Ex-US Officer: Afghanistan War Crimes Were Joint US–NATO Effort

DID Press: A former US Army officer has rejected claims by US President Donald Trump that responsibility for actions in Afghanistan lay solely with NATO forces, stressing that military operations and alleged crimes were the result of a joint effort involving both American troops and their allies.

Micah Ables, a former US Army officer, said that NATO forces operated alongside US troops throughout the Afghanistan war and that military actions or alleged war crimes could not be attributed to one side alone. Responding to Trump’s remarks, Ables emphasized that the conflict was conducted as a collective campaign.

Drawing on his own experience in Kandahar, Ables noted that Australian, British, Canadian, Danish, Romanian and other allied forces were directly involved in daily missions, patrols and combat operations. According to him, cooperation on the ground was routine and integral to the conduct of the war.

He also acknowledged that even countries without formal military agreements with Washington fought alongside US forces, with many of their soldiers losing their lives in the conflict.

Ables’ comments come amid renewed debate over accountability for alleged war crimes committed during the two-decade war in Afghanistan, a discussion that continues to raise questions about shared responsibility among the US and its NATO partners.