Veterans and politicians are reacting strongly to Trump's remarks. Veteran Marius Cudrio Røed is asking Trump to apologize.

Marius Cudrio Røed and Kristoffer Sørli Jørgensen served together in Afghanistan. Jørgensen was killed by a roadside bomb in 2007. Photo: Magnus Swärd Jorheim

Marius Cudrio Røed and Kristoffer Sørli Jørgensen served together in Afghanistan. Jørgensen was killed by a roadside bomb in 2007. Photo: Magnus Swärd Jorheim

Veteran Marius Cudrio Røed criticizes Trump's statements about NATO allies' efforts in Afghanistan.

Several Norwegian politicians, including Peter Frølich and Mahmoud Farahmand and Morten Kolbjørnsen, share the frustration.

Former Defense Minister Kristin Krohn Devold calls Trump's statements "completely ignorant."

Røed urges Trump to apologize for his remarks.

In an interview with Fox News on Friday, US President Donald Trump made several comments about NATO allies' efforts in the Afghanistan war. . The interview comes after a turbulent and tense week in which Trump has been in a clinching position with European allies .

This is what Trump said:

• He says that the other NATO allies "stayed back a little, a little away" from the front lines in Afghanistan.
• He has questioned whether NATO member states are standing up for the United States. "I'm not sure," Trump says.
• Trump says the US "has never needed them. We've never really asked them for anything."

In total, around 9,200 Norwegian soldiers participated in the Afghanistan war.

10 Norwegian soldiers were killed between 2001 and 2011.

– When I read Trump's statements, I react with both frustration and astonishment. They do not correspond to the reality as I and many others who served in Afghanistan experienced it. The claim that NATO allies "stayed away from the front lines" is simply wrong.

That's what Norwegian Afghanistan veteran Marius Cudrio Røed says.

Wrong and disrespectful

Several Norwegian politicians are critical of Trump's statements.

Minister of Defense Tore O. Sandvik writes in an email to VG that he reacts strongly to President Trump's statements about Afghanistan.

– All fallen, survivors and veterans deserve to be mentioned with respect. The President of the United States does not do that today. I have great respect for the efforts made by NATO soldiers in Afghanistan.

Regarding Trump's statements, he writes:

– I understand very well that both those who served and their relatives are upset by these statements. They are wrong and they are disrespectful of the collective effort that was made.

Sandvik emphasizes that Denmark's contribution was significant, and that they suffered heavy losses.

43 Danish soldiers were killed in Afghanistan.

– Ten Norwegian soldiers died in Afghanistan. NATO allies were in Afghanistan for almost 20 years. Over 10,000 Norwegian women and men have served in the country, Sandvik writes to VG.

Representative of the Storting Peter Frølich is currently traveling in the United States with a number of members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

– It is a shameful and false claim. It joins a long line of comments that mock soldiers who have been willing to risk their lives for something bigger than themselves, he writes in a text message to VG.

Left Speechless

– This devaluation of Norwegian and allied efforts is not worthy of a head of state.

This is what MP for the Conservative Party and Afghanistan veteran Mahmoud Farahmand tells VG.

– Many of us who have stood up for Norway and our allies in the war on terror have lost colleagues abroad, and I believe that such a statement about the effort is unworthy.

Farahmand was an officer and soldier, and has served five contingents in Afghanistan, he says.

– Yes, it was in our own security policy interest to stand up. But we soldiers deserve a far better mention than this. One wonders what the logic is here. What do you want to achieve by devaluing people's efforts and lost lives?