Former Army captain says Trump has ‘trampled over memories’ of Afghanistan dead

A former Army captain who won the Military Cross for his service in Afghanistan has said US President Donald Trump has “trampled over the memories” of those who lost their lives in the conflict.

Doug Beattie said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer must publicly “hold the president to task” for his comments that America’s allies stayed away from the front lines in Afghanistan.

Mr Trump made his comments in an interview with Fox News in which he reiterated his suggestion that Nato would not support America if asked.

He said: “We’ve never needed them.

“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

Mr Beattie, now an Ulster Unionist MLA, served three tours of duty in Afghanistan.

For his actions in fierce fighting over several days in September 2006 he was awarded the Military Cross.

Mr Beattie said he believed Mr Trump was becoming “increasingly erratic” in regards to his comments over Nato.

He said: “People need to understand that it was the US which invoked Article 5 of the Nato charter and it was other nations that came to the call and in doing so in Afghanistan, lost thousands of their young men and women killed and injured, the UK lost 457 killed in action, but over 2,200 were wounded in action.

“Of those more than 600 were seriously injured, including my good friend Andy Allen, who lost both legs and most of his eyesight on the front line fighting against a brutal regime which was the Taliban.

“The president has insulted him, he has insulted me and he has insulted many other people who served in Afghanistan.”

Mr Beattie added: “When I was in Afghanistan I served alongside many nations, including the US on the front line, three tours of duty, I was on the front line each time nearly in contact every single day I was there.

“There was no sliding off to the back line, we fought together. I fought with US colleagues and I fought beside the Danish who lost more per head of capita than any other nation in Afghanistan.

“I shared their hardships, I shared their pain, I watched them wounded, I carried their bodies when they were killed, I felt their grief and we had to carry on together.

“President Trump has insulted every single one of them.”

Mr Beattie called for action from the Prime Minister.

He said: “He needs to hold the president to task and he needs to make that public.

“If he doesn’t he will show his absolute weakness and his inability to stand up for those men and women who gave so much in Afghanistan at the behest of the US.”

The veteran said he “could not imagine” the impact the president’s remarks would have on those who lost family members in Afghanistan.

He said: “I am lucky, I went and did my three tours of Afghanistan, I fought on the front line and I came back and I came back whole and I am getting on with my life.

“But many people didn’t come back and families have to deal with that.

“To have somebody insult those loved ones or feel their loss was someway lesser than anybody else is appalling and the families are going to feel that.

“I cannot imagine what the families are going through now.

“For me as a former soldier who served in Afghanistan, I will not allow anybody to trample over the memory of those men and women who I served alongside, who gave so much.”

Mr Beattie said: “We need to stand up to him, stand up to his bullying.

“This is a man who doesn’t understand service because he dodged the draft and now he is insulting those who served their country.”