(AFP) – US President Donald Trump has sparked outrage across Europe after claiming that NATO allies shied away from the front line in Afghanistan. In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump claimed NATO had sent “some troops” but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines”. He also repeated his suggestion that the alliance would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so.
“I fully understand that Danish veterans have said no words can describe how much this hurts,” Danish Prime Minister Mette said Saturday on Facebook. “It is unacceptable that the American president questions the commitment of allied soldiers in Afghanistan,” she added.
In the interview, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers were among NATO troops who died during the conflict in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday: “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” The White House rejected Starmer’s comments and defended Trump. “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,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement sent to AFP.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Britain and a number of other allies joined the United States from 2001 in Afghanistan after it invoked NATO’s collective security clause. “Denmark is one of the NATO countries that has suffered the highest losses per capita,” the Danish prime minister underscored. The country’s population was about 5.4 million in 2003 and, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau, around 12,000 Danish soldiers and civilians had been sent to Afghanistan over the years. As well as Britain, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Denmark also died.
“Let us honour the 53 Italian soldiers who fell during the mission in Afghanistan,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a post on X on Saturday. Meanwhile, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius recalled the “heavy price” his country paid, stressing that “our army was ready when our American allies asked for support” in 2001. “Many wounded are still suffering today from the physical and psychological consequences of that period,” he added.
The Danish Veterans Association earlier said it was “at a loss for words” over Trump’s claims. “Denmark has always stood by the United States, and we have shown up in crisis zones around the world when the United States asked us to,” the association said in a statement. Danish veterans are calling for a silent march in Copenhagen on January 31 to protest Trump’s remarks.
Trump’s comments follow a bruising transatlantic crisis over his threats to seize Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — now seemingly defused. The US president on Wednesday backed away from threatened tariffs on Europe for opposing his claims on the Arctic island.
© 2024 AFP
