US President Donald Trump sparked a firestorm this week after claiming that NATO troops from other countries had stayed “a little back” from the front lines in Afghanistan. The remarks have sparked global backlash, with foreign leaders demanding an apology from the POTUS.
The White House has been staunch in its support for the comments made by Trump — even as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince Harry, who was twice deployed to Afghanistan, and many others spoke up.
Once again raising the big question around whether NATO allies would “be there” if the USA “ever needed them,” Trump downplayed the role played by NATO allies and other partner countries that fought alongside US troops in Afghanistan.
The comments surfaced during one of his interviews with Fox News in Switzerland, as he continues to ramp up his threats about taking control of Greenland, an autonomous part of a NATO member – Denmark.
What Trump said about NATO troops
“I’ve always said, ‘Will they be there, if we ever needed them?’ And that’s really the ultimate test,” he told Fox News on Thursday (US time). “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?”
He went on: “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.”
Starmer, Prince Harry respond: White House stands by Trump
The UK Prime Minister has since branded Trump’s statements about the NATO troops’ contribution at the frontlines in Afghanistan “insulting and frankly appalling.” Keir Starmer has even proposed the POTUS should apologise for the same.
“I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured,” Starmer said in sharp criticism. “If I had misspoken in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologise.”
As a veteran who served in Afghanistan, Prince Harry also issued a statement provided by his spokesperson on Friday. “Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace,” the UK royal member said, as per CNN and BBC.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers has since responded to the criticism shaping up in light of Trump’s remarks. “President Trump is absolutely right – the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” she said, as per CNN.
What are Trump’s NATO troops remarks about?
In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, the United States ended up becoming the first and only (so far) NATO member to invoke the alliance’s Article 5. As per this article, the alliance views an attack against one NATO member as an attack against all of them. As a result, a collective military action was launched in Afghanistan.
Although the US lost the most troops compared to any other NATO nation in Afghanistan, some European countries with significantly smaller populations ended up losing relatively as many troops during the action, as per CNN.
Around 3,500 allied troops lost their lives at the time. Of those, 2,456 were Americans and 457 were British. Denmark, which had a population of around 5 million when the conflict began, lost over 40 troops.
Even beyond his recent claims, Trump had similarly blasted NATO members on Truth Social earlier this month. “I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM,” he fumed on his social media platform. “We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us.”
Even British Defense Secretary John Healey called out Trump for his recent remarks, asserting that Article 5 had “only been triggered once,” and allies had answered the call made by the US. “And more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan,” he said. “Those British troops should be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives in service of our nation.”