Prince Harry serving on ‘secret’ mission in Afghanistan

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(PA)

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Prince Harry mans a 50mm machinegun at an observation post close to Forward Operating Base Delhi, in Afghanistan

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Philippe Naughton

Full text: interview with Harry

Army chiefs are holding urgent talks tonight on whether to bring Prince Harry back from Afghanistan after the news leaked that he had been on a secret combat tour in Helmand province since before Christmas.

After being denied the chance to serve with his unit in Iraq, the third in line to the throne was deployed in Afghanistan in mid-December. He has been working in Helmand province as a Forward Air Controller – responsible for providing cover for frontline troops – and has been personally involved in clashes with Taleban guerrillas.

His four-month deployment had been kept secret because of a Ministry of Defence agreement with news organisations, including The Times, but the details can now be made public after the news leaked out overseas and on the internet.

One Australian news magazine, New Idea, reported Harry’s deployment a month ago, but it was not until it was carried today on the Drudge Report, a major American website, that the news embargo was lifted.

Defence officials confirmed this evening that Harry, 23, a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals, was still in Afghanistan. They released a range of photographs of the Prince on the first combat deployment of a royal since his uncle, Prince Andrew, served as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands in 1982.

“His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary,” General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, said. “He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else in his battle group.”

General Dannatt said he was “very disappointed” that the story had leaked out. The Ministry of Defence said that no decision had been made on whether it was safe for Harry to remain in Afghanistan now the news has broken. A spokesman said: “The operational chain of command is now looking at a variety of options.”

Harry was due to complete a four-month tour without the standard two-week R&R break other soldiers enjoy. The Prince admitted just last week, in a media interview due to be reported on his safe return, that he could be a target for Taleban-supporting extremists in the UK on his return.

“Once this film comes out there’ll probably be every single person, every single person that supports them trying to slot me,” he said. “Now that you come to think about it it’s quite worrying.”

The Prince had been due to serve in Iraq after his graduation from Sandhurst, leading an armoured reconnaissance unit, but it was decided last May that he would present too great a target for insurgents despite his pledge not to “sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country”.

In a pooled interview shortly before his departure for Afghanistan, the Prince said that he had accepted the decision not to send him to Iraq. But he had continued to push to be sent to Afghanistan, where almost 8,000 British troops are serving, and was finally told that he would be going by his grandmother, the Queen.

Asked whether he had thought of quitting the Army over the Iraq decision, Harry said: “I wouldn’t use the word ‘quitting’, it was a case of: ‘I very much feel like if I’m going to cause this much chaos to a lot of people then maybe I should bow out’ and not just for my own sake, for everyone else’s sake.

“It was something that I thought about but at the same time I was very keen to make this happen – or hope for the opportunity to arise, and luckily it has.”

Of his tour of duty in Afghanistan, where 88 British troops have been killed since the Taleban were ousted in 2001, he said: “It won’t be risk-free but then I didn’t join the Army thinking that I was never going to go on operations.”

The Prince flew out on December 14 and spent several weeks working in Garmsir, in the far south of Helmand province, operating just 500m from front-line Taleban positions. He has since left Garmsir to work in another part of Helmand.

As a Forward Air Controller (FAC) – or, in American military parlance, JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) – Harry has had the lives of his colleagues in his hands. During the heat of battle it was he who would call in and give final clearance for air strikes on Taleban targets, although the job also involved long hours scrutinising minute details of surveillance footage beamed from aircraft flying over enemy positions to a laptop terminal, dubbed “Taleban TV” or “Kill TV”.

This could involve pictures from drones such as the British Desert Hawk – little larger than a standard model aeroplane – to full-sized manned reconnaissance aircraft which are able to watch the ground undetected by the Taleban because of their height.

The Prince was also able to make use of sophisticated equipment on jets such as British Harriers to study the area below, for instance using heat sensors to pinpoint hidden Taleban bunkers and trench systems.

“Terry Taleban and his mates, as soon as they hear air they go to ground, which makes life a little bit tricky,” he explained to a British reporter in the field.

“So having something that gives you a visual feedback from way up means that they can carry on with their normal pattern of life and we can follow them.”

As part of his battlegroup’s Fire Planning Cell, one of his most important responsibilities was to prevent accidents such as planes being hit by mortars and artillery shells or even friendly fire tragedies. This entailed controlling a key “bubble” of airspace known as a ROZ or Restricted Operating Zone, giving jets permission to enter when safe to do so.

Although Harry’s work saw him spend hours on end speaking with pilots from many countries over the radio, they knew him only by his call sign Widow Six Seven. Other colleagues were sworn to secrecy.

