Review: Spare – by Prince Harry

If you were a hermit living in a remote cave then I expect that even you would be well aware that Prince Harry and his wife have been in the news recently quite a lot. Initially I decided I was going to avoid the mass hysteria and not tune into the Netflix documentary and certainly not partake in the reading of the controversial autobiography but I kind of got drawn into it all, so here we are. Firstly, the Netflix was pretty damned good. I felt that Harry and Meghan came out smelling of roses really. I was a big fan of Megan, the pretty legal secretary from ‘Suits’ before she even met Harry. Regarding Prince Harry, it’s been hard not to notice his life as he has lived it in the media spotlight. If anything, one of the most tainting effects of the media story of Prince Harry was the images of him in a full Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party in the redtops back in the day. This did, to be honest disgust me and I feel like I’ve been holding it against him every since, perhaps?  

After watching the Netflix, seeing the media hate against them both and the reaction of his family and, having fully digested the book, I can honestly say that I am now a fully-fledged ‘Harryist’ and he’s one of my most favourite Royals. I think it’s all a big storm in a teacup and that he’s actually well in the right and I can see the overwhelming reasons for the Netflix and autobiography and I think anyone who continues to attack and denigrate and upset the balance of the life of Harry and his wife and children are plain and simple out of order. At the time of writing this review, we are in a week where the news of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in America and it is a sour footnote that apparently this collapse has swallowed up all of the profits Harry and Meghan have made from their ventures, which undoubtedly have attracted a lot of attention in the public worldwide. Since the release of the autobiography #SparePrinceHarry has hardly left ‘trending topics’ on twitter and every Tom, Dick and Harry has his opinion on the Prince’s affairs. Well, here’s my verdict, for what it’s worth:

Firstly I must comment that, and I make this claim being an avid reader of a wide variety of different texts so I think it is a qualified claim – ‘Spare’ is a very well-written and eminently readable text. This surprised me a lot. I never thought Harry was the brightest tool in the box. Even he admits he sort of struggled academically in school. Royal by fate of birth is indeed a unique phenomenon that Harry philosophizes about. However, I don’t think one can doubt the wisdom of ‘granny’ or Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II who has guided country and Commonwealth for longer than any previous monarch in history and was very successful in this. The high quality reputation of education at Eton is justified in the literacy and accessibility of the autobiography and Harry as much as he might try to be a ‘cool skiver’ was certainly not fully dormant during his Latin and Greek classes in school. A bit of a downer was learning that the book is in fact ghost-written, but even so, the very best ghost-writer, requires substance and a lot of input from the subject and we know when we read ‘Spare’ that it is coming straight from the horse’s mouth. It is a rare historical document in the sense that it is coming directly from a member of the Royal Family. As perhaps unimportant as the ‘Spare may be in relation to the ‘Heir’ or the King and Queen Consort, Prince Harry is a senior and very visible member of the Royal Household, carrying for many the light of his late mother, Princess Diana, as a public figure who is adored worldwide.  

Harry openly discusses the sad loss of his mother and his inner torment is laid bare for the reader. He cannot get closure and even the journey through counselling doesn’t seem to aid in his quest. To lose one’s mother is such tragedy one can only dread to imagine and I don’t think anyone who suffered such a loss could ever get over it regardless. I think Diana would be proud of her son and Harry still feels her presence and refers often to little signs that the People’s Princess is smiling down on him and his new life and family. The media scrummage that he grew up in was hated by his mother and Harry’s own war with the media just seems totally farcical and unacceptable. Intrusion is an understatement. To hear Harry’s own words about some of the sick vile things he has had to tolerate from the most scummiest red-top journalists and photographers ion a daily basis throughout his whole life is stark and revealing. It’s just unbelievable. I often look at celebrities like David Beckham and their wealth and think to myself I’d hate to have to put up with all the intrusion into my life despite the many millions and billions. It’s not a fair trade off in many ways. It all goes up a notch for royalty and this hasn’t traditionally always been the case and is a recent development really spiralling out of control during the lifetime of Harry’s mother and seemingly ongoing and getting worse in his case. It’s high time to revert to tradition and on the plus side I can’t see a rosy future for newspapers and Murdoch dominions in the digital age of the future. Social Media and the internet bring doom to tabloids. Every day that passes where people spend on wifi and not on newspapers heralds a new age and reduced power for the sort of pondlife that these press institutions foster.

