Germany Trump snubs NATO partners with comments on Afghanistan
US President Donald Trump has deepened the rifts in the transatlantic alliance with disparaging comments about the deployment of NATO partners in Afghanistan - and then tried to limit the damage. At least he is now singing the praises of the British military.
25.01.2026, 10:35
SDA
The NATO standby clause was only activated for the USA
"The GREAT and very COURAGEOUS soldiers of the United Kingdom will always stand with the United States of America!", he wrote on his Truth Social platform. In Afghanistan, 457 of them had fallen and many had been seriously wounded, "they were among the greatest fighters".
Trump had previously claimed in an interview with Fox News that the USA had never needed Nato. Although several other NATO states had sent troops to Afghanistan, they had remained "a little bit" behind, "a little bit away from the front lines".
After the Islamist terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the USA activated Article Five of the NATO treaty in order to obtain assistance from its allies. This led to Germany and other NATO states such as Great Britain taking part in the war against the Taliban and the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. It was the first and only time in NATO history that such an alliance case was declared.
Outrage from the Prime Minister and Prince Harry
The UK was not the only country to protest in response to Trump's original comments. Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized the remarks as "offensive" and "appalling". It was not surprising "that they have caused so much pain to the families of those killed and injured and indeed across the country", said Starmer. If he himself had expressed himself so wrongly, he would apologize.
Prince Harry, himself an Afghanistan veteran, demanded respect for the sacrifices of American Nato allies in Afghanistan. "I served there, I made friends for life. And I've lost friends," said Harry, who lives in the USA. "The UK alone has lost 457 military personnel." Thousands of lives have been changed forever, parents have had to bury their children and children have lost their parents.
Pistorius emphasizes: Germans wounded and dead in Afghanistan
Representatives of other countries involved also reacted with cool indignation. The German soldiers had "fulfilled their mission at the highest risk to life and limb and under extreme conditions", Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) told Bild. "Germany is very grateful to our Bundeswehr for this courage and highly professional deployment."
Germany paid a high price for the deployment from 2001 to 2021. "59 soldiers and three police officers lost their lives in battles, attacks or accidents. Many of the wounded are still suffering from injuries sustained during this time," said Pistorius.
Meloni: "Friendship requires respect"
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized Trump. Such disparaging statements are "unacceptable - especially when they come from an allied nation", according to a statement from the head of government's official residence.
Meloni explained that following the Islamist terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, NATO had activated Article Five of the NATO treaty for the only time in its history in an "extraordinary act of solidarity towards the USA". Italy had reacted immediately and sent thousands of soldiers. Her country had paid a high price with dozens of fallen soldiers.
She emphasized that Italy and the USA were bound by a solid friendship based on shared values. "But friendship requires respect - a fundamental prerequisite for continuing to guarantee the solidarity that forms the foundation of the Atlantic Alliance."
Lack of understanding in the Netherlands
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel told the ANP news agency that the US President had acted "disrespectfully" with his untrue statements about the deployment of soldiers from other NATO countries in Afghanistan. He referred to the 25 Dutch soldiers who had lost their lives in Afghanistan.
"America First" also applies to Trump in Nato
Trump's comments followed an eventful few days in the conflict over Greenland, which the US President claims. The statements from the USA about having to take over the island, which belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark, for the purpose of its own security had put Nato to the test. After talks with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump initially de-escalated the situation - an agreement is now being discussed, although the form of this still appears to be completely open. The conflict has not been resolved.
The US President's efforts to play down the deployment of other countries to support the United States are in line with his general course with regard to Nato. The US government also made clear its desire to keep its commitment to the defense alliance small in comparison to the protection of its own "homeland" with the publication of its latest national defense strategy. This states that the allies in Europe should take the lead in the event of threats that are more serious for them than for the USA - "with decisive but limited support from the United States", according to the guidelines.
It is neither America's duty nor in its national interest to act alone worldwide or to take responsibility for "security failures of allies" that are the result of "irresponsible decisions" by their governments, writes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the foreword to the strategy. Trump had repeatedly complained that the allies were not paying enough for Nato compared to the USA.
Opposition also from Denmark and Poland
According to the news agency Ritzau, Danish head of government Mette Frederiksen said it was "unacceptable" that the US president questioned the efforts of allied soldiers. Frederiksen emphasized that Denmark had suffered the greatest losses in terms of population: According to Ritzau, 44 Danish soldiers lost their lives, 37 of them as a result of direct combat operations.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki wrote on Platform X that there was no doubt that Polish soldiers were heroes. 44 Poles have died in Afghanistan, 43 soldiers and one civilian.
