Prince Harry fights Taliban in Afghanistan

[milmor_1]

Harry fights Taliban in Afghanistan

Press Assoc. - 56 minutes agoPrince Harry has been fighting the Taliban on the front line in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.


The 23-year-old Household Cavalry officer has spent the past 10 weeks secretly serving in war-ravaged Helmand Province.

The deployment had been cloaked in secrecy under a news blackout deal agreed across the UK media to prevent details reaching the Taliban and endangering Harry and his comrades.

But the arrangement has broken down after news was leaked out on the US website the Drudge Report.

As part of the deal a group of journalists had visited the Prince in Helmand on condition that details would only be publicised once he was safely back in the UK.

The deal was arranged after Harry's planned tour to Iraq last year had to be cancelled because of a security risk sparked by publicity.

After the disappointment over Iraq, when Harry was due to work as a Scimitar light tank troop leader, he retrained as a battlefield air controller known as a JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) with a view to going to Afghanistan.

He flew out on December 14, two months into the current winter tour.

He spent several weeks working in Garmsir in the far south of Helmand Province, operating just 500m from front line Taliban positions. He has since left Garmsir to work in another part of Helmand Province, details of which can not be reported for security reasons.

There is no immediate steer from the Ministry of Defence on the future of his deployment.

Harry fights Taliban in Afghanistan - Yahoo! News UK

[Snowden]

Sometimes reporters are just plain irresponsible in their effort to break news. This is such a time. Drudge had no business breaking that story; if the prince is killed or wounded, it would well be a result of such headline grabbing tactics.

[Woodmonkey]

Totally irresponsible on Drudge's part.

[Woodmonkey]

It seems that it wasn't Drudge who leaked this news

Britain's Prince Harry in Afghanistan

Prince Harry has been serving on the front line in Afghanistan with the British Army, calling in airstrikes on Taliban positions and going out on foot patrols, the Ministry of Defense announced Thursday.

Officials said the prince, a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment, was still deployed in the country.

"His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary," said the head of the army, Gen. Richard Dannatt. "He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else in his battle group."

Harry, who is third in line to the throne, has been in Afghanistan since December.

The planned deployment had been disclosed to reporters, with no specific date, and was not reported previously under a pool agreement between the Ministry of Defense and all major news organizations operating in Britain, including The Associated Press. The news blackout was intended to reduce the risk to the prince and his regiment.

The news embargo was broken, however, after reports of the prince's deployment were leaked by an Australian magazine and a German newspaper, and then reported on a U.S. Web site, the Drudge Report.
Dannatt, the military commander, said he was "very disappointed" that the story had leaked.

Harry, 23, has been deployed in the restive Helmand province for 10 weeks, where most of the 7,800 British troops in Afghanistan are based, according to the military's statement.

In a recorded interview, Harry said he was happy to be standing shoulder-to- shoulder with his colleagues.

"It's nice just to be here with all the guys and just mucking in as one of the lads," said Harry, who had expressed bitter disappointment when he was banned from going to Iraq with his battalion last year. Army chiefs said publicity surrounding his deployment could put him and his unit at risk.

Pooled video footage of Harry in Afghanistan showed the prince dressed in camouflage fatigues patrolling arid and dusty terrain and firing a machine gun.

Harry graduated from Sandhurst military academy in 2006 and trained as a tank commander. After the decision not to send him to Iraq, he retrained as a battlefield air controller, the job he has been filling in Afghanistan.

The Source

[milmor_1]

Well the BBC showed a long interview with the prince last night and it seemed that it was well prepared (possibly for showing after his deployment).

He appears to be an excellent young officer (who by his own admission does NOT know left from right).

Here is more on this story.

Senior generals are having to decide whether to pull Prince Harry out of Afghanistan after details of his secret deployment were broadcast around the world.

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The head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, must decide whether to implement emergency plans to extract the third in line to the throne after the breakdown of a news blackout deal struck to preserve his safety.

The 23-year-old Household Cavalry officer has spent the past 10 weeks living his lifelong dream of serving on the frontline, fighting the Taliban in Helmand province.

Working as a battlefield air controller and Spartan light tank commander, he was able to operate within sight of enemy positions - at one point living just 500 metres from the Taliban frontline trenches.

