#Trump was "wrong" to diminish the role of #NATO & British #troops in #Afghanistan, Downing Street has said, after the US president claimed #allies stayed away from the front line.
Trump claimed that NATO sent "some troops" but "stayed a little back, a little off the front lines", sparking outrage from #veterans & their families.
The mother of severely injured soldier Ben Parkinson deemed it the "ultimate insult".
#geopolitics #allies
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czr444j671vo
The #UK was among several #allies to join the US in Afghanistan after NATO’s collective #security clause was invoked for the first & only time in its history by the #US following the 9/11 attacks. During the conflict, 457 British service personnel were killed.
Article 5 of #NATO states that an attack on one member is considered an attack against all.
#Trump told FauxNews on Thursday that he was "not sure" the #military #alliance would be there for the #US "if we ever needed them".
"We've never needed them," he said, adding: "We have never really asked anything of them."
[Trump is an ignorant ass]
"They'll say they sent some troops to #Afghanistan," he said, "& they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines".
Responding on Friday, the prime minister's official spox said: "The president was wrong to diminish the role of NATO troops, including British forces."
He added that #NATO troops made sacrifices "in the service of collective security & in response to an attack on our ally".
Most of the 457 #British #troops who died serving in #Afghanistan over a period of nearly 20 years were killed in Helmand.
Hundreds more suffered injuries & lost limbs - including Cpl Andy Reid who lost both his legs & his right arm after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan.
"Not a day goes by when we're not in some kind of pain, physically or mentally reflecting on that conflict," he told BBC.
#geopolitics #allies #NATO #Trump #InsensitivePrick #idiocracy
