Posted on 04/27/2007 3:25:35 AM PDT by Flavius
Army chiefs fear that a fatal attack on two British soldiers in Iraq last week was a dry run for an attempt on Prince Harry’s life, The Times has learnt.
The attack was made on a type of vehicle that the Prince will use, and took place in a part of the country where he is due to be deployed as early as next month. The two died when their Scimitar reconnaissance vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb – the first time that British soldiers had been killed in a Scimitar as a result of enemy action.
The Army fears that extremists deliberately chose the vehicle knowing that the Prince is a troop leader for a Scimitar-equipped unit.
Prince Harry faces a kidnap threat from insurgents, who have become active this month even within bases used by the British Army in southern Iraq. Security has been tightened at Camp Sparrowhawk, a base in Maysan Province used by reconnaissance units such as Prince Harry’s
British soldiers are under orders not to walk around the Iraqi-run base for fear of kidnapping, either by insurgents who have infiltrated Iraqi ranks, or by Iraqi soldiers who are tempted by the possibility of ransom.
A British commanding officer at the base also said that insurgents were “trying out new devices” against his troops. He added that his men were often being tracked by militias using mobile phones and by observers on motorbikes.
The eleventh-hour review about sending Prince Harry to the area follows an alarming rise in attacks this year. Of the 17 British personnel to be killed in 2007, 11 died in the last month. Prince Harry, 22, has been trained to take command of four Scimitars when his unit, A Squadron The Blues and Royals, part of the Household Cavalry, is sent to Iraq.
The two soldiers who died in last week’s attack were Corporal Ben Leaning, 24, and Trooper Kristen Turton, 28, both from The Queen’s Royal Lancers. Their bodies were repatriated to Britain yesterday. Another soldier was very seriously wounded.
The attack has also raised further concerns that the presence of Prince Harry might increase the risk of casualties during his six-month deployment.
General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army who made the decision to send Prince Harry to Iraq after consultation with Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, will make the final judgment. He has about a week to decide whether to stick to his original decision or to keep him at home.
The Ministry of Defence and royal sources said that at present Prince Harry was still bound for Iraq, unless General Dannatt changed his mind.
Defence sources said that every aspect of Prince Harry’s deployment was being reassessed, and that the military and intelligence services in Iraq had been asked urgently to give their views.
They added that General Dannatt wanted to know if the insurgents had acquired a greater capability to attack British troops, if there would be a higher risk of casualties with the Prince serving as an officer, and if security conditions had significantly deteriorated since the earlier decision in February.
One of the key judgments is whether Prince Harry can do the job for which he is trained without putting himself and his men at an unacceptable risk. Defence sources said that the Prince – known in the Army as 2nd Lieutenant (Cornet) Wales – would not be spending all his time in a Scimitar vehicle carrying out operations.
“Like any other officer of his rank, he will also be required to do desk work, either as a watch-keeper or planning missions, so he will spend some of his time back at base anyway,” one source said.
However, the judgment is that there is no point in sending Prince Harry to do a permanent desk job for six months when he has trained to command 11 men as a troop leader in a reconnaissance role.
Even sitting in a base has become risky as every location where British soldiers are serving comes under fire almost daily. “Nowhere is perfectly safe in Iraq,” one defence source admitted.
But the current intelligence judgment is that the insurgents have not acquired a new capability that made it easier for them to target British units, or to close in on Prince Harry’s squadron.
Royal sources made it clear that the final decision was in the hands of the Army. They said that he was still eager to go and that he would be “extremely disappointed” if the decision was reversed.
They dismissed claims from inside the Household Cavalry that he would quit the Army if he was barred from going to Iraq. “Prince Harry is a grown-up and he’ll take whatever the decision is, but he wants to go to Iraq, and to say he would quit the Army if he didn’t is way too strong,” one said.
Friends of the Prince confirmed that he had no intention of resigning his commission.
Defence sources said that the review of the decision would continue “right up until Prince Harry is due to leave for Iraq”.
* Have your say
I agree with Sue Shaw. Prince Harry is not 'just a soldier' and this has to be taken into consideration whether we like it or not. There's no point to this at all, neither in putting an increased risk on other soldiers lives in an already very dangerous situation where friend and foe can change from one day to the next and no-one can be trusted.
Scott Farrell Strichen, Copenhagen, Denmark
I agree and disagree with the comments of JCS, Maine, USA. I agree that the MSM has done more to help the enemies of the Coalition Forces than any other entity. However, I disagree with the remarks concerning the children of the President or Vice President. First, a question for JCS. Did you serve? Did/do your children serve? I did, as did my father and my sons. The American military is ALL volunteer. I do not believe that the children of the Pres need to serve in order for him to send soldiers into combat. I think it admirable that the Prince wants to serve, as his Uncle Andrew did in the Falklands. However, due to the media giving the exact location and type of vehicle used by the Prince, his troops would become ad hoc bodyguards, not soldiers in the Royal Army. That WOULD put all of them at greater peril. So we can all thank the media for, again, giving aid and comfort, to the enemy of the Coalition Forces.
Rick Krenz, Landstuhl, Germany
Surely this problem could have been resolved if the intention to send him to Iraq was not put into the public domain in the first place. He could have gone, sevred his six months and come back before anyone knew that he was there, and more specifically, where exactly in Iraq he was being posted to; reducing the risk of dnager to both himself and other menebers fo the army.
Hannah, London,
there was a reason why dictators have secret police kind of evens up the odds
terrorist cannot atack what they cannot see, having a prince in the mists is a pretty big bullseye
“terrorist cannot atack what they cannot see, having a prince in the mists is a pretty big bullseye”
Sure, although one good strategy might be to deploy him there as bait, and defend him with massive resources. If he’s a ‘terrorist magnet’, you could catch a lot by having him there.
Granted, it’d be a big propaganda victory if the enemy gets him, on the other hand it’d be a huge propaganda victory for our side if they don’t. Either way the Brits get a hero, which they could obviously use.
All the Western countries need to ‘nut it up’, so to speak. If Prince Harry wants to go to Iraq and get into the fight, I think that sterling example should be encouraged. Go Harry go! I have more respect for him than any of the other royals, really...
Think: “Flypaper.”
The Prince serves as an attractant to all variations of nasty people, all of whom the Brits should be ready to mow down. If you know who the enemy is going to try to attack, you can definitely use that to your advantage.
“whoever” best think twice before going after any Royal. Sassy Boys and whoever will kick they butt up to tonsils..
If this is true, the they have a serious problem with our so-called "allies".
He will be King. Even as a figurehead, his title is worthless if he can’t lead men in combat - and he knows it.
Harry could have joined the Royal Navy. Instead, he chose to join the Army, and join the Infantry at that. Good on him. He seems to be doing the right thing, or at least trying to do the right thing.
No more serious than the problem we have with our own congress.
Might be a good time to use a “body double” for a while, to draw out the terrorists...
How demoralizing to have prepared hard for war and then be prohibited from being a soldier by one’s nancy-boy superiors.
It would be a devastating blow if Prince Harry was killed or captured--I don't see how the British government would withstand public pressure for a quick withdrawal from Iraq if that were to happen.
You know things are going badly for the most powerful fighting force in history when it must rely on “propaganda victories” for its ultimate success.
“You know things are going badly for the most powerful fighting force in history when it must rely on “propaganda victories” for its ultimate success.”
We don’t have to rely on them...but the other side is kicking our behind in that area. We should capitalize on them where we can.
Sadly, perception often turns into reality.
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