During a posting to Garmsir, the southern-most part of the province under allied control, he was able to go on patrol and mix with locals who had no idea he was a senior member of the Royal Family.

His work as a "JTAC" (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) involved carrying out detailed aerial surveillance behind Taliban lines and even calling in bomb strikes on confirmed enemy bunker positions.

But details of his deployment were broadcast around the world after the deal with the media broke down following reports on foreign websites.

The development will be a major blow to Harry who was devastated last spring when his planned deployment to Iraq had to be cancelled after a series of threats to his life emerged following publicity about his tour.

He considered leaving the Army but was given fresh hope by the chance to retrain as a JTAC - also known as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) - in order to go to Afghanistan as part of a battlegroup centred on his own regiment the Household Cavalry.

General Dannatt said: "Now that the story is in the public domain, the Chief of Defence Staff and I will take advice from the operational commanders about whether his deployment can continue."

Army chiefs face 'Harry out' dilemma - Yahoo! News UK

[Snowden]

According to this, it was Drudge that broke the news of Harry's deployment, at least on the web:

Britain: Harry's Afghan deployment over

By D'ARCY DORAN, Associated Press Writer

AP Photo: In this image made available in London,
Thursday Feb. 28, 2008, Britain's Prince Harry

Britain's defense chief decided Friday to immediately pull Prince Harry out of Afghanistan after news of his deployment was leaked on the U.S. Web site the Drudge Report.

Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup, chief of the Defense Staff, said he decided to withdraw the prince after senior commanders assessed the risks, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Harry, third in line to the British throne, has been serving on the front line with an army unit in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province since mid-December. He was originally due to return to Britain within weeks, but "the situation has now clearly changed," the statement said.

The decision was based on concerns that worldwide media coverage of Harry in Afghanistan could put him and his comrades at increased risk.

The ministry asked the media not to speculate on Harry's location — or how and when he would return — until he was back in Britain.

British officials had hoped to keep Prince Harry's deployment secret until he had safely returned, but they released video of him serving in Helmand Province after the leak appeared on the Drudge Report.

The ministry deplored the leak by "elements of the foreign media."

"However, this was a circumstance that we have always been aware of and one for which we have had contingency plans in place," the statement said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the prince had demonstrated that he was an exemplary young officer. "The whole of Britain will be proud of the outstanding service he is giving," he said.

Harry, 23, is the first royal to serve in a combat zone since his uncle Prince Andrew flew helicopters during Britain's war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982.

Tours to Afghanistan usually last six months; Harry has served 10 weeks.

Harry conceded in an interview filmed last week that when he returns to Britain he could be a "top target" for Islamic terrorists.

"Once this ... comes out, every single person that supports them will be trying to slot me," he said.

The deployment plan had been disclosed to reporters, with no specific date, but was not reported previously because of an agreement between the Ministry of Defense and all major news organizations operating in Britain, including The Associated Press. The news blackout was intended to reduce the risk to the prince and his regiment.

Harry was supposed to go to Iraq with the Blues and Royals regiment in May last year but the assignment was canceled because of security fears. Iraqi insurgents made threats on Internet chat rooms, saying he would not make it home alive.

Harry trained at Sandhurst military academy and joined the Blues and Royals as a cornet, the cavalry regiment's equivalent of a second lieutenant. After being held back from his Iraq assignment, the prince threatened to quit the army if he was not given the chance to see combat.

Harry said his older brother, William, who also graduated from Sandhurst and is training as a military pilot, is jealous of his deployment. As Britain's likely future king, Prince William is unlikely ever to see combat.

Helmand province is where most of the 7,800 British soldiers in Afghanistan are based. It has seen some of the country's fiercest combat in recent years, with NATO-led forces fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

Harry's work in Afghanistan has involved calling in airstrikes on Taliban positions as well as going out on foot patrols. He spent part of his deployment at a base 500 yards from Taliban positions, the military said.

Since Harry's arrival, his battle group has been responsible for around 30 enemy deaths, a Ministry of Defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Video showed the prince in camouflage fatigues walking across arid and dusty terrain, calling in air support, firing a machine gun and patrolling the streets of Garmsir, the southernmost part of the province. He has since left Garmsir, and his current whereabouts are being kept secret.



Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


Britain: Harry's Afghan deployment over - Yahoo! News