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Taliban says Prince Harry has mental problem

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"I think that it is more troublesome with the fact that the Taliban admits that has people fighting for their cause in 49 other countries."

Errr... That's not what the Taliban was admitting to in the least. Rather, they were bragging that the 49 member nations of the ISAF currently operating in Afghanistan have been largely unable to bring the Taliban to heel. And they'd be largely correct. It's hard to fight a conventional war against unconventional troops who flee into the hills and mountains at the first sign of an actual fight.

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“There are 49 countries with their powerful military failing in the fight against the mujahideen, and now this prince comes and compares this war with his games, PlayStation or whatever he calls it,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP.

I think that it is more troublesome with the fact that the Taliban admits that has people fighting for their cause in 49 other countries. So much for them just being a "MIddle East" problem.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Cepheiden,

"These things can kill people in a split second from 2km away. This distance is what makes it easy to kill real people with the push of a button, even for a little boy."

You're making a strong inference that Harry somehow fits the mold of a little boy killing real people in an isolated technological bubble, but read the entire thread before you post.

It's been pretty well estabished that Harry didn't actually say what the article implies he said. His comments were about similarities between the the weapons systems he uses and using a Playstation. Not quite the same thing, I'm afraid.

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Tamarama,

"I gotta say, I'm not too keen on his flippant attitude towards killing people. "

Read the entire thread before you post. It's been pretty well estabished that Harry didn't actually say what the article implies he said. His comments were about similarities between the the weapons systems he uses and using a Playstation. Not quite the same thing, I'm afraid.

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@ah-so

I believe what i want to believe not what mainstream media blasts into my living room. Of course i speak nonsense, i must change my tin foil hat at once. Harry is of course protecting Queen and country from the Taliban's plans to occupy Britain.

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Anyone familiar with how those aircrafts operate will come to the same conclusion. It's exactly like some videogame. These things can kill people in a split second from 2km away. This distance is what makes it easy to kill real people with the push of a button, even for a little boy.

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Why not debate why Britain is spending so much money being there and involved in so much death primarily to secure gas and oil pipelines

You mean we are spending billions at war to build a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan which will be of very little strategic or financial benefit to the West? If you believe that, you believe that 9/11 was orchestrated by a shadow figures from the industrial-military complex.

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Jimizo:

" Saying that the Muslim brotherhood and the Taliban share the same ideology just won't do as a serious argument and sounds more like the febrile right trying to score some cheap political points. " Read up on what Yussuf Al Qaradafi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, says, and see for yourself.

The Taliban are a fundamentalist Sunni movement. The Muslim Brotherhood is a fundamentalist Sunni movement. They simply follow different paths to the same goal, which is is the world-wide Caliphate.

Again, claiming that the Taliban are psychotic is simply ill-informed. You can disagree with their ideology, and I certainly do, but claiming that they are crazy is wishtul thinking.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@willib I'm opposed to religion of any stripe having influence in politics and regard any religious fundamentalism as a danger to us all. You say they are following their religion to the letter - that depends on which parts they choose to cherry pick. You can justify pretty much any atrocity through verses in the Koran or the Jewish or Christian bibles. I'm no apologist for Islam but I think it's safe to say that most devout Muslims do not advocate poison gassing a school of female students, and neither do the Muslim Brotherhood. Saying that the Muslim brotherhood and the Taliban share the same ideology just won't do as a serious argument and sounds more like the febrile right trying to score some cheap political points.

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I gotta say, I'm not too keen on his flippant attitude towards killing people. His life is no more important or insignificant than those he kills - he would do well to keep a little perspective about that.

It's tacky stuff from someone who should know better.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Jimizo:

" of a murderous group of psychopathic religious fundamentalists "

These group of fundamentalists, which you call crazy, have the same ideology as the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Obama governments promotes and assists all over the Middle East, calling them a factor for stability. Now go figure!

Fact is, the Taliban are guilty of nothing more than deeply believing in their religion and following it to the letter.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Harry was comparing the experience of using the Apache's weapons systems to a game, not saying war is a game. Subtle difference... not that I'd take anything a terrorist said as truth anyway. As others have said they are sociopathic, psychotic and quite possibly bonkers!

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This is all over the UK media, this trashy non story and it makes me mad! Because Harry has a famous family people need to talk about him like he is something special. Why not debate why Britain is spending so much money being there and involved in so much death primarily to secure gas and oil pipelines. I think 99% of the world has mental problems or are wearing blinkers.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Another Aso-type comment. People will make a mountain out of a molehill.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

If the TALIBAN say, it must be true??? LOL!! What a load of BS!

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The way the UK press have played this up....seems like they want another royal funeral!

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Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP.

I'm pretty sure the AFP made 100 percent sure they didn't misquote anything that this guy had said for inclusion into this article. Media bias on display yet again, though it is good to see other people are actually starting to really wake up to the crappy reporting and calling it out for what is.

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@The passage

Thanks for the link.