Harry’s life contains and inherent duality. His Royal Blood on the one hand and on the other his desire to be just a normal human being. We can see his struggle and in the modern world where life for everyone changes so rapidly, this duality is a curse in many ways. People question the funding and very existence of the Royal family, new technologies can make the media more intrusive, a more globalised society, changing values and continuing his mother’s legacy. I remember at Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding the big question was whether to allow a ‘commoner’ into the royal lineage. Harry carries dual genes and the loss of his mother drives him on in life to further the sort of goals that would make her proud. Charity work, resisting press intrusion, an affinity with the general public and using your status to benefit the most needy in the most neediest of places, Diana’s flame very much lives on in ‘Spare’. Some issues such as the removal of his security detail after later flare ups are unbelievable and when Harry says he’s only every used the London Underground a couple of times in his life it puts into perspective just how sheltered an existence living in the Royal ‘fishbowl’ actually is. I think that the best Harry can hope for is to recognise his uniqueness as an asset and not to regard it as inhibitive in any way. Don’t feel the need to apologise for blue blood but celebrate it. I think in many ways this is what Netflix and ‘Spare’ are for Harry and the public, be they fans of his or trolling haters….

I wasn’t keen on hearing juicy gossip and witnessing a publicly aired family feud really and having watched the documentary and reads the book I think that Harry is actually pretty light on the whole saga and comes out shining really as pretty much an innocent victim of unjustified decisions against him where he isn’t at fault, has done very little wrong and he doesn’t seem to harbour grudges and isn’t particularly scathing or vindictive against the other sides of the alleged war. The closeness between Prince William and him as they are growing up, especially in the way they cope with their dear mother’s passing, shows a very close brotherly bond and Prince Harry describes King Charles very much differently to how perhaps the media have portrayed him. King Charles comes across as really nice man and a good father. We get a glimpse behind the scenes. Yes, we know Charles is eccentric but I was quite touched by the intimacy and care he and love that he has for Harry. The whole burden of the Crown and governance of nation and Commonwealth is alluded to by Harry and he has enough distance as ‘Spare’ yet proximity to understand the actual benefits and drawbacks of hereditary birth. As news unfolds regarding the forthcoming coronation and the results of Netflix and ‘Spare’ I just hope that this family which are sacred to the British people can iron out their difficulties. I think it may take moves from both sides to diffuse the situation but equally I do not see it impossible for them to achieve a harmonious future for the good of all. Yes, the Royal Family, like any other family, has its ups and downs, but to me it’s not really that dysfunctional. My own close family life is an awful to more dysfunctional than Harry’s has ever been – this in one reason I really enjoyed the book and nothing is beyond hope. War and Peace and peace is the preferred path.

Harry is a bit of partier that is for sure. He is overly frank and candid regarding the use of illegal drugs. Cannabis is just part of his daily life and he mentions cocaine use too. It is a different era and a new generation where values have changed and I guess that living in the USA where cannabis is legal helps a bit for the ‘Stoned Ginger’ Prince. He should calm down a bit really though as it is a bit excessive and perhaps something he should be a bit more responsible about.  

The army stuff was great and I felt him discovering his freedom and normality during this period. It blew my head away really seeing the actual inner story of his military work. Yes, he may have been blasted for Taliban kill claims and I’ve spoken to military veterans who are disgusted by this and say it’s wrong. But I like to hear that a member of our inner core of The Royal Family is directly fighting Islamic terrorism directly. 50 kills would be better than the 25 or so mentioned in my opinion. – there was about 4000 innocents dead in the Twin Towers terrorist attack. 25 armed jihadists, totally opposed to Western life and Western values is but a drop in the ocean. If Harry’s book can inspire the end of Islamic terror and its eradication for future generations in any way then all the better.

