As America withdrew from Afghanistan and as Kabul fell, I saw a handful of royal reporters try to make this all about Prince Harry. As in, Harry should be “mad” at President Biden, or Harry has the duty to get involved in politics, or Harry must say something (so they can attack him). Harry is a veteran of war, having served two tours in Afghanistan. It was because of his service in the field that Harry understood the pain and sacrifice of soldiers, and his experiences led him to founding the Invictus Games. Many of the veterans who compete in the games served in Afghanistan too. So Harry used the Invictus Games profile to issue a joint statement with Dominic Reed, the CEO of Invictus.
As Taliban rule takes hold in Afghanistan, Prince Harry is speaking out. In a joint statement with Dominic Reid, the CEO of Harry’s Invictus Games, the Duke of Sussex encouraged military veterans to seek support from one another as the situation continues to unfold.
“What’s happening in Afghanistan resonates across the international Invictus community,” read their statement, which was shared on the Invictus Games Foundation’s Twitter account. “Many of the participating nations and competitors in the Invictus Games family are bound by a shared experience of serving in Afghanistan over the past two decades, and for several years, we have competed alongside Invictus Games Team Afghanistan.”
“We encourage everybody across the Invictus network — and the wider military community — to reach out to each other and offer support for one another,” the statement concluded.
Harry served in the British Army for 10 years, and was deployed to Afghanistan twice.
After overtaking several other cities in Afghanistan, the Taliban entered the capital city of Kabul on Sunday, triggering the collapse of the government as President Ashraf Ghani left the country and the U.S. military continued its planned withdrawal. The takeover has led to fear and chaos as thousands of people are trying to leave the country.
That’s the way to make a public statement about what’s happening. Focus on what can be controlled, which is supporting veterans who know what it was like to serve in Afghanistan. Veterans supporting veterans. I hope no one was seriously expecting Harry to make a political statement about what’s happening there, or the tragedy and broken promises of a twenty-year war.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
That statement was perfect.
A very good statement. Vets must be hurting to see the news. 🙁
As a veteran, It is devastating to watch this happen. I know this is t on my shoulders, but heartbreaking how we failed so many little children who are now adults dealing with all this.
Side note…the VA sent an email yesterday urging OEF veterans to “take care of themselves, avoid the news, suicide hotline numbers, etc in regards to all this”
It’s the usual flip-flopping: “Harry shouldn’t get involved in politics because he’s royal and not an American citizen” and now “Harry should get involved”. It’s the same ever-moving bar of other people who think they should dictate Harry’s life. There were idiots on Twitter posting hateful messages on Invictus’ page.
I’m not saying that the press don’t constantly move the bar, but I don’t think this statement can be compared with people asking him to stay out of US politics. The US pulling out of Afghanistan effects more than just the US. He fought there and I’m sure he has some feelings and opinions about the situation. So, it makes sense that he would say something about it. Criticizing him for involved in American politics due to his status is not entirely without merit. It’s just that criticism of H&M tends to go past the point of reason. So, with all the ridiculous criticisms floating around, it makes actual criticism seem just as over the top.
From the article above: “As in, Harry should be “mad” at President Biden, or Harry has the duty to get involved in politics”.
That’s what competent PR also looks like, keeping focus on the core mission of the foundation, not getting drawn into the sh-tshow that belongs firmly in the realm of political, military, and diplomatic leadership.
I’ve only seen one Royal reporter say something about Harry and Afghanistan. He expected Harry to state his feelings through a friend. This is an indication that the press still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that Harry is no longer a working royal, has left the family, that he has a voice now and that he will speak through the proper channels. I think the statement struck the right tone putting the veterans and those from Afghanistan at the centre and it recognized that they would be going through a lot emotions at this time. I’m sure Harry has been affected by what has happened as well.
I think you are right. The English expect the RF to gossip through “sources” because they never complain or explain. I guess English people, or at least the tabloids, have gotten accustomed to that charade because to an outsider it looks like they are all gossiping and sniping in the press endlessly. I keep being shocked at both the sloppiness of it and the weakness of all the RF’s “silent gesturing and acknowledging and nodding.”
A formal statement though a charity is so much more dignified than a sentence by Angela Levin that begins “It is believed…”
It was a very good statement. The idea of Invictus Games is to provide support and community to veterans. Of course the statement was going to be in line with that.
It was exactly right. I’m always surprised at the contrast between Harry’s statements and William’s – it’s like they’re not related at all.
The major difference between Harry’s statements and Bulliam’s bromides is that Harry’s are centered on other people, and Bulliam’s are centered on himself. Harry’s statement through Invictus had a couple of “we’s”, but for the most part were about the war veterans and what they might be experiencing now. When Bulliam makes a pronouncement, it’s what HE feels, what HE thinks, what HIS experience is.
