Prince Harry won't serve in Iraq ??“ "risk is too great" · 2007-05-17 12:50
Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne will not be sent to serve in Iraq. Military commanders decided it was too dangerous.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said specific threats made by insurgent groups against Harry, including listing him as a kidnap target, had made any deployment far too risky.
"I've decided the risk to Prince Harry is too great,"_ Richard Dannatt, the head of the British army, told reporters.
"I've also decided that the risk he brings to his troop and his squadron … is also too great."_
The decision underlines just how dangerous Iraq has become in the four years since U.S. and British troops invaded to overthrow Saddam Hussein. More than 3,400 U.S. troops and 148 British soldiers have been killed in Iraq since March 2003.
According to Reuters, the decision over Harry sparked furious debate on radio and television, with many callers saying it was shameful for Harry's life to be protected above and beyond other soldiers'.
Harry, 22, who graduated as a junior army officer a year ago, had been due to be deployed in Basra, in southern Iraq, with his Blues and Royals regiment in the coming weeks as part of the latest British troop rotation.
Harry has repeatedly said he wants to be deployed with his men, but Ministry of Defence officials were fearful that he could become a target for Iraqi insurgents, endangering himself and those serving under him.
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