Prince Harry Fighting in Afghanistan
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Seven thousand eight hundred British troops are serving in the war in Afghanistan. Only one though is a grandson of the queen.</s>DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Every war has its secrets. Prince Harry on the front lines, a secret no more. Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta.</s>KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar. Kyra Phillips is on assignment in Iraq. You're in the</s>CNN NEWSROOM. LEMON: It is 2:00 here in the East. And our top story, the secret is out, Britain's Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, is fighting in Afghanistan. CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh has the very latest for us.</s>ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. As you mentioned, Don, the secret, for lack of a better term, is out, all part of a better plan to have the prince in Afghanistan for a three- month tour. The understanding is that he was out there from mid- December. Now, what we're hearing at this point, getting some varied reaction from various parts of the country. Specifically, let's start with Buckingham Palace here behind me. We're understanding from the communications division for the royal family saying that Prince Harry is very proud to be serving his country on operations alongside his fellow soldiers, and is doing the job that he was trained for. Now, needless to say, there are some people who are quite upset that this embargo, for lack of a better term, an agreement between the U.K. media organizations and international organizations like CNN, not to divulge this information. The military saying that they are very disappointed that a Web site and some other Web pages have given this information out. But at the same time, they're also saying that what the last two months have shown us is that it's perfectly possible for Prince Harry to be employed just the same as any other army officers of his rank and experience. His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary -- Don.</s>LEMON: Hey, I've got to ask you a question. We know that he was supposed to go to Iraq, Alphonso, but that caused some problems last year.</s>VAN MARSH: That's right. Last May, it was understood that he was scheduled to serve in Iraq, but at that time, the Ministry of Defense had determined that he would be too much of a target for insurgents, even though Prince Harry has long said that he wanted to serve his country, not to be hiding behind his royal pedigree, and to do what he what he was trained for. At that point, it was not -- it was determined that he would not be able to be serving. But this time, as we understand from, mid-December, he's been in Afghanistan -- Don.</s>LEMON: All right. Alphonso Van Marsh reporting from London. Thank you very much for that, Alphonso. And why would the British royal family choose to send someone so close to the throne to fight in the middle of a war? We're going to talk to our Roger Clark in just a moment. He is director of our international coverage, also worked for the BBC and has done numerous stories about the royal family. He'll join us in just a few minutes to talk to us about that.</s>KEILAR: From the White House to the campaign trail, the economy topping today's political agenda. President Bush says the nation is not headed toward a recession. Democratic hopeful Barack Obama disagrees. He says things are bad and getting worse. And as we approach the do-or-die March 4th primaries, Obama and Hillary Clinton are going toe-to-toe in Texas and Ohio. CNN, of course, has the best political team in television. We have every angle covered in the debates over the economy and the race for the White House. Looking ahead now to March 4th, our John King, Candy Crowley, and also Carol Costello -- you see them at the top of your scene -- they're in Ohio. Suzanne Malveaux, Jessica Yellin, Ali Velshi, Ted Rowlands and Dana Bash are tracking the candidates and also the concerns of voters in Texas. We also have senior political analyst Bill Schneider in Washington, D.C, and CNN's Mary Snow in New York. So let's get started now with Ali Velshi. He is in Texas with the CNN Election Express. He's talking politics and money. And he's having a little fun. Sampling some of the local pastimes. Today, he's standing by in San Antonio, right in front of the Alamo.