Prince Harry off to Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272006/news/worldnews/prince_harry_off_to_iraq_worldnews_todd_venezia.htm

PRINCE HARRY OFF TO IRAQ

December 27, 2006 -- Prince Harry will soon be off to war in Iraq - and this time, he'll be wearing proper British military gear and not a Nazi uniform.

The young royal reportedly will head to Iraq with his unit in May.

Harry will be stationed near the southern port city of Basra, and will likely be assigned to patrol the border with Iran.

The Daily Telegraph said Harry is determined to go, despite reports of resistance from many in the military who fear the prince would be a fat prize for terrorists.

[wryter2000]

1. Ohmygosh

I wonder if the Queen will call asshat and ask when the twins are going.

[wakeme2008]

3. Fuck Asshat what about Blair's son over here

living it up with * friends :grr:

[Joe Bacon]

31. Oh, I bet he's partying with George P Bush

We need to keep asking when George P Bush is gonna sign up to fight for Uncle Peter Pan!

[CoffeeCat]

5. That'll never happen...

There are no watermelon martinis in Iraq, and no dance clubs in The Green Zone.

It ain't happening.

[CoffeeCat]

2. He's as good as dead...

...this is totally asinine. He might as well commit suicide.

[Lisa0825]

4. They will have to spend more money protecting him than

he will cost protecting the border.

[greccogirl]

28. That is totally assine. Why in the world should he be "as good as dead"?

We've lost many in Iraq but compared to the number of soliders the loss is quite small.

[CoffeeCat]

37. Well, ya see....

The young prince would be a very sought-after target for the insurgents. Sure,
the percentage of total soldiers killed is a relatively low number, but those
numbers reflect unknown soldiers who are randomly killed.

Don't you think that those percentages are greatly increased when you're a
well-known member of the royal family who has been plopped into the middle of
a bloodthirsty civil war?

Every insurgent will be after him.

I'm concerned about him. I fail to understand how he can even conduct any
military duties with thousands of insurgents hunting him down like dogs after
a fox. I don't think it's possible for him to function over there, without a
large security detail surrounding him every second.

Also...I didn't say that he "should be as good as dead". I'm not saying
that he deserves to die--or that he "should" die. I'm saying that--given his
notoriety and the number of people who will be after him--that he is pretty much
dead on arrival. He's a marked man.

I don't wish him ill will. Quite the contrary.

[Ramsey]

6. I totally disagree; I believe that it is very brave of Harry and what

he feels is right in view of his posittion as a royal and a soldier.

[Ramsey]

22. I just noticed my misspelling of position. I was too late to edit.

[donheld]

26. Well that's just too bad! You're in big trouble Madam!

We've already alerted the spelling police and they're on their way :hide::evilgrin:

[superconnected]

39. Well, brave as it is, it's rather uneducated too.

He supports this illegal war?

[arewenotdemo]

57. Absolutely

He considers himself a gladiator.

They don't ask questions. Just kick ass and take names.

This could get interesting. I wonder if he packed his Nazi uniform?

[Wickerman]

7. Wow, talk about mixed feelings

I think its very responsible of him to put aside his status and serve his country. I don't agree with his country being involved in this illegal war so its a shame he is going there. Still, I respect him putting his life on the line. The sad part is that by it being known where he is stationed many more might die as his death or capture would be a high profile coup and will surely bring increased attacks.

[Blaq Dem]

13. Many more won't die, and here's why...

There's probably won't be a war by the time Harry makes it over there. The either the war will end quickly or the Brits will pull out. Whatever the case may be, Harry ain't fightin'. I don't think they will allow it.

Maybe Harry wants this war to end too and he knows the quickest way to do so is if he goes over there. I seriously doubt if Tony Blair will want something happen to him, God forbid. It would make him look even worse.

[Wickerman]

14. good thoughts

I hope you are correct.

[qwlauren35]

38. What a wonderful scenario.

I really hope you're right, but I sense this would only give the Brits an excuse to pull out... but not us.

Nor would McCain's son heading over do anything to quell the tide.

[NashVegas]

30. It's Because of His Status He's Serving

Andy went to the Falklands. QE2 served at home.

[Mika]

8. Future monarchs should always participate in the sacking of weaker nations.

Its a long held Brit tradition.

[beth9999]

20. Harry is not going to be the Monarch...

... unless something happens to his older brother before he has kids.

[ThsMchneKilsFascists]

25. that's a Brit tradition of sorts as well,

though I hear in recent times it's been frowned upon.

[badgerpup]

29. Prince Andrew, his uncle saw active duty in the Falkland Islands...

...and it wasn't just a desk job.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Andrew,_Duke_of_York

[Darth_Kitten]

48. call me dense, but what do you mean?

