German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has publicly asked U.S. President Donald Trump to apologise for remarks suggesting that America’s NATO partners avoided frontline service in Afghanistan, joining a range of European politicians and military veterans in condemning the comments.
Trump sparked strong reactions among allied governments when he told Fox Business Network last week that the United States had "never needed" the transatlantic alliance and accused allies of remaining "a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan.
Responding on Germany’s ARD public broadcaster late on Sunday, Pistorius said the comments were wrong and an affront to the memory of those who died while serving alongside U.S. forces.
"It’s just not right and it’s disrespectful to talk about the dead of your allies in that way. They all stood there, at the side of the United States. To claim something else today is simply not true,"
Pistorius noted that thousands of German troops participated in NATO’s Operation Enduring Freedom and the Resolute Support missions in Afghanistan and that 59 German service members were killed during those operations, which were launched following the al Qaeda attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
The defence minister said he planned to raise the issue the next time he speaks with U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and urged the U.S. president to apologise, adding that such an apology "would be a sign of decency, respect and also insight."
European criticism of Trump’s remarks has been broad. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the comments as "frankly appalling," departing from his usual reluctance to directly criticise the U.S. president. On Saturday Trump praised "brave" British soldiers, but he did not apologise for his earlier statements and made no mention of sacrifices made by other NATO allies. Britain lost 457 service personnel in Afghanistan.
The debate over the remarks also intersects with longstanding tensions within NATO about defence spending and burden-sharing. Officials in the Trump administration have criticised some European countries for missing NATO spending targets and for relying heavily on U.S. capabilities for their own defence.
Pistorius, who has been leading efforts to rebuild Germany’s armed forces, said Europe must accept that it can no longer rely on the United States to the same extent it has over the past 70 years. He added that the German military was on an "excellent path" to reach its goals of being fully back up to strength by 2029.
Summary:
- German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius demanded an apology from President Trump after comments suggesting NATO allies stayed "a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan.
- Pistorius intends to raise the issue with U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and called an apology a sign of decency and respect.
- The remarks have been criticised across Europe and touch on wider debates about NATO spending and defence dependence on the U.S.