A British Muslim war veteran who served in Afghanistan alongside US troops has strongly condemned Donald Trump’s recent comments claiming that NATO soldiers “avoided the frontline” during the conflict. Kayam Iqbal, a 45-year-old from Flackwell Heath, Buckinghamshire, has described the former US president’s remarks as “absolutely shocking” and a “kick in the teeth” for the families of those who lost their lives in the war.
Iqbal, who joined the British Armed Forces in 1999 as a medic before specialising in languages and human intelligence, was deployed to the deadly Helmand Province of Afghanistan, where the UK suffered its heaviest losses during the fight against the Taliban. He has hit back at Trump’s claims, saying the former president “wasn’t there, he doesn’t know.”
“My initial reaction was that ‘surely not, this can’t be true,'” Iqbal told Metro. “But looking at his policies and what he has done in the last few weeks, from Venezuela to Greenland, even his talks at the forum, it all tracks. What he is trying to do is apply that narrative, his narrative, to showcase how important the US is and that you should all rally behind him and that country and without him, we can’t fend for ourselves.”
Iqbal, who advocates for veterans’ mental health and established The OppO Foundation to help soldiers returning home, said his experience in Afghanistan was that the US was “steps behind NATO, the same as in World War II – they arrived late – and it was the same in Afghanistan.”
The former soldier, who was left with PTSD as a result of his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said opening up about mental health can be a struggle, especially for military personnel and some in the Muslim community, with many suffering in silence due to “bravado and a masquerade of being strong.”
Iqbal expressed hope that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the UK government will respond to Trump’s comments, but recognised they are in a difficult position due to the need to “maintain a relationship” with the former US president.
“Everyone is tiptoeing around him and they have for a long time,” Iqbal said.
