Source: Radio New Zealand
Former high commissioner to the United Kingdom Phil Goff has accused Foreign Minister Winston Peters of failing to stand up for New Zealand. RNZ
Phil Goff has accused Foreign Minister Winston Peters of failing to stand up for New Zealand soldiers after US President Donald Trump said allied troops “stayed a little back” during the war in Afghanistan.
In a sharply worded Facebook post on Saturday, the former high commissioner to the United Kingdom said Peters’ silence in response to Trump’s remarks was “deafening”.
Trump’s comments came last week in an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, when questioned whether NATO allies would support the US if it were attacked.
“‘Will they be there, if we ever needed them?’ And that’s really the ultimate test. And I’m not sure of that,” he said.
US President Donald Trump. AFP / Fabrice Coffrini
“You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did – they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
The remarks sparked outrage among US allies, including the UK, whose prime minister, Keir Starmer, described them as “insulting and frankly appalling”.
Goff contrasted those responses with what he said was silence from New Zealand’s leadership, singling out Peters and his role as foreign minister, for not defending that record.
“No comment has come from any government leader,” he wrote.
“Peters, who claims to lead the patriotic party in NZ, has been typically silent as he has whenever Trump has lied outrageously,” Goff wrote.
Goff said the comments were an affront to New Zealand’s sacrifice in the 20-year conflict.
“For Trump, a man who dodged the draft five times, to belittle the efforts of those who came to the assistance of the US after 9/11, and sacrificed their lives is disgraceful.”
New Zealand lost 10 service personnel in Afghanistan.
Goff, a former foreign affairs and defence minister, said Trump’s remarks were deeply personal.
“Ten New Zealanders died in the war. I attended the funerals of several of them, including my nephew Matt, and saw the grief and pain of their loved ones,” he said.
He also pointed to the actions of Willie Apiata, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during a 2004 operation in Afghanistan.
“Willie Apiata was behind the front line when he won his VC, deep in enemy territory,” Goff wrote, rejecting Trump’s claim that allied forces avoided combat.
He urged ministers to follow the example of countries such as Canada, which have taken a firmer public line with the US president.
While New Zealand is not a full NATO member, it holds the position of highly valued partner under the Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP).
In March of last year, Peters removed Goff from his role as high commissioner to the UK after the former Labour MP criticised the US president, questioning whether he “really understands history”.
Comments disrespectful to the fallen – NZRSA
The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association (NZRSA) has also condemned Trump’s remarks.
In a statement, the organisation said Kiwi troops served and died with NATO forces in Afghanistan and any suggestion that allied soldiers “avoided frontline combat was incorrect and deeply hurtful to veterans and the families of those killed”.
“New Zealanders who have been killed or injured in service in recent decades were doing so in support of multinational operations.”
Veteran: Claims ‘ill-informed’
Former army major Simon Strombom, who served in Afghanistan, described Trump’s comments as ill-informed and sensationalist.
Former army major Simon Strombom. Supplied
Strombom, now managing director of the NZ Remembrance Army, said he worked closely with British, Canadian and other NATO forces and saw firsthand their professionalism and exposure to danger.
“The majority of the weight of the coalition headquarters was not American,” he previously told RNZ. “There were 48 countries involved, and the rest were predominantly NATO.”
Strombom said the comments would be especially painful for families who lost loved ones in the conflict.
“It’d be pretty hard for a family to have suffered such a loss and then hear comments like that, undermining the actual sacrifice,” he said.
Defence Minister Judith Collins previously said the country took great pride in the professionalism, courage, and commitment of all who served in Afghanistan.
Peters’ office has been approached for comment.
Trump has since partially walked back his remarks, praising British troops on his Truth Social platform as “great and very brave”.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
