Prince Harry suggests members of British military didn’t ‘necessarily’ support Afghanistan conflict
Prince Harry has claimed a number of British soldiers involved in operations in Afghanistan were not “necessarily” behind their country’s military efforts in the country.
Speaking during a live-streamed session with author and therapist Gabor Mate on Saturday, the prince discussed his own exploits while fighting in Afghanistan and also suggested British public support for the 2001 Western invasion had been low.
The 90-minute conversation was hosted by Mate, a Hungarian-Canadian author of the book “The Myth of Normal,” which delves into “trauma, illness and healing in a toxic culture,” who spoke to the prince about a range of issues, including his family, his marriage and his move to the US.
“One of the reasons why so many people in the UK were not supportive of our troops was because they assumed that everybody that was serving was for the war,” he told Mate.
“But no, once you sign up, you do what you’re told to do, so there was a lot of us that didn’t necessarily agree or disagree, but you were doing what you were trained to do, you were doing what you were sent to do,” he said.
The prince was criticized earlier this year following the release of his memoir “Spare,” in which he revealed that he killed 25 Taliban combatants while serving in Afghanistan as a gunner on board an Apache attack helicopter during his second tour of the country in 2012.
He was warned by British veterans and senior military officials that his admission would put him and his family at increased risk of being targeted for revenge.
The comment also provoked outrage from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, who seized power when foreign troops withdrew in August 2021.
“The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return,” prominent Taliban member Anas Haqqani said on Twitter in January.
The 90-minute conversation was hosted by Mate, a Hungarian-Canadian author of the book “The Myth of Normal,” which delves into “trauma, illness and healing in a toxic culture,” who spoke to the prince about a range of issues, including his family, his marriage and his move to the US.
“One of the reasons why so many people in the UK were not supportive of our troops was because they assumed that everybody that was serving was for the war,” he told Mate.
“But no, once you sign up, you do what you’re told to do, so there was a lot of us that didn’t necessarily agree or disagree, but you were doing what you were trained to do, you were doing what you were sent to do,” he said.
The prince was criticized earlier this year following the release of his memoir “Spare,” in which he revealed that he killed 25 Taliban combatants while serving in Afghanistan as a gunner on board an Apache attack helicopter during his second tour of the country in 2012.
He was warned by British veterans and senior military officials that his admission would put him and his family at increased risk of being targeted for revenge.
The comment also provoked outrage from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, who seized power when foreign troops withdrew in August 2021.
“The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return,” prominent Taliban member Anas Haqqani said on Twitter in January.
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