The United Kingdom and Poland have criticized US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for downplaying NATO allies’ role in combat operations in Afghanistan, saying his remarks overlook the sacrifices made by British and other allied forces.
A spokesperson for the British prime minister said on Monday, October 19, that it was wrong to downplay the presence and sacrifices of British troops in Afghanistan.
The British government emphasized that more than 450 British service members were killed in Afghanistan.
The spokesperson added that their service and sacrifices would never be forgotten.
Meanwhile, Poland’s foreign minister said Hegseth should deliver his remarks to the families of the 44 Polish soldiers who died while helping provide security in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province.
The comments came after Hegseth said in a speech on Saturday that, despite representatives from 50 countries being present at NATO’s coalition headquarters in Kabul, only a small number of those countries had participated in combat operations.
