Prince Harry suddenly has bigger problems than a few naked pictures. The Taliban has announced their intentions to kill or kidnap the 27-year-old royal, who just shipped out to Afghanistan for a four-month tour of duty in the British Army Air Corps.
"We are using all our strength to get rid of him, either by killing or kidnapping," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the press during a phone call from an undisclosed location. "We have informed our commanders in Helmand to do whatever they can to eliminate him."
Harry, who flies Apache helicopters for the military, left four days ago for his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. His first, in 2008, was cut short after information about his whereabouts was leaked to the media. But Harry was determined to return for a full tour, even re-training as an Apache pilot for the purpose of serving at the front lines.
This time around, the Ministry of Defense has revealed a few details of the prince's deployment. Harry will be based at Camp Bastion, in the Helmand province, for the next four months. Before he was deployed, the British government conducted a "threat assessment," which determined that Prince Harry's presence would not put him or his unit at greater risk than they would be otherwise in Helmand. He'll serve as a co-pilot gunner, meaning he'll fire the Apache aircraft's weapons. It is not a cushy job; the Apache unit has the highest "kill rate" in the war, and Helmand is a dangerous territory.
The Ministry of Defense has yet to comment on the Taliban's terrorist threats, but they are presumably doing everything possible to protect their prince. Say what you will about Harry, but for his scandalous behavior, it truly takes a courageous man to volunteer for active duty. Here's wishing Prince Harry and his comrades the safest possible four months.
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