They only want him to say something that they can pick apart. But Harry’s service to his country is undeniable, and he struck exactly the right tone with his statement. he’s also reminding them of what the UK has lost in him: a Prince who actually risked his life in service to his country. Everyone there remembers the video of him in Afghanistan, getting interviewed, and abruptly running away from the interview due to an alert. Have they ever seen William do such a thing? Has William ever put himself at risk for anything?
I hope that Brits are being reminded that Pedo Andy still has military patronages, Edward has fake military honors, and Harry has been stripped of his.
Agreed 100% Lanne. The UK really lost an amazing royal and war veteran.
Harry’s statement was perfect and put the focus where is needs to be.
I’m sorry Americans but your foreign policy sucks. Middle eastern is a disaster for the world. But a greedy American politician dragged everyone into the pointless war. My heart goes to the people who serve and lost their lives. harry did the right thing by issuing a statement. 20 years of taxpayer gone into the drain in few seconds.
Cathy, it’s disrespectful to our troops to call it pointless. It had a point. Our men and women fought and died to get rid of Al-qaeda and ensure that no more terrorist attacks were planned in Afghanistan. There were many failures and mistakes, but don’t call it pointless. Thanks.
It’s not for you to dictate Cathy’s feelings on the war
Vietnam was also pointless, it’s not disrespectful to vets to point it out. Vets can and should be angry at those who sent them to fight a pointless war
Except most of the attackers were Saudis, yet you went to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Whereas, all other countries involved in Afghanistan have been from PURELY altruistic motives? Give it a rest.
While far from being purely altruistic, the other countries had to get involved since they were part of NATO and were acting according to signed treaties amongst NATO members. It’s ok to say the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were botched and badly planned by the Bush administration and that the talibans rise to power was in great part due to the botched wars called by another Bush and the same Rumsfeld.
Um, the US is part of NATO also.
Which is exactly why the US invoked NATO’s article 5 on 9/12/01 calling all NATO countries to join them to fight those the US claimed to be responsible for the terrorist attacks. It was the 1st and only time Article 5 was ever invoked since 1949. Calling Article 5 meant the other countries had to join the war (or walk back on the treaty which is impossible to do)
@equality
Wow, I really hope you were just too young to remember the beginning of our involvement there and how reluctant most countries were to join in, because otherwise this denial is not a good look.
Canada sent troops to Afghanistan to support the American cause after 9/11 but they did not participate in the Iraq war because thankfully PM Chrétien kept Canadians out. They were stationed in Kandahar and sustained per capita some of the highest losses. And a lot of the Canadian soldiers were killed accidentally by Americans.
And as mentioned above, Canada is part of NATO and was not going to back out of the treaty.
Staying for 20 years was because of American imperialism and the defence contractors who made billions. While no country is innocent, the US will have to accept that they instigated and extended this project well beyond the original mission plan.
America’s foreign policy cannot make people fight for their own county.
Cathy, Afghanistan is not in the Middle East. If you’re going to criticize American foreign policy, be sure you know what you’re talking about first.
In the context she is discussing, she is not wrong to refer to the Middle East. She is quite specifically referring to George Bush here and his administration who used the term “Greater Middle East” to include Afghanistan and some other neighbouring countries with geographically Middle Eastern countries. This was part of the American foreign policy specifically designed for these countries which she is entitled to criticise.
@Eh
In the last century, Afghanistan WAS considered to be Middle East, even though the whole term Middle East is somewhat problematic. So, nitpicking on Cathy’s definition in order to dismiss her valid point is not a good look.
Cathy’s reductive comment “Middle East[ern] is a disaster for the world” displays a lack of knowledge of the histories of either region and suggests the Afghan calamity is analagous to the Palestinian diaspora. In fact the regions have vastly different histories and shouldn’t be lumped together by such simplistic statements that the whole of Muslim Asia is a “disaster for the world.” You might agree with her sentiment that American foreign policy sucks, but her comment was not as well thought out as your desire to agree with her would have it.
But her main point was on the American foreign policy, not on geography of countries. So, disagreeing with her on the geography of countries is a questionable means for refuting the actual point she was making.
If the topic of discussion was Iraq instead, would you seriously have understood her statement to be a suggestion that what happened in Iraq is analogous to the Palestinian diaspora? I took her statement to simply be an overall criticism of American foreign policy. To me, it sounds like she is referring to Bush here: “a greedy American politician dragged everyone into the pointless war” and his administration really did lump these countries together.
