Liberal leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie has gone online to slam the US President for his “massive slur” against Australian soldiers and other coalition forces who “fought, bled and died alongside Americans” in the Afghanistan war.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been called on to ensure Donald Trump withdraw his comments and apologise to everyone who served in a 20-year war.
Mr Trump has provoked widespread outrage and distress overnight after suggesting troops from NATO countries stayed away from the frontline during the two-decades long conflict against the Taliban in which 41 Australian personnel were killed.
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In an interview with Fox News Business on Friday, Australian time, Mr Trump said he was not sure the NATO military alliance would be there to support the US if and when requested.
“We’ve never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them,” he said. “You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that — and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
Mr Hastie, who deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 with the Army and then as an SAS Troop Commander in 2013, said President Trump has failed to show leadership qualities by dumping on troops who served in Australia’s longest war.
The Returned & Services League of Australia also hit back at the US president, saying his comments were “factually wrong, historically ignorant and deeply offensive”.
West Australian MP Mr Hastie said in a social media video posted on Saturday: “This is a massive slur not just against allied troops, but against our Aussie diggers who fought, bled and died alongside Americans,”
“One of the most important things in building coalitions and alliances is mutual respect, and a really important virtue in a leader is restraint. And President Trump by dumping on allied troops has shown neither.”
Watch the video in the player above
The Canning MP’s condemnation of President Trump comes as Liberal MPs debate whether the former soldier and conservative politician should replace Sussan Ley as the party’s next leader.
In the past some internal critics of Mr Hastie have criticised his views supporting Donald Trump’s administration and various controversial policies of his populist anti-immigration “Make American Great Again” movement.
Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor, also from the Liberal Party’s right faction, is seen as the outspoken WA backbencher’s main rival in the opposition’s leadership battle that has intensified following this week’s breakup of the Coalition.
Unlike the UK government which has described President Trump’s comments as appalling, the Albanese government has resisted condemning the remarks.
“The Australian Government has been clear about the NATO alliance and the responsibilities there and our outcome,” Agriculture Minister Julie Collins told reporters in Hobart.
“And what we want, of course, is peace, and we’re not going to be running a daily commentary on some of those discussions that have been occurring,” she said after repeatedly being asked whether the President’s views were offensive.
RSL national president Peter Tinley said the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader should reaffirm Australia’s service was conducted “with courage, professionalism and distinction”.
“Our veterans deserve nothing less than the unequivocal support of their nation’s leaders,” he said.
Mr Tinley said far from staying a little back, Australian forces were among the first coalition troops into Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.
“For two decades, Australians operated in Uruzgan Province, one of the most dangerous regions in the country,” he said. “Our troops didn’t stay a little back.
“They conducted offensive counter-insurgency operations, cleared Taliban strongholds, defused roadside bombs, mentored Afghan forces under fire, and fought in sustained close combat.
“To have that service dismissed so casually is a profound insult. Your service mattered. Your sacrifice mattered. No ill-informed comment can diminish what you did for this nation and our alliance.”
