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LONDON - British Army special forces have been sent to Iraq to beef up security for Prince Harry ahead of his tour of duty.
An extra detachment of special forces has arrived in southern Iraq to monitor militia groups and reinforce the Prince's protection as fears grow that insurgents will target the third in line to the throne.
Militia groups claim to know when his regiment, the Blues and Royals, will arrive. Last week the Observer revealed plans by insurgent groups to kidnap and kill Harry. The insurgents claim to have informers inside the British base in Basra who will track the Prince's movements.
As he completed his intensive pre-operational training at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, defence officials were sticking to the line that he will still be travelling to Iraq as a troop commander.
General Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the defence staff, is expected to make a final decision this week after consultation with Clarence House and Buckingham Palace. He is believed to be satisfied that Harry should serve in Iraq amid claims that politicians are steering clear of taking such a contentious decision.
Des Browne, the Secretary of Defence, has made it clear to the Army he will not take personal responsibility for the decision to send Harry, prompting accusations that he is "passing the buck" over the Prince's security. He has told the Army it will have to satisfy itself it is making "the right decision" over deploying the Prince. He has asked the Army for "assurances" that it has properly assessed the risk.
In the war zone, a suicide car bomber killed 63 people and wounded 170 near a Shiite Muslim shrine, al-Abbas in Karbala. Seven United States soldiers and two Marines have been killed in the past two days.
MPs criticised Browne, saying it was unfair to expect uniformed officers to take the final decision. Mike Penning, a Conservative MP who served in the Grenadier Guards, called the decision one for the Government, not the Army. "They can't pass the buck again. They should have made this decision long ago."
The Sunday Times quoted a top military leader as saying Prime Minister Tony Blair should decide whether Harry is sent to Iraq because the argument has become a political issue.
General Sir Peter de la Billiere, commander of British land forces in the first Gulf War, said: "It should be, as it was for Prince Andrew, who fought in the Falklands, up to the Prime Minister really to decide whether, from a national point of view and a political of view, he should go or not."
It is not known whether a media strategy is being devised for a situation such as Harry's capture or death in Iraq. Military sources indicated yesterday that a significant amount of time in Iraq might have to be spent "behind a desk".
Senior military figures are unanimous that the Prince should be allowed to serve as troop commander, leading 12 men in four armoured reconnaissance vehicles. One military source with considerable experience of the security situation in Iraq said: "The probability of Harry becoming a victim is incredibly slim."
Military sources stressed that preventing Harry going to the country at such a late stage would hand insurgents a propaganda coup. Hugo Vickers, a royal author and constitutional expert, said: "On balance he probably ought to go; if he doesn't, it looks ridiculous."
Most military blogs referring to Harry's deployment have been removed from the internet. Those that remain suggest concerns do exist over the situation among service families.
One message describes the Prince as a "bullet magnet". Another from the website rearparty.co.uk - a site for friends and families of the military - states: "Why don't they just paint a great, big red cross on Prince Harry's wagon. Why risk the lives of Prince Harry and the people who are in the tank with him?"
Robert Lacey, a historian and author of Majesty, a biography of the Queen, and The Kingdom, a study of Saudi Arabia, said: "It's clear he's a celebrity target. His capture or death would be an enormous victory for the enemy and setback for Britain. In the age of celebrity culture, one also has celebrity warfare."
Lord St John of Fawsley, a constitutional expert and friend of the Queen, added: "The thought of him being captured is horrific, a much bigger disaster than him being killed. Despite Harry's understandable desire to go with his men, it's in the higher interest of state security that he doesn't go. I think Princess Diana would be thinking along the lines I describe."
Vickers said: "If Harry died we'd think it was a pointless waste of life. The person we'd all blame would be Blair. I'd be inclined not to send him. I dread to think what Princess Diana would have thought."
- OBSERVER, INDEPENDENT, REUTERS
ROYALS AND THE MILITARY
The prince who fought
Prince Andrew was sent to the Falklands in 1982 as a helicopter pilot. At the time he was second in line to the throne. Flying from the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, he carried out anti-submarine and rescue missions. He used his Sea King helicopter as a decoy for Exocet missiles. He returned in 1985, and continued his Navy career until 2001, leaving with the rank of commander.
The prince held back
In August 1914, Prince Edward asked for a commission, having trained with the Navy since 1907. He joined the Grenadier Guards, but soon learned that the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, had refused to allow him to serve on the front line. He was told that the possibility of the enemy capturing him, and the added danger his presence in the trenches would mean for those around him, ruled it out. Despite this, Edward became the first Prince of Wales since the Black Prince to undertake war service in France, and visited the front line several times - leading to his award of the Military Cross in 1916.
The prince who can't
Prince William is still carrying out his Army training, and has not yet reached the point where he could be deployed. It is unlikely that he will ever serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. As the future king, he will follow his Army training with stints in the Air Force and the Navy to familiarise himself with all three services. As second in line to the throne, he is not expected to become a career soldier.
- INDEPENDENT
