Donald Trump’s claim that NATO allies avoided frontline fighting in Afghanistan has sparked outrage abroad. In Australia, political leaders have said little.

So far there have been few Australian politicians speaking out about Donald Trump’s claims about deaths in Afghanistan.

In NATO countries, however, there has been a widespread reaction. Veterans, NATO leaders and even Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, reacted with anger after US President Donald Trump said veterans from other NATO member states avoided the front line in Afghanistan.

The Duke of Sussex, who had two deployments to Afghanistan, told the Guardian the “sacrifices of British soldiers deserve to be spoken of with respect”.

He went on to say: “The claims were utterly ridiculous”, and invited anyone who believed the remarks to meet him and grieving families.

“I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there. Thousands of lives were changed forever. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.”

Given the rhetorical caution which members of the Royal Family generally practise, this is the equivalent of putting thousands of protesters outside the White House waving banners and shouting abuse.

Of course, as usual, Trump’s comments were not only ridiculous but also a lie. A total of 3,486 NATO troops died in the 20-year war – of whom 2,461 were US personnel.

Australia lost 41 soldiers there and 261 were wounded. Canada recorded 165 deaths. Denmark, which Trump has also threatened, had 44 combat deaths – the most per capita outside the US.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the comments were “insulting and frankly appalling” and called on Trump to apologise.

He was joined in condemning Trump by Nigel Farage, the armed forces minister Al Carns (a former Marine who served four tours of Afghanistan and was awarded the Military Cross), and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

The former head of the British Army, Lord Dannatt, said Trump “has got the disrespect and outrage to say that we hung back from the frontline. My God, we were certainly in the front line as 457 young people died”.

It is all doubly appalling given that Trump is a draft dodger. His father organised an exemption for him by claiming he had bone spurs. This is the source of the description of Trump as “Colonel Bone Spurs”.

Asked about his failure to enlist for Vietnam, Trump once said he had shown his courage by negotiating the years of endemic STDs.

The allied deaths in Afghanistan followed the invoking of Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all. It has been invoked only once – following the September 11, 2001 attacks – after which European allies responded by joining the US-led mission in Afghanistan.

So far, there has been little comment from the Australian government.

It should not be hard for Albanese to speak out on the issue. According to a June 2025 Lowy Institute survey, 72 per cent of Australians have little or no confidence in Trump “to do the right thing”.

Moreover, as few as 8 per cent of Australians are convinced Australia “shares values” with modern America, according to a YouGov poll for the Australia Institute in November. A plurality said they felt the US was an unreliable ally.

This suggests the public would be more than comfortable for Albanese to shed his usual timidity and speak out and, at the very least, to mark the sacrifice of the 41 Australians killed there.