News of his deployment was greeted with excitement on arrse.co.uk, the Army Rumour Service website, although users were warned not to give away any operational details.

“That explains the tabloids’ sudden lack of stories about him!” wrote one poster. Another asked: “Does anybody else feel just a tad proud knowing that our Queen’s own grandson has been putting/calling down ordnance on Terry [Taleban]?”

highest tower race

If you thought that Burj Dubai is the end of the “Arabian Dream”, you are mistaken.

The new race in the Arab World (to be particular, the Gulf region) is building the highest towers.

Few years ago, Dubai announced that they are going to spend few “Billions” of Dollars to build the highest tower in the world, Burj Dubai, a 818 meter high building.

The tower is in progress and any visitor to Dubai can notice this landmark from anywhere around Dubai.

But that was just the beginning of the race to highest. More proposals are coming to reality!

Kuwait is planing to beat Dubai by building its own “highest tower” in the world, “Mubarak Tower,” which is going to be a 1001 meter high. So once this tower is built (God knows how many years) it is going to be the highest tower in the world and is going to washout “Burj Dubai” record.

Of course Dubai doesn’t like to be a looser, so they are planing to challenge their own record (Burj Dubai) as well Kuwait’s Tower and spend more billions of dollars to take back the for Dubai. New proposals are in action and one of them is to build another tower, “Al Burj.” Rumors are saying that it will be as high as 1050-1200 meter. So, Dubai wins again, but between Kuwait and Dubai new plans, Bahrain have a proposal to build something in between, “Murjan Tower,” 1022 meter high, and the race goes on…

But wait, this is not the end of the “highest race”. Saudi Arabia and it’s multi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal is going to join the race through his version of the “highest building”. But this one is really impressive.

Mark this…

“Mile High Tower” is the name of the tower which Al-Waleed is intending to build. As the name implies, it is going to be a “MILE HIGH“, that is 1600 meter high (which is twice the hight of the yet to be highest tower, Burj Dubai). I say impressive because this number (1600m) is really crazy and will be crazy to compete.

(Click picture to enlarge)

“Mile High“, the tallest in the world, will be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and no doubt it will beat all the records and hopefully stop the race. For ever! (I wish)

Will Dubai (and others) take a break and spend some of these billions in the development or building something other than towers?

If we have so many “freaks” for height, maybe they should think in spending these billions (or at least some) in building things like the “Space elevator” or something useful other than buildings?!

Lebanon to skip Paris book fair over Israel

BEIRUT: Lebanon is to stay away from this year’s Paris book fair in protest at the invitation of Israel as guest of honor, Culture Minister Tarek Mitri announced on Wednesday. “Lebanon will not participate this year in protest at the cultural event’s organizers’ decision to select Israel as guest of honor,” Mitri said in a statement.

Lebanon is the first Arab government to announce a boycott of the event, which runs March 14 through March 19, after organizers announced that 39 Israeli writers were being invited to mark the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state.

On Tuesday, the 50-nation Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization called for a boycott of the event by Islamic states.

“The crimes against humanity that Israel is perpetrating in the Palestinian territories … constitute, in themselves, a strong condemnation of Israel, making it unworthy of being welcomed as a guest of honor at an international book fair,” the group said.

Twenty-five Egyptian groups have announced that they would not take part, as has the Union of Algerian Writers.

In Sanaa, the head of the state-run Public Book Authority, Faris al-Saqqaf, said that Yemen would not be participating in the event at the request of the Arab League.

Bahrain and Qatar said they do not normally take part in any case. – AFP

Deadly missile strike in Pakistan

At least 10 suspected militants have died in a missile attack on a house in a Pakistani village near the Afghan border, officials and residents say. The house in Kalosha village, in the troubled South Waziristan region, was destroyed, they report.

Local residents told the BBC some Arab militants were living in the house.

Last month, a senior al-Qaeda leader, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed in a similar attack in the neighbouring North Waziristan district.

‘Huge explosion’

A rocket fired from an unknown direction hit a house in Kalosha village near Wana, the district headquarters, at about 0200 (2100GMT Wednesday), witnesses said.

“There was a huge explosion, driving people out of their houses,” Abdullah, a resident of Wana, told the BBC by telephone.

“It is difficult to say where the missile came from, but we think it was fired from Afghan territory,” he said.

Residents of Kalosha said the house that was hit by the rocket was being occupied by some Arabs.

But they were unable to confirm if any known Arab militant was among the dead.

Arabs and other foreigners linked to al-Qaeda take shelter in the tribal region, as do the Taleban and their local supporters.

