Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) has criticised US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for questioning the contribution of NATO allies to combat operations in Afghanistan, where 14 Czech soldiers were killed.
Speaking to Novinky, Macinka said allies should honour every life lost in joint military operations and show respect for all soldiers who took part in NATO missions. He added that Hegseth’s remarks fell short of that standard.
Hegseth made the comments during an address to cadets at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Recalling his own service in Afghanistan as a captain, he said that although around 50 countries participated in the NATO mission, only a handful had taken part in actual combat operations. He suggested that, in practice, only around five countries had been actively involved, falling to one or two towards the end of the mission.