Hegst: NATO's combat involvement in Afghanistan was limited to a few countries

Hamoon Sun Oct 2026 13 hours ago 41

Hegseth, on Saturday, October 17, while speaking at the University of Tennessee, recalled his own military experience in Afghanistan and said that during his comings and goings to NATO's command headquarters in Kabul, he would see the flags of numerous countries; but according to him, only about five countries were practically involved in the war.


The U.S. Secretary of Defense emphasized that this situation persisted until the end of the international forces' mission in Afghanistan, and in the final stages of their presence, only a handful of countries were participating in combat operations.


He also referred to a term that, as he put it, American soldiers at the time jokingly used regarding the ISAF mission. According to this joke, the acronym ISAF was interpreted to mean "I Saw Americans Fighting"; a phrase that, in his view, expressed the American forces' criticism of the level of practical participation by their allies.


This is not the first time that officials in the Donald Trump administration have criticized NATO member countries' contributions to the Afghanistan war. The U.S. President had previously claimed that NATO forces' role in this war had been overly highlighted.


Trump had said that the forces of NATO member countries, instead of being on the front lines of battle, were stationed behind American soldiers. These statements drew sharp reactions from European countries, and after criticisms mounted, the U.S. President backtracked from his position and praised British soldiers.


Hegseth's recent remarks are also in line with the U.S. government's criticisms of how NATO allies participated in military operations in Afghanistan.



Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, criticized the level of participation by NATO member countries in the Afghanistan war, stating that despite the flags of about 50 countries being present at the alliance's headquarters in Kabul, the number of countries that actually took part in combat operations was very limited.

Hamoon Khamoosh

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