</s>ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And we are talking to a lot of people. Let me just give you a litany of where we are right now, Brianna. Just moments ago, oil crossed $102. Again, crossed the record that it hit two days ago -- or yesterday. It is above now $102. We have a new record for the price of oil. Earlier this week, we heard that inflation, wholesale inflation in 2007, was over seven percent. Find me somebody who got a raise that was seven percent in 2007. We know gas prices are up over 80 cents in the last year. We know the stock market is down to 12,600, the Dow Jones. Now, people know there's a problem. Everywhere we go in Texas, the economy is the number one issue, and it tends to be around prices, inflation. Today, President Bush, talking about various matters, was asked by a reporter whether or not we are in a recession. You alluded to this earlier. Listen to what his exact words were.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think we're headed to a recession, but no question we're in a slowdown. And that's why we acted, and acted strongly, with over $150 billion worth of pro-growth economic incentives. Mainly money going into the hands of our consumers. And some money going to businesses to invest, which will create jobs.</s>VELSHI: Well, President Bush says we're not in a recession, we're in a slowing economy. The economy is generally measured by GDP. Last year, at the end of the year, 2006, GDP came in at 0.6 percent. That means the economy grew 0.6 percent in that three months. When you get to zero and you star going below zero, that's a recession if that continues for a little while. But the people who are paying a lot more for the goods that they buy, for the gas that they need, if there's a danger of losing their jobs, that is what a recession is to them. Now, that doesn't -- that's not a textbook definition. And a lot of people sort of get on our case about the fact that talking about a recession makes it. But people don't stop shopping because they hear it on the news. People stop shopping or pull back because they feel that their job or their income is in danger. Yesterday, we had one of the major housing companies in the United States saying that they feel like that all of the ceaseless talk about recession is what's causing their business to go down. The fact is, Americans are not that influenced by what we do. If they think that their income is not there, they're going to pull back on spending. And that's what we're hearing in our trip around Texas. People telling me their stores are not as full, their towns don't get visited as much. People are spending less money. That's the concern on our plate right now -- Brianna.</s>KEILAR: And Ali, on a totally different note, I mean, I've got to tell you, I'm kind of disappointed. No cowboy hat. You're not riding a farm animal this go-around.</s>VELSHI: Well, the hat's never far. The hat's never far -- Brianna.</s>KEILAR: Put -- oh, yes.</s>VELSHI: It's hot -- and it's cold in the morning.</s>LEMON: It's on backwards, by the way. You had it on backwards.</s>VELSHI: When I pulled into San Antonio, I picked under one of those Davy Crockett hats. I wore that for about four seconds this morning. But it just looks like a mullet on me. It doesn't really -- it doesn't really convey the Davy Crockett thing.</s>KEILAR: Oh, Ali Crockett, love it. Ali Velshi there for us in San Antonio, right out in front of the Alamo. Thanks so much.</s>LEMON: Poor Davy Crockett.</s>KEILAR: And all of the latest campaign news is available right at your fingertips. Check it out at CNNpolitics.com. Also, analysis from the best political team on television. That and more at CNNpolitics.com. Now here's some unappetizing food for thought. The CDC saying 76 million Americans get sick every year from contaminated food. This afternoon, Congress is looking into food safety in the wake of the nation's largest ever beef recall. This recall resulted from undercover video that you see here shot by the Humane Society of slaughterhouse cows in obvious distress. One hundred forty-three million pounds of beef was recalled, and the California processing plant where this video was shot has been closed. Now, coinciding with today's hearings, the Humane Society is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over a legal loophole that it says it allows sick or so-called downer cows to go to slaughter. The lawsuit alleges the USDA violated requirements when it relaxed rules last year on the processing of potentially sick cattle. And at this point, a USDA spokesman is not commenting.</s>LEMON: Well, it is dinnertime in London, and a lot of dinner conversation, no doubt, involves Prince Harry. As we have been reporting here on CNN, British defense officials now confirm the prince has been a soldier in Afghanistan since December. Our Roger Clark joins us now. He's the director of coverage for CNN International. You used to work for the BBC. And I know you have extensive knowledge of the British royal family, actually helping me out with an interview with Prince Andrew just a couple weeks ago. But first, I've got to ask you this -- I know that you just got off the phone with the press secretary of the prince of Wales.