Trump downplays NATO role in Afghanistan, sparking backlash from allies

U.S. President Donald Trump said NATO’s role in Afghanistan was overstated, triggering sharp criticism from allies who lost hundreds of soldiers during the war.

Speaking on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump told Fox News that NATO forces stayed behind U.S. troops and avoided the front lines in Afghanistan.

Trump said Washington never truly needed NATO assistance, adding that while allies sent forces, they remained “a little back” and away from direct combat.

NATO formally took command of international military operations in Afghanistan in 2003, deploying tens of thousands of troops from Europe, Canada, and other partner nations.

Over two decades of war, more than 1,000 NATO soldiers from non-U.S. countries were killed, including hundreds from Britain, Poland, and other allied states.

The remarks prompted strong reactions in Europe, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling them offensive and noting that 457 British soldiers died in Afghanistan.

Britain’s armed forces minister said UK troops served on the front lines, while Poland’s prime minister urged Trump to remember Polish soldiers killed in the conflict.

In the United States, former national security adviser John Bolton described Trump’s comments as an attack on NATO allies who fought alongside American forces.

The White House defended Trump, saying his assessment was accurate, even as the comments renewed tensions with long-standing U.S. allies.

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