Downing Street has rejected comments by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth suggesting that only a small number of NATO allies took part in combat operations during the war in Afghanistan.
Speaking at an event at the University of Tennessee, Hegseth recalled seeing flags representing numerous coalition countries at NATO headquarters in Kabul, but suggested that only one or two countries were involved in combat operations towards the end of the mission.
Asked about those remarks at a briefing on Monday 19 October, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said Hegseth was wrong to diminish the contribution of British and other allied forces.
Downing Street defends British service personnel
The spokesperson said thousands of British and allied families had made significant sacrifices during the campaign, and noted that more than 450 British service personnel did not return. The government said it remained proud of the armed forces and their contribution to collective security.
According to reporting on the briefing, 457 UK military personnel died in Afghanistan. The UK suffered the second-highest military death toll among coalition countries after the United States.
Dispute over NATO's contribution
The disagreement concerns Hegseth’s characterisation of allied participation, not an announcement of any change to NATO policy or UK–US defence arrangements. Hegseth's remarks were made in the context of his recollections of the Afghanistan mission; Downing Street challenged the implication that allied forces did not meaningfully participate in fighting.
The Afghanistan mission followed the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. NATO invoked Article 5 of its founding treaty for the first time in response to those attacks.