Starmer demands Trump apology over ‘appalling’ false claims on UK troops in Afghanistan
Sir Keir Starmer criticizes Donald Trump’s false claims NATO troops He stayed away from the front lines in the conflict He called it “degrading and frankly appalling” in Afghanistan and demanded an apology.
The Prime Minister joined veterans and politicians from across the political spectrum in condemning Mr Trump: He angered NATO allies by claiming He’s not sure “the alliance will be there if we need it.”
He was joined by Prince Harry, who said the “sacrifice” of British soldiers who served and died in Afghanistan “deserves to be spoken about truthfully and respectfully.”
Sir Keir said: “I think President Trump’s words were insulting and frankly appalling, and I am not surprised that they caused such harm to the loved ones of those killed or injured.”
The White House responded to the criticism without any apology on Friday night.
“President Trump is absolutely right; the United States has done more for NATO than all the other countries in the alliance combined,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. Independent in a statement.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to the 457 British personnel killed in the conflict, saying he would never forget “their courage, courage and sacrifices they made for their country”.
In response to comments by Diane Dernie, mother of seriously injured veteran Ben Parkinson, Sir Keir said: “I have made my position clear and I say to Diane that if I had misspoke in that way or said those words, I am absolutely sorry and I apologize to her as well.”
Previously, No 10 said the US president was “wrong to reduce the role of NATO troops, including British forces, in Afghanistan” and said their service and sacrifice “will never be forgotten”.
Sir Tony Blair, the British prime minister who was the first to send British troops to support America in Afghanistan, also intervened.
A spokesman for Sir Tony refrained from directly criticizing the US president, saying: “Tony Blair recognizes and will always remember with deep gratitude the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by British troops in Afghanistan on the front lines of the fight against terrorism following the 11 September attacks on the USA.”
Previously, the former head of the Royal Navy was among the first to criticize Trump’s claim, describing the comments as “disgraceful”. Admiral Lord West, the former first sea lord who co-ordinated naval activities in Afghanistan, said: Independent: “It is wrong and shameful for anyone to say that, let alone the head of state of an allied nation.”
Defense Secretary John Healey said the British soldiers killed in Afghanistan were “heroes who gave their lives to serve our nation”, while defense minister Al Carns, who himself served five tours in Afghanistan, invited anyone who believes Trump’s claim to meet him and the grieving families of more than 400 British personnel killed in the conflict.
More than 1,100 non-U.S. coalition fighters have died in the conflict since it began in 2001, according to veteran aid organization Help for Heroes; the vast majority of them were from NATO countries; More than 2,400 members of the US armed forces were also killed.
But Mr. Trump, who avoided the draft for the Vietnam war five times in the 1960s and 1970s because of a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels, told Fox News: “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed back a little bit, a little bit away from the front lines.”
Mr Carns said: “I would encourage anyone who believes these comments to have a whiskey with me, my colleagues, their families and, importantly, the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for both our nations.”
He also uploaded a video of himself while in uniform, describing it as “a little snapshot of what it’s like to be on the front lines in Afghanistan.”
Former defense minister Sir Malcolm Rifkind said: Independent: “President Trump is either willing to make accusations without bothering to check the facts, or he is simply lying and knows he is lying. Either way, he is discrediting both himself and the United States.”
Care minister Stephen Kinnock told Sky News: “That doesn’t quite square with what he said, because the truth of the matter is that the only place Article 5 applied was to come to the aid of the US after 9/11.”
He added: “Large numbers of British soldiers and scores of soldiers from other European NATO allies gave their lives supporting American missions, American-led missions, in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.”
The United States remains the only country to enforce the collective security provisions of NATO’s Article 5, which recognizes an attack on one NATO country as an attack on all countries, and the alliance provided support to the United States after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
With 2,461 deaths in the conflicts in Afghanistan, Britain became the country with the second highest number of military deaths after the USA. In total, America’s allies suffered 1,160 deaths in the conflict; this is approximately one-third of total coalition deaths.
The mother of a young British rifleman killed in Afghanistan said the president “had no compassion for anyone who did not serve him”. Lucy Aldridge, whose son William died aged 18, said the words were “extremely sad”.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also condemned Mr Trump’s claims as “complete nonsense”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Trump has avoided military service five times. How dare he question their sacrifice?”
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served as a captain in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan, said it was “sad to see the sacrifices of our nation and our NATO partners retained so cheaply by the US president”.
Labor MP Calvin Bailey, a former RAF officer who served with US special operations units in Afghanistan and was awarded the Air Medal by then US President Barack Obama in 2013, said: “Political leaders are like a hand in a bucket of water. They pass. I know Trump is one man but he’s got 300 million behind him and most of them don’t agree.” [with him]. I served with the Americans; they are my friends. “They told me to rise above these comments.”
