Hegseth jokes about US allies doing nothing in Afghanistan – despite hundreds losing their lives

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/hegseth-jokes-us-allies-doing-195407718.html

33 comments

  2. Many brave Canadian men died in Afghanistan to support the US. Not only does the US threaten us after we have been nothing but loyal allies, they dare say we haven’t helped in their senseless conflicts. 

  4. >Hegseth said his fellow Army National Guardsmen would often joke that the ISAF acronym on their shoulder patches — which stood for International Security Assistance Force — really stood for, “I saw Americans fighting.”

    >“Ultimately it was a lotta flags. Lotta flags. [But it] was not a lot of on-the-ground capability,” Hegseth continued in disparaging the NATO troops. “You’re not a real coalition, you’re not a real alliance, unless you have real defense capability, and real armies that can bring those to bear.”

    so without allies, how is the plan to oppose China for Taiwan?

  5. This guy’s was and is a joke …the kind of officer that would kiss ass and run around like complete fuckwit . not surprised he is a Maga craphat .

  7. This guy seems to think that countries with a few million citizens should contribute as much as the US. How daft is he.

  8. People like Hegseth are making sure that the next war America fights will be fought alone. Way to flush 100 years worth of allies.

  9. Canada don’t even react just remember that the usa are on the brink of war with iran by poking the bear and we need to demand our government our soldiers will not participate and die for the usa again, we need to keep with Ukraine, pete and the usa xan call Israel or Putin

  11. Finally he got the chance to display some competence born of expertise in the service – and he comes out with this…. How just how did the US degrade so far… clown act

  12. This administration is a betrayal of their allies.

    It will take centuries to repair what they’ve done.

  13. What a horrible thing to read for any person who has lost loved ones or perhaps had their lives irrevocably changed as a consequence of the war in Afghanistan.

    The way the US treats its “allies” at the moment is going to ensure it doesn’t have many going forward.

  15. who the fuck is this guy, UK had a big deployment in GWOT, at no small cost in lives, and money, because they flew planes into American buildings

  16. Good to know the 450 dead British servicemen in Afghanistan were recognised for their service /s

  18. My old next door neighbour, Christopher Stannix, who was killed in Kandahar in 2007 might’ve had a different opinion.

  19. As an Australian who’s country has had your back in every single conflict in the last 100 years – fuucck you

  20. Soldiers from all over the world have died fighting alongside the American armed forces in every conflict they faced. They mock their allies but its those same allies that have supported them and allowed them to grow and expand. Gonna be really funny watching his bitchass whine that NATO wont support their war with Iran or China.

  21. A brief lesson in history is needed. We had British troops in Afghanistan who died supporting USA policy, not to mention a certain Prince Harry who flew helicopters out there!! Perhaps King Charles should point out this omission when he meets President Trump!!!

  22. “But the bulk of the effort was by Americans.” You’d hope so, since you started that particular conflict.

  23. As a Brit… Noted. Next time you want to start a war you can count us out.

  24. 457 British personnel were killed in Afghanistan, 600 sustained what would be classed as ‘serious’ or ‘very serious’ wounds, amputations, gunshot wounds, brain trauma etc. and around 2,200 in total suffered battlefield injuries, i.e. injured in combat.

  25. >The Trump administration in January froze a program allowing Afghan citizens who helped the US during the war against the Taliban, Islamic State and Al Qaeda to resettle in America.

    Not surprised at all. They served their usefulness to him so he’s done with them.

  26. Four Canadians were also killed by US *friendly fire.*

    [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarnak_Farm_incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarnak_Farm_incident)

    “The **Tarnak Farm incident** is the killing, by an [American](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) [Air National Guard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_National_Guard) pilot, of four [Canadian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadians) soldiers and the injury of eight others from the 3rd Battalion, [Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Patricia%27s_Canadian_Light_Infantry) Battle Group (3PPCLIBG) on the night of April 17, 2002, near [Kandahar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandahar), [Afghanistan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan).

