Trump Remarks on Nato Allies spark Outrage in UK
Former President donald Trump ignited a firestorm of criticism in the United Kingdom after suggesting that Nato troops were positioned “a little off the front lines” during the war in afghanistan.
- Labor MP Emily Thornberry called Trump’s comments an “absolute insult” to the 457 British service personnel who died in the conflict.
- Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, expressed sadness at the “cheaply” held sacrifice of British and Nato forces.
- Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel refuted Trump’s claims, stating that “Europeans shed blood” alongside US troops.
Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs committee, didn’t mince words, labeling the remarks an “absolute insult” to the 457 British service personnel killed in Afghanistan. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey echoed the sentiment, asking, “How dare he question their sacrifice?”
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served in Afghanistan, expressed his dismay, stating it was “sad to see our nation’s sacrifice, and that of our Nato partners, held so cheaply.” He added on X, “I don’t believe US military personnel share the view of president Trump; his words do them a disservice as our closest military allies.”
The criticism wasn’t limited to the UK. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel dismissed Trump’s claims as “false,” emphasizing that “Europeans shed blood” in support of US troops in Afghanistan. He noted that Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte had already challenged similar comments made by Trump during a joint press conference at Davos on Thursday.
Van weel told BBC’s Newsnight, “We should speak out for the truth as Mark rutte did. And if he repeated it, we need to repeat it again as that’s not how history went.”
labour MP Calvin Bailey, a former RAF officer who served alongside US special operations units in Afghanistan, asserted that Trump’s claim bore “no resemblance to the reality experienced by those of us who served there.” He recalled reminding US forces on July 4, 2008, of the shared belief in “inalienable rights and freedom from tyranny” that underpinned the response to 9/11.
Defence Secretary John Healey, while visiting Nato ally Denmark on Wednesday, underscored the collaborative nature of the conflict, stating, “In Afghanistan, our forces trained together, they fought together, and on some occasions, they died together, making the ultimate sacrifice.”
The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 with the goal of removing the Taliban regime, which was accused of harboring Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda figures linked to the 9/11 attacks. Nato nations later contributed troops and military equipment to the US-led war effort. By the time of the US withdrawal in 2021, more than 3,500 coalition soldiers had perished – approximately two-thirds of whom were American. The UK suffered the second-highest number of military deaths, with 2,461 American fatalities.
The US remains the sole nation to have invoked Article 5 of Nato’s collective security provisions, which stipulates that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
