A comment by United States President Donald Trump, stating that American allies in NATO did little to help in the war in Afghanistan (2001-2021), is generating reactions in other countries in the Western military alliance.
Trump has expressed skepticism about the possibility of other NATO members helping the United States in the event of military aggression against the country, which he has used as justification for his plans to annex Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory that the Republican says is essential for American national defense.
“I always say, ‘Will they help us if we need them?’ And that’s really the ultimate test. And I’m not sure about that. I know we would help them, but would they help us?” Trump said on Thursday (22), in an interview with Fox News.
“We never needed them. We never really asked them for anything. You know, they say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did – they were a little behind, a little away from the front line,” he quipped.
The war in Afghanistan was the only time in history that NATO’s Article 5 was invoked, which provides that any aggression against a country in the alliance is considered an aggression against the entire group: after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, other NATO nations helped American forces in the Asian country.
More than 3,500 soldiers from the coalition that fought Al-Qaeda died in the war, around 2,400 of them Americans. Other NATO countries also had a large number of military deaths, including the United Kingdom (457), Canada (158) and France (90).
This Friday (23), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Trump should apologize for the statement.
“It doesn’t surprise me that [a entrevista] caused so much suffering to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured,” Starmer said, according to CNN. “If I had expressed myself badly in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologize.”
In an interview with Reuters, Roman Polko, a retired Polish general and former commander who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, also demanded an apology, saying that Trump “crossed a red line”.
“We paid in blood for this alliance. We truly sacrificed our own lives,” he said.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, wrote in X that his country’s Army participated in missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, among others, and that Poland “is and will always be a responsible and reliable ally”.
“The tragic moments in which our soldiers died demonstrated that we are ready to pay the ultimate price in defense of international security and the security of Poland. This sacrifice will never be forgotten and cannot be minimized. Poland is a reliable and proven ally, and nothing will change that,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz.
