‘I lost my leg and arm on the front line in Afghanistan – here’s why Trump is improper about British troops’ | EUROtoday

A British army veteran who misplaced two limbs serving on the entrance line in Afghanistan mentioned his accidents are proof that Donald Trump is improper concerning the position of Nato forces within the conflict.

In broadly condemned feedback in a single day, the US president falsely claimed that UK troops had stayed away from the entrance line throughout the battle and reiterated his suggestion that Nato wouldn’t assist America if requested.

Former Royal Marine Commando Ben McBean, 38, from Plymouth, suffered life-changing accidents from an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2008. A member of 40 Commando, Mr McBean was stationed at Camp Bastion and was deployed round Kajaki, a village within the south of the nation.

He misplaced his left arm, and his proper leg was amputated above his knee following the blast. Those accidents, and the influence they’ve had on his life, present that Mr Trump is improper and that British troopers confronted the implications of being on the entrance line, he mentioned.

He informed The Independent: “I’m only like this because I was on the front line. I’ve got two kids now, I can’t do sports day with them, I can’t do certain things that I’d like to do with them.

“I can’t be the man that I want to be because of my injuries. I’ve got to keep my mental health in check.”

He added: “What he [Trump] said is not true, and it’s out of order, when I know exactly what we were doing out there. It’s really insulting.”

It comes after the US president informed Fox News on Thursday: “We’ve never needed them [Nato]. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan … and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

His feedback have been condemned by Sir Keir Starmer, who accused him of “diminishing” Britain’s conflict useless and defence minister Al Carns, who described them as “utterly ridiculous”. He invited whoever believes them to satisfy veterans like himself and a few of the bereaved households of the greater than 400 British personnel who died in Afghanistan.

Mr McBean continued: “When I got to Kajaki, you were on the front line, you slept with your weapons, you had sentries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no back line, or off the front line.

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“Every day we rotated, just fighting. That’s all I did – I’d fight, I’d get back, clean my weapon, eat some food, sleep and then you would go again. I did that for four and a half months before I got blown up.”

Mr McBean was aged 20 when he suffered his accidents as he and his colleagues from 40 Commando labored to clear a compound in Kajaki.

“We were about to go and do that, and then on the way over, a bomb went off”, he mentioned.

“I didn’t pass out, so I just hit the deck and looked down – my right leg was gone.

“My left leg was ripped up, my kneecap was hanging off, I had pieces of metal sticking out of my body, my right arm had a hole in it, my left arm was hanging off. I was crawling around a crater, and then eventually I got rescued.

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“That was it, two of my friends also got hurt. One of them ended up taking their own life. So, yes, we were on the front line.”

He added: “Everyone knows that he’s [Trump] wrong, but it’s annoying to hear him say it. He’s got such a big platform that there will be people out there who think he’s right. Millions see it, that is what’s frustrating.”

More than 1,100 non-US coalition fighters died within the battle that started in 2001, in keeping with veteran charity Help for Heroes, the overwhelming majority of them being from NATO international locations, whereas greater than 2,300 members of the US armed forces had been killed.

The president’s feedback have sparked condemnation from throughout the British political spectrum, in addition to from households of those that died within the conflict.

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Sir Keir’s spokesperson hit again on the feedback on Friday, saying: “Many hundreds suffered life-changing injuries from their service alongside the US and our allies in Afghanistan. Their sacrifice and that of other Nato forces was made in the service of collective security and in response to an attack on our ally. We are incredibly proud of our armed forces and their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Defence secretary John Healey mentioned: “Nato’s Article 5 has only been triggered once. The UK and Nato allies answered the US call. And more than 450 British personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan.

“Those British troops should be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives in service of our nation.”

Tory chief Kemi Badenoch mentioned Donald Trump’s feedback about Nato troops staying away from the entrance line in Afghanistan had been “nonsense”.

She mentioned: “Trump saying Nato allies ‘weren’t on the front line’ in Afghanistan is flat-out nonsense.

“British, Canadian, and Nato troops fought and died alongside the US for 20 years. This is a fact, not opinion. Their sacrifice deserves respect, not denigration.”