{"id":384953,"date":"2026-01-22T22:03:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/384953\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T22:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:03:07","slug":"trump-claims-nato-troops-stayed-a-little-off-the-frontlines-in-afghanistan-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/384953\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump claims Nato troops \u2018stayed a little off the frontlines\u2019 in Afghanistan | Donald Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump has again disparaged America\u2019s Nato<\/a> allies, claiming that troops from allied nations \u201cstayed a little back, a little off the frontlines\u201d while fighting in Afghanistan in support of the US campaign against the Taliban.<\/p>\n

The only time Nato has ever invoked its mutual defence clause \u2013 stating that an attack on one member represents an attack on all \u2013 came after the terrorist attacks of September 11, when member states deployed thousands of troops to Afghanistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More than a thousand non-US service members were killed in the conflict, and Trump\u2019s comments are likely to further heighten tensions between the US and its allies.<\/p>\n

As he ratchets up his grievances against Nato<\/a>, of which the US is a founding member, Trump has repeatedly questioned whether the 31 other nations that make up the alliance would come to the US\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Trump said he was \u201cnot sure\u201d Nato would meet the \u201cultimate test\u201d of defending the US if it were under threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never needed them \u2026 They\u2019ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan \u2026 and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the frontlines,\u201d he said, adding the US has been \u201cvery good to Europe and to many other countries. It has to be a two-way street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those remarks follow similar comments earlier in the week, when he described the alliance as \u201coverrated\u201d and questioned its members\u2019 willingness to respond to a crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we\u2019ll come to [Nato\u2019s] rescue, but I just really do question whether or not they\u2019ll come to ours,\u201d he said before attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.<\/p>\n

A total of 3,486 Nato troops died in the 20-year conflict, of which the majority, 2,461, were US service members.<\/p>\n

Four hundred and fifty-seven British troops died, while another 2,000 military and civilian personnel were wounded in action.<\/p>\n

Canada, long the US\u2019s closest ally and largest trading partner, suffered 165 deaths, including civilians. Canada\u2019s 12-year deployment was the country\u2019s longest combat mission, with more than 40,000 personnel, and the deadliest since the Korean war in the 1950s.<\/p>\n

Other Nato allies, including Italy, Germany and France, also had soldiers who died.<\/p>\n

Trump has singled out Denmark, which controls Greenland \u2013 a territory the US president has said Washington \u201cmust\u201d take over\u201d \u2013 as being \u201cungrateful\u201d for US protection during the second world war. Denmark suffering 44 combat deaths iin Afghanistan, the most per capita outside the US.<\/p>\n

Following Trump\u2019s claims earlier in the week, the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte<\/a>, told Trump members of the alliance \u201cwill\u201d defend the US, pointing out they \u201cdid\u201d in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another Nato country who did not come back to his family \u2013 from the Netherlands, from Denmark and particularly from other countries,\u201d said Rutte.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can be assured, absolutely, if ever the United States was under attack, your allies will be with you,\u201d said Rutte. \u201cThere is an absolute guarantee. I really want to tell you that, because it pains me if you think it is not.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the days since the president\u2019s remarks, users on Reddit have posted pictures of veterans in combat, as well as flag draped coffins of soldiers who died \u201cwhile doing nothing\u201d for America.<\/p>\n

In one instance, a photograph shows<\/a> a bridge lined with mourners in Ontario with the caption: \u201cWelcoming home a young Canadian that was killed in Afghanistan while doing nothing for the USA.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donald Trump has again disparaged America\u2019s Nato allies, claiming that troops from allied nations \u201cstayed a little back,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-384953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}