Trump Slams Allied Troops as Cowards; Veterans Outraged
Part of composite article Trump's Tariff Threat Sparks NATO Crisis Over Greenland View full article →
The leader of Australia's largest veterans' group has called Donald Trump's recent claim about allied soldiers "unfathomable." The U.S. president said troops from other nations "stayed a little back" from frontlines in Afghanistan.
Trump made the statement in a Fox News interview. He used it to question the reliability of the NATO military alliance.
His comments directly reference the war in Afghanistan. Australia sent 40,000 troops to that conflict over two decades. Forty-seven Australian service members died there.
The veteran organization's head rejected Trump's claim completely. The response highlights deep anger among allies about the characterization of their soldiers' service and sacrifice.