Trump prompts outrage with claim Nato troops avoided frontline in Afghanistan | Donald Trump
Donald Trump sparked outrage among British MPs and veterans after claiming NATO troops were staying away from the front lines in Afghanistan.
The US President made these comments in an interview with Fox News and reiterated his suggestion that NATO would not support the US if asked.
His remarks sparked condemnation from across the political spectrum; critics pointed to the 457 British deaths in Afghanistan and highlighted Trump’s avoidance of military service in Vietnam.
A total of 3,486 NATO soldiers died in the 20-year conflict, including 2,461 US service personnel. 165 people, including civilians, died in Canada.
Denmark, which is in conflict with the United States over Trump’s plans for Greenland, has reached the highest death rate per capita outside the United States, with 44 war deaths in Afghanistan.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said: “We never needed them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed back a little bit, a little bit off the front lines.”
Calvin Bailey, a Labor MP and former RAF officer who served in US special operations units in Afghanistan, said Trump’s claim “bears no resemblance to the reality experienced by those of us who served there”.
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”.
Tan Dhesi, chairman of the House of Commons defense committee, said the US president’s comments were “appalling and an insult to our brave British servicemen and women who risk life and limb to help our allies, many of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice”.
Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs committee, described the comments as “more than a mistake” and an “insult” to the families of those killed.
Trump had previously been criticized for avoiding the draft to fight in Vietnam after being diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels, a medical claim that has been subject to serious doubt.
Stephen Stewart, a former soldier, author and journalist, said: “Trump’s comments are as offensive as they are inaccurate. It is utterly ironic that someone who allegedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam war would make such a disgraceful statement.
“He disrespected the memory of hundreds of British soldiers whom we called friends and comrades, who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan. If he were an honorable man, he would kneel to ask for forgiveness from the families of the martyrs.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey told
Bailey added: “As I reminded the US forces with whom I served on July 4, 2008, we were there because of the shared belief, expressed at America’s founding, that free people have unalienable rights and should not live under tyranny. This belief underpinned the response to 9/11 and is worth reflecting on now.”
The United States remains the only country to enforce Article 5 of NATO’s collective security provision, which came into force after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
