La_Dolce_Vita Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 A mate of mine is currently serving out there. If I leak his name to the press do you think the MOD will send him home? This from Aunty Beeb made me smile: There had been fears the prince, who is third in line to the throne, could become a target for the Taleban. could become a target for the Taleban???? Like wearing British Army DPM and firing on them doesn't make you a target already then... I see what you are saying, he is already a target anyway; if he shouldn't be a target then he shouldn't be there. Would the Taliban make an extra-special effort to go after Harry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blixo Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Oh what complete and utter bollocks A House of Windsor / MOD PR campaign from start to finish SKY have an 'exclusive' interview on the same night he arrives back in the UK and now the BBC are publishing photo's of him 'in the field' something smells rather bad here. will he be paying back his 'combat allowance'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Harry's visit alone was well worth the $6 trillion going to be spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Take Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Oh what complete and utter bollocks A House of Windsor / MOD PR campaign from start to finish SKY have an 'exclusive' interview on the same night he arrives back in the UK and now the BBC are publishing photo's of him 'in the field' something smells rather bad here. will he be paying back his 'combat allowance'? The media didn't agree to the news blackout out of the goodness of their hearts - they did it in return for the chance to film him out there - there's nothing sinister about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freggyragh Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 No doubt about it - he is a brave young man - but that doesn't mean the War in Afganistan is noble, or achieving anything. If you disagree, then can someone tell me what it is the British Army is achieving in Afganistan? He is not the only brave man, woman or child in Afganistan though. He himself wants to be treated as 'ordinary' - but what makes the media think the Gurkka mercenaries he was fighting with, or the Afgan tribesmen he was having bombed have heard of him or his family? I would bet that most Afgans think all the foreign troops are American anyway. The way the media sells it you would think that the Taleban spend their freetime reading Hello and The Sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immortalpuppet Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 The hierachy of the Taliban are not some cave dwelling bearded old chaps, there is a fairly large structure to it and those at the top have always said that If the Princes came to Afganistan then they would step up operations to try and kill them. The day to Day Civvies in Afganistan know exactly who the troops on the ground are and have a very good relationship with the Regiments posted there. The elders are briefed and kept informed of which nationalities and regiments are working in the areas so I would bet that most Afgans think all the foreign troops are American anyway is not really an educated comment. Most of the attacks on NATO troops and key objectives within Afganistan are very well planned and it is something the Taliban and foreign fighters have been doing for years. If they really wanted to mount a succesful campain to assasinate a Royal on active service then it would be a genuine threat that the MOD would have to act on. People will be debating the reasons for a multi national deployment in Afganistan for years to come so i am not going to try and explain my thoughts on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 The hierachy of the Taliban are not some cave dwelling bearded old chaps, there is a fairly large structure to it and those at the top have always said that If the Princes came to Afganistan then they would step up operations to try and kill them. The day to Day Civvies in Afganistan know exactly who the troops on the ground are and have a very good relationship with the Regiments posted there. The elders are briefed and kept informed of which nationalities and regiments are working in the areas so I would bet that most Afgans think all the foreign troops are American anyway is not really an educated comment. Most of the attacks on NATO troops and key objectives within Afganistan are very well planned and it is something the Taliban and foreign fighters have been doing for years. If they really wanted to mount a succesful campain to assasinate a Royal on active service then it would be a genuine threat that the MOD would have to act on. People will be debating the reasons for a multi national deployment in Afganistan for years to come so i am not going to try and explain my thoughts on it. I do think it is completely stupid allowing Prince Harry to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am not a supporter of the monarchy and couldn't care less if it disappeared tomorrow but considering that the royals have an apparent importance to the UK it makes no sense to take the risk of making it possible that he may be captured or killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freggyragh Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 The hierachy of the Taliban are not some cave dwelling bearded old chaps, there is a fairly large structure to it and those at the top have always said that If the Princes came to Afganistan then they would step up operations to try and kill them. The day to Day Civvies in Afganistan know exactly who the troops on the ground are and have a very good relationship with the Regiments posted there. The elders are briefed