Donald Trump’s latest remarks on NATO have triggered a sharp backlash across Europe, veteran communities, and diplomatic circles, reopening long-standing wounds over alliance solidarity and the legacy of the war in Afghanistan.
Speaking in a recent interview with Fox News during the World Economic Forum in Davos, the former U.S. president dismissed the role of NATO allies in Afghanistan, suggesting that allied forces were largely absent from the front lines and failed to meaningfully support American troops.
Trump went further, questioning whether NATO would come to the United States’ aid if it were ever under threat, casting doubt on the alliance’s reliability itself.
Referring to allied contributions, he remarked that “they’ll say they sent some troops,” before adding that those forces were “a little away from the front.” Delivered with a smirk, the comments were widely interpreted as belittling the sacrifices made by non-U.S. service members during the two-decade conflict.
Allied sacrifice, not “a little away from the front”
The reaction was swift.
Veterans from the United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, and beyond responded with anger, pointing out that NATO forces fought and died alongside U.S. troops after the invocation of Article 5 following the September 11 attacks.
More than 1,100 non-U.S. allied soldiers were killed in Afghanistan.
- United Kingdom: 457
- Canada: 158
- France: 90
- Germany: 59
- Italy: 54
Many thousands more were wounded.
Beyond the physical toll, countless veterans continue to live with lifelong psychological injuries borne from a war fought at America’s request and under a U.S.-led command structure.
A direct challenge to collective security
Diplomats and defence officials across Europe expressed concern that Trump’s remarks undermine not only historical reality, but the foundations of collective security itself.
NATO was not a peripheral actor in Afghanistan. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, NATO allies collectively invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in the alliance’s history, affirming that the attack on the United States was an attack on all. This decision, strongly supported by European members, laid the foundation for a sustained allied presence in Afghanistan.
From 2003 onwards, NATO led the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), operating under a U.S.-led framework but as a multilateral alliance mission. Allied troops guarded bases, conducted combat patrols, trained Afghan forces, and took casualties in some of the most dangerous regions of the country.
To dismiss that contribution is to dismiss not only historical fact, but the very premise upon which the alliance functions: collective defence, shared risk, and shared sacrifice.
“You insult every veteran who stood with America”
Former British soldier and Ukrainian marine Shaun Pinner, who served alongside U.S. and NATO forces and later endured captivity and a death sentence imposed by a Russian proxy court, issued a pointed response:
“When you dismiss allied service with ‘they’ll say they sent some troops,’ then smirk and say they were ‘a little away from the front,’ you insult every veteran who stood with America after 9/11.
You breed contempt, and that’s the second put-down to veterans in as many days, and to those who fought and died in Afghanistan to support you, the US.”
Pinner, who holds Ukraine’s Order of Courage, argued that Trump’s political theatre, now comes at a personal cost, falling on the families of those who answered America’s call and paid the price. Deeply Disrespectful.
The cost of contempt
The comments arrive at a moment of heightened geopolitical tension, as Russia’s war against Ukraine has placed renewed emphasis on alliance credibility and mutual defence. For many European leaders, Trump’s rhetoric reinforces fears that alliances are viewed through a purely transactional lens, rather than as shared commitments forged through sacrifice.
I am not even sure dismissing allied service scores any short-term political points, but the long-term damage is profound. NATO’s strength has never rested on perfection, but on trust and on the belief that shared sacrifice matters.
For the veterans who stood shoulder to shoulder after 9/11, one thing remains certain: they were never “a little away from the front.”
