JD Vance has denied denigrating Britain’s war record after he made comments suggesting the UK and France had not fought a war in 40 years.
The vice-president said on X that it was “absurdly dishonest” to suggest he was speaking about France and the UK when stating that America’s minerals peace deal was “way better” than a security guarantee from “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
His initial comments caused a backlash, including from the former chief of the British Army, who accused Mr Vance of having become “power crazy”.
This morning, Mr Vance appeared to backtrack on what he said, writing on X: “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.”
However, Mr Vance then added: “But let’s be direct: there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful.”
During the Fox interview, Mr Vance also commented on Donald Trump’s minerals deal for Ukraine.
He said: “If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine.
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
More than 600 British troops were killed fighting alongside the US in Iraq between 2003 and 2011 and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014.
The comments prompted Lord Dannatt, who was head of the Army during key years of the Iraq war, to tell The Telegraph: “What planet is this guy on? Has he forgotten we deployed a division in both Gulf Wars and fought alongside US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He seems to have gone power crazy.”
A growing number of MPs and former MPs have voiced their dismay at Mr Vance’s comments.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “Nato Article 5 has been invoked once – on 12/9/01 by the USA, after 9/11.Britain and France came to their aid deploying 1,000s of personnel to Afghanistan,including numerous parliamentary colleagues, past & present. It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service and sacrifice.”
Johnny Mercer, a former soldier and Tory minister for veterans, dismissed Mr Vance as a “clown” and called on him to “check his privilege”.
Referring to Mr Vance’s time in the marines, where he spent his time “writing articles and taking pictures”, Mr Mercer said: “Perhaps if he had got his hands dirty serving his country like so many of his fellow American and British veterans, chasing his own country’s crazy foreign policy ideas, he might not be so quick to dismiss their sacrifice.”
Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrat defence spokeswoman, added: “JD Vance is erasing from history the hundreds of British troops who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw firsthand how American and British soldiers fought bravely together shoulder to shoulder.
“Six of my own regiment, the Royal Military Police, didn’t return home from Iraq. This is a sinister attempt to deny that reality. As the UK’s representative to the US, Peter Mandelson should call on Vance to apologise for these comments.”
Elsewhere in the Fox News interview, Mr Vance denied that he had planned to ambush Mr Zelensky to harm relations between the US and Ukraine.
The event was intended to be the “ceremonial” signing of a minerals deal between the two countries before “the tough talk of negotiating peace”, he said.
The US vice-president also doubled down on criticisms of European leaders he made at the Munich Security Conference last month for clamping down on free speech and suppressing fears about mass migration.
He hit out at attempts by governments to “silence and shut down their own citizenry”, referring to the example of Adam Smith-Connor, a British man who was criminally convicted for praying outside an abortion clinic.
Mr Smith-Connor, who was name-checked in Mr Vance’s Munich speech, has previously told The Telegraph that the US Vice President was “exposing the reality” of censorship in Britain.
Via The Telegraph