Posted on 03/01/2008 3:20:18 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Prince Harry is back in London after a short-lived stint on the frontlines in Afghanistan.
The prince was pulled out of the war zone after a media leak blew the cover on his deployment in Afghanistan since December.
Second Lieutenant, Prince Harry was welcomed at an airfield outside London by his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William.
He returned after serving only 10 weeks with British troops in Afghanistan, after the foreign press leaked news of his secret deployment.
The prince is far from happy at being dragged back from the front.
''At the end of the day if you join the Army, you expect to go on operations. I don't want to sit around at Windsor. You know, it's nice to be away from all the press and the papers,'' said Prince Harry.
The prince's deployment had gone undisclosed under an agreement between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and major news organisations, designed to protect Harry and his fellow soldiers.
Now, the Ministry of Defence said the news reports made him an easy target for terrorists in Afghanistan.
Ministry officials said he could be sent out once again, later in the year, but to areas like the south Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean, West Indies or the Persian Gulf.
None of them, areas of open armed combat but assignments that will help the prince earn more stripes.
Charles 'proud' of Harry,
Britain's Prince Charles said he was ''enormously proud'' of his youngest son Prince Harry and relieved to see him home ''in one piece'' as the young royal returned to the country on Saturday from the Afghan frontline.
At the same time, the heir to the British throne said he was frustrated that Harry's stint in Afghanistan had been cut short following a media leak about his deployment.
''I feel particular frustration that he was removed unexpectedly early because apart from anything else, he had been looking forward to coming back with the rest of his regiment,'' said Charles, who along with elder son William was present at the military airbase in Oxfordshire to greet the 23-year-old prince.
Charles said he was ''enormously proud'' of Harry, and he now understood what the families and loved ones of soldiers endured when they were serving abroad.
''As you can imagine it's obviously a great relief as far as I'm concerned to see him home in one piece,'' the Prince of Wales was quoted as saying by the British media.
Charles said, ''It's been quite difficult also having to keep quiet about the fact he was serving in that part of the world. People kept saying to me 'you must be so frustrated about Harry not being able to serve abroad'.''
''I also feel very strongly that we don't often appreciate what the people in the armed forces are doing, putting up with the most impossible conditions,'' he said.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, ''The whole country is going to be delighted that Prince Harry has come back safely.''
I wonder what the reporter meant by this?:
None of them, areas of open armed combat but assignments that will help the prince earn more stripes.
The story says Harry is a Second Lieutenant.
The human capacity for cruelty seems bottomless at times. William and Harry are clearly Charles' sons, and Charles appears to be a very good father to them. They both appear to have grown into fine young men.
Unlike his father, William seems to have good character. Princess Diana did a great job of raising those young boys despite everything that Prince Charles did to hurt the family.
He probably woke up and did what he had to do after the tragic death of Princess Di.
I saw the interviews he gave in afghanistan. TV & PRESS . If he was trying to keep a low profile he did a really crap job of it.......
Good on him for serving yet he has to understand the press is never to be trusted..........NEVER !
Let me get this straight. The MoD disclosed Harry's deployment to news organizations and thought their promise to not publish was adequate security?
Royal-watchers ping!
Bummer about Prince Harry’s having to return from deployment early. However, I have to say it looks like batty Charles is genuinely proud of his son. There’s every reason to believe that both William and Harry are fond of their father and admire him, so he has to have some good qualities that aren’t evident in the international press.
Wasn’t it Drudge that did the leaking?
I would be mad as hell to. Can’t anyone keep a secret anymore? Gez to much to ask for i guess
It was leaked by an Australian rag (women’s magazine, I think).
Drudge repeated it only after it hit the world press.
I don’t think it mattered after the first publication.
Good on him for serving yet he has to understand the press is never to be trusted..........NEVER !
The interviews were granted under an embargo agreement between the press and British MOD, specifically the MOD realized that it probably was impossible to keep a total lid on the fact Harry was somewhere other than in the UK when his unit deployed. Therefore, the attempt to agree to a certain amount of access in return for keeping it on the QT. The leak came from someplace else than the those who were part of the agreement.
It really isn't a matter of Harry realizing the press can't be trusted -- that blame belongs specifically on the MOD. However, it seems they (MOD) should receive at least partial credit for attempting to let Harry serve in the same way his mates from training are currently serving. As far as I'm concerned, Harry should draw zero criticism in this matter.
I think those interviews were with the British press, who had agreed not to release them until his return.
Not a trace of Web Hubbell...
The Prince is a “throwback” of what things used to be back in the old days.
not to mention that the guy people speculate on wasn't even the picture for a couple years after Harry was born...but gossip mongers don't let facts get in their way
A real hope after his inbred moron father. I would also suspect Harry probably has garnered some independent ideas about Muzzie activism in G.B.
Prince Harry would probably be in favor of expelling all the Muslims out of GB.
Yep. At least those who don’t want to become British.
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