Adedokun Waliyu 
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned as “insulting and appalling” remarks by US President Donald Trump suggesting that NATO allies avoided frontline combat during the war in Afghanistan, sparking widespread anger across Britain and beyond.
Speaking in a video message on Friday, Starmer paid tribute to the 457 British service members who lost their lives during the conflict, stressing that many more were injured, some with life-changing wounds. He said Trump’s comments had caused deep hurt to the families of those who served and sacrificed, adding that if he had made such a statement himself, he would “certainly apologise.”
The criticism followed an interview Trump gave to Fox News on Thursday, in which he claimed NATO allies sent troops to Afghanistan but kept them “a little back, a little off the front lines.” The remarks were widely viewed in the UK as dismissive of the role played by allied forces after the September 11, 2001 attacks, when NATO’s collective defence clause was invoked for the first and only time.
In reality, the UK and several European nations fought alongside US forces throughout the conflict. Soldiers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and other NATO members were killed in action. Official UK figures show that 405 of the 457 British troops who died were killed in hostile military action, while more than 150,000 UK personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, making Britain the second-largest contributor to the US-led mission.
The White House rejected Starmer’s criticism, with spokeswoman Taylor Rogers saying President Trump was “absolutely right” and insisting the United States had done more for NATO than all other alliance members combined.
Trump’s comments drew condemnation from across Europe. Poland’s defence minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, called for respect for Polish veterans, noting that Poland lost 43 soldiers in Afghanistan. France’s armed forces minister, Catherine Vautrin, said 90 French soldiers died in operations alongside NATO allies, emphasising that their sacrifice “commands respect.”
In Britain, Defence Secretary John Healey described fallen troops as “heroes,” while Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, a veteran of five Afghanistan tours, labelled Trump’s remarks “utterly ridiculous.” Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned that the comments could weaken NATO, and even Nigel Farage, a long-time Trump supporter, publicly rebuked the US president, saying British forces fought bravely alongside American troops for two decades.
Families of fallen soldiers also reacted strongly. Lucy Aldridge, whose 18-year-old son William died in Afghanistan, said the remarks were “extremely upsetting.” Mark Atkinson, director general of the Royal British Legion, said the service and sacrifice of British troops could not be questioned.
Prince Harry, who served two frontline tours in Afghanistan, added his voice, saying thousands of lives were permanently changed by the war and that the sacrifices of soldiers and their families deserved to be spoken of “truthfully and with respect.”
The United States reportedly lost more than 2,400 soldiers during the Afghanistan conflict, underscoring the shared cost of the war among NATO allies.
