Harry's Afghan Adventure Comes to Screeching Halt; Promises to Bust a Cap in Drudge's Ass

Like most normal human beings, I'm forever indebted to Matt Drudge for bringing us Monica Lewinsky, among other interesting stories. Over the past ten years, he's gone where most media cowards dare not tread.

But what the hell was he thinking by revealing the fact Prince Harry was stationed in Afghanistan? Did we really need to know this?

I don't think so.

Well, Harry's Afghan adventure is now over since his cover has been blown.

The MoD has decided to pull Prince Harry out of Afghanistan after details of his secret deployment were broadcast around the world.

In a statement released today the MoD said that the decision to remove Harry from Afghanistan was 'regrettable'.

Secret deployment. Get it? This is like when that schmuck Geraldo Rivera basically gave away coordinates of deployed troops on live television.

Actually, it's worse.

Military chiefs are now making final preparations to remove the prince from the front line and fly him back to Britain.

The move follows fears that Harry could become a target for Taliban fighters in the region now the news blackout on his deployment has been broken.

In its statement the MoD said the decision to remove Harry from the battlefield was taken not just for his own safety but for the safety of the soldiers that serve alongside the prince.

"Whilst it had been intended that Prince Harry should return in a matter of weeks with the remainder of the Household Cavalry Regiment Battlegroup, the situation has now clearly changed," the statement said.

"Following a detailed assessment of the risks by the operational chain of command, the decision has been taken by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of Defence Staff, in consultation with General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, to withdraw Prince Harry from Afghanistan immediately.

"This decision has been taken primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those who are deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual soldier."

In an interview just last week, Harry conceded that on his return to the UK, he could be a "top target" for homegrown jihadists sympathetic to the Taliban.

"Once this ... comes out, every single person that supports them will be trying to slot me," he said.

Once back in Britain, the least the authorities could do is unleash Harry on this tool. I doubt too many folks would mind.

Update: Just a Grunt noted in the comments that Drudge wasn't the first to actually break the story, but he's the first one that received any attention.

The almost unprecedented media blackout had largely held bar an unnoticed report in Australian women's magazine, New Idea, in January.

But it collapsed when Drudge went ahead and published its story yesterday afternoon, forcing the Ministry of Defence to issue an official confirmation.

Allahpundit also has some thoughts.

Drudge Gets Page A1 Treatment from NY Times

Man, it must kill the old grey hag to recognize Matt Drudge, on Page A1 no less.

Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge

Maybe they're just hoping he drives some traffic their way.

Because of the sheer number of people who look at it and because of the attention it gets from the media, what appears on Drudge can, for a few minutes or an entire day, drive what appears elsewhere, making it, “a force in the political news cycle for both the press and the campaigns,” said David Chalian, the political director at ABC News.

Nielsen/NetRatings has clocked three million unique visitors to the site over the course of a month, and the Drudge Report said its users clicked onto the site a combined 16 million times in the course of a single day last week. The site’s influence, which is not limited to politics, has survived the proliferation of blogs offering all manner of news, analysis and gossip, as well as the advent of one-stop shopping political sites like Politico, which has a big staff of established political reporters.

What they'll never understand is Matt Drudge doesn't necessarily play the political bias game like, say, The New York Times.

He really doesn't care if he offends anyone and puts the stories out there.

Joe Klein: Extremely Dumbolic

Ferret-faced freak Joe Klein, apparently trying to regain some street cred with the nutroots, takes on Matt Drudge.

How stupid does he think we are? Answer: Extremely dumbolic

What the hell does "dumbolic" mean? That he's a dumb alcoholic?

Sniveling Babies Whine About Drudge

The whiny twerps at Media Matters have uncovered a nefarious conspiracy. Matt Drudge links stories from The Politico.

This is really shocking. Perhaps if these nitwits had anything to report, Drudge might some day link to them.

I think Sugar Daddy Soros needs to buy them some attention. Or perhaps they should put down their crackpipes and seek help.

If anyone can figure out their point, let me know.