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Donald Trump has been criticised for claiming NATO troops stayed "a small disconnected the beforehand lines" successful Afghanistan.
In an interrogation with Fox News, the US president repeated his disapproval of NATO, saying helium was not "sure" the confederation would "be determination if we ever needed them".
He added: "We've ne'er needed them.
"They'll accidental they sent immoderate troops to Afghanistan … and they did, they stayed a small back, a small disconnected the beforehand lines."
America is the lone NATO subordinate to person invoked the corporate information provisions of its Article 5 clause - that an onslaught against 1 subordinate is an onslaught connected all.
That came aft the 9/11 panic attacks of 2001, which led to a US-led penetration of Afghanistan.
The UK suffered the second-highest fig of subject deaths successful the Afghanistan struggle astatine 457. The US saw 2,461 deaths.
America's allies suffered 1,160 deaths during the struggle - astir a 3rd of the full conjugation deaths.
'We person ever been there'
Dame Emily Thornberry MP, seat of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said Mr Trump's comments were "an insult" to the families of those who died and "so overmuch much than a mistake".
Speaking connected the BBC's Question Time, Dame Emily said: "How situation helium accidental we weren't connected the frontline, however situation he.
"We person ever been determination whenever the Americans person wanted us, we person ever been there."
In a societal media post, Liberal Democrat person Sir Ed Davey MP said: "Trump avoided subject work 5 times.
"How situation helium question their sacrifice. Farage and each the others inactive fawning implicit Trump should beryllium ashamed."
Trump's words 'a disservice' to troops
Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served successful Afghanistan arsenic a skipper successful the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, said it was "sad to spot our nation's sacrifice, and that of our NATO partners, held truthful cheaply by the president of the United States".
He said: "I saw archetypal manus the sacrifices made by British soldiers I served alongside successful Sangin wherever we suffered horrific casualties, arsenic did the US Marines the pursuing year.
"I don't judge US subject unit stock the presumption of President Trump; his words bash them a disservice arsenic our closest subject allies."
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Last year, US vice president JD Vance hit backmost astatine claims of "disrespecting" British troops who served successful Iraq and Afghanistan, aft suggesting a imaginable peacekeeping unit successful Ukraine would beryllium "20,000 troops from immoderate random state that hasn't fought a warfare successful 30 oregon 40 years".
At the time, lone the UK and France had pledged troops to a imaginable peacekeeping force.
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