;)

[MrCoffee]

54. LoL

[CJCRANE]

9. I think he'll be ok.

At least in Basra if he gets in trouble with the police they can just destroy the police station.

[canucksvt]

10. Good luck...

All I have to say is good luck to him.

[demnan]

11. Maybe this will bring more visibility to the people over there

I hope he comes home and writes about it. I admire that he's going. Blair's and Bush's kids should be there too.

[Eurobabe]

19. But Jenna and Babs Jr. are settting up house in South 'Murica

for when Daddy gets impeached for war crimes, they are too busy and can't worry their beautiful minds.

[durtee librul]

62. oh silly me and here I thought

all they were doing down there was running around naked in hotel halls with soccer players.......well, if they are house hunting, then they are doing something useful....:sarcasm:

[TomClash]

12. Still waiting for Lieberman's kid to serve nt

[opihimoimoi]

15. At least he got SPINE.....I salute the dude......

[Efilroft Sul]

32. I second that, opi.

Godspeed, Prince Harry. Lead by example and come home safe.

[opihimoimoi]

40. I believe his older brother served in the Falklands war as a pilot

These guys got guts and a sense of Manliness

Unlike our chickenhawks we got....

[Stephanie]

44. I think that was Andrew, Harry's uncle.

[opihimoimoi]

46. Randy Andy was his handle........I think...if I recall correctly.....

[Stephanie]

43. Agreed. We keep saying the Bush kids should go.

Here's a son of privilege (I know, that's quite an understatement!) who's volunteering. I fear for his safety but I applaud his courage. Now when will the Bush twins, the Cheney girls, George P. and the rest sign up?

[opihimoimoi]

45. When??? Most likely never......

[wordpix]

67. the REAL reason there's no draft---Babs Jr., Jenna, Cheney kids et. al would be in draft pool

BushCo wouldn't want that but it's fine to make National Guard pull duty in Iraq 4 times.

:puke:

[wordpix]

74. unfortunately for the twins, a draft is a real possibility

[maxsolomon]

16. the NY post snark was unneccessary

all spawn of the BFEE should take note - the royals really serve.

[BenDavid]

17. Harry The Elder better think

the L-rd above that he is an English citizen and not American. Why? well hell Harry would be swift boated if and when he became eligible to take over as King...Remember Al Gore and how they made light of his service and how they did Kerry who actually shot back at the enemy...Harry will be treated far better by the press there....

[beth9999]

21. Harry's not going to be king.

He's Charles' YOUNGER son.

[Darth_Kitten]

49. Neither should William.

England hasn't had a real King for 300 years. ;)

[knight_of_the_star]

18. Good man

He's upholing his obligations as a British Royal. Maybe when he gets home on leave he'll speak out loudly against the war and the conditions the soldiers are under over there and make things end quicker, at least in Britain.

[alcibiades_mystery]

34. I agree: I think he is honorable, at the very least

[Raine]

23. The Bush twins should

be going with him.

[customerserviceguy]

24. It's just a photo op

like his mother mincing through that pre-screened mine field. Who I feel for are the British soldiers who will die to protect his royal ass.

[fujiyama]

27. I don't understand the bitterness over his mother's activism

She brought more awareness over the land mine issue than just about anyone else.

And while I agree that it's very unlikely they'll let anything happen to him, it shows what a contrast there is between how the ruling class here views the military compared with those in Britain.

In the US the wealthy and privileged give much lip service to how much they "support the troops".

[Bridget Burke]

33. How many US politicians' wives or daughters "minced through" minefields?

Pre-screened or not? No, they'd rather shop & party. Or drone on about how "reading is fun" & then return to a medicated haze for another few weeks. (Poor Laura.)

I agree that Andrew will probably not be in much danger. But he'll be spending part of his young life in a place that doesn't offer much in the way of "fun." Isn't boredom also part of the military life?

[customerserviceguy]

53. I'm not against activism

but phony staged "walking through the minefield" photo ops are just plain silly at best, they trivialize an important issue at worst.

I think we already know what Iraq is going to turn out to be, what difference does the 'heroic' arrival of Prince Harry mean in the context of what is to happen?

[Bridget Burke]

59. PR is part of activism.

Celebrities can focus attention to important issues. Then the unglamarous folks can do the work--with the benefit of extra funding.

What difference does what anyone does have to do with the future?

[customerserviceguy]

60. Agreed

But there's good PR and bad PR. Which makes the better statement about Britain's involvement in Iraq: photo ops with Prince Harry marching around Basra, with 1000 British troops risking their lives to protect his pretty neck, or Prince Harry showing up at the funerals of British soldiers, asking how many more he will have to attend?

[Stella_Artois]

41. It probably isn't

His uncle in the Falklands was very far from being a photo op. In fact he was ordered to use his helicopter as a decoy against exocet missiles, with obvious risk to life.