And on to the Meghan romance and family. Harry’s situation has left him with difficulties with the practicalities of serious romantic relationships. In Meghan, I think he has found a genuine Princess, a new ‘Diana’ a people’s princess. Firstly I’m not even going to illuminate anything regarding ‘racism’ – It’s just outmoded, outdated, irrelevant and not worth talking about. Their story is a beautiful story of true love and in an age where values are eroding and families falling apart it brings light to see them making their way in life with a good solid nucleus. I hope that one day their children will grow up being able to be proud of both their parents for what they have done in documenting their own lives and feelings in the Netflix documentary and also in Harry’s autobiography.

I hope that this is not the final time we will hear from Harry direct in print. I hope things work out for the Coronation and in the future for Harry, Princess Megan and their children. I’m more of a fan after reading and offer as much support as I can. I encourage people to actually go out and buy the book and read it because you will enjoy it and gain from the experience.

Good luck Prince Harry – remember that a ‘Spare’ in bowling is actually quite a good score.

Review: The Dragons and the Snakes – How The Rest Learned to Fight The West – by David Kilcullen

This is one of the very best books I have ever read. It is up to date material and full of cutting edge military theory and ideas and I believe is critical essential reading for any politician or military personnel, especially those who conduct their employment in the NATO led West. I am no stranger to Australian soldier-scholar David Kilcullen’s work. This is the fourth book of his that I have read. This work surpasses the previous books and it is genuinely a masterpiece. What are the dragons and snakes? The dragons are the main, most powerful nation-state enemies. Russia and China are the main dragons and additionally we have Iran and North Korea who pose significant military threat and who are ideologically opposed to the West. The snakes are state and non-state actors. Less powerful nation states such as Iraq or Afghanistan and terrorist organisations and quasi nation jihadist states and their peripherals such as ISIS. Al Qaeda is a big snake, as is the Taliban as is Hezbollah and it is these snakes that have predominated active warfare measures from the USA and her allies in the post Cold War world. On the whole Kilcullen criticises Western military action in the recent past citing little evidence of genuine success. Traditional warfare and indeed highly technological modern military fighting that reached its zenith in the first Iraqi conflict of 1991 has been made redundant by adaptive enemies who have learnt how to successfully withstand dominance by coalition forces and have adapted techniques and tactics that have in effect neutralised our methods. While the world witnesses this stalemate between snakes and our armies the dragons have been sat watching, taking notes and suitably adapting their own military philosophies to take advantage of the new global environment. The way in which these dragons have re-emerged into active roles demonstrates new confidence and their upward projection into the future looks very daunting a positive to a fading Western democratic dominant imperialism. The main message of this book is that if we do not adjust ourselves and realign our military strategy we will ultimately face defeat and the political and economic collapse of our societies. When analysing the snakes we look in detail at various different organisations. ‘Combat Darwinism’ is an interesting scientific look at the decapitation of the snake that is Al Qaeda. Our strategic focus was to target leadership of this jihadist monster and every time a key leader was successfully culled a new hydra head on the snake was born and the enemy’s success in adaptation, even though its movement may have come close to complete annihilation, meant that natural selection allowed the foe to fight again with even more strength and resurge. Often our own militaries pulled back from the precipice due to economic and political factors, allowing the necessary reformation space for the enemy. This has been a key part of analysis for the War on Terror. After 9/11 We succeeded in killing the likes of Osama Bin Laden and most of the rest of the leadership but ‘The Base’ movement just became a self-perpetuating force unto itself without traditional vanguard leadership and it morphed into other jihadist factions such as AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq) and ISIS, producing further problems. The very fact that today, The Taliban are back in government in Afghanistan demonstrates Combat Darwinism in effect and the future of global jihad seems to be a lasting phenomenon that will continue to plague the Western World for the foreseeable future. I found the case study of Hezbollah as it fights against Israel and later in Syria to have been very illuminating. Their adaptation and growth have demonstrated how a tactically weaker military force can survive, grow more powerful and be effective in the face of complicated battle odds. Looking at the snakes we see a new Russia under the autocratic reins of Vladimir Putin who is becoming ever more military active as his increasing hostility and delusion grows especially with the latest invasion of Ukraine. Liminal warfare tactics used by Russia introduce new elements to modern warfare against the West. Operating just below the detectable surface a combination of economic warfare, information warfare and cyberwarfare does just enough damage to Russian enemies without provoking military response. From cyberwarfare attacks in Estonia through to democratic election social media disinformation warfare during Trump election in USA or Brexit in the UK, Russia is undermining the West. Often it is different sides’ different perceptions of what constitutes hostile actions or warfare that our polarised views can fail to distinguish. In the last days of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev received promises that NATO would not expand any further to the East yet Western leaders lied in these reassurances. Putin and the Russian military rightfully are concerned by any move that threatens their territorial integrity. Post communist oligarch capitalism and an easing of traditional espionage has allowed a traditionally focussed long term enemy to rebuild and rekindle its old hostilities to the West. The study of China illustrates again how economic and computer technologies can be used liminally to fight out societies. The Chinese military has slowly been rebuilding and modernising. Its Navy has emerged from nowhere and it has been encroaching on island chains in the South China Sea, building barriers that can be used as both defensive and offensive bases against any future major conflict. I was particularly pleased to see Kilcullen reveal the importance of the military theory work of PLA strategists, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui. I have only recently read the ‘Unrestricted Warfare’ book that since its publication at the turn of the millennium, has been a core component of the People’s Liberation Army’s development. Although he sees some of the authors’ ideas as pure paranoia and delusion this also demonstrates how perception on different sides can be very different. China has undoubtedly focussed very heavily on economic warfare and the fact the renminbi now underwrites the whole US economy and the globalisation of Chinese capital investment in key infrastructure such as ports or via tech firms such as Huawei is forecast by Qiao and Wang. The question is asked in that with China being so overexposed economically could mean that direct traditional military conflict could be less likely. The analyses of our enemies is concise and precise and unsettling. What are Kilcullen’s answers to the posed dilemma? He admits that there are no obvious solutions and although it is clear that change has to occur and is likely to come on both sides, The West and the Dragons and Snakes, it is felt that a Byzantine approach to preservation of Empire is the best path forward. Acceptance of our fading power and influence yet also a pragmatic and sustaining approach to preserving and development our military, political and economic futures.

