Prince Harry Compares War to PlayStation, and Taliban Are Not Amused

[Whovian]

A Taliban spokesman said on Tuesday that Prince Harry must have “mental problems,” following the broadcast of remarks by the royal in which he said that killing militants from an Apache helicopter was similar to playing video games.

As soon as Britain’s Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that Prince Harry had left Afghanistan, ending his four-month deployment there, the British news media rushed to broadcast video of the royal officer at war, which was recorded with his cooperation on the condition that it not be released until his tour was over.

Britain’s Channel 4 News broke into its bulletin on Monday night just minutes after the announcement to broadcast its edit of the footage, which was shot late last year at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province by the British Press Association.

Video at link. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/prince-harry-compares-war-to-playstation-and-taliban-is-not-amused/

[SQUEE]

1. First... It is, and by design...

levels of separation allow the pilot or gunner to be more efficient. Skinner is alive, well and being used to train our military.
Second unlike so many Right Wing chicken-hawks, he is putting his ass out there instead of sending others to die in their lust for war.

Talibanis that rape children, disfigure and murder women for the temerity to seek an education, or refuse to "know their place".. Yeah, I'll just continue to give less than a damn.

[datasuspect]

2. well, now there is one thing i can agree with the Taliban on

royals are some fucked up individuals.

[southernyankeebelle]

4. Someone should put some tape over his mouth. He is an idiot. Doesn't he realize he

puts his fellow soldiers in harms way? He is so stupid. No one should brag about killing people on either side. My goodness I hope his grannie gives him a word or two.

[avaistheone1]

3. Prince Harry is proving himself to be not much of a prince.

Over and over again he appears to be more of a stupid, ill-mannered person.

It's just the way he is.

[CountAllVotes]

5. what an idiot

n/t

[dballance]

6. He Never Compared War to PlayStation - That's a Total Distortion

So he said he's good with his thumbs because he plays video games. He didn't compare shooting people from the Apache with playing video games. Complete and total distortion to sell papers and drive web clicks.

I think he seemed pretty normal and down to earth given that his entire life is lived under a microscope. He seemed pretty much like any other military person I know. The whole "we'll protect our guys" thing is a basic part of being in a military unit.

It must suck to have every action, every word you speak, dissected by people not there at the time and then used to drive ratings and web site visits.

[TwilightGardener]

8. Agreed. He put his ass on the line like any unprivileged grunt. I give him a thumbs-up for that.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

18. Pilots (commissioned officers) are now unprivileged grunts? Tell me more... lol. (nt)

[TwilightGardener]

25. In our country, helicopter pilots were (still are?) Army warrant officers, if I'm not mistaken--

not real commissioned officers, and not safe and pampered, at any rate--even if it's a real commissioned-officer job in the UK. He is at the front, in combat.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

26. a) Pr Harry is a Captain (an officer).

b) Warrant Officer One (WO-1) outrank ALL enlisted service members. Warrant officers 2 through 5 (CWO-2 through CWO-5) ARE actual commissioned officers. And on our base here, warrant officers do live with the other command officers (cpt, maj, LtCol +) in the command billeting areas. You typically won't find the WOs living or using the enlisted facilities - because they are officers and are addressed as such.

[TwilightGardener]

27. Air Force (my husband was prior enlisted--went to OTS) phased out warrant officers.

Regardless, Harry is out with the troops, serving in combat, living in spartan conditions, and not sitting at a desk in safety.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

28. Agree, Harry is willing to put his ass on the line!

I just like picking nits on the internet - gotta kill the time somehow! I haven't got a chance to get to Leatherneck/Bastion, so I was never able to see him. And it's not like comand & officers live the luxury life either. They still stay in tents and eat (mostly) the same chow. Their tents & latrines still suck... they just suck a little less - lol.

Hell, I'm proud of my tent-room. We stol... uh... "borrowed" some scrap plywood and built little rooms in our tent. I even finished a little closet/cabinet thing and shelves two weeks ago and managed to get some hangers for my shirts from a local merchant. No more living out of a trunk... Livin' the dream, baby!