[customerserviceguy]

52. I agree

Andrew really did something significant in that war, and I truly believe he was fighting for the freedom of the people of the Falklands against the tyranny of the Argentinian government of the time. Do I believe that of Iraq? Not necessarily.

[Stella_Artois]

68. Its not entirely different

Both volunteered to serve, and once they stopped being civilians they have to go where ordered. Andrew may well have had mixed feelings about being ordered to die in order to save a ship and perhaps Harry has mixed feelings about Iraq too. Members of the armed forces don't really get much say in what they are ordered to do.

They can refuse orders of course especially if they feel they are illegal but the problem is that all the people here and elsewhere who chat "the war is illegal" don't seem to back that up with exactly what law has been broken.

What law has been broken anyway ?

[Scout1071]

35. Broadcasting his unit's likely position isn't helping much either.

No way they let him go.

[nealmhughes]

36. Actually, it is a tradition in his extended family.

King Albert I of the Belgians was the last monarch to personally lead troops into battle in WW I. Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was a naval hero was Prince Louis of Battenberg's son (head of the Royal Navy) and a first cousin of King George VI and was Prince Phillip's uncle.

King George VI, Harry's great-grandfather was a naval officer, as was Prince Phillip and Prince Andrew. Andrew faced combat in the Falklands. George and Elizabeth refused to leave London even to Windsor, much less to Scotland or Canada, or for Margaret and Elizabeth to leave London. George VI had to be ordered by his wife and Churchill not to take part in D-Day.

They may be vestiges of a past time, but they ain't cowards, them Windsors/Saxe-Coburg-Gothas/Glucksburgs/Battenbergs. Personally, I would tremble at the thought of Anne taking control of troops in battle more than any of them...

[LostinVA]

47. And, Her Majesty also served in WWII

[wordpix]

75. that clan is a dynasty for a reason; Bush clan has a major weak link in the courage area

Poppy was quite brave but his father Prescott was dealing dollars with the German Nazis and their bankroller, Thyssen. :puke:

And then there's the present pResident Bush to consider...:puke:

[Countdown_3_2_1]

42. This should never have been announced. Every insurgent sniper will be looking for him. NT

[Red1]

50. Stunt

A reflection of the clue less ness of the rich.

IF he goes, he will have his own royal body guard.

Pity the lives that will be lost to protect his.

Another ass wipe of the world.

[SeattleGirl]

58. It's not a stunt.

Many members of the royal family have served in the military. If he were going to pull a stunt, he could find a much safer place to do it.

[Nihil]

61. You don't have a clue ...

... so please STFU until you do.

[Greyskye]

51. no win situation

He's in the classic no-win scenario. People are going to find fault with whatever he does. If he goes - it's a stunt. If he doesn't - he's a privileged son with special treatment.

[SemperEadem]

55. good for him

at least he's willing to go. I don't see the Bush twins signing up.

[judaspriestess]

56. I commend him for what he is doing

he is obviously showing his loyalty to his unit. Many soldiers are doing the same. Many soldiers may be against the war but it is their duty to serve no matter what it is..........

[durtee librul]

63. Ok, I am having a brain block...

George P?

[cmkramer]

70. Jeb's oldest boy

Spoke at the 1992 Republican Convention when he was about 16 years old. Best known line was "Viva Bush!"

Had at least one run-in with the law over "stalking" a former girlfriend. Last I heard he was practicing law.

[wordpix]

72. Geo. P, Geo. HW and Geo. W---no, they're not a family that belives in dynasty or anything

:lol:

I never heard about George P. until reading this thread. Thanks for the info.

[wordpix]

71. My prayers to the Great Spirit---keep Prince Harry safe. He has courage

and leadership potential. Godspeed, Prince. :loveya:

[antiimperialist]

64. Why doesn't he go to Baghdad?

He is going to Basra, where violence is not as pronounced.

[Swede]

66. Basra is where the Brits are deployed.

He'd have a target on him,no matter where he went.

[krispos42]

65. Paging Jenna... Paging Jenna... Paging Jenna... Paging Jenna... Paging Jenna... Paging Jenna... n/t

[oblivious]

69. I wonder how these assholes justify going off to foreign lands to kill people for oil.

"I'm going to be with my unit"

I'm going to free the Iraqi people"

"I'm going to spread democracy in the ME"

I'm going because, well, that's what soldiers do."

"I'm going because I want to be a war-criminal just like my PM"

[wordpix]

73. maybe Harry will try to stop the war---Di taught him diplomacy

It's just too bad she didn't live to guide him in this decision. :cry:

[DemBones DemBones]

76. Good for him. If a young person supports the war, he or she

ought to go fight it.

And, being "the spare," he's got to make a meaningful identity for himself somehow.