NOT SO FRIENDLY FIRE

Ally Publicly Shames Hegseth Over Insult to Troops

The U.K. has rebuked Pete Hegseth.

The U.K. has issued a rare public rebuke of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he falsely claimed that most non-American NATO troops in Afghanistan avoided combat.

Hegseth made the comments during a speech at the University of Tennessee, recalling his own service in Afghanistan.

He claimed that although dozens of countries contributed to the NATO mission, only “one or two” were involved in combat operations by the end of the war.

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“I was a captain in Afghanistan and we would go to the headquarters in Kabul and there would be 50 flags at the headquarters. It was a beautiful thing to see, 50 different countries contributing to the NATO alliance and the ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] mission there,” he said.

“Except there were maybe five that contributed. It was actually closer to one or two that by the end were actually involved in kinetic operations. In fact, the patch ISAF, we joked it meant ‘I Saw Americans Fighting’.”

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The remarks drew a sharp response from the U.K. government. Asked about them at a Downing Street briefing, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Hegseth was “wrong” to diminish NATO allies’ role.

“The facts speak for themselves when it comes to the U.K.’s and NATO’s contribution to Afghanistan. Thousands of British and Allied families made huge sacrifices to play their significant part in that war and uphold our values, and more than 450 British personnel never returned,” the spokesperson said.

The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Defense for comment.

“Their sacrifice and that of other NATO forces was made in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally. We are incredibly proud of our armed forces and their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten, and it is wrong to diminish their role.”

Although nearly 2,500 U.S. service members died during the war in Afghanistan, more than 1,100 troops from other NATO countries were also killed, including 457 Britons. The conflict began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and lasted until the U.S.-led withdrawal in 2021.

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Hegseth’s comments echo claims made by President Donald Trump in January, when he said NATO troops had stayed “a little back, a little off the frontlines” in Afghanistan.

Then U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Trump’s remarks as “insulting and frankly appalling” and said the president should apologize.

Trump later changed his tone, praising British forces in a Truth Social post: “The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.”

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