One day after confirming that Britain''s Prince Harry has been secretly fighting with his military unit in Afghanistan since December, the government announced Friday he was coming home.
Citing security concerns for the safety of Prince Harry, the third in line to the crown, the British Ministry of Defense released a terse statement Friday blaming "foreign media" for blowing Prince Harry''s cover, saying that doing so "without any consultations with the Ministry of Defense is regrettable."
Most major British
media outlets had been in on the secret deployment, after promising not to report on it until the tour of duty was over.
Across the United Kingdom Thursday it was breaking news: Prince Harry has secretly been serving in Afghanistan since Christmas.
He serves as a Joint Terminal Air Controller (J-TAC) Deployed on the frontlines in Afghanistan''s Helmand Province. He has been coordinating major air support against the Taliban and taken part in foot patrols with his fellow soldiers.
All along, the public never knew.
But select press organizations did know. The Defense Ministry made a deal with British media outlets and the international wire services: They would get direct access to Prince Harry as long as they kept his
deployment quiet until he went home in April.
The Prince was very happy that his wishes come true that he’s out there as a normal J-TAC not as Prince Harry.
The Australian magazine New Idea published an article Jan. 15 quoting anonymous sources; the German paper Berliner Kurier reported on his deployment Wednesday.
Top military officials are also blaming the Drudge Report, which ran an item today, for irresponsible journalism.
The head of the British army, Sir Richard Dannatt was very disappointed that foreign web sites decided to run this story without consulting them. Bob Satchell, director of the Society of Editors, brokered the media blackout with the Ministry of Defense. He told Channel 4 News, "This was a model of how an organization can work sensibly with the media by taking editors into their confidence and trusting their good sense." He said neither Buckingham Palace nor Clarence House had been involved in the
news blackout deal.
Palace observers say Harry will almost certainly be bitterly disappointed at having his tour cut short
When a potential deployment to Iraq fell through last April, Harry has said he considered quitting his army career.
It was his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, who had a central role in finding a way to safely send Harry to war.
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