Trump’s False Claims About NATO Allies in Afghanistan Spark International Outrage

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned Donald Trump’s remarks about NATO allies as “insulting and frankly appalling” after the former US president falsely claimed that coalition troops stayed away from the front lines during the Afghanistan conflict.

In a Fox News interview, Trump alleged that NATO allies “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan, provoking widespread outrage from veterans, politicians, and military leaders across the United Kingdom and other allied nations.

“I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling, and I am not surprised they have caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured,” Starmer said, demanding an apology for the comments that have deeply wounded the families of fallen service members.

The White House responded Friday night without issuing the requested apology. “President Trump is absolutely right — the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Independent.

Britain suffered the second-highest number of military casualties in Afghanistan, with 457 personnel killed during the conflict, behind only the United States, which lost 2,461 service members. In total, coalition forces from NATO countries suffered more than 1,100 deaths in the decades-long war.

Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, joined the criticism, stating that the “sacrifices” of British soldiers who served and died “deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.”

Defence minister Al Carns, who personally served five tours in Afghanistan, issued a particularly pointed invitation: “I’d suggest whoever believes these comments, come have a whisky with me, my colleagues, their families, and importantly, the families of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for both of our nations.” Carns also shared video footage of his frontline service as evidence of British troops’ combat role.

Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West called Trump’s comments “disgraceful,” telling The Independent, “It is wrong and a disgraceful thing for anyone to say, let alone the head of state of an allied nation.”

The controversy is particularly sensitive given that Afghanistan represents the only time NATO’s Article 5 has been invoked — the collective defense provision that considers an attack on one member nation as an attack on all. This occurred after the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, prompting allies to join America in its military response.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former defence secretary, didn’t mince words: “President Trump is either willing to make accusations without bothering to check the facts, or he is just lying and knows he is lying. Either way, he is destroying his reputation and that of the United States.”

Lucy Aldridge, whose son William was killed in Afghanistan at age 18, described Trump’s remarks as “extremely upsetting,” adding that the former president showed “no compassion whatsoever for anyone who doesn’t serve him.”

Trump’s comments have united British political figures across the spectrum in condemnation. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed them as “flat-out nonsense,” while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey referenced Trump’s five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, asking, “How dare he question their sacrifice?”

Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, who initially committed British forces to Afghanistan following 9/11, responded through a spokesperson who emphasized Blair’s “deep gratitude” for “the enormous contribution and sacrifice British troops made in Afghanistan on the front line of the fight against terrorism.”

Labour MP Calvin Bailey, a former RAF officer awarded the Air Medal by then-President Barack Obama in 2013 for his service alongside American special operations units, offered a measured response: “Political leaders are just like a hand in a bucket of water. They pass. I know that Trump is one man, but behind him are 300 million, most of whom disagree [with him]. I served with Americans; they are my friends. They told me to rise above those comments.”