02 Mar Prince Harry and Jimmy McCain
Last year the British media entered into a voluntary agreement with the British Ministry of Defence to have a news blackout of Prince Harry’s deployment in Afghanistan. Harry had been serving there about ten weeks when the news broke on the Drudge Report of his whereabouts. The BBC is now defending the news blackout. From the sounds of it, in exchange for extensive filming of Harry on the battlefield, the British press would keep mum about his deployment to Afghanistan. “So, for the past ten weeks, the BBC, ITV and Sky News have been filming with Prince Harry – the first time we’ve been up close and personal with him. We interviewed him … in mid-December, just before he was sent to Afghanistan, we spent some time with him at the start of January when he was settling in at a remote base in Southern Helmand Province, and most recently, we filmed with him last week at a new location in Helmand Province.”
When the news broke of Harry’s deployment in Afghanistan, he was immediately rushed home. Harry was obviously frustrated. “It’s something I would love to do… I don’t want to sit around Windsor, because I generally don’t like England that much and it’s nice to be away from all the press and the papers.”
I think the real story here is the failure of the British Ministry of Defence. They are concerned about Harry’s safety, but then allow reporters to film him in action. Then when news broke of his service in Afghanistan they rush him home. We mustn’t have any royals in action with the whole world watching. That would put him at risk and unduly inspire the public.
And then there is Jimmy McCain. The press, including the British media, have had no qualms reporting on the imminent deployment of McCain’s youngest son to Iraq in December 2006. Then again in February 2008, they reported of McCain’s reluctance to talk about his son for fear of his security.
Jimmy McCain is about to end his first rotation to Iraq. In more than a year of campaigning, McCain has publicly mentioned Jimmy only twice…. McCain’s reticence is in one sense understandable – he has not wanted to draw attention to Jimmy for fear of making him more of a target in Iraq. ‘Frankly, it’s for [Jimmy’s] security and the security of the men and women serving around him.’ Some of McCain’s rivals regard him as almost perverse for not trying to gain political advantage from his warrior sons. In a city well known for its presidential draft-dodgers, McCain has long stood out in Washington as an authentic military hero. “I just feel it’s inappropriate for us to mention our children,” the senator said recently. “I wouldn’t want to seem like I’m trying to gain some kind of advantage.”
It’s hard not to be impressed watching McCain’s handling of his son’s deployment in Iraq. And it’s hard not to be disheartened watching the British mishandling of their favorite son’s retreat from Afghanistan.
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