince Charles?

http://www.andhranews.net/Intl/2010/February/12/Prince-Charles-thanks-Gurkhas.asp

What about Harry himself?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/harrys-wild-about-gurkhas/story-e6frf7m6-1111115690770

And even the BBC?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2786991.stm

 

[Charlotte1]

Harry did not spend all his deployment in Afghanistan with the Gurkhas. Using the interviews Harry himself gave during his deployment, plus the one from his commanding officer in Afghanistan we can get an accurate timeline of Harry's deployment.

Harry went to Afghanistan on December 14th, he was sent to the forward base where the Gurkhas were stationed on December 24th (Info from Harry's interviews). Therefore he wasn't with the Gurkhas from day 1 but from day 10!
His CO's interview gave a run down of what Harry was doing during his 10 week deployment. By February (before the media ban broke) the commanders on the ground were able to have Harry working as a tank officer with a small group (12) which is what he originally trained for in the Household Cavalry, before he was retrained as the guy who guides in bombing raids. When Harry was with the tank patrol he wasn't with the Gurkhas, they were still at the forward base, he wasn't. No-one in his patrol group was a Gurkha.

Both the Harry interviews and his COs were TV interviews not newspaper, which just gave edited highlights or slanted to what they thought were the most interesting bits.

In regards to the New Idea article, it wasn't splashed across the front page of the magazine. I recently came across it at the hairdressers. It was a minor story inside the magazine, on an inside page, (the left handside) which is not where the most prominant stories are placed. They go on the outside page (the right)
The article was in the magazine dated January 8th, the Drudge report broke the story on February 27th and that resulted in Harry's recall. The fact that New Idea printed the Harry in Afghanistan story nearly 2 months beforehand and nothing happened, shows how little notice was taken of that story!

 

[muriel]

From the BBC story you forwarded: "Prince Harry lived with a Gurkha battalion during his 10 weeks in Afghanistan"
Harry was sent to a forward base where the Gurkha's are stationed - What is wrong with that? The Gurkha's were not specially sent out to Afghanistan to look after Harry!

 

[Iluvbertie]

He was an armoured officer sent to an infantry unit because they could protect him as he needed extra protection.
If they weren't there do you think he would have been allowed to go? No
The BRF insist that there children are protected way more than any other sons or daughters who are serving in the military.
Harry's service was there and not much more.
.
Some of you simply want to believe that he actually served on the same terms as the rest of the troops who are risking their lives etc. He didn't. His brother won't even be allowed to serve which makes their entire service a joke - if they need extra protection and can't serve fully then they should be doing something else rather than wasting taxpayers money just because of whom they are - typical of the belief that they have a right to do whatever they want and the British taxpayer should pay for it.

 

[Opal]

Harry did not spend all his deployment in Afghanistan with the Gurkhas...

Good post Charlotte!

 

[Opal]

Prince Harry buys £11,000 Ducati 848 superbike | The Sun |News|Royals

 

[Opal]

My, these princes sure like their fast motorbikes. I hope they're careful.
.

 

[wbenson]

Lovely bubbly Harry | The Sun |News|Royals

Generous Prince Harry treated complete strangers to £200 bottles of vintage champagne on a £10,000 booze bender.

 

[NoorMeansLight]

Got it: he was drunk again... Some guys will never really grow up...

 

[christinacg]

Got it: he was drunk again... Some guys will never really grow up...

Are you serious? He's still young and like most people in this age group, he socializes. He's not getting drunk all the time, and its fine to do it on occasion.

 

[muriel]

Got it: he was drunk again... Some guys will never really grow up...

You can't be serious! The article was a joke, and even in this ridiculous article, there was no suggestion that Harry was drunk.