The US president’s claim that allied soldiers stayed “off the front lines” in Afghanistan was “disrespectful,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said
US President Donald Trump must apologize for claiming that Washington’s NATO allies avoided frontline fighting in Afghanistan, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said.
In an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, last week, Trump stated that the US “never needed” any help and that America’s NATO allies had “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines” during the US-led war in Afghanistan.
Responding in comments to Germany’s ARD public broadcaster on Sunday, Pistorius said: “It’s just not right and it’s disrespectful to talk about the dead of your allies in that way. They all stood there, at the side of the United States. To claim something else today is simply not true.”
NATO members joined the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 when the US invoked Article 5, the bloc’s collective defense clause, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The war lasted nearly 20 years with the last foreign troops withdrawn in 2021.
Pistorius said he would raise the issue in his next talks with US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, adding that an apology from Trump would be “a sign of decency, respect, and also insight.”
Germany sent around 5,000 troops to Afghanistan, with 59 of its soldiers killed during the conflict.
The German defense minister’s comments echo criticism from other European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who accused Trump of downplaying the contribution of British troops and described the US president’s words as “frankly appalling.”
The UK provided the second-largest Western contingent in Afghanistan, with troop numbers peaking at around 11,000 in 2011, according to the BBC, and a total of 457 Britons dying over the course of the conflict.
Trump struck a more conciliatory note on Saturday, acknowledging the role of British troops. Other NATO allies were also angered by the US president’s remarks. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the comments “unacceptable,” saying NATO’s role amounted to an “extraordinary act of solidarity towards the United States.”