After claiming in his autobiography that he killed 25 of the insurgent group’s fighters while serving for the British Army in Afghanistan, Prince Harry has drawn criticism from some British security and military figures, as well as an angry rebuke from the Taliban. This is due to the fact that he made the statement during his time in Afghanistan.
According to a report published in the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Harry revealed the number in his upcoming autobiography titled “Spare.” The newspaper stated that it had obtained a copy of the book’s Spanish translation in advance of its official release, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, January 10.
“The number that I have is 25.” “It’s not a number that makes me feel proud of myself, but at the same time, it doesn’t make me feel ashamed,” Harry apparently writes. In another part of the article, he is said to have been cited as saying that Taliban insurgents should be seen as “chess pieces” rather than as individuals.
CNN has not read the book but has asked the publisher, Penguin Random House, for an advanced copy of the book to review. On Thursday, a number of news sites in the United Kingdom got copies in Spanish and cited translated passages from those copies.
The comments made by the prince generated a strong reaction from members of the military community, with prominent officials stating that they might put the prince’s safety in jeopardy and give the British Army a negative reputation.
Kim Darroch, who served as the British Ambassador to the United States from 2016 to 2019 and who previously served as the UK’s national security adviser, stated in an interview with Sky News that he would have cautioned Harry not to make the statements. In addition, Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired officer from the British Army, told the same network that they “sullied” his name and “unfairly” portrayed the British Army in a poor light. He stated this in response to the allegations.
According to Kemp, the assertion that he was responsible for the deaths of twenty-five individuals “will have re-incited those people who desire him harm.” “Let’s hope that they are unsuccessful, and I’m sure he has quite excellent protection, but that’s one of the problems.
The other thing that bothered me about his remarks was that he basically portrayed the British Army as having trained him and other soldiers to see their enemy as something less than human, just as chess pieces on a board to be removed, which is not the case. The other problem I found with his comments was that he characterized the British Army as having trained him and other soldiers to see their enemy as less than human. “In fact, it’s the complete opposite of that,” he went on to say.
The ruling Taliban, which retook power in 2021 after an absence of two decades and is once again undertaking a harsh crackdown against the rights of women, reacted vehemently to Harry’s statements as well.
“You, Mr. Harry!” “The ones you killed were not chess pieces; they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return,” said Anas Haqqani, who works as an acting adviser to the minister of the interior and is the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani network. Anas Haqqani is also the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, who founded the Haqqani network.
“Not many of the Afghan murderers have the decency to show their conscience and confess to their war crimes,” he continued. “I applaud you for having the courage to do so.”
Ten years of Prince Harry’s life were spent serving in the British Army. He served in Afghanistan for a total of two tours: the first one was from 2007 to 2008, and the second one was from 2012 to 2013. In 2011, he was promoted to the rank of captain and received training to become an Apache aircraft commander. He was known as Captain Harry Wales while serving in the Army, and he retired from the military in the year 2015.
According to Harry, he used to watch back footage of each “kill” from the nose-mounted camera on his Apache chopper after returning to base after serving with the British Army in Afghanistan, as reported by the Telegraph. During this period, he was stationed in Afghanistan.
Ben McBean, a former member of the Royal Marines with whom Harry served in Afghanistan, sent the following message on his Twitter account on Thursday: “I love you, Prince Harry, but you need to stop speaking! It causes one to wonder who he is associating with in their free time. If these were decent people, someone would have urged him to stop by now.
It is not clear whether McBean was referring more generally to a slew of other revelations in Harry’s memoir that have sparked turmoil for Britain’s royal family or specifically to Harry’s comments on his time spent in the military. It is also unclear whether McBean was referring to Harry’s comments on his time spent in the military.
The early news about the book’s contents has dominated top pages in the UK, and it threatens to cause additional headaches for both King Charles III, Harry’s father, and Prince William, his brother.
The allegation that William physically assaulted Harry during an incident in 2019 was initially revealed by The Guardian. This claim has been described as perhaps the most shocking piece of information to surface.