and kept informed of which nationalities and regiments are working in the areas so I would bet that most Afgans think all the foreign troops are American anyway is not really an educated comment Most of the attacks on NATO troops and key objectives within Afganistan are very well planned and it is something the Taliban and foreign fighters have been doing for years. If they really wanted to mount a succesful campain to assasinate a Royal on active service then it would be a genuine threat that the MOD would have to act on. People will be debating the reasons for a multi national deployment in Afganistan for years to come so i am not going to try and explain my thoughts on it. I don't believe for a minute that most Afgans know anything about English princes or English tabloids - anymore than we know about Afgan tribal leaders. But, OK, lets imagine the hierachy of the Taliban know and care about the UK media circus, and can identify the soldier in question. How were they going to disseminate this information? Could they have issued a special pack of cards with Harry as Prince of Hearts? I've never been to Afganistan, but I have met Mujahadeen (in Pakistan and Kashmir) - and none that I met could speak English or read the Roman alphabet, and knew about as much about the states of Europe as we do about, say, the states of India or Nigeria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 You'd only need to tell them to get the one with the shock of red hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieK Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I don't believe for a minute that most Afgans know anything about English princes or English tabloids - anymore than we know about Afgan tribal leaders. But, OK, lets imagine the hierachy of the Taliban know and care about the UK media circus, and can identify the soldier in question. How were they going to disseminate this information? Through the same way they've been coordinating all of their attacks and raids on British and coalition positions since they managed to reconsolidate their forces? The media circus is surely simply another motivation for them to make such an attack. Sure, the average Afghan might not be aware of Prince Harry's status in British society, but that's not the point. The benefit of successfully killing him would be the potential for shocking the British public and providing a boost to morale simply by virtue of killing an figure of some importance in their enemy's society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I do think it is completely stupid allowing Prince Harry to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am not a supporter of the monarchy and couldn't care less if it disappeared tomorrow but considering that the royals have an apparent importance to the UK it makes no sense to take the risk of making it possible that he may be captured or killed. The forces are excellent for the likes of Harry, bearing in mind what his future "service" to the nation is likely to be. Also his uncle flew helicopter missions to decoy Exocets in the Falklands so a royal at risk is not exactly news. First off the squaddies are at risk already. But then if you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined. Secondly it will be extremely difficult to single him out. They all dress the same you know.... The benefit of successfully killing him would be the potential for shocking the British public and providing a boost to morale simply by virtue of killing an figure of some importance in their enemy's society. I don't think Harry getting the chop would be shocking to the British public because a third-rate royal like him is not of any real importance, which is why he was allowed to go in the first place. So what if the Taliban managed to kill him? Big deal not. The deployment will still be happening and the Taliban would still be taking a lot of casualties. All credit to him though as he didn't have to go. I thought the Ross Kemp in Afghanistan series was very well done. Not only for the way it showed what daily life for the planks is like but also for the very sensitive way he interviewed grieving parents and so forth. By the way, The Anglians are not known as "the Vikings" - ho ho ho. They're known as the Angle-irons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immortalpuppet Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 The hierachy of the Taliban are not some cave dwelling bearded old chaps, there is a fairly large structure to it and those at the top have always said that If the Princes came to Afganistan then they would step up operations to try and kill them. The day to Day Civvies in Afganistan know exactly who the troops on the ground are and have a very good relationship with the Regiments posted there. The elders are briefed and kept informed of which nationalities and regiments are working in the areas so I would bet that most Afgans think all the foreign troops are American anyway is not really an educated comment Most of the attacks on NATO troops and key objectives within Afganistan are very well planned and it is something the Taliban and foreign fighters have been doing for years. If they really wanted to mount a succesful campain to assasinate a Royal on active service then it would be a genuine threat that the MOD would have to act on. People will be debating the reasons for a multi national deployment in Afganistan for years to come so i am not going to try and explain my thoughts on it. I don't believe for a minute that most Afgans know anything about English princes or English tabloids - anymore than we know about Afgan tribal leaders. But, OK, lets imagine the hierachy of the Taliban know and care about the UK media circus, and can identify the soldier in question. How were they going to disseminate this