Trump’s Pentagon chief gets humiliating rebuke from America’s top ally

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens while US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before departing for Baltimore County, Maryland, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, October 6, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

President Donald Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was on the receiving end of a rare and direct rebuke by the British government after he suggested that nearly all of America's NATO allies avoided combat during the war in Afghanistan.

Downing Street's unusually blunt response came after Hegseth claimed that only a handful of countries represented at NATO headquarters in Kabul had contributed meaningfully to the fighting, according to The Guardian.

"The facts speak for themselves when it comes to the UK's and NATO's contribution to Afghanistan," a spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham said when asked about Hegseth's claim.

The spokesperson said Hegseth was "wrong" and referenced the hundreds of British service members who died in the conflict.

"Thousands of British and Allied families made huge sacrifices to play their significant part in that war and uphold our values, and more than 450 British personnel never returned," the spokesperson said.

Hegseth made his controversial claims during a speech at the University of Tennessee, while speaking about his own experience serving in Afghanistan.

"I was a captain in Afghanistan and we would go to the headquarters in Kabul and there would be 50 flags at the headquarters," he said. "It was a beautiful thing to see, 50 different countries contributing to the Nato alliance and the Isaf [International Security Assistance Force] mission there."

He then questioned how many of those countries took part, naming just a few.

"Except there were maybe five that contributed," he said. "It was actually closer to one or two that by the end were actually involved in kinetic operations."

Hegseth added that American troops joked ISAF stood for "I Saw Americans Fighting."

Britain was among the countries that deployed troops into combat, and while Hegseth has combat experience, he served as an instructor while deployed in Afghanistan.

Downing Street also made it clear that the British soldiers and other allied forces sacrificed their lives after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on American soil.

"Their sacrifice and that of other NATO forces was made in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally," the spokesperson said.

"We are incredibly proud of our armed forces and their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten, and it is wrong to diminish their role," the statement continued.

This is a rare dispute as Burham’s new government has avoided having a contentious relationship with the Trump administration.

Hegseth’s remarks echo what Trump said in January when he claimed that NATO allies had stayed away from the front lines in Afghanistan. The previous prime minister, Keir Starmer, called the president's remarks "insulting and frankly appalling."

Trump eventually walked back the remarks with praise for British troops on Truth Social after the backlash; it is yet to be seen if Hegseth does the same.

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