The British government today "in diplomatic gloves" assessed that United States (US) President Donald Trump "made a mistake" by claiming that NATO troops, including British ones, avoided the front lines during the 2001-2021 war in Afghanistan, which caused outrage among British military veterans and their families.
The mother of seriously wounded soldier Ben Parkinson believes it is "the ultimate insult", the British broadcaster BBC reported.
The BBC recalls that the UK was among several NATO allies that joined the US in Afghanistan as NATO's collective security clause was invoked for the first and only time in its history after the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001. During the latter war in Afghanistan, 457 British soldiers were killed.
But Trump told Fox News on Thursday that he was "not sure" NATO would be with the US "if we ever needed them," and "we never needed them," he said, adding: "We never really asked them for anything."
In response to Trump's remark that NATO countries "will say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, and they did, and the rest are a little behind, a little further from the front line," the British Prime Minister's spokesman said today: "The President was wrong to downplay the role of NATO troops, including British ones."
He pointed out that NATO troops suffered casualties "in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally" - the United States.
Most of the 457 British soldiers who have died serving in Afghanistan over almost 20 years have been killed in Helmand, and hundreds more have been injured and have lost limbs, including Corporal Andy Reid who lost both legs and his right arm after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan.
"Not a day goes by without us feeling some kind of pain, physical or mental," he told the BBC.
Reed also spoke about fellow American soldiers during the war in Afghanistan: "If they were on the front lines, and I was with them, it's clear that we were on the front lines too."
The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to oust the Taliban, who it said were harboring Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members linked to the September 11 attacks on the US. NATO countries have contributed troops and military equipment to the US-led war in Afghanistan.
More than 3.500 coalition soldiers had died by 2021, when the US withdrew from the country, and about two-thirds were Americans.
Great Britain had the second highest number of soldiers killed in that war, after the USA, which lost 2.461 soldiers.
British Defense Secretary John Healy said the British soldiers who died should be remembered as heroes, and Al Carnes, the Armed Forces Minister who served several times in Afghanistan, said Trump's comments were "utterly ridiculous."
Far from staying away from the front lines, Britain and Canada have deployed troops in the most dangerous provinces of all - the Taliban's main strongholds of Helmand and Kandahar, the BBC reports, adding that in Helmand, the scene of the heaviest fighting, British troops have been joined by Danish and Estonian soldiers. All have suffered casualties.
Diana Derney, whose son Ben Parkinson was seriously injured by a landmine in 2006, said Trump's words were "so offensive" and difficult to listen to.
As her now 41-year-old son recovers from another operation, Dern told the BBC that Trump's comments showed "a childish man trying to distract from his own actions" and called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to "stand up for his own armed forces" and criticize the US president.
Opposition Conservative leader Camille Badenoch said the sacrifice of British and NATO troops deserves respect and asked Starmer to demand an apology from Trump.
"That's complete nonsense," Badenoch said. "I've spoken to the parents of the young men who lost their lives. It's a shame to be disparaged like that."
There were also a number of reactions in Parliament, where the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and ruling Labour MP Emily Thornberry said that Trump is "deliberately trying to undermine us, trying to undermine NATO."
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey criticized the US president's statement and said: "Trump has avoided military service five times. How dare he question our sacrifice!?".
Trump received five deferments from military service during the Vietnam War - four for academic reasons and one for bone spurs - calcium deposits on his heels, according to the BBC.
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