London
CNN
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Prince Harry has drawn criticism from some British safety and military figures – and an offended rebuke from the Taliban – after claiming in his autobiography that he killed 25 of the rebel group’s fighters whereas serving for the British Army in Afghanistan.
Harry disclosed the determine in his upcoming autobiography “Spare,” in keeping with British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, which mentioned it obtained a replica of the Spanish model of the e-book forward of its official launch slated for Tuesday, January 10.
“My number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me,” Harry reportedly writes. In one other part, he is quoted as describing Taliban insurgents as “chess pieces” taken off the board, quite than individuals.
(*25*)
CNN has not seen a replica of the e-book however has requested an advance copy of the e-book from the writer Penguin Random House. Quite a lot of UK media shops obtained Spanish-language copies on Thursday, and quoted translated excerpts.
The prince’s feedback prompted a pointy backlash from members of the military neighborhood, with main figures saying they may jeopardize his security and provides the British Army a nasty status.
The UK’s former nationwide safety adviser Kim Darroch, who was the British Ambassador to the United States from 2016 to 2019, informed Sky News he would have suggested Harry towards making the statements. And Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired British military officer, informed the identical community they “tarnished” his status and “unjustly” painted the British Army in a damaging mild.
“His suggestion that he killed 25 people will have re-incited those people who wish him harm,” Kemp mentioned. “Let’s hope they don’t succeed and I’m positive he’s acquired fairly good safety, however that’s one downside.
“The other problem I found with his comments was that he characterized the British Army basically as having trained him and other soldiers to see his enemy as less than human, just as chess pieces on a board to be swiped off, which is not the case. It’s the opposite of the case,” he added.
The ruling Taliban, which returned to energy in 2021 after 20 years and is once more pursuing a brutal crackdown towards ladies’s rights, additionally responded angrily to Harry’s feedback.
“Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return,” mentioned Anas Haqqani, who works as an performing adviser to the minister of inside and is the son of the founding father of the Haqqani community, Jalaluddin Haqqani.
“Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes,” he added.
Prince Harry served in the British Army for 10 years. He accomplished two excursions of Afghanistan, one spanning 2007 to 2008 and the opposite from 2012 to 2013. He achieved the rank of captain in 2011 and certified as an Apache Aircraft commander. Captain Harry Wales, as he was identified in the Army, retired from the service in 2015.
During his time serving with the British Army in Afghanistan, Harry mentioned, he used to look at again footage of every “kill” from the nose-mounted digicam on his Apache helicopter after returning to base, the Telegraph reported.
Former Royal Marine Ben McBean, whom Harry served alongside in Afghanistan, additionally wrote on Twitter on Thursday: “Love you #PrinceHarry but you need to shut up! Makes you wonder the people he’s hanging around with. If it was good people somebody by now would have told him to stop.”
It is unclear whether or not McBean was referring particularly to Harry’s feedback on his time in the military, or extra typically to a slew of other revelations in Harry’s memoir which have sparked turmoil for Britain’s royal household.
Early reporting in regards to the e-book’s contents has dominated entrance pages in the UK and threaten one other headache for Harry’s father, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William.
Perhaps probably the most dramatic revelation to emerge was the declare that William bodily attacked Harry throughout an altercation in 2019, first reported by The Guardian.
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy and Ivana Kottasova contributed to this report.
