Prince Harry Goes to Iraq

Prince Harry, third in line for the throne of England, will go to Iraq, despite warnings from the Mahdi army (Moqtada al-Sadr supporters) that they'll kidnap him if found.

In an interview to mark his 21st birthday, the prince said: "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."

While I think it's great and honorable that Harry wants to defend his country, because of the circumstances by which we went into this fucking war, I'm pretty pissed off that another honorable soldier is being put at risk because of a LIE. The fact that he's a royal is irrelevant to me, because in the bigger scheme of things, he's just another soldier, not a celebrity.

The world has already lost too many lives because of this war. It just needs to end.

What I find especially infuriating is that while England is willing to send one of its royals (albeit reluctantly, due to his high profile) to fight in the war, what about the Bush Party Twins? I don't see them getting getting dressed in camo any time soon.

I agree with Windspike: If this mission is so critical, why aren't the First Offspring doing the same?

UPDATE 5/16: Guess not:

Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, the army chief of staff who recently traveled to Iraq, said the changing situation on the ground exposed the prince to too much danger. Media scrutiny of Harry’s potential deployment exacerbated the situation, he said.

“There have been a number of specific threats, some reported and some not reported, that relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual,” Dannatt said. “These threats exposed him and those around him to a degree of risk I considered unacceptable.”

(Photo credit: Ian Holding/PA)