Tag Archives: NATO

Ex-Nato Commander Slams Trump As ‘Gung-Ho Nutter’ For Iran Bombing

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A former Nato commander has urged Britain not to follow “gung-ho nutter” Donald Trump into war in the Middle East.

General Sir Richard Shirreff warned Sky News that the Americans’ lack of strategy following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran could have far-reaching consequences for anyone who gets involved.

Trump has lashed out at Keir Starmer after the prime minister hesitated over US requests to use British military bases to attack Iran.

The UK has since granted access for “limited” and defensive American strikes – and Iran has subsequently hit an RAF base in Cyprus.

Meanwhile, Trump and his top team are still yet to offer a comprehensive explanation for their attacks.

Former deputy supreme allied commander of Nato, Sir Richard suggested to Sky News that it was not wise for Britain to get involved in the war.

He said any idea of a “special relationship” between the UK and US does not exist, adding: “It is a complete fantasy. America does what America wants to do and Britain’s got to look after its interests.”

“Britain shooting drones, Britain engaging in offensive or defensive operations is invidious, frankly,” the former commander continued. “We should not in any way, shape or form, be involved with the Americans closely because they are being led by a couple of gung-ho nutters, like Trump and [US Secretary of War Pete] Hegseth, without a proper strategy, without serious thought about what end-state for this war is.”

“Unless we keep cool heads, as the prime minister is attempting to do, and think things through very very carefully this thing could go in the way of Iraq,” he said.

“Yet again we have an American president who has gone to war, a war of choice, a war of hubris frankly, without any clear idea of how the war ends, without a clear strategy.”

Starmer has so far managed to draw a distinctive line between the UK and the US’s aggression, even though Britain has just sent a warship to Cyprus.

After Trump said the prime minister was “no Winston Churchill”, Starmer said the US attacks on Iran were illegal and that the White House had no plan.

And on Thursday, the PM said Trump had plunged the region “into chaos”.

Similarly, Sir Richard said: “The Americans might be getting frightfully excited about sinking submarines, X number of missions bombing the Iranians to bits, but unless there’s a strategy, unless they have thought about what they are doing on the minds of the Iranian people, this thing is going to go south very quickly.”

He said: “The idea of assassinating the Ayatollah, Khamenei, not just Iran’s head of state but the religious symbol for Shiites worldwide during the month of Ramadan, is about as subtle as murdering the Pope on the steps of St Peter’s during holy week.

“It will enflame the Shiite world and what you’re doing by doing that is probably putting large numbers of Iranians who might have been reconcilable back into the folds of the irreconcilable.”

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Donald Trump Praises ‘Great And Very Brave’ British Soldiers As He Backs Down In Nato Row

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Donald Trump has praised “the great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom” as he backed down after a furious row erupted over his comments about the contribution Nato troops made in Afghanistan.

The US president paid tribute to the 457 British soldiers who lost their life in the war, which was triggered by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.

To date, it is the only time Nato has triggered Article 5, which states all members must come to the aid of another if they are attacked.

In remarks which drew widespread condemnation, including from Keir Starmer, Trump said the military alliance has never come to America’s aid.

He said: “We have never really asked anything of them, you know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did. They stayed a little back, little off the frontlines.”

It is understood Starmer, who called his comments “frankly appalling” and suggested Trump should apologise, raised the matter in a phone call with the president on Saturday.

Shortly afterwards, Trump posted: “The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you all, and always will! ”

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister raised the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home. We must never forget their sacrifice, he said.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “I’m pleased President Trump has now acknowledged the role of the British armed forces and those brave men and women who gave their lives fighting alongside the US and our allies.

“It should never have been questioned in the first place.”

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Nato Statement Fails To Condemn Russia’s War – While Trump Praises Putin’s ‘Kindness’

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Nato’s joint statement from this year’s summit barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine this year, even though Vladimir Putin’s war continues to rage.

