President Trump appeared on Saturday to walk back comments he made earlier in the week, suggesting non-U.S. troops in NATO avoided the front lines in Afghanistan, following widespread anger from British political leaders and military families.
“The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you all, and always will!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump remarked during an interview at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that the U.S. “never needed” non-U.S. troops.
“You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did – they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” Trump told Fox Business in Davos, Switzerland.
The assertion sparked outrage across the United Kingdom, where leaders spanning the political spectrum, along with former soldiers and parents of fallen military members, slammed Trump for doubting NATO’s commitment to its allies and diminishing the role of non-U.S. troops.