Friday, 02.29.08
The Frostback Prince
Photo by John Stillwell/Getty Images
Colonel Cross of the Gurkhas
May 2006
Robert D. Kaplan writes on the making of Nepalese fighting men.
Prince Harry, the wayward son of Charles and Diana, is perhaps best known for "playfully" wearing a swastika armband to a fancy dress party shortly before he was to enroll at Sandhurst. Known for his hard-partying ways, you might describe Prince Harry as clear evidence that the British monarchy, plagued by centuries of inbreeding and scandal, has outlived its usefulness. Yet his recent military service in Afghanistan suggests that perhaps Harry is not so bad after all. Even so, it seems very unlikely that he'll ever be crowned King of England. Chances are he will lead a life largely bereft of meaning, plagued by paparazzi and devoid of any real sense of accomplishment. Perhaps the real trouble is that men of royal blood, by their nature, need new lands to conquer. Why not give Prince Harry a crack contingent of Gurkha fighting men and set him loose on some war-ravaged region, where he can establish his own princely state as a latter-day white rajah? Consider Canada, a nation torn by ethnic strife and religious hatred, where daily life has become a miserable struggle to survive amidst endless gun battles waged by rival gangs of crazed ice-dancing rebels and the soaring loonie has sent the economy into a tailspin. Only Prince Harry can restore order, and so he must.
Too cruelJohann Hari argues that by failing to recognize the grave damage done they have done to Britain's unfortunate royals, by conscripting them to bankrupt and retrograde cause, monarchists are essentially sadists. |
Marauding monarchsDavid Hambling notes that England's royal princes have been fighting for centuries, testing their mettle and demonstrating their capacity to lead. |
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Mr. Salam:
Although this royal showed that few men of privilege have idealism, you proved that many men of mediocrity have cynicism.
Congratulations.
Reihan is no mediocrity. And bakum, I suppose people aren't mad at Drudge because they quite like it when the press reports the news, as opposed to remaining silent out of...what? Maybe Harry was a huge boost to troop morale, but he almost certainly was a headache, as the British public would have been upset if they had learned their dashing prince had been killed in a country he couldn't have gone to if the press and the royal family had not colluded to keep information from the public.
I wonder if what appears to be a pipe Harry is holding in the picture accompanying this smattering of satire contains good old Afghani charas. If so, I certainly wouldn't be surprised.
ĦOh my God! A prince that goes to dress parties and even 'hard' ones (whatever that means). A member of a royal family that does not work (as in writing comments like this one?), without any sense of accomplishement (as opposed to?). Yes, that is something really new that shatters the very concept of monarchy, only justified in those days when royalty lived in chastity and worked from sun to dark. I was happy when The Atlantic opened this web for free. Now I see that cheap things always tell.
I agree that Drudge is a jackass, but there will be a return for his investment. I don't know when or where but it will.
Also with respect to the swastika thing - haven't you ever made a really stupid mistake? Done something you thought might be funny or risque but which turned into a huge debacle?
Imagine 200 news services broadcast your clusterfuck to every nation on the planet and never, ever let you move past it. Now maybe you can understand why a jew like me would be aggravated at Reihan for reinforcing the memory of a mistake the young man made and apologized for years ago. It's not as if he's a closet neo-nazi for crying out loud!
I've never understood why nobody seems to be able to view celebrities as normal people who burp and fart and make mistakes. I'll tell you this much, whatever Harry's reasons for serving, it's more than most of us have done.
Mr. Salam, I hope that your comment piece was just a bad attempt at sarcasm or something. I have never heard anyone in the Atlantic sound like as big of a Jack### as you did in your essay. I live in the USA, and I would trade my citizenship for Canadian citizenship in a heartbeat. What country is it that you live in where there is no ethnic strife or gun violence?
I have read a lot of things on the Atlantic. Most I like, but this was inane. It gave me a headache.
Mr. Salam,
Prince Harry could be doing literally ANYTHING with his life, and yet's he's chosen to put himself in harm's way alongside the rank-and-file soldiers of his country. And it isn't like he's in Iraq fighting some war you don't support ideologically: Harry's been a part of the woefully under-funded, forgotten war in Afghanistan. He's spent his time protecting innocent men, women, and children from being abused and murdered by dangerous religious zealouts. What have you done that gives you the right to mock and criticize him?
If the object is to kill as many taliban or al-queda as possible why not leave him there (or better yet move him around to other bases) and lure the murderous bastards out.After all he knows the risks and cheerfully assumes it.Hell, he's surrounded by an army.
Why isn't anyone talking about what a jackass Drudge is for "outting" Prince Harry? Can you imagine a bigger, jucier target for Taliban or Al Qaida fighters than A British Monarch? Drudge put not just Prince Harry but every soldier serving near him in increased danger. Drudge disrupted a military unit that actually doing work, and caused what by all accounts was a very capable officer to be taken off the line and sent home. I'm disgusted by Drudge and I'm a little surprised no one else seems to be mentioning this.
Posted by bakum | February 29, 2008 7:19 PM