Britain stayed 'off the front lines' in Afghanistan, claims Trump

 Donald Trump has renewed his attack against European and Nato allies by claiming their militaries avoided the front lines of the war in Afghanistan.

In an interview broadcast on Thursday, the US president also alleged that America “never needed” support from European armed forces during the US-led invasion.

Mr Trump made the comments after giving a speech in Davos on Wednesday in which he said he was “not sure” Nato would be “there for us if we gave them the call”, prompting a robust response from Mark Rutte, the alliance’s secretary-general.

On Thursday, speaking to Fox News, the US president reiterated: “I’ve always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? That’s really the ultimate test, and I’m not sure of that.

“We’ve never needed them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

Between 2001 and the withdrawal of coalition troops 20 years later, 457 British troops were killed in combat and during other operations in Afghanistan.

Denmark, which has been at the centre of Mr Trump’s criticisms for allegedly not sufficiently defending Greenland, lost 44 soldiers, the largest proportion per capita other than the US, which lost nearly 2,500 troops in the war.

Canada lost 159, while 90 French, 62 German, 53 Italian and 44 Polish soldiers also died.

Mr Rutte has often sought to flatter the US president to placate him over a more aggressive approach.

But the Nato chief told Mr Trump on Wednesday night: “There’s one thing I heard you say yesterday and today. You were not absolutely sure Europeans would come to the rescue of the US if you will be attacked. Let me tell you, they will, and they did in Afghanistan.

“For every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another Nato country who did not come back to his family – from the Netherlands, from Denmark and particularly from other countries,” he added.

Trump ‘completely wrong’

Lord Dannatt, who was head of the British Army between 2006 and 2009 at the height of the Afghan conflict, told The Telegraph: “Donald Trump has got his facts completely wrong.

“When the new operation was launched in southern Afghanistan in 2006, the UK agreed to take the lead on behalf of Nato and went into Helmand.”

Lord Sedwill, a former ambassador to Afghanistan, told Times Radio the families of British personnel who died would be “right” to be offended at Mr Trump’s “completely wrong” comments.

Mr Rutte’s pushback against Mr Trump came before their meeting to ease tensions over Greenland.

The pair reached an agreement, first reported by The Telegraph, that would effectively permit Washington to create “sovereign” military bases on the Arctic Island – modelled on Britain’s RAF facilities in Cyprus.

The deal, an update to a 1951 defence pact between Denmark and the US, will also block Russia and China from exploiting the island’s minerals.

A permanent Nato mission to bolster Arctic security, expected to be under the leadership of the US, is also expected to be launched as part of the agreement.

But without a written legal text, it was unclear what special status any military areas hosting American forces would be granted.

Denmark’s prime minister insisted the deal negotiated between Mr Trump and Mr Rutte would not infringe on her country’s sovereignty.

Before a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, Mette Frederiksen told reporters: “We have said from the very beginning that a discussion about our status as a sovereign state cannot be discussed. It cannot be changed.

“We are willing to work together with the US, of course, as we have always done about security, but our red lines that are also our democratic rules, cannot be discussed.”

Earlier on Thursday, she thanked the UK “from the bottom of my heart” for its support over Greenland during talks with Sir Keir Starmer.

‘Get by with a little help from our friends’

The Prime Minister hosted his Danish counterpart at Chequers, his countryside residence.

Ms Frederiksen said it was important “Europeans stand together” and “don’t get divided”. She also praised the “British way” following Sir Keir’s diplomatic efforts.

To mark her visit, Mrs Frederiken signed the Chequers guestbook: “We’ll get by with a little help from our friends”, echoing the famous song by The Beatles.

In Brussels, EU leaders welcomed the deal, which prompted Mr Trump to call off his threat to impose tariffs on eight European nations following their opposition to his Greenland plans.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said: “I welcome the fact that we began the week with an escalation, with threats of invasion and tariff threats, and have now returned to a situation that I find far more acceptable, even though we remain vigilant.”

By Thursday afternoon, the prime ministers of Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark had all called off a planned visit to Greenland on Friday.

Jonas Gahr Støre, the Norwegian prime minister, said the trip had been called off “in light of the contacts between the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States and Nato”.

It appeared that the trip was intended to be a show of solidarity in the face of possible US annexation, although Norway said the visit would go ahead at a later date.

After departing Switzerland, Mr Trump said he had an “incredible time in Davos”.

In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “The Greenland structure is being worked on, and will be amazing for the USA, and the Board of Peace is something that the World has never seen before – Very special. So many good things happening!”