Ever since the Russian president ordered the invasion of his European neighbour in February 2022, Nato allies have offered unwavering support to Ukraine and repeatedly condemned Putin’s aggression.

But at this year’s meeting at The Hague – the first Nato summit since Donald Trump was re-elected – member states appear to have prioritised bending to the US president’s will.

The watered down statement seemed to be part of a wider strategy to win over Trump, a prominent Nato sceptic, and prevent him from fulfilling his past threats of pulling out of the alliance altogether.

The statement also focused on member states’ collective pledge to increase its defence spending target from its current 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5% – although 1.5% of that sum could be spent on things like infrastructure.

That hike in defence spending comes amid wider concerns that Putin may push further into Europe with his ongoing land grab in Ukraine.

But the statement mainly credited Trump for the uptick in national security spending after he insisted that the continent stop relying on American military power.

It’s likely allies tried to avoid mentioning Putin’s aggression in to appease Trump, who is closer to Putin than Joe Biden ever was.

Meanwhile, Trump was able to go as far as to using his platform at Nato to praise Putin’s “kindness” after his Russian counterpart offered to mediate the Iran-Israel conflict.

The US president told reporters at the summit: “I’ve talked a lot with Putin, and he’s been very kind. He himself offered help, as you know, on Iran. I said, ‘No, I don’t need help on Iran. I need help on Russia. Do me a favour. Help us with Russia, not with Iran.’”

But he later said: “Maybe I’ll talk to Putin to stop the war.”

Asked if he thinks Putin has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, he said: “Maybe. I mean, it’s possible. What I know is this: Putin would like to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine. He’d like to get out of it. It’s a mess for him.”

He added: “No, I think Putin is someone who, in my view, just went off course. Honestly, I’m very surprised. I thought we would’ve settled this easily.”

Trump initially promised to resolve the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of returning to the Oval Office.

Five months later, his efforts to force Russia to the negotiating table have fallen flat as Putin continues to drag his heels, even after Trump offered a truce on terms favourable to Moscow.

The US president did have a brief meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodmyr Zelensky at the Nato summit.

The president later said: “I didn’t discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine with Zelensky. I just wanted to see how he was doing. We had tough times, but he was very kind. I was glad to see him. It was a wonderful meeting. I think this is a great time to end the war.”

Despite the disappointing joint statement and Trump’s warmth towards Putin, individual member states did re-iterate their ongoing support for Ukraine.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer has made it clear that Britain is still a prominent ally to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

He said: “This summit has sent a decisive message to aggressors and that must be matched by our commitment to Ukraine.

“And that’s why I have announced this week that the UK is providing hundreds more air defence missiles to protect the Ukrainian people, paid for, not by the British taxpayer – but with money from frozen Russian assets.”

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Trump using the NATO Summit as platform to tell us of Putin’s kindness, the day after he massacred 20 people and injured another 300 in Dnipro.

“We’ll see. I’ve talked a lot with Putin, and he’s been very kind. He himself offered help, as you know, on Iran. I said, “No, I don’t… pic.twitter.com/g5PynNTMAd

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 25, 2025

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Trump using the NATO Summit as platform to tell us of Putin’s kindness, the day after he massacred 20 people and injured another 300 in Dnipro.

“We’ll see. I’ve talked a lot with Putin, and he’s been very kind. He himself offered help, as you know, on Iran. I said, “No, I don’t… pic.twitter.com/g5PynNTMAd

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 25, 2025

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Keir Starmer suggests Trump supports a new push to pressure Russia

‘The mood of pretty well all participants… was one of recognising that we need to now push harder on Ukraine’

Trump said in closed meeting something had to be done because situation is “totally out of control” pic.twitter.com/CxC1CXCSH2

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) June 25, 2025

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Keir Starmer suggests Trump supports a new push to pressure Russia

‘The mood of pretty well all participants… was one of recognising that we need to now push harder on Ukraine’

Trump said in closed meeting something had to be done because situation is “totally out of control” pic.twitter.com/CxC1CXCSH2

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) June 25, 2025