‘I lost my leg and arm on the front line in Afghanistan – here’s why Trump is wrong about British troops’
A British military veteran who lost two limbs while serving on the front lines in Afghanistan said his injuries were proof Donald Trump was wrong about the role of NATO forces in the war.
In comments widely condemned overnight, the US president falsely claimed that British troops had stayed away from the front line during the conflict and reiterated his suggestion that NATO would not support America if asked.
Former Royal Marine Commando Ben McBean (38), from Plymouth, suffered life-changing injuries as a result of an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2008. Mr McBean, a member of 40 Commando, was stationed at Camp Bastion and deployed around Kajaki, a village in the south of the country.
After the explosion, he lost his left arm and his right leg was amputated above the knee. These injuries and the impact they have had on his life show that Mr Trump was wrong and that British soldiers are facing the consequences of being on the front line.
he said Independent: “I’m like this because I’m on the front lines. I have two kids now, I can’t do sports days with them, I can’t do some of the things I want to do with them.
“I can’t be the man I want to be because of my injuries. I need to keep my mental health in check.”
He added: “What did he do? [Trump] Even though I knew exactly what we were doing there, what was said was not true and against the rules. “This is really insulting.”
This comes after the US president told Fox News on Thursday: “We never needed them.” [Nato]. “They will say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed behind a little bit, they stayed out of the front lines a little bit.”
His comments were condemned by Sir Keir Starmer, who accused him of “undercutting” Britain’s war dead, and defense secretary Al Carns, who called them “utter nonsense”. He invited believers to meet veterans like himself and some of the grieving families of more than 400 British personnel killed in Afghanistan.
Mr McBean continued: “When I got to Kajaki you were on the front lines, sleeping with your guns, on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There was no such thing as a back line or off the front line.
“Every day we took turns just fighting. That’s all I did; I’d fight, I’d come back, I’d clean my gun, I’d eat some food, I’d sleep, and then you’d go away again. I did that for four and a half months before I blew up.”
Mr McBean was 20 when he and colleagues from 40 Commando were injured while working to clear a compound in Kajaki.
“We were about to go and do that, but as we were driving down the road, a bomb exploded,” he said.
“I didn’t faint, so I hit the deck and looked down; my right leg was gone.
“My left leg was torn, my kneecap was hanging, metal pieces came out of my body, there was a hole in my right arm, my left arm was hanging. I was crawling around a crater and I was finally rescued.
“That’s it, two of my friends were injured. One of them killed himself. So yes, we were on the front lines too.”
He added: “Everybody knows that [Trump] It’s wrong, but it’s annoying to hear you say that. He has such a big platform that there will be people out there who think he’s right. “Millions of people see this, that’s what’s frustrating.”
More than 1,100 coalition fighters from outside the United States 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 2,300 members of the US armed forces were killed.
The president’s comments sparked condemnation from across the British political spectrum, as well as from the families of the war dead.
Responding to the comments on Friday, Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “Hundreds of people have suffered life-changing injuries while serving with the US and our allies in Afghanistan. Their sacrifices, and those of other NATO forces, were made in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally. We are incredibly proud of our armed forces and their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Defense Secretary John Healey said: “NATO’s Article 5 was invoked only once. The UK and its NATO allies answered the US call. And more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan.”
“These British troops must be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives to serve our nation.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Donald Trump’s comments about NATO troops staying away from the front lines in Afghanistan were “ridiculous”.
He said: “Trump’s statement that NATO allies are ‘not on the front line’ in Afghanistan is pure nonsense.
“British, Canadian and NATO soldiers fought and died alongside the United States for 20 years. This is not an opinion, it is a fact. Their sacrifice deserves respect, not contempt.”
