Vocal Voices

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/2 ... fghanistan

Winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan? After this, I don't think so .....
Whoever allowed this ITV crew to shadow and interview him?
Words fail me, to be honest.

The BBC's headline shouts out "Prince Harry 'fired at' Afghan enemy" during his time in Afghanistan. What did they and people expect?

He is an Apache helicopter pilot. Apaches are designed to do a particular job and they need a pilot to operate them. Harry did his job.

If people don't like what he did that's fair enough, but he wasn't sent out there as a PR stunt, and he wasn't flying a Bell or Augusta "eye in the sky". He was in a combat role and he fulfilled that role.

Why it is such a big news story is beyond me.

More to the point, WM, why has he been allowed to turn it into a PR stunt?

TheOstrich wrote:More to the point, WM, why has he been allowed to turn it into a PR stunt?

I think you'll find the Army acquiesced and allowed it to happen. You can be sure, officer or not, that this one was authorised by a senior General and you can be sure that it was fully discussed at all levels before they were let in.

It's probably an attempt by the Army to defuse the whole "party animal" image.

As for firing on the enemy? If he hadn't, our brave boys and girls he was supporting would have died. They don't go up and "shoot up the natives" just for fun. Then engage either in support of our troops or when engaged in turn.

The Army has it's own phrase book. This one runs

"Do unto others as they would do unto you" ONLY DO IT FIRST!

Workingman wrote:The BBC's headline shouts out "Prince Harry 'fired at' Afghan enemy" during his time in Afghanistan. What did they and people expect?

It's the good ol' Bolshevik Broadcasting Corps though, WM.
They probably consider this behaviour to be "unhelpful" or "inappropriate", God save us.

He didn't have any choice on the publicity, the army agreed to it

Give the guy a break, I say! He is a young man doing a dangerous job and all credit to him!

Kaz wrote:He didn't have any choice on the publicity, the army agreed to it

Give the guy a break, I say! He is a young man doing a dangerous job and all credit to him!

Well said that woman!

Oojamaflip wrote:

Kaz wrote:He didn't have any choice on the publicity, the army agreed to it

Give the guy a break, I say! He is a young man doing a dangerous job and all credit to him!

Well said that woman!

I'm with you ladies on this one!

You're all way too soft on him

He didn't have any choice on the publicity, the army agreed to it

Firstly, what on earth were the Army thinking of? Suff has opined that they want to counter negative publicity that he's a party animal, well, he got himself into that scrape in Vegas, nobody to blame but himself, and if any ordinary soldier had done it, do you think the Army would be defending them with a media propaganda programme?

Secondly, let's look at that media programme. Playing right into the Taliban's hands, open publicity about infidel Royalty killing the faithful. Expect reprisals, to be sure.

Thirdly, look at his diatribes in the programme about the media. Using the media to criticise the media? Well, he can't have his cake and eat it. If he wants to be an anonymous soldier, fine by me, I'd be happy never to hear of him again - and he can give up the Civil List funding. If he wants to be a Royal, start acting like a Royal, and that means toeing the line.

I think it's a right kettle of fish, and no good will come of it. I bet I'm not the only one thinking that either!

TheOstrich wrote:and if any ordinary soldier had done it, do you think the Army would be defending them with a media propaganda programme?

If any ordinary solider had done it then nobody, especially the girls in question, would have thought for one second to take pictures and send them to the press and believe me there are plenty of ordinary soldiers who do. However it is not an ordinary solider who books a suite in a good hotel to do it. Most of them tend to make do with the men's toilets.........

You have to take both sides of the picture. It's impossible for Harry to be an "ordinary" soldier but he can do an "ordinary" job when he's there. In fact he is required to do the same job as everyone else.

As for our royal family killing the Afghan insurgents? THAT culture would understand that situation more than any other and not particularly make much more of it than there is. Reprisals? They kill our people every week, all they can do is up the ante and that might actually get enough of them together to give us a chance of thinning their numbers a bit.

I'm totally against people viewing any part of this as normal. It is not and should not be judged by normal standards. Harry is not a football player, he can't just stop and drop into obscurity. Also he'll never have as much money as major football stars, EVER. They earn more in 5 years than the entire crown estates put out in a year. Never mind the civil list which is now a fraction of the crown estate revenue......

This stuff just annoys me.