LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said US President Donald Trump should apologise for comments suggesting European troops were not on the front lines in Afghanistan.
In a rare direct rebuke of a sitting US president, Starmer said on Friday that Trump’s comments to Fox News, in which he said NATO allies stayed “a little off the front lines” in Afghanistan, were “insulting and frankly appalling”. Asked whether Trump should apologise, Starmer said that if he had “misspoken in that way or said those words”, he would “certainly apologise”.
Starmer also paid tribute to the 457 British service personnel who died after the United Kingdom joined the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks.
Later on Friday, the White House rejected the British leader’s criticism. In a statement sent to AFP, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said President Trump was “absolutely right” and that the United States had done more for NATO than any other member combined.
Trump’s remarks came after he withdrew a threat to impose tariffs on several European countries that opposed his demands that the United States take over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said on Thursday that he was not sure NATO would support the United States if requested, adding: “We’ve never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them.”
More than 150,000 UK armed forces personnel served in Afghanistan, making Britain the second-largest contributor to the US-led coalition. Alongside US and UK forces were troops from dozens of countries, including members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, whose collective defence clause, Article 5, was triggered for the first time after the attacks on New York and Washington.
More than 150 Canadian soldiers were killed during the conflict, along with about 90 French personnel and dozens from Germany, Italy and other countries. Denmark lost 44 soldiers, while the United States reportedly lost more than 2,400 troops.
At least 46,319 Afghan civilians died as a direct result of the 2001 invasion, according to a 2021 estimate by Brown University’s Costs of War project. The figure does not include indirect deaths linked to disease, hunger or the collapse of infrastructure.
Trump’s comments sparked widespread criticism across Europe, where patience with the US president appeared to be wearing thin following a week of heightened tensions over Greenland. Transatlantic relations were further strained by Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European nations opposing his ambitions for the Arctic territory, raising fresh questions about the future of NATO.
Although Trump later appeared to soften his stance after meeting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, during which they outlined a “framework” for cooperation on Arctic security, his remarks on Afghanistan continued to draw condemnation.
On Friday, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel described Trump’s comments as untrue and disrespectful. Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland remained “a reliable and proven ally”.
Britain’s Prince Harry also weighed in, saying the sacrifices of British troops deserved to be discussed “truthfully and with respect”. Harry, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, said thousands of lives had been permanently altered by the war.
“Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters,” he said. “Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.”