    A United States [F-16](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-16) fighter jet piloted by Air National Guard Major Harry Schmidt dropped a laser-guided 500-pound (230 kg) [bomb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_82_bomb) on the Canadians, who were conducting a night firing exercise at [Tarnak Farms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarnak_Farms).

    The deaths were the first of [Canada’s war in Afghanistan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%27s_role_in_the_Afghanistan_War), and the first Canadian deaths in a combat zone since the [Korean War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War).[^([1])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarnak_Farm_incident#cite_note-1)”

  27. I find that disrespectful and ignorant. We lost as many troops as ‘Murica measured by population 🇩🇰

  28. Good luck having your (former?) allies back you in your next shitty war then dickhead!

  29. Ya, get bent bud.

    Canada spent years bleeding in Panjwayi only for you guys to decide you needed leave without a withdrawal plan.

  30. Just accept the majority of Americans are like this.

    77 million voted for this and another 88 million didn’t vote because they didn’t care if this happened and voting was too inconvenient for them that day.

    350 million total population in America including green card holders and children and minors.

    165 million adult American citizens were either passionately or passively accepting of this happening.

    They proved that after the first administration and an insurrection that Trump is still the voice of their majority.

    DO YOU BELIEVE THEM THIS TIME?!

  31. UK 457 military killed, £33 biliion cost, then 2+ years of Afghan refugees with all that entails.

    Did Hegseth even say thank you once?

  32. Hegseth is such an odious, feckless, craven and corrupt creature.

    I remember being in Kandahar, planning and executing combat logistics patrols (convoys) to run support to US units (TF 2-2 comes to mind) deployed in the province. We had more troops and capabilities before the US surge and Canada was the lead nation in Kandahar for a long time. So we ran the roads, supporting everyone and getting hit.

    I remember repeatedly folding US logistics packets into our convoys so that they could get out to their tactical teams to re-supply because we had the force protection capacity to do so. The US did not before their surge.

    I remember intense and close cooperation between us and TF EAGLE, the US Army Helo TF that provided aviation close air support to us during our operations and convoys, before Canada was able to deploy its own light and medium helos.

    I remember US Blackhawks doing Canadian cas evacs and angel flights (returning KIA to KAF) and the incredible tenderness and honour that the US air crews showed our fallen.

    I remember the Americans needing certain equipment / consumables and we happily helped them. Same thing occurred in reverse. They happily helped us when we asked.

    I remember the many ramp ceremonies that we had for fallen Americans, fallen Canadians, fallen Poles, fallen Kiwis, fallen Danes, fallen Aussies, fallen Dutch, fallen Brits. We all attended, we all cried, we all picked up and carried on the next day as one team.

    I remember a friend and mentor being killed by a VBIED in Kabul whilst deployed with Americans, who also lost their own that day as a result of that attack (RIP, Parker).

    I remember that we were deployed in the toughest, ugliest, highest risk province in Afghanistan in support of the US War on Terror because that is what allies do. And the invocation of Article 5 of the NATO Charter meant we go.

    I remember kissing my 5 month old son and Army wife before climbing on the bus and deploying to Kandahar, having written and sealed my “death letters” before giving them to my best friend, “just in case”, and hoping that I made it home alive, preferably in one piece. Not whining, I was a career soldier and it was my job to go.

    So, fuck Hegseth, that slimy little creature. And fuck anyone who denigrates and disrespects all of the soldiers that Nations sent to stand beside the US when they called. You may not agree with that war, but the soldiers were there because we were told to be there. We were never going to fix anything, only make time and space for the politicians, governments and aid agencies to fix things.

    Okay, rant over. Sorry.

  33. I was part of Op Mountain Thrust in ‘06 … a NATO-led offensive. 3.5K Afghans, 3.3K Brits, 2.3K Americans, 2.2K Canadians, 1.1K Aussies and supported by smaller numbers from other NATO forces.

    NATO and Afghan fighters died or were injured along side us Americans over those 6-weeks.

    I’m fucking tired of this GOP, MAGA, right wing horse shit that suggests that NATO didn’t or doesn’t do anything for us.

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