What I find most thought intriguing is that if you find a base over here with hot food, showers, clean cloths, and a small room... you're livin good. Real good. And then I think back to how excessive (wasteful) life is back in the states and how people make a big deal out of unnecessary luxuries and it kind of makes me sad. Sometimes I hear new guys complain about "combat showers" (3 min max & soap yourself with the water off) and I simply say, "Would you rather be at FOB xyz or back home and homeless and have to shower with a bottle of water and a rag?"

Anyways, Thank you & your husband for your sacrifices!

[TwilightGardener]

31. Well, thank you for your service--my husband retired last year, so he's all done

with that nonsense (unless something big happens and they call him back, let's hope not). He didn't have it too bad on his deployments compared to others, he'd be the first to admit--but as you say, it still sucks, it's just a matter of degree.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

33. Not always in the US Army, but many are.

[Whovian]

10. Especially when you dress up like Hitler.

?w=630

[dballance]

11. It's a frigging costume at a costume party. I might have worn one like it at halloween. GET OVER IT

get the fuck over it. there are lots of costumes people might find offensive. the media just chose to run with this one for ratings and clicks because he's a royal.

[Whovian]

13. I do believe that you might consider a Nazi costume for Halloween.

[nick of time]

14. I went to a costume party dressed as Blackbeard the Pirate one time

doesn't mean that I agreed with what he stood for and I doubt that Harry believed in what Hitler stood for.
It was just a costume at a party, get over it.

[Whovian]

21. And I went dressed as a blue Alien once. But dressing like Hitler or Stalin is an affront

to many and just plain bad taste.

[nick of time]

23. It was in bad taste, so what?

That doesn't mean that he believed in what Hitler stood for.

[Wind Dancer]

15. That costume was inappropriate, to say the least.

If you don't understand the reasons..... well, I'll leave it at that.

[Bonobo]

34. Holy living fuck. I have seen everything now.

You would wear a Nazi uniform on Halloween and you think that's just dandy, huh.

Piece of fucking work, you are.

[leftynyc]

7. No, he didn't

make any such comparison. And I've got better things to do with my outrage than waste it on terrorists.

[hughee99]

9. The Taliban is pissed? Shit! Just when we were starting to get along so well.

Thanks Harry for fucking it up.

[Scurrilous]

17. LOL

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

12. The Taliban are not amused? I'm shocked ...

... they're usually such a jovial bunch.

Cutting off heads and hands, what a hoot! Blowing up giant statues of Buddha, great fun!

It hurts when they say they're not amused.

[Londoncalling]

16. I saw the interview..

He did admit that he has most likely killed people and he talked about playing Fifa on PS3, the two where only connected because that is how he has spent time with the rest of the troops. They also have to be able to detach themselves from their job. He said that he forgets that he is a Prince when he is in the army and he also dissed the press, saying he has disliked them since he was a small boy. The press are hitting back, by splashing him all over the front pages. If Prince Harry is going to go to Afghanistan, then he has a job to do, which may mean killing people, just like anyone else and a time of war. He is no better or worse than the nameless men and women that are out there.

[Londoncalling]

19. BTW the game he mentioned was FIFA

which is Soccer not combat based...


At one stage in the interview, Prince Harry said that he was not troubled by killing militants. “Take a life to save a life,” he said. “If there’s people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game.” Which is what drone strikes do..

[Enrique]

20. the Taliban have always preferred Xbox

they are fanatic about it.

[ananda]

22. True, Harry is a messed up asshole.

But for the Taliban to say he has "mental problems"? Weeellll ...

[DevonRex]

24. No he didn't. He served well. Fuck the Taliban. nt

[Lady Freedom Returns]

29. A Taliban spokesman said on Tuesday that Prince Harry must have “mental problems".

I guess they never heard the expression "Pot calling the Kettle black".

[11 Bravo]

30. Fuck the Taliban. I'm not amused when they mutilate and murder school girls.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

32. In the clip I saw this morning that's not what he said.

I'm no royalty fan, but he did his service, which is more than a lot of people making stuff up about him.

In this instance his words are being twisted to create sensation. Which is quite possibly going to put other troops at risk. Very not cool of the media.

[Londoncalling]

35. That is correct...

He took a swipe at the press due his live long experience of problems with them. They hit back by distorting his words and
made him look insensitive and crass.

This is a more candid interview about his time in Afghanistan...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267122/Prince-Harry-arrives-RAF-base-Oxfordshire-Afghanistan-tour.html