‘The ultimate insult’: Trump’s downsizing of NATO intervention in Afghanistan causes distress in the UK

LONDON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump sparked anger and distress among many in the United Kingdom on Friday by falsely asserting that troops from NATO countries — unlike Americans — have moved away from the front lines during the war in Afghanistan.

Read more: What to know about how NATO operates as Trump threatens to seize Greenland

Trump said he was not sure NATO would be there to support the United States if and when he asked.

“We never needed them, and we never asked them for anything,” he said in an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. “You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did that, and they stayed a little bit back, a little bit away from the front lines.”

He watches: Trump reveals his vision for rebuilding Gaza and turning it into a coastal city

In October 2001, about a month after the September 11 attacks, the US-led coalition launched an invasion of Afghanistan to destroy Al Qaeda, which was using the country as a base, and the group’s Taliban hosts. Alongside the United States were forces from dozens of countries, including NATO forces, whose joint defense mandate was activated for the first time after the attacks on New York and Washington.

United Kingdom sacrifice

In Britain, the reaction to Trump’s comments was harsh, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was urged to demand an apology or clarification from Trump. Starmer’s office at No. 10 Downing Street said the US president “made a mistake in reducing the role of NATO forces.”

After 9/11, Prime Minister Tony Blair said the UK would “stand shoulder to shoulder” with the US in response to Al Qaeda attacks. British forces played a major role in many operations during the Afghan war until their withdrawal in 2014, especially in Helmand province in the south of the country. US forces remained in Afghanistan until their chaotic withdrawal in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power.

Read more: Fact-checking Trump’s Greenland-focused speech at Davos

More than 150,000 British soldiers served in Afghanistan in the years following the 2001 US-led invasion, the largest contingent since the US invasion.

Defense Secretary John Healey said that the UK and NATO allies “answered the US call” at the time, and that more than 450 British soldiers had lost their lives in Afghanistan.

He said: “We must remember these British soldiers as they were, heroes who gave their lives in the service of our nation.”

Ben Opis-Jecti, a lawmaker who served in Afghanistan as a captain in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, said: “It is sad to see our nation’s sacrifices, and the sacrifices of our NATO partners, so cheaply valued by the President of the United States.”

Trump and Vietnam

The anger was heightened by the fact that the comments came from someone who did not serve in the Vietnam War when he was eligible to do so.

Stephen Stewart, author of The Accidental Soldier, which chronicles his time with British forces in Afghanistan, said: “It is utterly ridiculous that someone who allegedly evaded the draft in the Vietnam War would make such an outrageous statement.”

Read more: Lavrov says ‘we are watching’ as NATO faces crisis over Trump and Greenland

Trump received a deferment that allowed him not to serve in Vietnam due to bone spurs, but he was unable to remember which foot he gave, leading to accusations of draft evasion.

Repeated NATO insults

This was not the first time that Trump has diminished the commitment of NATO countries over the past few days. It was one of his pivotal lines of attack when he escalated his threats to seize Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

Trump’s claim that NATO countries will not be present upon request is in stark contrast to reality.

The only time Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty was used was in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States. This article is an essential provision for mutual defense, as it obliges all member states to assist another member whose sovereignty or territorial integrity may be at risk.

“When America needed us after September 11, we were there,” said former Danish platoon commander Martin Tam Andersen.

Read more: Trump cancels threat to impose tariffs on Greenland, says NATO agreed to ‘framework’ for future Arctic agreement

Denmark has been a staunch US ally in Afghanistan, with 44 Danish soldiers killed there – the highest death toll among coalition personnel per capita. Eight others died in Iraq.

The latest controversy surrounding Trump comes at the end of a week in which he faced criticism — and rejection — of his threats to Greenland.

Trump also threatened to impose tariffs on European countries opposed to his ambitions to annex Greenland, which raised questions about the future of NATO. Although Trump backtracked after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he said they had formed a “framework” for an agreement on Arctic security, transatlantic relations have been damaged.

His latest comments are unlikely to improve relations.

Diane Dearney, whose son Ben Parkinson was horribly injured when a British Army Land Rover hit a mine in Afghanistan in 2006, said Trump’s latest comments were the “ultimate insult” and called on Starmer to stand up to Trump about them.

“Call him,” she said. “Take a stand for those who fought for this country and for our flag, because it is unbelievable.”
___
Anders Kungschug contributed to this report from Copenhagen, Denmark.