Politicians from across Britain’s political spectrum united on Friday to condemn claims made by President Trump that NATO troops had stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.
Mr. Trump made the comments in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, with Fox Business, in which Mr. Trump questioned whether other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would come to the aid of the United States if needed.
“We’ve never needed them,” Mr. Trump said. “We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, little off the front lines.”
Under NATO’s collective security agreement, known as Article 5, aggression against one member country is considered an attack on all. It has been invoked only once in the history of the alliance — after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
In Britain, which lost 457 soldiers during two decades of subsequent fighting in Afghanistan, the reaction to Mr. Trump’s claims was swift and universally critical.
“The U.K. and NATO allies answered the U.S. call,” John Healey, Britain’s defense secretary wrote on social media. “And more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan. Those British troops should be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives in service of our nation.”
Also writing on social media, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, described Mr. Trump’s claims as “flat-out nonsense.” She added: “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, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrat party and an outspoken critic of the president noted in a post that Mr. Trump had received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, adding: “How dare he question their sacrifice.”
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe.
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