“Cry God for Harry, England and George Bush?”
The question is more like: if he goes, should his unit go?
A lot of the senior politicians in Iraq have said that he should not go. Should their objections be heard or ignored?
I dislike the Monarchy, I feel that if he wants to be treated as a normal ‘citizen’ then he should voluntarily give up his Royal Privileges. My opinion is, he’s not a ‘normal’ soldier, he can’t have his cake and eat it.
Well, obviously, he can…
Sorry, I forgot the cite: Here.
That silliness could get tiring quickly - you call it a fiasco, I call it a pretty well handled affair which didn’t blow up into a military incident, and all the hostages got back safe. Sorry if it’s not the macho fairytale you seem to be hoping for, but I like stories where we don’t end up in a war with another country, and people don’t come home in body bags. That, to me, is the sign of a military success.
And please explain just where the panache would be of putting a high profile target in an environment where it can be attacked easily? That’s not style, that’s just stupidity. Personally I don’t give a rats arse if they get Harry, but it’ll be viewed as a morale boosting PR coup for the insurgents and will probably see lots of Harry’s unit killed off in the process. If nothing else, they’ll have to divert resources from other missions to give more defence and cover to his.
In short, you are giving yourself one more thing to defend, an increased risk of morale boost to the enemy if they succeed, and all for no tactical gain. What you refer to as panache would seem to be just idiocy.
Confirmed - looks like he’s going: News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines - AOL.com
It was a fiasco. The captain of the ship ought to be court-martialled. He was there and did nothing. How can any of his crew now have confidence that he’ll back them up?
Nobody should be deployed to Iraq.
Apologies to the op for continuing the hijack, but nonsense.
HMS Cornwall’s got Harpoon missiles, and a 4.5-inch gun. That meant she could have demolished the gunboats from miles away, at no risk to herself at all, without even being within sight of the Iranians. Hell, it’s got a Sea Skua equipped helicopter that could have taken the gunboats out on its own.
Here’s the slight problem. When do you do that? Before the iranians have done anything? Congrats, you just launched an unprovoked attack on Iranian ships guarding their national waters. After they’ve captured your boarding party? Great, you just killed your own men.
If you want to claim otherwise, be a good chap and go resurrect one of the original threads on the subject.
The captains orders were not to engage. He would’ve been courtmartialled if he had started shooting.
True, but have other royals served in front-line positions on the ground, as opposed to staff or naval roles? For example, I know that Prince Andrew flew a Royal Navy helicopter in the Falklands, but it would have been difficult for the Argentines to target him personally.
IMHO, if Harry wants to go to Iraq and serve in a staff role of some kind, fine, but he shouldn’t be out on the street leading troops, much as he may want to. Britain’s army has a duty of care to all its enlistees, not just Cornet Wales, and I feel that sending him out into Basra in command of a patrol effectively would amount to reckless endangerment of everyone else in his troop.
Harry should be with his troops. The best way is to bring the troops home to Harry.
Exactly. If it’s too dangerous for Harry to be in Iraq, why in hell isn’t it too dangerous for all the other British soldiers? If Harry’s in too much danger, then so is everybody else. If Harry should be kept home, everyone should be kept home. But since that’s not going to happen, Harry should go.
It’s morbid, but does anyone else think that Harry being killed in combat would generate alot of good PR for the British government and the House of Windsor?
Yes, he should be deployed to Iraq. Next question? 
Thats true. The folks who fucked up where those who issued those dumb ass ROE, not the captain or crew of the ship that got fucked over. Happily it all worked out well for the Brits.
-XT
Not really - a bit of sympathy for poor old Liz I guess (that woman has no luck - except with money) - oh, and another tacky funeral
Anyone else think there’s the tiniest irony that America’s privileged elite (rapidly becoming ruling dynasties with the Clintons and Bushs) pull every string to avoid getting their fat asses blown off in the service of their country - whereas the jumped-up middle-class Germans we call the Royal Family can’t seem to wait to get their inbred arses blown off for Britain
Sure, the elite pulled strings to get cushy slots in the national guard, or desk jobs…during the Vietnam era.
Nowadays there’s no need to pull a single string to keep your kid out of Iraq. All they have to do is not enlist.
I don’t see the irony at all to be honest. As Lemur866 pointed out, the elite (by which I assume you mean the wealth) in the US don’t have to pull any strings at all. You probably missed it, but there isn’t a draft anymore.
As for the Royal Family, they have a sort of tradition (going back quite a while) of military service for the male members (some of the female members too)…and their service is all tied up with who and what they are (or what they think they are, or what they wish they were). There are some rich families in the US with military traditions where younger son’s join. I’m sure if you dug deeply enough (or even just bothered to look at all…IIRC John McCain’s son is serving in Iraq or at least is in the military) you’d find a few children of the ‘elite’ who serve in the armed forces.
-XT
If the dumbass signed up and knew the possible consequences, then he should be shipped on over there with the rest of the grunts.
Not necessarily, no-ones going to get to the Whitehouse without riding on a shit-load of money, true (“log-cabin to the Whitehouse” yeah, right) - but it’s more than just whats in the wallet - it’s who’s number is in your Blackberry (and who returns your call), and for the Kennedys, Bushs etc it’s what’s on your birth certificate - that’s an elite
(not a rigid caste, true, people join and leave - and even the cynic in me would recognise that US politics isn’t just a string-pulling old-boy’s network)
And, yes, I know the draft is ended - but men who avoided it are still in power - and still, right now, sending other men to do what they wouldn’t do themselves
anyway, I’m not adding anything to this thread so I’ll remove myself from it
(“It’s slightly ironic” != “it’s significant”)
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