Donald Trump has sparked fury after claiming that European Nato troops stayed “off the frontlines” during the war in Afghanistan.
The president claimed America “never needed” support from European armed forces – despite many countries sustaining loss of life from fighting the Taliban alongside the US in the wake of 9/11.
Between the US-led invasion in 2001 and the withdrawal of coalition forces in 2021, 457 British troops were killed during combat and other operations.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump doubled down on remarks made in his speech in Davos on Wednesday that western allies would “not be there for us” if America needed them.
He said: “I’ve always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? That’s really the ultimate test, and I’m not sure of that.
“We’ve never needed them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan … and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
‘Better to keep quiet’
Responding to Trump’s remarks former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, a former officer in the Scots Guards, told The i Paper: “It is sometimes best to keep quiet and let people think you are a fool than open your mouth and confirm it.”
Tobias Ellwood, an ex-Tory defence minister and formerly an officer in the Royal Green Jackets, said Trump’s words were a “quite shocking rewriting of history designed to reeducate his base that Nato is weak”.
The coffin containing the body of British Army soldier L/cpl Paul “Sandy” Sandford from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment is carried by his fellows during his repatriation ceremony on June 9, 2007 in Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was killed in action on June 6, 2007 in Afghanistan. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)Denmark, which is currently in a diplomatic battle with the US over the future of Greenland, lost 44 troops in Afghanistan – the highest per capita of the coalition forces.
Canada’s losses were 159, France 90, Germany 62, Italy 53 and Poland 44.
Trump ‘simply wrong’
Lord Sedwill, a former UK ambassador to Afghanistan as well as an ex-Cabinet Secretary, said the US president was “simply wrong”.
He told Times Radio Afghanistan veterans and the families of UK personnel who died would be “right” to be deeply offended.
Sedwill added: “Nato Article 5 has been invoked once in the entire history of the alliance and that was in support of the United States after 9-11, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Yes of course some nations were not on the front line. The Americans took the burden but the UK and Denmark for example had a higher rate of casualties than the Americans.
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“I was in Afghanistan, that was certainly the case there, and (they) were engaged in some of the most vicious fighting in some of the most dangerous areas. And so he is completely wrong to be dismissive.
“Let’s not forget that the UK also provides significant strategic assets to the United States day in day out, including to their intelligence services.
“It is simply wrong and there will again be many American veterans, including American veterans in Congress, who know that it’s wrong.
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