Trump Questions NATO Contributions In Afghanistan, Sparks Criticism
Donald Trump said the role of NATO forces in the war in Afghanistan has been exaggerated, claiming allied troops stayed behind US soldiers and away from front-line fighting.
Donald Trump said the role of NATO forces in the war in Afghanistan has been exaggerated, claiming allied troops stayed behind US soldiers and away from front-line fighting.
Speaking Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump told Fox News: “We’ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
Trump also voiced scepticism that NATO members would come to the United States’ defence if Washington were ever in need.
The remarks prompted strong reactions from several allied leaders and officials.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the comments as “insulting and appalling”, noting that 457 British service personnel were killed during the Afghanistan war. In a video posted on his account on X, Starmer said the remarks had hurt the families of those killed as well as the wider British public.
Al Carns, the UK armed forces minister, also pushed back, saying British forces served on the front lines in Afghanistan and often beyond.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded earlier by urging that Trump be reminded of Polish soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan.
In the United States, former national security adviser John Bolton described Trump’s comments as an attack on NATO. Writing on X, Bolton said: “Trump is embarrassing the American people by his attacks on NATO allies that fought with us in Afghanistan, not to mention justifiably outraging the allies.”
The White House, responding to the criticism, said: “President Trump is right.”
