(Reuters File Photo)LONDON - US President Donald Trump’s comments that NATO troops stayed off the front line in Afghanistan were “deeply disappointing”, ‌a British minister said on Friday, ​noting that many European soldiers had died supporting American-led operations. Criticising NATO in a Fox News interview on Thursday, Trump said the United States had “never needed” the alliance and that its allies stayed “a little ‌off the front lines” in Afghanistan. “Many, many British soldiers and many soldiers from other European NATO allies gave their lives in support ‌of American-led missions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq,” junior minister Stephen Kinnock told Sky News. Other British politicians noted that Trump had avoided the draft for the Vietnam War, citing bone spurs in his feet. “Trump avoided military service 5 ​times,” Ed Davey, leader of Britain’s centrist Liberal Democrats, wrote on X.

Source: Bangkok Post January 23, 2026 15:05 UTC