Taliban Fumes Over Royal Gaming Thumbs

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Taliban Fumes Over Royal Gaming Thumbs


Prince Harry's comment about videogames making him a better Apache gunner has the Taliban up in arms.

As well as being third in line to the English throne, HRH Prince Harry [(http://www.princehenryofwales.org/)] is also an Apache attack helicopter co-pilot gunner. In an interview conducted shortly after he returned home from a tour in Afghanistan, he claimed that all the time he spent playing videogames during downtime at Camp Bastion helped make him more accurate on the guns.

"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," he told the International Business Times. "I thrash them at Fifa the whole time."

It was a silly thing to say, although he's hardly the first to say it, but it was also a fairly innocuous remark, inoffensive to all except those determined to take offense at even the slightest, probably-not-serious conflation of war and videogames. People like, say, the Taliban.

"This statement is not even worth condemning. It is worse than that," senior Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, adding that Harry was a "coward." "This prince comes and compares this war with his games, PlayStation or whatever he calls it."

"To describe the war in Afghanistan as a game demeans anyone - especially a prince, who is supposed to be made of better things," he continued. "It shows the lack of understanding, of knowledge. It shows they are unfamiliar with the situation and shows why they are losing." Mujahid also suggested that Harry was suffering from "mental problems" caused by his deployment.

It's a bit rich, coming from a gang that mutilates and murders young girls for such crimes as seeking an education, but the Taliban aren't the only people upset by Harry's comments. Lindsey German of the Stop the War Coalition said the comments were "crass," while an unnamed commander based in Helmand stated, "It's not a game - it's very, very real."

Sources: The Telegraph [http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/426568/20130122/prince-harry-taliban-rant.htm]




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Hazzard

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Jan 25, 2012
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I don't think the Taliban have a leg to stand on here, they mutilate girls genitalia and kill women for getting an education so they are even worse than someone who likens war to a game.
 

vun

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Apr 10, 2008
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All he said was that the skills gained from playing console games makes him better at using military equipment. People are just reading far too much into it.
 

SonOfVoorhees

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Aug 3, 2011
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Thats why terrorists make me laugh, they can do all the killing and murder they want against an enemy and thats fine, but as soon as one of there lot get killed out comes the condemnation. lol. End of the day he didnt compare war to games, more that the hand/eye coordination playing games helped his job. Which is based on hand/eye coordination. But for the Taliban to moan at that and not at the crap they put the Afghans through is laughable.
 

Full

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Well I think this means we should ban all sports games, then, because they are obviously propagating possible Terrorist incidents.
 

Kiyeri

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Mar 8, 2010
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Yep. I saw this coming as soon as video games were even vaguely mentioned. They're twisting the quote around from "I play games enough that I've gotten better with my coordination with my thumbs, something that is helpful when I use them in battle," to "Holy crap, it's so much fun murdering people! Just like the video games I always played, in real life! Murder murder murder, video games made me want to murder." I mean, he even mentions Fifa, not Call of Duty or other war games! No. Just, no.
 

Rad Party God

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Feb 23, 2010
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I'll never take these terrorists seriously, just a bunch of loonies killing for teh lulz.

 

MarlonBlazed

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I didn't see where he said the war was a game to him. This is just a proven fact, video games train hand-eye coordination which is a skill that is desired for said situation.

Also the Taliban are winning? Or are just the British losing to the Taliban? That statement doesn't make sense to me.
 

DiamanteGeeza

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Jun 25, 2010
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When I first read the headline, I assumed it was going to link to an Onion article.

This is the most absurd thing I've ever read! Still, I'm glad that this Taliban bell-end was able to take time out of oppressing women, cutting off hands and heads, and blowing innocent people up with cowardly car bombs and IEDs to have a quick read of his International Business Times and condemn someone for saying they like playing FIFA.

Way to go, no-blood-on-your-hands-at-all terrorist. You showed the world how much you care.
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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Wasn't one of the other comments he made about how he liked the military because they sent him far away from the press and people judging every last thing he says?
 

Johnson McGee

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MarlonBlazed said:
I didn't see where he said the war was a game to him. This is just a proven fact, video games train hand-eye coordination which is a skill that is desired for said situation.

Also the Taliban are winning? Or are just the British losing to the Taliban? That statement doesn't make sense to me.
The Taliban are winning in their minds, which to the rest of us means they are continuing to be a pain in the arse for NATO even though they are losing more ground and soldiers than the other side. In reality the Afghanistan war is still just a big clusterfak where no one is winning.

OT: Initially I thought Harry's statement was a bit callous to compare war to gaming, but upon realizing he meant it from a skill development perspective rather than as a direct comparison it made a bit more sense. Along with the fact he likely said it as a throwaway line during a much longer interview makes this statement pretty innocuous. The Taliban's response is probably just a wild jab at trying to stimulate some manufactured outrage at perceived out-of-touch westerners.
 

newwiseman

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Aug 27, 2010
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So it's oka y to admit that videogames make for better surgons when using the control sticks, but applying the same concept to a helicopter guns control stick is offensive...
 

Erttheking

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Ok, this whole situation just became hilarious. All Henry needs to now is reply to the Taliban spokesperson. "LOL Noob."
 

Slash2x

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Dec 7, 2009
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BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAAHAH!!!!!!!

Wait they are offended by his hobbies not getting shot?

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAH!!!



Side note war is a game that the whole family can play.
 

teqrevisited

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Mar 17, 2010
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"This prince comes and compares this war with his games, PlayStation or whatever he calls it."

There we have it: The Taliban are PC gamers.

The initial comment might have been one that could be misinterpreted but their response, the way they twisted "This helped me do this" into "This war is a game", was one of absolute, outdated ignorance. Then again I'm not surprised.
 

Flutterbrave

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Dec 10, 2009
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A person who is hugely disconnected from everyday life said something which a very small number of people found insensitive?

Shock and horror.