Trump’s economic adviser Peter Navarro lashed out at Canadian soldiers helping the US in Afghanistan

President Donald Trump's director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, and the national Defense Production Act policy coordinator, Peter Navarro lashed out at Canadian soldiers who are stationed in Afghanistan, CTV News cited.

According to a new book by CNN's Jim Sciutto, Navarro alleged that "every time a Canadian shows up in uniform, it's doing us a favor? How's that work?"

Afghanistan certainly isn't Canada's war nor is it theirs to clean up. Still, the country has helped with over 40,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces during the 12-year Operation Enduring Freedom from 2001-2014. Sadly, 158 Canadian soldiers gave their lives for the NATO mission.

"Were they doing us a favor, or were they brought into the idea they needed to do that as part of the global effort against terrorists?” Navarro is quoted saying. "I mean, if they were just doing us a favor, maybe their government should have been thrown out of office."

Sciutto said that he was shocked by the remarks as Canada has been an American ally for many years.

"It was mind-blowing to me, here. You have arguably America's closest ally in many respects … and the dismissiveness,” Sciutto said. "There's a very zero-sum approach that Navarro and the president have, the kind of, 'What have you done for us lately?’ kind of approach."

"And it shouldn't be men and women in uniform and those who served in Afghanistan, every Canadian should be insulted by comments like that … to put it all in that view is ignorant, and ignorance is perhaps more frightening than being insulted," said former Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier, who also commanded the NATO ISAF in Afghanistan.

Navarro has never served in the military, worked at the Department of Defense or the Pentagon.

Sciutto's book, The Madman Theory: Trump Takes On the World, is on sale now.

Read the full report.