Prince Harry Pulled From Afghanistan: Prince Exits Fight After Leak

LONDON — His cover blown by the Drudge Report Web site, Prince Harry’s war in Afghanistan is over.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense confirmed Friday that the 23-year-old royal, the third in line to the crown, is being whisked out of harm’s way.

In a statement, the ministry said that it was "regrettable" that foreign media had publicized the prince’s presence in Afghanistan but that contingency plans for his evacuation were in place.

"This decision has been taken primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual soldier," the statement said.

The prince had been serving in Afghanistan for 10 weeks without fanfare after the military and British news organizations reached an unusual agreement to keep the prince’s deployment secret. An attempt to send Harry to Iraq last spring was abandoned as too risky after it received a flood of publicity in the British press.

The story about Harry’s presence in Afghanistan first appeared in German and Australian media several weeks ago but did not receive worldwide attention until it was picked up by the Drudge Report.

Prince Harry, who was educated at Sandhurst, Britain’s elite military academy, was a forward air controller in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

The Taliban, which was on the receiving end of air strikes called in by the prince, issued an angry statement of its own Thursday.

"The royal family is now directly participating in the aggression against Muslims," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Times newspaper in London. "Prince Harry’s presence in Afghanistan encourages our fighters to launch more attacks on British forces."

The prince was due to complete his tour of duty in early April. Still, it was "mission accomplished" for the royal family and the British government.

Photos of the prince in combat fatigues were on the front page of virtually every British newspaper, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown led the cheers.

"The whole of Britain will be proud of the outstanding service he is giving," Brown said.

Conservative leader David Cameron praised the prince for his "courage and bravery."

For the Ministry of Defense, getting Prince Harry to the front lines was a major public-relations coup. It underscored that the British military is still a place were royals could stand shoulder to shoulder with ordinary Britons in service to the nation.

For the royal family, the pictures of Prince Harry patrolling in Afghanistan will help offset the more frequent image of the young prince stumbling out of Mayfair nightclubs in the early-morning hours.

thundley@tribune.com

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