44 dead soldiers: Poland outraged by Hegseth's Afghanistan jibe
US Defense Secretary Hegseth downplayed the role of allies in Afghanistan. Tusk and Sikorski hit back sharply – and accuse President Nawrocki of staying silent.
Archive image · Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl (cropped and resized)
Remarks by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the Afghanistan mission have caused outrage in Poland. Speaking to cadets at the University of Tennessee on Saturday, Hegseth recalled the more than 50 flags at the headquarters of the NATO-led ISAF force and said: "There were maybe five that contributed." By the end, it was "one or two" that were involved in kinetic operations. He also cited the joke that ISAF stood for "I Saw Americans Fighting". Hegseth later acknowledged it was a joke but said it reflected frustration over burden-sharing.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote: "Tell that to the families of 44 Polish soldiers who died securing the tough Ghazni province." Prime Minister Donald Tusk read out a message from a former army medic: "Please stand up for soldiers, I beg you." Tusk said he had expected President Karol Nawrocki to speak out, adding: "it seems I miscalculated." Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty called Hegseth's words "scandalous".
London also objected: a spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham said "it is wrong to diminish their role"; Britain lost 457 personnel in Afghanistan. More than 33,000 Polish troops served there. More than 1,100 troops from non-US NATO members and partner countries were killed in Afghanistan, along with 2,465 US service members according to 2021 figures. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump drew criticism from allies when he said non-American NATO forces had stayed "a little off the front lines".