US vice-president JD Vance sparked a storm of criticism in Britain after declaring that a US economic deal in Ukraine was a “better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
Britain, which along with France has pledged troops to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, fought with the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, while French troops fought in Afghanistan. No other countries have said they would send troops to Ukraine.
Mr Vance later insisted that his comments, in an interview Monday night with Fox News host Sean Hannity, did not refer to Britain or France, though he did not name any alternative countries. Few in Britain were buying it, even on the right.
“JD Vance is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong,” said Nigel Farage, the leader of the anti-immigrant party Reform UK, and a long-time ally of US president Donald Trump. “We stood by America all through those 20 years putting in exactly the same contribution.”
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“Vance Shame,” said the headline on the homepage of The Sun, the leading right-wing tabloid published by Rupert Murdoch.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary of the Conservative Party, noted in a post on social media that Nato’s Article 5 – which declares that an attack against one member state is an attack against them all – had been invoked only once in the alliance’s history, after the September 11th, 2001, attacks. Britain and France had come to America’s aid then, he said, “deploying 1,000s of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother and numerous parliamentary colleagues, past and present”. He added: “It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service and sacrifice.”
Helen Maguire, a spokesperson for the Liberal Democratic Party on defence and a former captain in Britain’s military police who served on a Nato peacekeeping mission in Iraq, said: “JD Vance is erasing from history the hundreds of British troops who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Sébastien Lecornu, France’s defence minister, told politicians in Paris on Tuesday that Mr Vance had “fortunately corrected his statement” but added that the 600 or so French soldiers who had died in service over the past 60 years “deserve our respect and the respect of our allies”.
The leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, however, said she did not believe that Mr Vance was referring to Britain when he spoke about a random country. “A lot of people are getting carried away,” she said to GB News. “They’re saying loads of things and getting quite animated.”
Mr Vance said it was “absurdly dishonest” to suggest he had criticised British or French troops in his comments, made in an interview with Fox News on Monday. “I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond,” he said on X.
Downing Street refused to be drawn on whether Sir Keir Starmer had found the comments insulting or disrespectful, but said he was “full of admiration for all British troops who have served, for instance in Iraq and Afghanistan”.
Asked about the remarks, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Many have lost their lives in the process and have fought obviously alongside allies including the United States. And it’s very clear that their courage and bravery has helped to ensure global security, defend our values, defend our national interests.
“Our focus, once again, is on how we protect our national interests and global security by progressing the discussions to secure lasting peace for Ukraine.” – New York Times/PA
