Prince Harry is in Afghanistan, fighting the Taleban

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2008-02-28 07:54pm

RIPP_n_WIPE wrote: That's at least ONE of the things I can appreciate about Senator McCain. He's been through war, seen shit, AND been a POW. And he still thinks that it's worth continuing the fight. At the very minimum he has street cred with saying he knows what war is like.

One of McCain's kids is also in the service, I believe(either a Marine or Sailor, I forget which).

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-02-28 07:57pm

Will he become a magnet for Taliban attacks?

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2008-02-28 08:09pm

Darth Wong wrote:Will he become a magnet for Taliban attacks?

I see that McCain's youngest is an enlisted Marine in Iraq and the other one is a Midshipman at the Naval Academy. Presumably if McCain gets elected his son(s) on deployment would become prominent targets.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-02-28 09:02pm

^I think he was talking about Prince Harry.

As to Harry becoming a Taliban magnet...I don't think they can confirm visual identification, so maybe his unit would be a bigger target now.

Adrian Laguna · Post by **Adrian Laguna** » 2008-02-28 09:15pm

Lonestar wrote:I see that McCain's youngest is an enlisted Marine in Iraq and the other one is a Midshipman at the Naval Academy. Presumably if McCain gets elected his son(s) on deployment would become prominent targets.

That happens in a graphic novel I recently read called "Shooting War", it's really tangential to the story, but the Marine son gets kidnapped and is never heard of again. I felt bad for McCain at the end of it, though, again, it's only tangential to the main story.

Jim Raynor · Post by **Jim Raynor** » 2008-02-28 09:57pm

According to CNN, it wasn't just the British media that agreed to keep quiet on this:

British and international media -- including CNN -- had agreed not to report Harry's deployment because of security concerns for him and his unit. The military confirmed the operation after a U.S. Web site broke the news blackout.

What kind of asshole breaks something like this? Yeah, motivate the Taliban assholes.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-29 12:34am

Jim Raynor wrote:What kind of asshole breaks something like this? Yeah, motivate the Taliban assholes.

Read up a little on Matt Drudge, on whose website this story was initially released and then you will have your answer.

He's a real class act. And at least half nutty.

hongi · Post by **hongi** » 2008-02-29 12:37am

Actually, it was an Australian women's magazine called New Idea that broke the story first. It didn't get much attention at first, until German and American media sources picked it up. NI claim they didn't know about the media blackout.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-29 01:39am

hongi wrote:Actually, it was an Australian women's magazine called New Idea that broke the story first. It didn't get much attention at first, until German and American media sources picked it up. NI claim they didn't know about the media blackout.

Ah, I see. Here is a bit more on that from the link Dartzap initially provided:

The news blackout followed a voluntary agreement between the MoD and newspapers and broadcasters in the UK and abroad.

In exchange for not reporting the prince's deployment, some media organisations were granted access to the prince in Afghanistan for interviews and filming.

The Society of Editors said the deal could have been broken at any time over the past eight months.

The BBC's media correspondent Torin Douglas said it was surprising the agreement held for so long, as an Australian magazine and website published the story in January.

But it was only when it appeared on the influential US political website, The Drudge Report, that the agreement broke down, our correspondent said.

Indeed, Drudge wasn't first, but it made the story really come into the light, so it would seem.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-02-29 03:08am

Then I hope that women's magazine is happy they've just fucked over Harry's chances at fighting without attracting every Taliban, mercenary and psychopath within a thousand miles of his unit. It was just about the only anonymity he was ever going to get.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2008-02-29 03:40am

Oh, but how cute does Prince Harry look in his fatigues, all unwashed and shot-up! Tee-hee-hee!

tim31 · Post by **tim31** » 2008-02-29 05:40am

I was quite pleased to hear about this, because one of my favorite alt-history book series pertains to a Captain, then later Major, then finally Colonel Windsor refighting WWII with modern weapons

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2008-02-29 05:46am

Well, that didn't last very long

Harry withdrawn from Afghanistan
Prince Harry is to be withdrawn from Afghanistan after news broke of him serving there on the front line, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The 23-year-old royal, who has spent the last 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province, is to be flown back to the UK amid concerns for his safety.

The move follows the breakdown of a news blackout deal, after foreign media leaked the story.

There had been fears the prince could become a target for the Taleban.

Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, had been considering whether Harry should remain in the country after discussions with the head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt.

No details are available on when the prince is due to arrive back in Britain

tim31 · Post by **tim31** » 2008-02-29 06:38am

I shall be writing a very angry letter to New Idea indeed.

Archaic` · Post by **Archaic`** » 2008-02-29 09:48am

Ironically, given that New Idea is mostly made up tabloid trash, it's quite possible that they didn't even realise the story was true when they printed it.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-29 10:52am

tim31 wrote:I shall be writing a very angry letter to New Idea indeed.

