[MoMo]

The news has just announced that Harry is to stay at home because " the risks are now unacceptable" for him to go to Iraq.

The Ministry of Defence and Ministers and his General have stated that there have been too many threats for him to go. many vets families are outraged by the news because while their sons and daughters have accepted the risks and have done their duty, he will be at home twiddling his thumbs while his 'boys' are sent overseas to face the dangers of the conflict in Iraq.

I do accept the view that by having Harry there he would increase the danger to his men. However, surely some way of having him accept a degree of risk could have been worked out. Perhaps as a soldier attached to Staff.

I don't accept the view that he should stay out of it. It is an insult to those who have given their lives and those who have been wounded and maimed in other ways because of their experience.

Hopeless Harry!

[mustangdriver]

Glad to see that he is not getting any special treatment. He just wasted his time in the Army.

[MoMo]

Glad to see that he is not getting any special treatment. He just wasted his time in the Army.

Yea! And the recruitment rate went down too !

[Gort]

Originally Posted by MoMo

The news has just announced that Harry is to stay at home because " the risks are now unacceptable" for him to go to Iraq.

I respect Prince Harry deeply, knowing he insisted on going to Iraq, danger or not; and for me – that says everything. Though, like you, MoMo, I agree that had he served there, he would have won distinction and cachet and the veneration of millions.

[MoMo]

You have a good point there Gort. I will respect what he has said if he now resigns his commision. He stated ( through some of his pals ) that he would resign if he was banned from going. Let's see if he puts his money where his mouth is!

[timbo]

Problem is in this media age where everything has to be covered the guy's a walking bulls eye. Knowing the greed of the geniuses that run the tabloids for a story, they would eventually publish something serious that could endanger other lives. It's not like he can go there as one of the boy's and hope to do the job anonymously.

Personally I really don't care if he stays or goes, It's really none of my business. He is supposedly a professional doing a job. I do have a problem if his presence puts others in increased danger of getting hit by the terrorists so that they can score a big media coupe.

Can you imagine the feeding frenzy from the tabloids if he's attacked and he or one of his squad is killed?

[MoMo]

Problem is in this media age where everything has to be covered the guy's a walking bulls eye. Knowing the greed of the geniuses that run the tabloids for a story, they would eventually publish something serious that could endanger other lives. It's not like he can go there as one of the boy's and hope to do the job anonymously.

Personally I really don't care if he stays or goes, It's really none of my business. He is supposedly a professional doing a job. I do have a problem if his presence puts others in increased danger of getting hit by the terrorists so that they can score a big media coupe.

Can you imagine the feeding frenzy from the tabloids if he's attacked and he or one of his squad is killed?

You're quite right Timbo. It is the Tabloids and the Establishment Press Offices which have created the problem. They should have just shut up about the whole thing six months previous to this time. That way Harry could have done his tour and no-one would have been the wiser. As things stand, this fiasco has handed the insurgency a publicity triumph. They can now claim that they are such a force that they have controlled events in the Upper Echelons of the UK and that the mere threat of what they can do is driving events!

On ballance, he should have gone. This way the insurgency wins no matter what. If Harry had gone quietly and stayed well away from anyone on the ground, he could have done his tour and the tabloids could then have crowed about it later.

He would, of course, have had to dye his hair mouse-brown!

To cap your metaphor, Timbo, in last week's BBC satirical news show " Have I Got News For You! ", they had their usual ' Give the Picture a Caption' competition. They showed a picture of a bloke with an arrow target on his back walking away from camera. You guessed it, the caption was :

" PRINCE HARRY IN TRAINING FOR IRAQ "

LET'S FACE IT, THE POOR GUY IS IN A LOSE/LOSE SITUATION!

[STARMAN 352ND]

Maybe Harry will throw a fit and they will let him go do something....
Who knows ......Look at all the others who are there now and don't have that kind of choice to stay out.
Harry has been trained this whole time for this sort of thing....How are the British people taken it in the UK about Harry not going to Iraq ??
JP

[MoMo]

Harry has been trained this whole time for this sort of thing....How are the British people taken it in the UK about Harry not going to Iraq ??

Dear Starman,

the news just broke tonight. So far the main news shows have had Vets parents being interviewed who are livid that Harry will not have the opportunity to face the risks that their kids have faced. By tomorrow, all the blokes in Harry's squad will have been hunted down by the tabloid press ( for 'tabloid' read 'CRAP' ). Their parents will also be asked to give their opinions.

As I write the 10.30 ITN News is going out. Establishment hacks are saying : "....shame, but it was a stupid idea. Harry can't go....What if he's kidnapped?....Killed?.....Attacks on Brits have escalated....etc.....too many roadside attacks on Warrior Vehicles using hollow charge roadside mine/traps"

His CIC, Gen Dinnant ( sic ) is taking the rap for the Queen. " It's my decision and I say no....etc. "

Meanwhile the father of an officer, recently killed, says Harry should have gone. Sure, it's dangerous, but all the guys serving are aware of it.

You will get the public reaction over the next few weeks. My best guess is that the whole thing was built up deliberately to prevent any possibility of Harry going. The Queen ain't the Queen for nothin'! All the attendant publicity could have been dampened in the interests of safety. It is partly a constitutional matter. Harry is third in line to the big prize. They always like an heir, and one to spare, but three makes everything much easier. The constitutional consequences of having the third in line to the throne in the hands of people who you can't negotiate with are uncalculable. To compare the risks of capture to Harry in combat with his Uncle Andrew who was a chopper pilot in the Falklands war is stupid. Andrew, if he had been captured, would have been accorded the Rights of The Geneva Convention. Try quoting those rights to the murderers of the innocents in Bagdad.

No! There was NEVER any chance of Harry going, despite what Harry might say. His Grannie wouldn't let it happen!

The whole affair was orchestrated behind closed doors and, I'm sure, out of Harry's hearing. If George Junior was a Constitutional King ( King George, where have I heard that before? ) what would the chances be of his grandson going to Iraq? What would happen if he was shown on an Al Quaeda video with a machette at his neck?

No Guys, this was never going to happen....hence all the debate over the past few weeks!

My feeling about the public reaction? Hostile, to say the least!

[Gort]

Still, in my humble estimation, Harry had the guts and fortitude to do his duty and was willing to put his life on the line. That says it all. He's worth his salt.