information? Could they have issued a special pack of cards with Harry as Prince of Hearts? I've never been to Afganistan, but I have met Mujahadeen (in Pakistan and Kashmir) - and none that I met could speak English or read the Roman alphabet, and knew about as much about the states of Europe as we do about, say, the states of India or Nigeria. Radio networks, phone networks etc. This idea of the Taliban being local militia only applies to the remote pockets of resistance, the rest of the network is very complex and well managed. Information is passed back and forth (mostly in code that can be cracked.) Through normal mediums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 I think this is a good example which shows how the Taliban is using the western media etc to manipulate its case. The idea that they are out of touch and ignorant of world events and unable to manipulate them to further their case is culpably untrue. One of the interesting parts of Harry's interview was his discussion of a joint raid with the Yanks - firstly for his admission that the Yanks thought their equipment were toys, and secondly for the discovery of sophisticated radio and comms equipment. The Taliban know they are fighting a campaign on multiple levels and slmost seem to be better at making their case than NATO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freggyragh Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 The hierachy of the Taliban are not some cave dwelling bearded old chaps, there is a fairly large structure to it and those at the top have always said that If the Princes came to Afganistan then they would step up operations to try and kill them. The day to Day Civvies in Afganistan know exactly who the troops on the ground are and have a very good relationship with the Regiments posted there. The elders are briefed and kept informed of which nationalities and regiments are working in the areas so I would bet that most Afgans think all the foreign troops are American anyway is not really an educated comment Most of the attacks on NATO troops and key objectives within Afganistan are very well planned and it is something the Taliban and foreign fighters have been doing for years. If they really wanted to mount a succesful campain to assasinate a Royal on active service then it would be a genuine threat that the MOD would have to act on. People will be debating the reasons for a multi national deployment in Afganistan for years to come so i am not going to try and explain my thoughts on it. I don't believe for a minute that most Afgans know anything about English princes or English tabloids - anymore than we know about Afgan tribal leaders. But, OK, lets imagine the hierachy of the Taliban know and care about the UK media circus, and can identify the soldier in question. How were they going to disseminate this information? Could they have issued a special pack of cards with Harry as Prince of Hearts? I've never been to Afganistan, but I have met Mujahadeen (in Pakistan and Kashmir) - and none that I met could speak English or read the Roman alphabet, and knew about as much about the states of Europe as we do about, say, the states of India or Nigeria. Radio networks, phone networks etc. This idea of the Taliban being local militia only applies to the remote pockets of resistance, the rest of the network is very complex and well managed. Information is passed back and forth (mostly in code that can be cracked.) Through normal mediums. Surely the coalition forces have infinitely superior means of communication and identification, and yet they seem to have found it quite difficult to take out the Taleban leadership, and would find it difficult to identify individual fighters. You seem to know a lot about the situation, but wouldn't you agree that identifying one particular soldier would be extremely difficult, unless the soldier in question was patrolling villages, manning road-blocks or working with a unit of the Afgan army that had been infiltrated - because you would not only have to be able to recognize him, but be pretty close up to him as well. On another point - A good friend of mine served in Iraq, in bomb disposal. After seventeen years in the army he left as a penniless alcoholic, was mugged in London and left unconscious in a gutter. The MOD all but washed their hands off him - using his alcoholism as an excuse. Combat Stress helped him get his life (partially) back together, and helped him to get his £100 a month war pension (after seeing service in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq). He was lucky because the Combat Stress centre he stayed at is in Ayr - not too far away from his parents in Lothian. He is still in a terrible mental state, and very bitter about his treatment. I recognize that Harry did his bit - but society's obsession with status and celebrity sickens me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Surely the coalition forces have infinitely superior means of communication and identification, and yet they seem to have found it quite difficult to take out the Taleban leadership, and would find it difficult to identify individual fighters All these foreigners look the same you know... Of course the coalition are technically vastly superior, but that's not the point. For example what is the use in having very expensive anti-missile systems if your enemy has no missiles? Identifying potential taliban fighters is also extremely easy - just point to any member of the indiginous population and if the area is dirt poor, as most of it is, then the chances are pretty good that you're right. So you always have to identify them by the way they are shooting at you, which then gives you the chance to kill them. It's going to be a long war.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.