I think you really need to save your ire for the German paper Bild and The Drudge Report. Drudge really spread it around:

New story:

In a series of meetings at the Ministry of Defence late last year, British media and selected international outlets agreed not to report Harry's deployment in exchange for getting regular pictures, video and text of his day-to-day activities once the planned four-month assignment was completed.

There was a reluctance to sign up to such a deal, and an expectation among many that the "understanding", as it was called, would inevitably, rapidly be broken given the nature of Britain's cut-throat, "exclusive-or-nothing" tabloid press.

But once everyone was on board it was a case of seeing who would blink first and if no one did, then the agreement might just end up working in everyone's interests -- the Ministry of Defence, the media, Harry and the soldiers fighting alongside him, and the public who would read and hear all about it.

In the end, those who were party to the understanding stuck by it, but word leaked out and rumours slowly spread.

An Australian Web site got wind of something in January, but not enough to make it stick.

German newspaper Bild ran a gossip item on Wednesday, but again the Ministry of Defence hoped the chatter would quickly die down. Until the U.S. Drudge Report blog picked it up.

"Once Drudge had it, it went global and the agreement was basically over," the Ministry of Defence said on Friday.

Kodiak · Post by **Kodiak** » 2008-02-29 11:17am

I had a question about this topic: What is the Royal Family's last name?

In checking on the internet I found:

Queen Elizabeth: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Prince Charles: Charles Philip Arthur George
Prince William: William Arthur Philip Louis
Prince Harry: Henry Charles Albert David

I have a suspicion that their last name is Windsor, but perhaps someone from that side of the pond could expound on this subject for me. I was wondering, because IF the taliban found the prince, would they even know what last name to look for on his uniform?

Spin Echo · Post by **Spin Echo** » 2008-02-29 11:27am

Kodiak wrote:I had a question about this topic: What is the Royal Family's last name?

In checking on the internet I found:

Queen Elizabeth: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Prince Charles: Charles Philip Arthur George
Prince William: William Arthur Philip Louis
Prince Harry: Henry Charles Albert David

I have a suspicion that their last name is Windsor, but perhaps someone from that side of the pond could expound on this subject for me. I was wondering, because IF the taliban found the prince, would they even know what last name to look for on his uniform?

THey don't have a last name as such. Winsor is the house. Apparently William had "Wales" on his uniform because he's the Prince of Wales. I imagine they use whatever Harry is prince of.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2008-02-29 12:14pm

Legislation specifying that their last name should be Windsor was provided, but the surname is not used in any circumstance; Cornet Wales is the traditional reference of rank and title to be used, i.e., when I play around with my fictional aliens I use the same formation: Admiral idhl Sapai, etc. However, they are no longer Windsors, after Elizabeth herself. She married a Battenberg (Mountbatten in the WW1-ified-english version). So Harry's surname is actually, per convention, Windsor-Mountbatten (so is Charles'), as the Duke of Edinburgh protested his sons not carrying on his family name. However, the name of the dynasty will not change, so the two are now distinct from each other.

Also, Windsor was a WW1 innovation. The correct name for the dynasty is the very Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. After Charles takes the throne, it will be Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Battenberg.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2008-02-29 12:17pm

Spin Echo wrote:THey don't have a last name as such. Winsor is the house. Apparently William had "Wales" on his uniform because he's the Prince of Wales. I imagine they use whatever Harry is prince of.

He was going by Lt. Harry Wales.

...I was going to post more but Marina beat me to the punch.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2008-02-29 12:28pm

William is not the Prince of Wales.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2008-02-29 12:39pm

Illuminatus Primus wrote:William is not the Prince of Wales.

Harry's title is Prince Henry of Wales, IP. You see, Prince of Wales--the courtesy title of the Crown Prince--was the title of the rulers of Wales, which means that the Crown Prince's children get to carry the style of a prince (though non-regnant) of Wales as well.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2008-02-29 12:44pm

The Duchess of Zeon wrote:
Illuminatus Primus wrote:William is not the Prince of Wales.

Harry's title is Prince Henry of Wales, IP. You see, Prince of Wales--the courtesy title of the Crown Prince--was the title of the rulers of Wales, which means that the Crown Prince's children get to carry the style of a prince (though non-regnant) of Wales as well.

You do know that your far more knowledgeable about this than most Brits, right? That's fairly amusing:)

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2008-02-29 01:03pm

I just heard on the news that the MoD immediately pulls Prince Henry out of Afghanistan, a decision which is quite understandable imo.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2008-02-29 01:05pm

Mange wrote:I just heard on the news that the MoD immediately pulls Prince Henry out of Afghanistan, a decision which is quite understandable imo.

Yeah, its probably for the best, but I think he wont be too happy about it. As people have said, he's not an intellectual, he's a hands on type, bumming around Kensington wont be fun for him.