In January, top al-Qaeda militant Abu Laith al-Libi was killed in the region by a missile strike which is believed to have been carried out by an unmanned US aircraft. The BBC’s Barbara Plett in Islamabad says US forces have fired missiles at suspected militants in Pakistan’s tribal belt several times in recent years.

Sanctuary

But the US and Pakistan seldom confirm such strikes, as they are widely seen as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty, she adds.

Polls show that a vast majority of Pakistanis do not think their government should cooperate with the US in its so-called “war on terror”, even though they acknowledge that Islamic militancy is a serious problem in the country.

South Waziristan, which is near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, is viewed by Nato troops as a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taleban militants operating in Afghanistan.

Last year, a local Taleban commander ousted Central Asian militants and their local supporters from the area with the help of Pakistani troops.

But local residents say some Arab militants are still living in the area under the protection of local militants.

Ralph Nader enters presidential race

• Story Highlights
• “Dissent is the mother of ascent,” Nader says in announcing his presidential run
• Nader turns 74 this week
• Obama on Nader: “He seems to have a pretty high opinion of his own work”
• Nader: Political consultants “have really messed up Hillary Clinton’s campaign”

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Ralph Nader is entering the presidential race as an independent, he announced Sunday, saying it is time for a “Jeffersonian revolution.”

“In the last few years, big money and the closing down of Washington against citizen groups prevent us from trying to improve our country. And I want everybody to have the right and opportunity to improve their country,” he told reporters after an appearance announcing his candidacy on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Asked why he should be president, the longtime consumer advocate said, “Because I got things done.” He cited a 40-year record, which he said includes saving “millions of lives,” bringing about stricter protection for food and water and fighting corporate control over Washington.

Nader’s decision, which did not come as a surprise to political watchers, marks his fourth straight White House bid — fifth if his 1992 write-in campaign is included.

The two contenders for the Democratic nomination were quick to pounce.

“He thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush and, eight years later, I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about,” Sen. Barack Obama said a town hall meeting Sunday. Watch Nader describe whom the Democrats should be “going after” »

Calling Nader’s move “very unfortunate,” Sen. Hillary Clinton told reporters, “I remember when he ran before. It didn’t turn out very well for anybody — especially our country.”

“This time I hope it doesn’t hurt anyone. I can’t think of anybody that would vote for Sen. McCain who would vote for Ralph Nader,” she said.

Nader was criticized by some Democrats in 2000 for allegedly pulling away support from Democrat Al Gore and helping George Bush win the White House.

Noting that he ran on the Green Party ticket that year, Clinton said Nader “prevented Al Gore from being the ‘greenest’ president we could have had.”

Nader has long rejected his portrayal as a spoiler in the presidential race. In his NBC interview Sunday, he cited the Republican Party’s economic policies, the Iraq war, and other issues, saying, “If the Democrats can’t landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form.”

But Clinton said, “Obviously, it is not helpful to whoever our Democratic nominee is. But, you know, it is a free country.”

Nader said political consultants “have really messed up Hillary Clinton’s campaign.”

Long-shot GOP contender Mike Huckabee said Nader’s entry would probably help his party.

“I think it always would probably pull votes away from the Democrats and not the Republicans, so naturally, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race,” Huckabee said Sunday on CNN.

Nader said Thomas Jefferson believed that “when you lose your government, you’ve got to go into the electoral arena.”

“A Jeffersonian revolution is needed in this country,” he said.

Nader told NBC that great changes in U.S. history have come “through little parties that never won any national election.”

“Dissent is the mother of ascent,” he said. “And in that context I’ve decided to run for president.”

Nader, who turns 74 this week, complained about the “paralysis of the government,” which he said is under the control of corporate executives and lobbyists.

Obama also criticized Nader earlier this weekend. “My sense is that Mr. Nader is somebody who, if you don’t listen and adopt all of his policies, thinks you’re not substantive,” he told reporters when asked about Nader’s possible candidacy.

“He seems to have a pretty high opinion of his own work.”

Obama said Nader “is a singular figure in American politics and has done as much as just about anyone for consumers.”

“I don’t mean to diminish that,” he said. “There’s a sense now that if someone’s not hewing to the Ralph Nader agenda, he says they’re lacking in some way.”

Responding to those remarks, Nader called Obama “a person of substance” and “the first liberal evangelist in a long time” who “has run a good tactical campaign.” But he accused Obama of censoring “his better instincts” on divisive issues.

Nader encouraged people to look at his campaign Web site, votenader.org, which he said discusses issues important to Americans that Obama and Sen. John McCain “are not addressing.”

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