Germany demands apology from Trump over Afghanistan remarks |
Tensions have emerged between Germany and the United States following comments made by US President Donald Trump that were widely perceived by NATO allies as dismissive of their military contributions during the war in Afghanistan. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has publicly demanded an apology from Trump, arguing that the remarks were not only inaccurate but also deeply disrespectful to allied soldiers who fought and died alongside US forces over the course of the nearly two-decade-long conflict.
The controversy stems from an interview Trump gave to Fox News last week while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During the interview, the US president claimed that America “never needed” assistance from its NATO partners in Afghanistan and suggested that allied troops had stayed “a little back, a little off the front lines” throughout the war. These comments immediately drew criticism across Europe, where political leaders and military officials emphasized the sacrifices made by their countries under NATO’s collective defense framework.
Responding to the remarks in an interview with Germany’s public broadcaster ARD on January 25, Pistorius strongly rejected Trump’s characterization of allied involvement. “It’s just not right and it’s disrespectful to talk about the dead of your allies in that way,” the German defense minister said. “They all stood there, at the side of the United States. To claim something else........