The NATO Alliance was established in 1949, a treaty that bonded originally bonded 12 countries to one another in the event of an attack, and has since expanded to include 32 countries. Despite this long-standing promise to protect one another in the face of danger, President Donald Trump is now calling into question the validity of the agreement. This has angered many members of the alliance, including British-American transplant Prince Harry, who served in the British army for a decade. Keep reading for more information.
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Donald Trump Makes Claims About NATO Allies
In an interview with Fox News last week, Donald Trump questioned if the NATO allies would "be there" if the United States "ever needed them."
"I've always said, 'Will they be there, if we ever needed them?' And that's really the ultimate test. And I'm not sure of that. I know that we would have been there, or we would be there, but will they be there?" he questioned.
"We've never needed them," he continued. "We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did—they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines."
Prince Harry Responds To Trump's Claims
These claims from Donald Trump angered many members of the NATO alliance, including England. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump's claims "insulting and frankly appalling," and even Prince Harry had more than a few words to say about it.
Through a spokesperson, Prince Harry released a statement on the topic. "In 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first—and only—time in history," he said, referencing the mutual defense clause that was activated following the September 11, 2001 attacks. "It meant that every allied nation was obliged to stand with the United States in Afghanistan, in pursuit of our shared security. Allies answered that call."
"I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there," he continued. "The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed. 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."
"Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defense of diplomacy and peace," he finished. Prince Harry has long since been a supporter and defender of British veterans, having founded the Invictus Games in 2014, an international, Paralympic-style event for wounded, injured, and sick military service personnel and veterans.
