Royals & Afghanistan

[Brendan]

I am finding it really difficult to care when there are actually real issues about britain?s current wars that should be making headlines.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Sorry Mockney but some drink-addled-celeb (be it Harry or Paris Hilton) falling out of a club isn't really the same as knowing you are a target, will attract enemy interest, wanting to go and fight in an already dubious war and then saying it would be the press' fault if anyone got killed because of it

It's so obviously a pre-arranged tour of duty and this foreign-press-leaks-details is a distraction from the fact that it was probably a pre-arranged signal. Bonus points for being able to blame Jonny foreigner

On top of all that people are now calling for Jon Snow's rsignation!!! For what exactly?

That Jon Snow, he's a wrong 'un

comparing his actions to "informing Hitler if all of our secrets" - sorry?- is Harry some secret weapon that is going to bring the whole sorry mess to a close? What's at stake with Harry's presence is his comrades lives - not any advantage to the efforts over there. The reason he was there is to gain valuable PR for both the Royal Family and the war itself - job done seemingly

As for Harry himself - I largely agree with Annasfield comments about unwanted attention. But he could at least appear to be taking the killing of others a leeeetle bit more seriously. War not exactly being the local polo team and all that

[Michael Palaeologus]

He's a Royal Prince and the spare-heir at that. Joining the army and getting killed in a pointless piece of fighting is his fate. Thats what they did historically; either that or died in a mysterious plane crash.

What else is he going to do?

He may be a drunken Hurray-Henry but he didnt ask to be a pointless Prince did he? He LOVES the army, he is an army-balmy 22 year old who loves arsing about in the desert getting shot at and shooting back. Good luck to him.

He was for at least 10 weeks the least pointless Royal. Except for Her Maj - God Bless Her.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Y'see Mike P, this is one of your "I'm being cheeky, not taking things seriously" posts but with enough of a serious point for me to respond - but I can't. You're not armed...

(but he can do what many of us do, have a look at his parents and think sod that for a game of...er.... soldiers, I'm off to find out what the world is like)

Abdication- a small price to pay. yes yes yes, Statute of Westminster, Acts of Parliament yadda yadda. He's 22, he's big enough and ugly enough as my mother used to say to me. Before I "abdicated"

[Michael Palaeologus]

It would not matter one jot if he did hand back his ermine - he is still Diana's son and that will stay with him for life. The press would follow him and follow him and follow him - who he is and what he was would always be news for elements of the media. He didnt ask for that, he didnt go on a shite talent show, he was just born.

In his case His Mum and Dad really did fuck him up, they didnt mean to but they did.

[Domitianus]

What I would like to see people stop bleating on about as well (and I don't mean posters on this board) is that he is third in line to the throne. So bl**dy what? It's a position he holds as an accident of birth, not because he is highly qualified for the position having devoted considerable intellect, study and energy to mastering the requirements.

There is an extremely long list of people in line to the throne (as we can see from that highly accurate film, King Ralph!). If number three gets "slotted" (didn't you just love the way Harry had picked up SAS jargon?) then we move number four up to number three etc etc. It's not as if there aren't hundreds of chinless wonders, each as useless as the next, who would love a crack at being the incumbent at the Palace.

[mockney piers]

Is Dulwichmum on that list somewhere. I do hope so!!

[Michael Palaeologus]

If Harry takes a sharp one then he will become a floppy without a doubt.

[paragon]

I think the whole issue is slightly clouded. The mass media here seems to think that "terry taliban" is a backwards fighting force of extremist vagabonds who have no sophisticated intellingence methods in place. Unless Harry spent his ten weeks cooking bangers and mash for the boys in a tent wearing a mask the whole of A'Stan will have known he was there for weeks. The troops were, rightly or wrongly, at greater risk from the moment it was decided he should go there.

The imagine of a suicide bomber in a cave trawling through t'internet and seeing Drudge then deciding to have a go at Harry is ridiculous. The risk was always there and no greater since it was leaked, the real change in the risk is how much the goverment and MOD would have been slammed had he been killed after the news came out. Had he been killed four weeks ago then they would have said - "he wanted to go", "it was a news blackout - we did everything we could". When Drudge posted the news then the tables turned and the government and MOD would have been castrated had he subsequently been killed. Hence why he was removed from combat.

In summary I think most of the debate is not relevant to anything.

Including my post.

Don't read it!

[mockney piers]

Admittedly the whole saga hasn't exactly sparked a "what on earth are we trying to do there" debate in the media has it. Just the usual stuff about how great our boys are, with the odd exception.

Hats off to the lads, they seem to be showing the usual professionalism, but with Opium production at record levels and the government not really liking the cut of our jib anymore, whilst even we are talking to the Taliban, isn't it about time there were more serious questions about what it is our deployment is aiming to do?