So, views? After much speculation it has been decided that Harry will not go to Iraq... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6663053.stm I'm split on this one.....and by the way, I'm far from a monarchist. His presence (and ginger hair a la James Hewitt ) would undoubtedly be fuel to an already out of control blaze...I wouldn't want to be in his regiment, troop or anywhere near him. If he's an anywhere decent leader, I'm sure his guys would back him, but at what risk? So, from that view, probably a good decision. On the other hand, why is one life any more valuable than the thousands of sons and fathers that are being sent without question? Also, I'm not sure what it costs to train an Army Officer these days, but I know it ain't cheap - so why train these people if they are not going to fulfill their purpose? Harry said it himself - "if I can't go then I'll quit". Which is another point...should he carry out his threat? Personally I'd think more of him if he did - it would be real statement about his morality. Others will say that if he does, he's just handing a moral victory to insurgents in Iraq. I disagree - they don't need moral victories, they're doing pretty well in a literal sense...we're certainly not winning.
At the point where anyone decides to join the armed forces they accept the fact that that could well mean they have to go into conflict. Unless by his being there it was seen as a serious risk to the rest of his men, then he should go, and i cannot see why his being there would put anyone elses life at risk (more than it already is by being a british soldier in Iraq) If he is deemed to important to go into battle, or to much of a target, or to much of a risk to his men or whatever, he should never have been accepted into the armed forces.
That pretty much sums it up...if they want the royals to have the ceremonial "Head of" Regiment/Armed Forces roles then that only requires a uniform and a bit of a briefing...not lots of £££££s and several years of expensive training.
There are two takes: The news are too damned stupid NOT to paste where Harry is stationed in Iraq on the front page of every publication. This would make him the most obscenely big target and a strategic misnomer. He would cause a lot of problems. He signed up to fight for what may well be his country, he should. Personally I say he should go to iraq. No matter what the ramifications. He is a soldier, he is an officer of the British army and has sworn an oath to fight for his country. He SHOULD be there with his platoon.
Then either a) don't tell the press or b) ask them nicely to (or legally enforce them to) not publish.
He's either a soldier or he isn't. If he is, then he should be posted with his unit. If he isn't, then why send him to Sandhurst in the first place? The whole thing is a farce - like everything else to do with the out-dated institution of the monarchy. They always have a chestful of medals despite the vast majority of them never having been near any real action. It's an insult to all the servicemen who earned their medals risking their lives. They make me sick. But it's not Hewitt Junior's fault. He probably really did want to serve in Iraq with his unit. It's the 'powers that be' who have made the decision for him.
Given that everyone knows what unit he's in, it would not be difficult to find out where he might be stationed.
I think another reason they are giving is that is puts the lives of the other soldiers at risk as a result of Harry being a target? He did seem pretty keen to go so the decision has been taken out of his hands.
On the subject of his presence putting other troops lives at risk, yes it does. If I was serving I wouldn't be too happy going on patrol with a "six foot bullet magnet".
Exactly! Putting the lives of other soldiers at risk is pretty dodgy.However,surely they should have thought about that when he was at Sandhurst, it was pretty obvious all along he would be some kind of obvious target.
That may well be an issue, but its not like he's suddenly become prince of england to the shock and surprise of everyone. Surely our military aren't so short sighted they didn't see this issue in advance?? If they are its severely worrying.
The whole thing is a bleedin' joke. C'mon... did anyone really think that he was going to be allowed to go to Iraq and fight??! Of course he wasn't. But sure the monarchy needs to be seen as putting on the whole brave face, stiff upper lip bit... right sir... pip pip cheerio. Sad for the parents of other British soldiers who've lost their lives in the Iraqi debacle... somehow no one thinks twice about sending them out to get shot up, blown up and whatever else may come... but God forbid the Prince actually gets shot at. Pfffttttttt.... :bang: A sad disservice by the monarchy to other soldiers serving. Beside Iraqi's would be on the look out for someone dressed up like Hitler.
I can certainly understand his feelings. However, his presence would jeopardize the operational security of his unit. I believe there was talk at one time of an SAS cell deployed with his unit just to look after him. That's a bit too much. If they were serious about sending him then they should have requested the press not mention it or perhaps classify the location/operations of his unit.
The issue has come up because Iraq is different from many previous conflicts. The lack of any definable front line and the fact that the troops are essentially immersed in the Iraqi populace make security a huge headache when someone would make such a prize target.
I’ve never been a fan of the Royal family, I mean, honestly, it’s the 21st century and there are still Kings and Queens? It would be better if, instead of some supposed birthright, they are elected officials like the Queen of Naboo. I digress… In the papers, Prince Hewitt has always maintained that there was no way he was going to go through all that training and not go to Iraq. Being a cynic, I reckon that he knew there would be absolutely no chance of him coming close to a battlefield. I bet they wouldn’t even send him to “Robot Wars” let alone the Middle East. He should prove us wrong and go, after all he trained for it. On the other hand he would be a target and pose a massive threat to his fellow soldiers. Difficult one this is…
LOL!! so what.... so war now doesn't conform to past standards of colonial style wars when redcoats marched in square formation with a clearly defined enemy meeting them on a predetermined battlefield. The whole thing is a still a joke. The idea of one soldier being escorted whereever his unit goes by the SAS is about as absurd as it gets. On top of it now he'll look like even more of a numpty because he most likely won't hold his word that he'd quit if he wasn't allowed to go.
Of course there is the outside chance that all the reporting and media storm raising around his not being allowed to go to Iraq is a really cleverly constructed smoke screen set up to allow him to go to Iraq incognito... but thats probably too clever by half...
So what? So it's an unnecessary danger to him and his unit, and one that is unique to this conflict. Members of the royal family have served in combat more recently than the colonial wars.