</s>ROGER CLARK, DIRECTOR OF COVERAGE, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Yes, that's right, a few minutes ago, Paddy Harverson, who is the communication secretary at Clarence House, which is the official residence of the prince of Wales. And the statement tonight says that the prince of Wales is very, very proud of his son. Paddy Harverson also told me that during the course of the prince's deployment in Afghanistan since the middle of December, both the majesty, the queen, and the prince of Wales and Prince William have been kept well up to speed on what's been going on.</s>LEMON: Well, and the big question is why would the royal family -- I mean, he's third in line. Why would they allow someone so close to the throne to go and to serve, and, you know, to put himself into harm's way and also the people around him as well?</s>CLARK: You've answered the question yourself. He's third in line to the throne. He's not likely to be the king. Prince Charles will be the next king, then Prince William. Prince Harry is highly unlikely to be the king. So what does he do with his life? He can't spend his entire life opening hospitals, planting trees and launching ships.</s>LEMON: Right.</s>CLARK: He's got to do something meaningful with his life. And he chose the armed services. He chose the army. His regiment had gone to war, went to war in Iraq. He couldn't go because it was too dangerous, too many people knew about it, he was too much of a target. Afghanistan was deemed the place that he should go, go very quietly without the media knowing about it. And you have to remember, you see -- you have to remember that Prince Harry is an action-packed guy.</s>LEMON: Right.</s>CLARK: How could his comrades go to war, come back to him in London, sat behind his desk for the previous three months? How does he look them in the eyes?</s>LEMON: Well, I know that. But still, you have to say, OK, after all, he is a prince, and we understand that, how could he look them in the eye? But there are other things at play here. But you make a good point when you said that the prince of Wales says he's very proud of his son. He's very proud of both of his sons. And as a matter of fact, just a couple of weeks ago we were doing an interview with Prince Andrew. We knew -- full disclosure -- that Prince Harry was in Afghanistan fighting at the time, but there was a media blackout. Couldn't ask him about it, but we did ask him sort of in a roundabout way how he felt about the military service. Let's take a listen and I'll talk to you about it.</s>LEMON: You fought in the Falkland Islands.</s>PRINCE ANDREW, UNITED KINGDOM: Yes.</s>LEMON: The two princes now both have military service. Are you proud of that tradition, that it still seems to be happening even with the two young princes?</s>PRINCE ANDREW: Absolutely. I mean, I think that -- I mean, I did it, whatever it was, maybe 30 years ago now. They're just taking that tradition on even further. And I'm extremely proud of the fact that they are both serving for their country.</s>LEMON: OK. "Extremely proud." But he is, in fact, a bullet magnet. And that's his nickname. He is.</s>CLARK: Yes. Apparently, the</s>LEMON: Right.</s>CLARK: And only now, here we are at the end of February, is that news leaking out.</s>LEMON: Surprisingly that it really lasted that long.</s>CLARK: Yes. I mean, I can't remember any kind of news blackout in the United Kingdom lasting this long.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CLARK: But there was a very interesting deal between the British Ministry of Defense and the media. And that deal was, look, if you keep it quiet, then we will give you access to the front line. And you're seeing all these pictures.</s>LEMON: And the other people around him won't be in danger if you keep it quiet. OK.</s>CLARK: That's right. And my understanding from the Ministry of Defense and talking to sources there is that, tonight, there are some very, very high-level meetings involving people like the chief of...</s>LEMON: About whether to pull him back.</s>CLARK: ... defense about whether to pull him back. And the feeling is, yes, probably they will bring him back. They'll pull him out of Afghanistan because it's dangerous for him and also it's dangerous for all those other coalition servicemen and women who are fighting there.</s>LEMON: Roger Clark, director of our international coverage. Thank you, sir.</s>CLARK: A pleasure.</s>LEMON: Appreciate it.</s>KEILAR: Bringing Kenya back from the depths of violence and hate, that is the goal of a new power-sharing deal signed by the country's president and also the opposition leader. And our Zain Verjee, who grew up in Kenya, is going to be joining us with the very latest.</s>LEMON: And we'll tell you about a young white man who was in the driver's seat as Martin Luther King, Jr. pushed for freedom and equality in the civil rights era.