US president provoked anger across Britain, Europe after he said European troops stayed off front lines in Afghanistan
\n Washington
\nUnited States President Donald Trump on Saturday praised \u201cbrave\u201d British soldiers, calling them warriors, a day after remarks he made about NATO troops in Afghanistan were described as \u201cinsulting and appalling\u201d by Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
\nTrump provoked widespread anger in Britain and across Europe after he said European troops had stayed off the front lines in Afghanistan.
\nBritain lost 457 service personnel in Afghanistan, its deadliest overseas war since the 1950s. For several of the war\u2019s most intense years, it led the allied campaign in Helmand, Afghanistan\u2019s biggest and most violent province, while also fighting as the main US battlefield ally in Iraq.
\n\u201cThe GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added, \u201cIn Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It\u2019s a bond too strong to ever be broken\u201d.
\nThe Sun on Sunday newspaper reported that King Charles\u2019 concern over Trump\u2019s initial remarks had been relayed to the president, who last year expressed his admiration for the monarch during a state visit to Britain. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the report.
\nTrump had also provoked an unusually strong reaction from Starmer, who has tended to avoid direct criticism of the president in public.
\nThe British leader\u2019s office stated that the prime minister had spoken to the president on Saturday about the issue.
\n\u201cThe prime minister raised the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWe must never forget their sacrifice,\u201d he said.
\nVeterans in Britain and elsewhere have been lining up to condemn the US president\u2019s comments to Fox Business Network\u2019s \u201cMornings with Maria\u201d on Thursday, in which he said that the US had \u201cnever needed\u201d the transatlantic alliance and accused allies of staying \u201ca little off the front lines\u201d in Afghanistan.
\nAmong them was King Charles\u2019 younger son, Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan.
\n\u201cThose sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US president provoked anger across Britain, Europe after he said European troops stayed off front lines in Afghanistan Washington United States President Donald Trump on Saturday praised \u201cbrave\u201d British soldiers, calling them warriors, a day after remarks he made about NATO troops in Afghanistan were described as \u201cinsulting and appalling\u201d by Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n