Trump questioned Nato’s role in Afghanistan: What the facts say

Veterans reject Trump’s Nato Afghanistan claim

Anger has rippled through Europe’s veteran community and among families of fallen soldiers after US President Donald Trump suggested that Nato forces largely avoided front-line combat during the war in Afghanistan, remarks many say erase two decades of sacrifice by non-American troops.

“My son was only 18 when he was killed in a blast while trying to save fellow troops,” said the mother of the youngest British soldier to die in Afghanistan. She was among hundreds of veterans and bereaved families who spoke out as Trump’s comments sparked a backlash across several European countries.

The controversy comes at a delicate moment in transatlantic relations, already strained by Trump’s recent rhetoric towards Nato allies, including comments linked to Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

“We have never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. They will say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” Trump said.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States and its Nato allies launched military operations in Afghanistan. For the first time in Nato’s history, Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty was invoked, committing members to collective defence. Dozens of allied nations deployed forces, fighting alongside US troops until combat operations formally ended in 2014, with some countries remaining even longer.

Official figures show that around 38 Nato countries contributed troops at various points, with total allied deployments peaking at roughly 140,000 in 2011. While the US bore the largest share of casualties overall, other allies suffered significant losses relative to their population sizes. About 3,500 foreign troops were killed during the conflict, including 2,456 Americans and 457 British soldiers.

Denmark, despite its small population, lost around 50 troops — a per-capita toll comparable to that of the United States. Canada recorded 159 fatalities, France 90, Germany 62, Italy 53 and Poland 44. Other Nato members, including Estonia, Norway, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Romania, also suffered dozens of deaths.

Afghan losses were far higher. Though no official count exists, former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani said in 2019 that more than 45,000 Afghan security personnel had been killed since 2014.

Trump’s assertion that allied forces stayed away from combat has been challenged by both military records and analysts. Nato says troops from 36 member states were deployed across key regions such as Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif and Laghman — all of which saw heavy fighting.

BBC defence analyst Frank Gardner has noted that British, Canadian, Danish and Estonian forces were among those engaged in some of the fiercest battles, particularly in Kandahar and Helmand. In Helmand, a Taliban stronghold, British and Danish troops made up much of the early deployment, with US reinforcements arriving later in 2008, according to a CNN report.

Research by the Watson School of International and Public Affairs found that British and Canadian troops faced combat risks at “twice the rate” of US forces when measured against peak troop levels.

For veterans and families of the dead, those figures speak for themselves. They say Nato allies fought on the front lines and paid a heavy price — one they believe should not be dismissed or diminished.