Prince Harry says British troops deserve ‘respect’ after Trump’s NATO comments
Prince Harry, who served in the Afghanistan war, said the “sacrifices” of British soldiers during the conflict “deserve to be spoken about with truth and respect” – a rebuke of President Donald Trump’s comments about NATO soldiers.
In an interview Thursday, Trump said troops from non-U.S. NATO countries were staying “a little bit away from the front lines” in Afghanistan. The comments sparked strong criticism across Europe, including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called them “insulting and frankly appalling.”
Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the British military, said in a statement Friday that U.S. allies “answered” the call to stand with U.S. troops after NATO invoked Article 5 of the mutual defense pact following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“I served there. I made lifelong friends. And I lost friends there. The United Kingdom alone has had 457 military deaths,” the Duke of Sussex said. “Thousands of lives have been changed forever. Mothers and fathers have buried their sons and daughters. Children have been left without parents. Families are bearing the price.”
“These sacrifices deserve to be remembered with truth and respect, as we all remain united and faithful to the defense of diplomacy and peace,” Harry added.
The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Trump made the remarks about NATO troops on Fox Business, telling the cable news network that the United States “never needed” the transatlantic military alliance., one of the pillars of the post-World War II international order.
“We never really asked them for anything,” Trump said. “You know, they’ll say they sent troops to Afghanistan or this or that, and they did. They stayed a little behind, a little behind the front.
The comments soured diplomatic relations with traditional European allies already stung by Trump’s efforts to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory from NATO member Denmark.
Trump also riled allies after using part of his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to lambast Europe, saying countries there are “destructing themselves” and that “some places in Europe aren’t even recognizable anymore, frankly.”
Following the September 11 attacks, the United States led an international coalition in Afghanistan aimed at overthrowing the terrorist group Al-Qaeda and the country’s ruling militant group, the Taliban. NATO triggered Article 5 for the first and only time to date, with the British Army deploying more than 150,000 troops.
Starmer, asked whether his US counterpart should apologise, said that if he had “misspoke in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologise”.
Prince Harry served his first tour of duty in 2007. He served a second tour of duty, as an Apache helicopter pilot, beginning in September 2012, according to a British government press release at the time.
The Duke of Sussex wrote in his 2023 memoir “Spare” that he killed 25 “enemy combatants” during his two tours in Afghanistan. “It was not a number that gave me any satisfaction. But neither was it a number that made me ashamed,” Harry wrote in the book.