Review: From Pablo to Osama – Trafficking and Terrorist Networks, Government Bureaucracies, and Competitive Adaptation – by Michael Kenney

This book is an academic study of two of the major opponents of Western governments today. It examines both Narcotraffickers and Cartels and also Terrorists, mainly Islamic terrorists. Not only does it cover the methods and practices of these two criminal enterprises in their working practices, the book also examines the law enforcement approaches in dealing with the criminal organizations. It is a critique of both sets of parties and looks to ways that probably either side could use to improve methods either to evade capture or to capture and prosecute. Therefore the book could equally be relevant to a narcotrafficker or terrorist as to a law enforcement agent or politician. The running theme and idea in presenting these bodies that the text examines is to break their work up into ‘metis’ and ‘tecne’ – Metis is basically the active experience gained on the job and tecne is the set of skills required to work in an area. The balance of metis and tecne has to shift its balance according to the competitive adaptation of the enemy in order for success. For the Narcotraffickers the Colombian cartels are a priority case study with Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel and also the Cali cartel examined in detail. Their opponents, the DEA, CIA, FBI US Army and Colombian security services, paramilitaries etc are looked at in their methods to disrupt global supply chains. Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden are the focus of the Islamic jihadi terrorists which utilise in many ways similar approaches to evading capture as do drug cartel employees although suicide bombs and cocaine are quite different commodities. The book is well-balanced, offers intelligent solutions and ideas and has a conclusion which neatly summarises the study’s findings.

