“I served there, made lifelong friends and lost friends there. 457 soldiers from Great Britain alone died there,” King Charles III's son wrote in a statement on Friday. Harry added that the costs of the war fell on families – “mothers and fathers who buried their sons and daughters and orphaned children.”
How did Prince Harry react to Trump's words?
How many British soldiers died in Afghanistan?
What were the costs of the war in Afghanistan according to Harry?
What obligations did the allies have towards the US?
“Every ally was obliged to support”
He recalled that in 2001, for the first and only time in history, NATO invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty – which provides for common defense in the event of an attack on one of its allies.
“Every ally was obliged to support the US for common security. And the allies responded to this call,” Harry emphasized.
On Thursday, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that the United States has never needed NATO's help. — We never needed them. We never really asked them for anything, he said.
— You know, they'll say they sent troops to Afghanistan or Sudan, and they did. They stayed a little behind, a little away from the front line, the American leader added.
This statement caused a wave of outrage in Great Britain. Many British politicians, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, veterans and relatives of those killed, were critical of Trump's statements.
The American intervention in Afghanistan, which was joined by its allies at the request of the United States, was a reaction to the attack of September 11, 2001.
In addition to the United States forces, troops from many NATO countries, including Poland and Great Britain, entered Afghanistan. The presence of Western allies in Afghanistan lasted almost 20 years. More than 3,500 coalition soldiers died, most of them – nearly 2,500 – were Americans. The British army suffered the second highest losses. 43 Polish soldiers and one civilian employee also died in Afghanistan.
