INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday appeared to reduce the contributions of America’& rsquo; s NATO allies during the war in
His remarks echoed a repeating message from the White House and President Donald Trump: that NATO member nations should boost their defense
spending to fulfill alliance commitments.Speaking before the United States Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Hegseth remembered a
soldiers during his own service in Afghanistan
Referring to the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) patch worn by union soldiers, he stated it was jokingly translated by many
soldiers as “& ldquo; I saw Americans combating.”“& rdquo; & ldquo; Ultimately it was a lotta flags
[However it] was not a lot of on-the-ground ability,” & rdquo; Hegseth continued in disparaging the NATO soldiers
“& ldquo; You & rsquo; re not a genuine coalition, you’& rsquo; re not a real alliance, unless you have real defense capability, and
real armies that can bring those to bear.”& rdquo; His comments stimulated immediate criticism from Senator Chris Coons, who pointed to
the considerable sacrifices made by NATO allies after 9/11, when the alliance conjured up Article 5 for the very first time
Coons emphasized that nations like Denmark, despite their little populations, withstood high per-capita casualties —-- 2nd only to the
U.S.“& ldquo; Let & rsquo; s just make clear for the record that our military partners in Afghanistan included many who served and passed
away,” & rdquo; Coons said.Hegseth pushed back, saying his remarks weren’& rsquo; t implied to ignore those sacrifices.“& ldquo; Don &
rsquo; t try and make it look like I don’& rsquo; t appreciate the investments of our partners,” & rdquo; said the secretary
I acknowledge that there were lives lost from other nations
The bulk of the effort was Americans.” & rdquo; Over the two-decade war in Afghanistan, 31 other countries joined the U.S.-led effort
suffered 2,461 military deaths, with the UK next highest at 457
Other NATO allies likewise lost personnel in combat and non-combat incidents.The post United States defense chief Hegseth downplays NATO
allies’ & rsquo; function in Afghanistan war initially appeared on TINS News|Afghanistan News.
