LONDON — US President Donald Trump’s claim that NATO forces did not fight on the front line during the war in Afghanistan sparked outrage in the United Kingdom and other allied nations.In an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Trump questioned the value of the military alliance and suggested that NATO allies would not come to Washington’s aid if requested.“I’ve always said, ‘Will they be there, if we ever needed them?’ And that’s really the ultimate test. And I’m not sure of that. I know that we would have been there, or we would be there, but will they be there?” Trump said.The UK said on Friday that Donald Trump was “wrong to diminish” the role of NATO troops in Afghanistan.In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US became the first and so far only NATO member to invoke Article 5, which states that an attack against one member is an attack against all. For 20 years, NATO allies and other partner countries fought alongside US troops in Afghanistan – a sacrifice Trump has routinely downplayed.”Their sacrifice and that of other NATO forces was made in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said.“We’ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did – they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” Trump said.The comments prompted a backlash across the UK political spectrum, with critics pointing to the scale of NATO casualties during the war and raising questions about Trump’s own military record.While in absolute terms the US lost by far the most troops of any NATO country in Afghanistan, some European countries – with much smaller populations than the US – lost almost as many troops in relative terms.Around 3,500 allied troops died in the conflict, of which 2,456 were Americans and 457 were British. More than 150 Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, along with 90 French soldiers. Denmark lost 44 soldiers – one of the highest per-capita death rates among NATO members.“NATO’s Article 5 has only been triggered once. The UK and NATO allies answered the US call. And more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan,” said Defense Secretary John Healey. “Those British troops should be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives in service of our nation.”Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said Trump’s comments were an “absolute insult,” while Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, called them “flat-out nonsense,” saying that the allies’ sacrifice “deserves respect not denigration.”Before Trump’s comments to Fox News, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had pushed back at the president’s previous attempts to diminish the alliance’s willingness to support the US.“There was one thing I heard you say yesterday and today – you were not absolutely sure that Europeans would come to the rescue of the US if you will be attacked,” Rutte said Wednesday in Davos, sitting next to Trump. “Let me tell you – they will. And they did in Afghanistan, as you know.”“For every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another NATO country that did not come back to his family,” Rutte said. “This is important. It pains me if you think it is not.”Other members of the Trump administration have also made light of the sacrifices made by NATO allies in Afghanistan. In June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said his fellow US troops in Afghanistan would joke that the ISAF acronym on their shoulder patches – which stood for International Security Assistance Force – actually stood for “I Saw Americans Fighting.”“What ultimately was a lot of flags … was not a lot of on the ground capability,” Hegseth said, disparaging the efforts of NATO allies. — AgenciesLONDON — US President Donald Trump’s claim that NATO forces did not fight on the front line during the war in Afghanistan sparked outrage in the United Kingdom and other allied nations.In an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Trump questioned the value of the military alliance and suggested that NATO allies would not come to Washington’s aid if requested.“I’ve always said, ‘Will they be there, if we ever needed them?’ And that’s really the ultimate test. And I’m not sure of that. I know that we would have been there, or we would be there, but will they be there?” Trump said.The UK said on Friday that Donald Trump was “wrong to diminish” the role of NATO troops in Afghanistan.In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US became the first and so far only NATO member to invoke Article 5, which states that an attack against one member is an attack against all. For 20 years, NATO allies and other partner countries fought alongside US troops in Afghanistan – a sacrifice Trump has routinely downplayed.”Their sacrifice and that of other NATO forces was made in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said.“We’ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did – they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” Trump said.The comments prompted a backlash across the UK political spectrum, with critics pointing to the scale of NATO casualties during the war and raising questions about Trump’s own military record.While in absolute terms the US lost by far the most troops of any NATO country in Afghanistan, some European countries – with much smaller populations than the US – lost almost as many troops in relative terms.Around 3,500 allied troops died in the conflict, of which 2,456 were Americans and 457 were British. More than 150 Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, along with 90 French soldiers. Denmark lost 44 soldiers – one of the highest per-capita death rates among NATO members.“NATO’s Article 5 has only been triggered once. The UK and NATO allies answered the US call. And more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan,” said Defense Secretary John Healey. “Those British troops should be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives in service of our nation.”Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said Trump’s comments were an “absolute insult,” while Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, called them “flat-out nonsense,” saying that the allies’ sacrifice “deserves respect not denigration.”Before Trump’s comments to Fox News, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had pushed back at the president’s previous attempts to diminish the alliance’s willingness to support the US.“There was one thing I heard you say yesterday and today – you were not absolutely sure that Europeans would come to the rescue of the US if you will be attacked,” Rutte said Wednesday in Davos, sitting next to Trump. “Let me tell you – they will. And they did in Afghanistan, as you know.”“For every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another NATO country that did not come back to his family,” Rutte said. “This is important. It pains me if you think it is not.”Other members of the Trump administration have also made light of the sacrifices made by NATO allies in Afghanistan. In June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said his fellow US troops in Afghanistan would joke that the ISAF acronym on their shoulder patches – which stood for International Security Assistance Force – actually stood for “I Saw Americans Fighting.”“What ultimately was a lot of flags … was not a lot of on the ground capability,” Hegseth said, disparaging the efforts of NATO allies. — Agencies
Trump angers allies by claiming NATO troops avoided Afghan front line
