Prince Harry Banned from Deploying to Iraq

Prince Harry will not be going to Iraq, as he originally planned. This mission was something that Prince Harry really wanted to do. He has been quoted as saying, "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country. That may sound patriotic but it's true." The third in line for throne, after his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, was previously assigned to be stationed near the port Basra for patrol duty on the Iran border. Prince Harry would have been the first member of the royal family to serve in a combat situation since his uncle, Prince Andrew did in the Falklands in 1982. This decision is to protect both Prince Harry and the other service members, he would be stationed with.

Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt and other senior officials have been reviewing their decision to send him, since the original decision was made to allow Prince Harry know as 2nd Lt Wales to command 11 men was made.

Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, Britain's army chef of staff, believes that new elements would make this deployment much too dangerous for Prince Harry. Of course, the stream of media attention to Prince Harry's possible departure only served to spread the news of his deployment. This caused him to be a much larger target.

Dannat stated that "There have been a number of specific threats. . .that relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual" There have been very public threats made to kill or kidnap Harry and terrorists have also offered a lot of money to who ever would be able to kill him. There are even rumors that Prince Harry's photograph has been distributed around Insurgents to help identify him. These threats will make him a target for suicide bombers and other attacks. Part of this decision was made because British troops are getting ready to return much of their security detail over to the Iraqi's this would have made it much easier for the Insurgents members to target Prince Harry. This not only compromises his security but puts his other troops around him. Dannat felt that the magnitude of these threats was too high to send Prince Harry to this war zone.

There had been rumors that Prince Harry would resign in not allowed to serve in Iraq but in an announcement made by Clarence House it was made clear that Prince Harry understands the decision made by Dannat but remains sworn to his army career. In addition Dannat has not ruled out the possibility of future deployments for Prince Harry.

Dannat did add, " I commend him for his determination and his undoubted talent, and I don't say that lightly. His soldiers will miss his leadership in Iraq."

Army about-turn on sending Prince Harry to Iraq http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070516/wl_uk_afp/britainroyalsmilitary_070516174942;_ylt=Av.UdRRHtVf5QN6td4FWq1BbbBAF 5/16/2007

Kirka, Danica "General: Prince Harry won't go to Iraq" http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070516/ap_on_re_eu/britain_prince_harry Associated Content 5/16/2007

Prince Harry may be banned from Iraq http://story.indiagazette.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/b8de8e630faf3631/id/244414/cs/1/ India Gazette 4/26/2007