LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Friday denounced as “insulting” Donald Trump’s claim that British troops avoided the front line in Afghanistan, amid widespread anger at the US president’s remarks.
In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers were among NATO troops who died during the conflict in the South Asian country following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told the US outlet, referring to NATO allies.
“And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” he added, triggering outrage across the political divide in the UK. Trump also repeated his suggestion that NATO would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so.
In fact, following the 9/11 attacks, the UK and a number of other allies joined the US from 2001 in Afghanistan after it invoked NATO’s collective security clause for the first and only time. Troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Denmark and others also died.
“Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan,” Starmer said in a video clip from Downing Street.
“There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries, and so 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.”
He said that if he had misspoken in such a way, he “would certainly apologise”.
Poland’s Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said he expected respect for Polish veterans “who have proven how much they serve this country and our commitments to allies”.
Poland lost 43 soldiers in the conflict in Afghanistan.
