Anger Over Claims About NATO’s Role
UK ministers have criticised Donald Trump after the US president appeared to dismiss the role NATO allies played in Afghanistan. In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump suggested allied troops were not on the front lines, remarks that sparked immediate outrage in Britain. Official UK figures show that 457 British service personnel died during the conflict, with 405 of those deaths caused by hostile action.
Following the interview, the UK government said on Friday that Trump was “wrong to diminish” the contribution of NATO forces. British troops joined the US-led mission in Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11 attacks, when NATO invoked its collective defence clause for the first and only time.
‘Their Sacrifice Will Never Be Forgotten’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the UK was proud of its armed forces and stressed that their losses were made in defence of collective security. “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,” the spokesperson said.
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said he expected Starmer to raise the issue directly with Trump. “The fact is, the only time Article 5 has ever been invoked was to come to the aid of the United States after 9/11,” he told broadcasters. Defence Secretary John Healey echoed that message, noting that more than 450 British personnel lost their lives answering that call.
Families and Politicians React
Trump’s comments have also drawn strong reactions from bereaved families and MPs. Lucy Aldridge, whose 18-year-old son William was killed in Afghanistan, described the remarks as “extremely upsetting.”
Emily Thornberry, chair of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called them “an absolute insult” to the families of those who died. “How dare he say we weren’t on the front line?” she said during BBC Question Time.
Troops from several NATO countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Denmark, also died in Afghanistan. The United States is reported to have lost more than 2,400 soldiers during the conflict.
