{"id":402197,"date":"2026-02-01T11:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/402197\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T11:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:26:08","slug":"trumps-nato-troop-remarks-have-shaken-allied-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/402197\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s NATO troop remarks have shaken allied veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Backlash <\/p>\n

In Britain, Starmer \u2014 usually deliberately careful in his dealings with the Trump \u2014 called the comments \u201cinsulting and frankly appalling,\u201d saying he was not surprised they had caused \u201csuch hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.\u201d <\/p>\n

Prince Harry<\/a>, who served two tours in Afghanistan, said the sacrifices of allied troops \u201cdeserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect,\u201d adding: \u201cI served there. I lost friends there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PrincePrince Harry patrols through the deserted town of Garmisir in 2008 in Helmand province.John Stillwell \/ Anwar Hussein Collection via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nikki Scott\u2019s husband, Corp. Lee Scott, was killed in Afghanistan while serving in the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, leaving behind his wife and two children. <\/p>\n

Holding a black book containing briefing notes that her husband had taken, she said in a video posted on LinkedIn: \u201cI believe in the difference he and all our armed forces made, and no one should tell us otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sweeping response speaks to wider concerns about what Trump’s stance could mean for the future of NATO and its relationship with the U.S., already under increasing strain with Russia seeking to test the alliance\u2019s resolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cEquivocation from Washington<\/a> weakens deterrence, emboldens Moscow, and risks persuading soldiers on the ground that NATO no longer carries the saliency or seriousness it once did,\u201d said H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the remarks change little for soldiers fighting in Ukraine,\u201d he said, \u201cstrategically, they are deeply corrosive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little recalls the commitment of NATO forces firsthand after the attacks on the U.S. in 2001, and the contrast between that reality and political rhetoric gives him pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the rest of us that were up front, getting pulled apart, losing dads and brothers and husbands, we heard the call, we came running, and we happily went out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trust that NATO has America\u2019s back has not been eroded. What\u2019s been eroded here is the trust that America has ours.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Backlash In Britain, Starmer \u2014 usually deliberately careful in his dealings with the Trump \u2014 called the comments…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-402197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402197","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=402197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}