Myra, Iraq is considered the Middle East. It doesn’t matter to me if American foreign policy sucks or not (it clearly does in some, even most, matters). Cathy’s comment summing up several regions full of history, culture, and conflict as “a disaster for the world” was reductive and displayed a limited knowledge base that nullifies her opinion on foreign policy. And were her comments limited to Afghanistan, she a) should have been more clear, and b) should remember that going into Afghanistan was almost unanimous among Western governments. Even the French fought. Good day!
Middle Eastern is a disaster because of their own government actions!
I mean US foreign policy has its strong points and it has its weak points and unfortunately the weak points (i.e. mistakes) seem to really outweigh the strong points. It’s not just the middle east and Afghanistan though. We’ve done a lot of damage all over the world. But I think its hard in general because a lot of the foreign policy mindset and the military mindset is still kind of old school, where there is a defined enemy and a defined goal. We didn’t really have that in Afghanistan and it shows now.
Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t he threatened by the taliban and had a bounty on his head ? Seeing news outlets use pictures of him gun in hand in his combat uniform made me uncomfortable. It’s dangerous imo.
The state was clear and concise, hope the veterans are indeed being taken care of.
Perfect statement
Agreed. Also, a follow up statement from Invictus Düsseldorf said they were removing all images of the Afghan games participants to protect their identities and not jeopardize their safety. Invictus helps and serves veterans and that’s who this statement focused on.
Reading all the criticism of Biden, I have to wonder why the US and world have forgotten that the Taliban exists because the US
during the Cold War militarized extremists to fight the Soviets. That has nothing to do with Harry’s statement other than the magnitude of this tragedy is hard to absorb and coming on the 20th anniversary of 9-11 is especially painful.
The US might have forgotten, but the world has not.
It is truly tragic to see how Afghanistan’s fate has been at the mercy of foreign policies and ambitions for the past 40 years (USSR, USA, China, Russia, Iran…).
@Coz:Let’s not forget the British empire also had a hand in Afghanistan’s destruction long before Soviet invasion. A lot of countries are responsible for this mess.
And let’s not forget, all but ONE of the 9-11 terrorists were SAUDIS, NOT Afghans. But Bush wouldn’t target his buddies (and NEVER forget Bush safely rushed the Saudi Royal Family out of the US VERY quickly the very next day). Bush, Cheney, et al made a LOT of money with the Saudis, and even more in gov contracting wars.
The US created the Taliban.
What does this have to do with Harry’s statement??
I made the same statement above so I want to defend this one. It’s not directly related to Harry’s statement but it needs to be said over and over so that it stays forefront in our discussions about Afghanistan, lest we forget that the people of Afghanistan continue to be collateral damage from the Cold War. I cringe at every news thread packed with comments that the fate of Afghanistan isn’t the US’s problem.
I have a good friend who is an Afghanistan veteran and she’s had a terrible week. A lot of tears and emotions. She’s even received an email request from someone she knew there asking for a letter to help get him out. She has no idea if her email did any good or if he escaped the country. I suspect anyone who served there likely heard from someone they knew this week. I can’t imagine the stress of that.
I think it’s a good statement. It focuses on what can be done (supporting veterans) instead of getting into the politics of it (which he would be criticised for)
For what it’s worth, my husband fought in Afghanistan and his attitude this week is not one of despair and sadness but resignation. He knew since he was there that it wasn’t a winnable war. Of course others may experience the withdrawal more personally, and I feel for them. Sometimes the right thing to do really sucks.
This is my feeling. It’s been a lost cause for a long time. And my friends lives were lost for no reason. I’ve been trying to come to terms with that for over 15 years. We never should have been there. I’m so sorry for the mess we made.
My dad used to work with Vietnam vets and he recalls they said the same thing about that war back in the day.
I love this man who stands on compassion for people
Did anyone else hear the veteran who was interviewed on NPR this morning? She was choked up talking about all the years spent building partnerships with Afganis, and how personally responsible she feels for all the promises made, alliances built, now abandoned. I suspect Harry feels some of that, as well. That most veterans do.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel for the veterans and the active duty soldiers and how they must feel watching all of this unfold.
However, I’m far more concerned with, worried by and devastated at the thought of how the Afghani people must be feeling and how many who have helped and tried to build a better future might be fearing for their and their loved ones lives.
The soldiers, though veteran care is far from great, at least have some routes to try and deal with this. The people of Afghanistan may not have anything and I fear for them.
The people left behind weigh heavier on my mind than how the soldiers must be feeling. My country lost soldiers there too and I do feel for them, but they get to go home and be safe and deal with it from a distance and while it might be extremely difficult, they are safe.
I am terrified for women and girls in Afghanistan. I am sad for the lives lost in what seems to be a pointless war, especially as the withdrawal seemed to cause more harm than good.
I am angered at the so called diplomatic allies fleeing the country and leaving their partners behind.