Review: Dangerous People, Dangerous Places – by Norman Parker

Author, Norman Parker served a 24 year jail sentence for murder. On his release, wanting to experience life to the fullest, he took advantage of his writing skills to become a journalist for lads mags and the Daily Express and set about tackling the niche market of visiting dangerous places in the world and through his criminal contacts by meeting dangerous people. The book details his adventures and his journey takes him to the far reaches of the planet. Colombia, Haiti, Israel, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka. Parker can be found mixing it up with narco-traffickers in cocaine laboratories as well as hanging with terrorists, insurgents and guerrillas. He seems streetwise in his travels and has a remarkable self discipline that allows him to survive in the danger zones. As the story unfolds he reveals more of his personal journey and seems like a nice character, in spite of his convictions. I’d be keen to learn more about what transpired at the end of the book when he seems to agree on settling into an Israeli settler community, mainly due to his Jewish heritage. Enjoyed reading the variety and excesses of a global whirlwind travelogue.

 

Review: Escobar: The Inside Story of Pablo Escobar, the World’s Most Powerful Criminal. as Told by His Brother Roberto Escobar

Much has been said about Pablo Escobar, who was the richest criminal in history and the head of the Medellin cartel in Colombia. This book is written from the heart and is an intimate portrait of the great man as remembered by one of his closest associates and a member of his family – his brother Roberto Escobar. Often Roberto will refute some of the more macabre details of Pablo legend as he aims to place the truth into history. We hear the inside story of Pablo’s early years, his breaking into the cocaine trade through contraband trafficking. It is clear how ruthless Pablo could be and even in the early years his business acumen can be unquestioned. There are enlightening tales from Hacienda Napoles. Always there is an emphasis on Pablo Escobar’s Robin Hood qualities with his care of the poor and needy in the slums of Medellin. We see how war was brought to the Colombian government through the Extraditables and also against the Cali cartel. The struggle against the Pepes in latter years is brutal and Roberto has to face a crippling injury after a letter bomb explodes in prison. The whole saga of La Catedral – the prison where they negotiated surrender is revealing. The tale of Pablo Escobar is one of extremes. The amounts of profit and money changing hands are astronomical. Roberto, as a chief accountant of the organisation, is in a position to give some clarity on the range of investments and the inside details of the massive narcotics shipments that were taking place. At the end of the day, this was a business like any other and the violence associated with the hunting down of Pablo and in maintaining his massive empire is out of this world. I think that through this biography we see more of Pablo the Saint and family man than the terrorist and criminal. A great five star read.

Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill

Following on from his book on the mercenary force Blackwater, Jeremy Scahill delves into the Dirty Wars of the Bush and Obama era in the War on Terror. The main theatres covered include Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Scahill writes about the excesses of the Bush administration, in particular the detainee programs and he deals with how Obama has ratcheted up the campaign against terrorists with the heavy use of drones and targetted killings. There is a focus on American citizen Anwar Awlaki and his rise within the terrorist ranks and how his targetting by the US raised all kinds of legal dilemmas in terms of assassination by his own government. The Osama Bin Laden death is covered in detail, and perhaps extremely relevant, in light of the Kenya bombings this week, the book analyses the rise of Al Shebab in Somalia and also Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. The book is very well researched, although I feel that the author is somewhat sympathetic towards the Jihadists and critical of the US government measures to contain them. Obviously, the killing of civilians is wrong from whatever side, and some of the US actions can be compared with those of the terrorists. It is frightening to witness how clandestine operations are from the White House down and the way in which the JSOC has been totally unleashed over the years to a status where it has virtually no oversight, is a scary fact. Since September 11th 2001, the War On Terror has been a real issue to most citizens of the world. Dirty Wars is a book which details this struggle in a very readable, interesting and enlightening manner. I highly recommend this book and believe it is a step up from the Blackwater predecessor. I look forward to future work from the author.