Denmark slams Trump for remarks undermining NATO's role in Afghanistan

Denmark’s premier has criticised remarks by US President Donald Trump questioning the role of NATO allies in Afghanistan, saying the comments were “unacceptable” and had deeply hurt Danish veterans.

On Instagram, Mette Frederiksen said it was “unacceptable that the American president doubts the efforts of allied soldiers in Afghanistan”, adding that her thoughts were with veterans, their families and those who lost loved ones.

Her comments followed an interview with Fox News in which Trump said the US had never needed its allies and claimed NATO soldiers had "stayed a little back, a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan.

The remarks triggered strong reactions among Danish veterans.

Michael Willadsen, a former police chief who was deployed twice to Afghanistan, said the statements were painful.

“I have been on the front lines in Helmand province, where there were no Americans. It hurts that he says we were not needed, because I definitely think we were,” he told public broadcaster DR.

Willadsen, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2014, said his deployments had taken a heavy toll on his family.

“It has cost my family. My children had to do without their father, and it has not been easy afterwards. But it has not made me regret my deployments. It has made me the person I am today,” he said.

Rene Lenskjold, a veterans’ coordinator in the municipality of Esbjerg, said many former soldiers felt the remarks undermined the meaning of their service.

“As a soldier, you may have spent some of the best years of your life being deployed. And if you are then accused of being a bad ally, many people think maybe they should never have been there,” he said.

Silent demonstration

In response, the Danish Veterans Association announced it would hold a “silent demonstration march” next week from Kastellet fortress in Copenhagen to the US Embassy.

“We are doing this because of the lies and the mockery coming from the American president directed at Danish veterans and veterans from other allied countries,” said its national chairman, Carsten Rasmussen.

“We feel not just frustration but what I would rather call betrayal by the American president,” he added.

Denmark took part in NATO-led military operations in Afghanistan starting in 2002 and lasting for more than a decade, deploying thousands of troops alongside US and allied forces.

Danish forces deployed to Helmand, one of the deadliest areas of the war, where at least 41 of their soldiers were killed, a very high casualty rate in terms of the country’s population.