Downing Street Rebukes Hegseth Over Afghanistan Remarks
Number 10 has hit back at Pete Hegseth after the US defence secretary suggested “maybe five” countries contributed to the Afghanistan war, with “one or two” actually fighting. The prime minister’s spokesperson said “the facts speak for themselves”, that more than 450 British personnel never returned, and that “it is wrong to diminish their role”.
More than 1,100 non-US coalition troops were killed in Afghanistan, and Britain’s campaign in Helmand was among the costliest it has fought since Korea. The spokesperson stressed that the sacrifice was made “in response to an attack on our ally” — a pointed reminder that Nato invoked Article 5 on America’s behalf after 11 September. The remarks are part of a renewed Washington attack on Nato allies, and land awkwardly for a government trying to keep the alliance and the US relationship steady during the Iran war.