London — European army veterans, households of the fallen, and politicians have voiced outrage after President Trump claimed the U.S. had “by no means wanted” its NATO allies, and that allied troops had stayed “just a little off the entrance strains” in the course of the 20-year struggle in Afghanistan.
“The one time NATO has ever enacted Article 5 was after the Sep 11 terrorist assaults on america, and the world rallied to the assist of the U.S.,” Alistair Carns, the U.Ok. authorities’s Minister of the Armed Forces and a veteran who served 5 excursions in Afghanistan alongside American troops, stated in a video posted Friday on social media. “We shed blood, sweat and tears collectively, and never everyone got here house. These are bonds, I believe, cast in fireplace, defending U.S. or shared pursuits, however really defending democracy total.”
Greater than 2,200 American troops had been killed in Afghanistan, in line with the Pentagon. The Reuters information company says 457 British army personnel, 150 Canadians and 90 French troops died alongside them. Denmark misplaced 44 troops in Afghanistan — in per capita phrases, about the identical demise charge as that of america.
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“There are two nice sayings value remembering,” Carns stated in his video responding to Mr. Trump’s remarks. “Primary: ‘There’s just one worse factor than working with allies. That’s working with out them.’ And while you do, all the time bear in mind: ‘By no means above, by no means beneath, all the time side-by-side.”
A spokesperson for U.Ok. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated Friday that Mr. Trump, “was incorrect to decrease the position of NATO troops” in Afghanistan.
Later Friday, Starmer referred to as the remarks “insulting and albeit appalling.”
“We anticipate an apology for this assertion,” Roman Polko, a retired Polish common and former particular forces commander who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, advised the Reuters information company.
Mr. Trump has “crossed a purple line,” he stated. “We paid with blood for this alliance. We really sacrificed our personal lives.”
Lucy Aldridge, the mom of the youngest British soldier killed in Afghanistan, advised the BBC she was “deeply disgusted” by Mr. Trump’s feedback. Her son William Aldridge was solely 18 years previous when he was killed in a 2009 bomb blast, whereas attempting to avoid wasting fellow troops.
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“Households of those that had been misplaced to that battle reside the trauma on daily basis. I am not simply deeply offended, I am really deeply disgusted,” Aldridge stated. “This is not simply misspeaking, he has deeply offended, I can think about, each NATO member who despatched troops to combat in Afghanistan and positively the households of those that by no means got here house.”
The previous head of the British Military, Lord Richard Dannatt, referred to as Mr. Trump’s feedback, “outrageous.”
“Effectively frankly, one was dumbfounded, as a result of they’re [Mr. Trump’s comments] so factually incorrect. Completely disrespectful to our nation, to our armed forces and to the households of the 457 British service women and men who misplaced their lives in Afghanistan,” Dannatt advised the BBC.
“The feedback that he made … are simply completely disrespectful, incorrect and outrageous. It does make you wonder if he’s really match for the job that he apparently is doing,” Dannatt added.
“We Europeans should do extra, and if there’s something optimistic that Donald Trump has performed in his assorted ramblings during the last yr, it is really to make that time,” the previous U.Ok. military chief stated. “European governments should actually hear up, rise up now and discover the money that is wanted to extend our army functionality, not as a result of we wish to combat a struggle, however we have to deter additional aggression.”
CBS Information requested the White Home on Friday about Mr. Trump’s remarks on the position America’s NATO allies performed within the struggle in Afghanistan, and the criticism directed at him.
Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly replied with the next assertion: “President Trump is correct — America’s contributions to NATO dwarf that of different nations, and his success in delivering a 5 p.c spending pledge from NATO allies helps Europe take larger duty for its personal protection. America is the one NATO associate who can defend Greenland, and the President is advancing NATO pursuits in doing so.”
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