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One: The comments Harry made were taken almost completely out of context in order to paint an image of Harry that just isn't true -- or at least not true based on anything he's said in the quoted material. Harry's made it abundantly clear he's a bit of an ass, but if you're going to condemn him, do so for something that's at least legitimate.

Two: Forgive me if I find the idealized image being perpetuated by some posters here of every coalition soldier in Afghanistan needing to be torn apart by heart-wrenching, teeth-knashing regret and shame with every Taliban soldier killed completely unrealistic, if not the least bit asinine.

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While I agree that their religious fundamentalism is psychopathic, it's their own homeland they are/have been fighting for.

Afghans already have their own homeland. The Taliban are fighting to impose their brand of despotic Islamism on an unwilling population, as well as to extend that homeland across the border into Pakistan.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

"the Taliban may be correct"

They're not.

"Give 'em hell Harry"

He already gave some of 'em hell.

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Taliban says Prince Harry has mental problem

It’s probably true.  Caused by all that in-breeding.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

"When Harry Met Tali" Could be an interesting movie...

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“But we don’t take his comments very seriously, as we have all seen and heard that many foreign soldiers, occupiers who come to Afghanistan, develop some kind of mental problems on their way out.”

assassination of young girls on buses in Pakistan because they believe women should have an education is clear NOT a mental problem.

@smithinjapan

Yeah, that, and bragging about killing insurgents makes me think for a change the Taliban may be correct. Harry is nothing but a spoiled, arrogant kid, protected to the hilt. Comparing war to video games is disgusting, and now I truly believe Prince Harry is disgusting as well.

Did you actually watch the interview or just the somewhat biased and edited transcripts that are out there. If not, I'd recommend to seek it out and have a look. You may not like him, but you'll find that he seems quite balanced, unlike the media attention he draws - here is one section from Channel 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_8enZAQ12s.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Yeah, he wasn't comparing the war to video games, but rather how the controls of his craft are like using video games.

Actually, the US Air Force uses pilots who are good with video games control for training to fly the unmanned drones, because the hand-eye coordination there (with no other visual or tactile cues) is useful.

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His exact quote about Playstation games:

"Exams were always a nightmare, but anything like kicking a ball around or playing PlayStation - or flying - I do generally find a little bit easier than walking, sometimes. It's a joy for me because I'm one of those people who loves playing PlayStation and Xbox, so with my thumbs I like to think that I'm probably quite useful."

Its a pretty bizarre statement but at no point does he compare war to video games.

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Mentally ill? It takes a thief to catch a thief.

The ethnic-cleansing Taliban are mostly native to the southern Pashtun areas and have no skinship to the rest of Aghanistan.

Recently Al Jazeera had a good video and article about how the populace of one area (Andar) south of Kabul have managed to kick out the Taliban, without help from either NATO or the central government of Karzai. This is what we really need much more of. Way to go, ordinary folks! http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2013/01/201311671826997946.html

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Intentional mistruction. Prince Harry made those remarks about his off-duty activities, not his military responsibility.

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" but before we leave the hornet's nest I say we also make sure they can't send any more drones or "queens" outside of their territory anymore either."

There are a couple ways to accomplish that: 1: Walk away and let them calm themselves 2: Encapsulate the hive 3: Encapsulate the hive and exterminate 4: Send Tom Cruise to complete the MI series

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Taliban has a Harry problem.

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Give'em hell Harry.

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Well, the Taliban is indeed an authority on mental illness, so they may well be correct in outing Harry like this.

“It’s a joy for me because I’m one of those people who loves playing PlayStation and Xbox, so with my thumbs I like to think I’m probably quite useful,”

Yeah, that, and bragging about killing insurgents makes me think for a change the Taliban may be correct. Harry is nothing but a spoiled, arrogant kid, protected to the hilt. Comparing war to video games is disgusting, and now I truly believe Prince Harry is disgusting as well.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

A fine example if someone who should not be in the military. Anyone who compares games to actual war shouldn't be left to deal with the safety of others as they are a risk.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

@Herve No argument from me there. Afghanistan has been a disaster for the coalition on a level with the Soviet debacle. The psychopathy I was referring to was religious. Throwing acid into the faces of girls for attending school is psychopathic.

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Herve: their religious fundamentalism is psychopathic

Well said.

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Agreed Herve, but before we leave the hornet's nest I say we also make sure they can't send any more drones or "queens" outside of their territory anymore either.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Jimizo, I'm with you on Harry's ill-considered words(par for him), but somewhat disagree about the insurgent 's statements. While I agree that their religious fundamentalism is psychopathic, it's their own homeland they are/have been fighting for. They have "skin in the game" , so to speak. That's why, though far out-gunned by both the Soviets and the US/UN, they have not been eliminated. The current invaders will retreat ignominiously as previously the Soviets, and before the Soviets the Brits.

Leave the hornet's nest to the hornets.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

His comparison of war to Playstation or Xbox games was, as you'd expect from him, stupid and ill-considered but a member of a murderous group of psychopathic religious fundamentalists is hardly in a position to judge a sane mind.

11 ( +15 / -4 )

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