Prince Harry vs Trump over NATO remarks: What did POTUS say about troops' role in Afghanistan?

Prince Harry responded to President Trump's comments on NATO's role in Afghanistan, talking about the “sacrifices” made by military personnel.

Published on: Jan 24, 2026, 24:59:37 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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Prince Harry has issued a public response to President Donald Trump's recent comments dismissing the role of NATO allies and the military in Afghanistan.

Prince Harry responded to President Trump's comments on NATO's role in Afghanistan, talking about the “sacrifices” made by military personnel. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (AP)

Trump, in an interview with Fox News at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that non-US NATO troops “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines” during the Afghanistan conflict.

What did Prince Harry say?

In a detailed statement, Prince Harry said that Article 5 of the NATO Charter was triggered for the “first and only time” after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S.

He reminded Trump that NATO allies at the time stood together with the United States in pursuit of shared security goals. He said, “Allies answered that call."

Prince Harry further added, “I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there. The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed.”

He reminded Trump of the sacrifices that military personnel made at the time. He said, “Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.”

In his statment Prince Harry demanded respect for all those who were present in Afghanistan and said, “Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace.”

Prince Harry was himself deployed in Afghanistan

Prince Harry was one of the military personnel who was deployed in Afghanistan twice during his 10-year military career.

Prince Harry writes about his experience in his book Spare, detailing that during his deployment, he killed about 25 Taliban soldiers.

In early 2008, he was discreetly sent to Afghanistan for ten weeks, but he was later withdrawn due to reports from the media about his deployment in Afghanistan.

He was sent to Afghanistan a second time in September 2012 as a gunner and co-pilot of an Apache helicopter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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