Overview
- President Donald Trump told Fox News that NATO troops stayed "a little back, a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan and suggested the U.S. had not really asked much of allies.
- Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the remarks "insulting and frankly appalling," and Trump later posted praise for British soldiers on Truth Social.
- Veterans in Suffolk, including former sergeants James Patchett and Trevor Bygate, rejected the claim as inaccurate and said it disrespects those who served and died.
- Local reporting cites 457 UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan, with Colchester’s 16 Air Assault Brigade alone losing 58 soldiers from 2002 to 2014.
- Former British Army commander Richard Kemp said the comments were intended to pressure NATO members on defence spending and noted UK and U.S. forces worked "hand in glove" in Afghanistan.