US President Donald Trump’s recent comments sparked outrage amongst British politicians and veteran NATO soldiers after he claimed that NATO troops avoided front lines in the war in Afghanistan.
Relations between NATO and the US have been tense recently due to the Greenland issue. Trump on Thursday ramped up the tensions after he said that he wasn't sure if the alliance would “be there if we ever needed them”.
Speaking to Fox news he said, “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan … and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
On Thursday, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey pointed out that 457 British service personnel were killed during the war in Afghanistan.
The US saw about 2,461 deaths. The allies suffered a total of 1,160 deaths during the conflict, a third of the total deaths.
A total of 3,486 NATO troops died during the 20-year conflict.
In a post on social media, Ed said, “Trump avoided military service 5 times.”
“How dare he question their sacrifice. Farage and all the others still fawning over Trump should be ashamed.”
Trump has been previously criticised for avoiding conscription to Vietnam after being diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels, a claim that has been debated.
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Ject, who served in Afghanistan as a captain in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, told Sky News that it was “sad to see our nation’s sacrifice, and that of our Nato partners, held so cheaply by the president of the United States”.
“I saw firsthand the sacrifices made by British soldiers I served alongside in Sangin, where we suffered horrific casualties, as did the US Marines the following year.
“I don’t believe US military personnel share the view of President Trump; his words do them a disservice as our closest military allies,” he added.
Labour’s Dame Emily Thornberry said that Trump's comments were an insult while speaking to the BBC. “How dare he say we weren’t on the front line? How dare he? “We have always been there whenever the Americans have wanted us; we have always been there,” she said.
The USA is the only country to have invoked the collective security provisions of Nato Article 5 after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.