Thursday, February 28, 2008

Bomber Harry

"It's nice to get out here and live it rough." So says Prince Harry who, it has been revealed, has spent the last ten weeks guiding in air strikes against "Taliban" positions. I'm sure they do hit actual Taliban targets sometimes, as well as the usual weddings, schools and passing donkeys.

But whilst the media is falling over itself to say how his mother would be proud of him, what a fine young man he is and a good example to our youth there are few voices who have talked about how this news will be seen in Afghanistan itself (as Kulvindar does).

The media have also been keen to point out that he has seen battle up close - although they decline to tell us whether he got in with his bayonet or got the opportunity to off a few of the dirty enemy bastards. Whatever, we can rest assured he has seen the elephant.

It appears his main role in Helmand has been directly operational, acting as a radio controller to military air operations. In other words Harry is not taking some sort of symbolic, hand shaking tour of Afghhanistan, but is shaking the Earth with our superior fire power. Never the less he assures us that the Gurkhas have been "keeping an eye out for me" so we need not fear for his safety. Not sure I was actually.

I'll put aside the bile inducingly sycophantic media for a moment and ask a simple question. How do Afghans feel about being killed by Royalty? As they choke out their last breath, clutching a copy of the Sun to their chest, do they mutter "His mother would be so proud"? If not how does this further the stated aim of winning hearts and minds for democracy?

1 comment:

Charlie Marks said...

If the narrative is going to be "ah, well Harry *wanted* to go, he went on and on. We had to let him!" What of the security of the rest of the armed forces (for whom, it is said, secrecy was kept)? Won't someone have the nous to point out the obvious: it would've come out eventually, so letting him go was knowingly endangering UK forces. Ergo, whoever let him go is responsible for whatever happens next. Will the media turn on their masters when the next soldier dies?