Thanks for the info, mar48! I wasn't sure if there was drafting in the UK like there is here in the States.

There is still drafting in the US? I hadn't realised.

Neither did I, and that begs the question,'Would a son of the 'First Family' be drafted'. Harry and William volunteered, albeit out of a sense of duty and history. All of their ancestors, from their father back, served in the Forces. Quite a lot of them saw action. I can, however, see the MOD point of view that if Harry was sent to Iraq, it could endanger all of the UK troops more than necessary.

Uh...there's no draft here that I'm aware of.
They do talk about reviving it though, since enlistment is so down...

The question of a First Family's son being drafted is rather tricky. When the draft existed, there were often deferrals for one reason or another. George W. Bush apparently was able to find some.

The Queen of England herself served, didn't she? Or where those photo ops?

No, they weren't photo ops. She did serve, albeit only in this country.

There isn't a draft in the U.S. The belief is that if the U.S. began drafting, the quality of troops would decrease and you'd have a lot of bad behaviour (such as the one soldier who threw a grenade into the tent of his comrades).

The Queen was in something where she drove vehicles around London, I believe.

I didn't mean there is drafting right now, I meant that they do have the power to draft here in the event of a big war, such as Vietnam. I did hear they may have to start drafting again, but who knows?

I have nothing against Prince Harry although the whole notion of princes, princesses, kings and queens simply makes me want to laugh.

Harry seems a decent, idealistic and very normal young man and I would, therefore, be worried about his safety if sent to Iraq but only to the same extent and in the samne as I would be for the ordinary squaddie from Glasgow or Geordie Land or London. I would also agree that Harry's presence may well invite virulent and violent attacks on the soldiers with whom he serves and the British army in general.

I suppose something in my head is asking me what we are doing (and I include myself in this) caught up in an esoteric discussion about the involvement in Iraq of one person when, every day, - hundreds of Iraqi civilians, British and / or US military personnel are being killed or maimed for life. There are other issues here than the implications of involvement of princes.

This thread is about Harry serving in Iraq, you can certainly raise the wider issue in the Debating forum.

Fair point, Sue. No intention of raising the wider issue of the war as in a long diatribe.

No problem. We have to bear in mind this site is actually a trivia site so we tend to leave the heavier stuff to other sites.