Downing Street has rejected US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s suggestion that only a few allies actually fought in Afghanistan. According to the Guardian, the prime minister’s spokesperson said on 19 October that Hegseth was wrong, pointing to the British service personnel who did not return from the war.
The spokesperson was asked at a Downing Street briefing about a speech Hegseth gave at the University of Tennessee. In an extract quoted by the newspaper, the Pentagon chief recalled his service in Afghanistan and suggested that, of the many countries taking part in the mission, only a small number were involved in actual combat.
Hegseth also repeated a joke recasting ISAF — the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan — as “I Saw Americans Fighting”. This formed part of his remarks downplaying other participants’ involvement, rather than an established account of how combat operations were shared between countries.
In response, the prime minister’s spokesperson stressed the contribution made by Britain and other allies, alongside the sacrifices of thousands of military families. The spokesperson recalled that more than 450 British service personnel had not returned from the war in Afghanistan, according to the remarks reported by the Guardian.
Downing Street’s response went beyond defending British troops. The spokesperson said the service and sacrifice of UK forces and those of other NATO countries had supported their shared security, and that diminishing their role was wrong.
