Though Cowards Flinch

Having seen the sifted garbage passed off this morning as newspaper headlines, I must confess to being pretty jaded about the Prince Harry in Afghanistan series of stories. Most likely I put it down to the triumphalist nonsense spouted by the various papers about how wonderful his ‘service to his country’ was.

Equally sickening has been the various opportunistic comments by the PM and by Cameron, following the public revelation of the story. To quote some of the coverage;

‘Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the prince and said Britain owed him a “debt of gratitude” for his service in Afghanistan, but he added that it was correct to bring Harry back to the UK.

He thanked Harry, a second lieutenant, for the “professionalism and dedication he has shown”, and said the decision to bring him home was a reminder of the “difficulties and challenges” the armed forces faced on active duty.

Conservative leader David Cameron agreed that it was “right” to withdraw the prince from Afghanistan, but said everyone in Britain should be “proud of what he has done.”‘

Why should we have a debt of gratitude precisely? Because some rich boy deigned to join the couple of thousand other soldiers out in harm’s way? Honestly, Harry going out to Afghanistan seems altogether like the danger-filled equivalent of an adventure holiday, particularly judging by some videos obviously released by the Ministry of Defence.

Bottom line: I could care less what Harry gets up to. The obsession that newspapers have developed with where Harry is stationed, not to mention the sickening deference they’ve been showing, just reinforces the notion that the media is less about investigative journalism and more about celebrity gossip. The latest celebrity just happens to be Prince Harry.