President Trump’s comments are
baffling in this context as thousands of non-US troops risked their lives – and
many lost them – in some of the fiercest fighting, especially in Kandahar and
Helmand provinces. It was not just UK forces that saw some of the most intense
combat there, as well as suffering horrific, life-changing injuries from hidden improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Canadians, the Estonians, the Danes
and many other nations, including the UAE, deployed their troops to some of the
most dangerous parts of the country, in support of the US-led Operation
Enduring Freedom. It’s true that not everyone saw
intense combat – there were thousands of Americans based in the relative safety
of Bagram airbase, for example. But the fact is that every single person who
deployed to Afghanistan - men and women, military and civilian - risked their
lives to some extent in support of America’s call for assistance in the
aftermath of al-Queda's 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001. To
ignore this sacrifice prompts the inevitable question: would they do it again
now? Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch says Donald Trump's comments are "flat-out nonsense", writing on social media: "British, Canadian, and Nato troops fought and died alongside the US for 20 years.
This is a fact, not opinion. Their sacrifice deserves respect not denigration." Ed Davey , the Liberal Democrats leader, says: "457 British troops lost their lives in Afghanistan.
Trump avoided military service five times.
How dare he question their sacrifice." We haven't heard from Reform UK's Nigel Farage yet, but former shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick , who recently defected to the party, said the comments were "offensive and wrong". Speaking to BBC's Question Time on Thursday, Labour MP Emily Thornberry called it an "absolute insult" to the British service personnel killed in the conflict and said the remarks were "much more than a mistake". On the same programme, Conservative shadow cabinet member Stuart Andrew also called the comments "disgraceful" and "appalling". Labour and Conservative MPs criticise Trump Afghanistan remarks Let's bring you some more comments now from Stephen Kinnock, who's been appearing on news outlets this morning. He tells BBC Breakfast he is "disappointed" by the US president's remarks, adding that Trump's claim "doesn't really add up" and his comments "don't really bear any resemblance to reality". Kinnock, the health and social care minister, also called the claim "deeply disappointing" and "wrong". "Many, many British soldiers and many soldiers from other European Nato allies gave their lives in support of American missions, American-led missions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq," he told Sky News. "I am incredibly proud of our armed forces. They have put their lives on the line for our country. They are the definition of honour and valour and patriotism. "I think anybody who seeks to criticise what they have done and the sacrifices that they make is plainly wrong." He added: "President Trump's comments are deeply disappointing, there is no other way to say that." Nato invoked Article 5, which states that "an armed attack against one Nato member shall be considered an attack against them all", following the 9/11 terror attacks. Speaking to Fox News last night, US President Donald Trump said he was "not sure" the military alliance would be there for the US "if we ever needed them". "We've never needed them," he said, adding: "We have never really asked anything of them." "They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan," he said, "and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines". Health and Social Care Minister Stephen Kinnock has suggested UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer would speak to Trump abut the remarks. "He's incredibly proud of our armed forces, and he will make that clear to the president," he told LBC. Donald Trump's claim that Nato troops stayed "a little off the front lines" du
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