{"id":112424,"date":"2026-01-23T22:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112424"},"modified":"2026-01-23T22:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:01:00","slug":"harry-says-sacrifices-by-nato-troops-in-afghanistan-deserve-respect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112424","title":{"rendered":"Harry says sacrifices by Nato troops in Afghanistan deserve \u2018respect\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Duke of Sussex has called for the sacrifices of Nato troops to be \u201cspoken about truthfully and with respect\u201d, after the US president claimed allies stayed \u201ca little back\u201d from the front lines in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there,\u201d Prince Harry, who was twice deployed to the country, said on Friday as he paid tribute to Nato troops killed in the conflict, including 457 UK service personnel.<\/p>\n

The prince was reacting to controversial comments made by Donald Trump in an interview on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s words have drawn condemnation from international allies, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling them \u201cinsulting and frankly appalling\u201d .<\/p>\n

The UK and other nations joined the US in Afghanistan after Nato\u2019s collective security clause was invoked following the 9\/11 attacks.<\/p>\n

Prince Harry said: \u201cIn 2001, Nato invoked Article 5 for the first \u2013 and only \u2013 time in history. It meant that every allied nation was obliged to stand with the United States in Afghanistan, in pursuit of our shared security. Allies answered that call.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duke\u2019s comments follow Trump\u2019s Fox News interview in which he said: \u201cWe\u2019ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan\u2026 and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president also said he was \u201cnot sure\u201d the military alliance would be there for the US \u201cif we ever needed them\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the UK, Trump\u2019s remarks were condemned across the UK\u2019s political divide.<\/p>\n

Shortly before the prince\u2019s statement, Sir Keir gave his own reaction saying if he himself had \u201cmisspoken in that way\u201d he would \u201ccertainly apologise\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir said: \u201cI will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made for their country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider President Trump\u2019s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling and I am not surprised they have caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured and, in fact, across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of the UK, ministers from foreign governments also criticised Trump\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

Poland\u2019s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who was among 33,000 Polish troops who served on the frontline in Afghanistan, said: \u201cNo one has the right to mock the service of our soldiers\u201d.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Minister of National Defence David J McGuinty said that Canadian \u201cmen and women were on the ground from the beginning, not because we had to, but because it was the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said 158 of their troops \u201cpaid the ultimate price\u201d for leading allied efforts in the Kandahar Province.<\/p>\n

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former secretary general of Nato during the Afghanistan War, told the BBC World Service: \u201cNo American president should have the liberty to belittle their legacy and to insult the ones who are still grieving the fact that they didn\u2019t come back alive from Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would expect is a sincere apology from the president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

In October 2001 the US invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban, whom they said were harbouring Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda figures linked to the 9\/11 attacks. Nato nations contributed troops and military equipment to the US-led war.<\/p>\n

More than 3,500 coalition soldiers had died, about two-thirds of them Americans, as of 2021 when the US withdrew from the country. The UK suffered the second-highest number of military deaths in the conflict behind the US, which saw 2,461 fatalities.<\/p>\n

Most of the 457 British troops who died serving in Afghanistan over a period of nearly 20 years were killed in Helmand \u2013 the scene of the heaviest fighting.<\/p>\n

Hundreds more suffered injuries and lost limbs \u2013 including Cpl Andy Reid who lost both his legs and his right arm after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a day goes by when we\u2019re not in some kind of pain, physically or mentally reflecting on that conflict,\u201d he told BBC Breakfast.<\/p>\n

Reid recalled working with American soldiers during his time in Afghanistan, adding: \u201cIf they were on the front line and I was stood next to them, clearly we were on the front line as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diane Dernie, whose son Ben Parkinson suffered severe injuries when an Army Land Rover hit a mine near Musa Qala in 2006, said Trump\u2019s words were \u201cso insulting\u201d and hard to hear.<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old is currently recuperating after another operation, but Dernie told the BBC that Trump\u2019s comments showed \u201ca childish man trying to deflect from his own actions\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dernie called on Starmer to \u201cstand up for his own armed forces\u201d and call out the US president.<\/p>\n

Her comments were put to the prime minister who replied: \u201cI\u2019ve made my position clear, and what I say to Diane is, if I had misspoken in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologise and I\u2019d apologise to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving a second interview to the BBC moments after Starmer\u2019s statement, Dernie said the prime minister\u2019s words were strong enough \u2013 but said he should go further.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis words were exactly what we wanted to hear, but we need those words to be addressed directly to the president,\u201d Dernie said. \u201cI appreciate what Starmer has said, but they need to be said to Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout Friday, the leaders of the main Westminster political parties gave their reaction to Trump\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: \u201cI spoke to parents of young men who have lost their lives. It is a disgrace to denigrate their memory like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is too much careless talk from President Trump. He clearly doesn\u2019t know the history of what happened. We must not have these sorts of throwaway remarks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey criticised the US president\u2019s remarks and said: \u201cTrump avoided military service five times. How dare he question their sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump received five deferments from a military draft during the Vietnam War \u2013 four for academic reasons and one for bone spurs, a calcium build-up in the heels.<\/p>\n

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: \u201cDonald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America\u2019s in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

American political and military figures have also expressed their anger and frustration over Trump\u2019s Nato comments.<\/p>\n

Former national security adviser Herbert Raymond McMaster, who served as senior US officer in Afghanistan, said British forces were engaged in counter-insurgency operations every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s insulting to those who were fighting alongside of us,\u201d McMaster told the BBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would like him to say is to make amends by affirming our gratitude for our allies who fought alongside us, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice in a war that I think was important, obviously, to the future of all humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his second term in office, Trump has repeatedly criticised Nato, often accusing its member states of not spending enough on defence.<\/p>\n

In the last few weeks, Trump has made comments about acquiring Greenland \u2013 a semi-autonomous territory of fellow Nato ally Denmark.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s repeated remarks over ownership, threats of military action and tariffs against traditional European allies have rattled the transatlantic treaty.<\/p>\n

The White House has remained pretty quiet on the outrage being expressed in Britain \u2013 partly because the story has not played big in the US, and because Trump has been otherwise occupied, not making his usual appearances in front of cameras to have questions thrown at him.<\/p>\n

On Friday \u2013 before Starmer called on the US president to apologise \u2013 the White House released a statement sticking by Trump\u2019s long-held view on Nato.<\/p>\n

The White House said: \u201cPresident Trump is right \u2013 America\u2019s contributions to Nato dwarf that of other countries, and his success in delivering a 5% spending pledge from Nato allies is helping Europe take greater responsibility for its own defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States is the only Nato partner who can protect Greenland, and the president is advancing Nato interests in doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House is yet to comment on Starmer\u2019s suggestion for an apology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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