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Irresponsible Journalism from Conservative Outlets
Irresponsible Journalism?
by Anthony L. Kimery
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Leak that Britain's Prince Harry is deployed on the frontline in Afghanistan creates firestorm
On Jan. 15, the Australian women's magazine, New Idea, reported that England’s Prince Harry has been fighting the Taliban on the frontline in Afghanistan since before Christmas. But the story didn’t become an international sensation until The Drudge Report picked it up, claiming the more than month old story to be a “world exclusive.”
Soon, British press reported Prince Harry is serving as a forward air controller in the hostile southern province of Helmand, guiding mostly US fighter aircraft to suspected Taliban targets.
Prince Harry’s deployment had been cloaked in secrecy under a news blackout deal agreed to by UK media organizations due to legitimate British and US military concerns that if made public, would make not only the Prince’s frontline combat unit an especially inviting target for Al Qaeda, which has made a resurgence in Afghanistan, and the Taliban, which also is a growing threat in the country, but also American fighter jets acting on the Prince’s unit’s guidance for bombing runs, according to British press and US intelligence officials.
But news that the Prince is on the frontlines especially puts terrorists’ crosshairs on British forces. Both Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies have declared the United Kingdom to be a target for jihadi attacks, which the nation has already experienced, and Al Qaeda has indicated that it has singled out Britain’s Queen for assassination, which intelligence captured from raided Al Qaeda safehouses has bore out.
The British military's secret deals with UK editors to keep mum on the Prince’s combat deployment though were negated once The Drudge Report linked to the report which first broke the story, but which apparently failed to get little traction among the global mainstream press.
Drudge today reported that the British “Ministry of Defense and Clarence House refuse all comment. Army chiefs have managed to keep the Prince away from media and have encouraged fellow soldiers in his squadron to stay quiet.”
However, The Guardian reported that “the chief of the general staff, Sir Richard Dannatt, who is head of the British army, expressed great disappointment over the leak. “However, no decision has yet been taken as to whether Harry will remain in Afghanistan.”
"I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us," Dannatt was quoted saying, adding, “this is in stark contrast to the highly responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number overseas who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations."
Despite the story’s technical newsworthiness, the revelation of the Prince’s forward deployment nevertheless puts both British and US military forces in greater danger, and, for a while, anyway, complicates Prince Harry’s unit’s mission which, in effect, potentially delays combat operations against Taliban and Al Qaeda entrenchments in Afghanistan.
HSToday.us has learned that British and US military and intelligence authorities are investigating to determine the original source of the leak which, if it came from a UK source, could potentially be a violation of Britain’s secrecy laws.
During war, operational details almost always are classified because of their value to the enemy. Many news organizations generally use restraint when reporting on operational combat military matters because of this. But in the case of intelligence collection activities, even though they can have direct bearing on operational military matters, American news organizations have been quick to put what they’ve learned on their front pages. There’s little doubt among intelligence officials that numerous published accounts about various vital intelligence collection activities have jeopardized and set back these activities.
In the case of disclosing Prince Harry’s deployment, the revelation clearly makes known what his military unit’s operational mission is, and clearly puts forward British and American military forces in greater danger.
If most of the New Idea's readers' comments on the magazine's original disclosure are any indication, they feel the same way.
A commentator for Channel 4 news in Britain pondered: "I never thought I'd find myself saying thank God for Drudge. The infamous US blogger has broken the best kept editorial secret of recent times. Editors have been sworn to secrecy over Prince Harry being sent to fight in Afghanistan three months ago. Drudge has blown their cover. One wonders whether viewers, readers and listeners will ever want to trust media bosses again. Or perhaps this was a courageous editorial decision to protect this fine young man?"
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