Prince Harry Should Have Stayed

Christopher Hitchens asks what threat he posed others
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:11 AM CDT
Prince Harry Should Have Stayed
In this photo made available Sunday March 2, 2008, Britain's Prince Harry sitting in his Spartan armoured vehicle in the desert in Helmand province whilst on active duty in Southern Afghanistan on Feb. 19, 2008. Prince Harry returned to Britain Saturday March 1, after news reports revealed details about...   (Associated Press)

When Matt Drudge revealed to the world Prince Harry was in Afghanistan, there he should have stayed, writes Christopher Hitchens for Slate. It's "piffle" to think that his royal highness was a "bullet magnet" in Helmand province, already one of the most dangerous places on Earth for any Western soldier. Even if the jihadists wanted to, Hitchens reasons, they couldn't "bring extra firepower to bear."

Hitchens chalks up Harry's heroic stint as a public ploy to part ways with his youthful partying lifestyle. That his harried exit may come off as a retreat and bolster the opposition "seems to have occurred to nobody," Hitchens adds. "Are we certain that our obsession with 'security' is not in fact making us insecure?" (More Afghanistan stories.)

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