President Donald Trump's comments about 9/11 during his speech at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday rankled America's allies in Europe, according to a new report.
During the speech, Trump asserted that America's NATO allies stayed "a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan when the coalition joined U.S. forces to combat Al-Qaeda following the 9/11 attacks. Trump also questioned whether NATO would come to the U.S.'s defense again if it were called upon.
Trump's comments called into question NATO's Article 5, which requires member states to mount a collective defense if any of them is attacked. The only time Article 5 has been invoked was following the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S.
Foreign leaders and dignitaries described Trump's comments as "grossly offensive," Sky News reported.
"I saw first hand the sacrifices made by British soldiers I served alongside in Sangin where we suffered horrific casualties, as did the US Marines the following year," Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served in Afghanistan as a captain in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, told Sky News. "I don't believe US military personnel share the view of President Trump; his words do them a disservice as our closest military allies."
"We have always been there whenever the Americans have wanted us, we have always been there," Dame Emily Thornberry MP, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, told Sky News.
Others chided Trump's comments about the military.
"Trump avoided military service five times," said Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey MP. "How dare he question their sacrifice. [Nigel] Farage and all the others still fawning over Trump should be ashamed."