"It is, indeed, bullshit. The United States invoked Article 5, the mutual-defense clause of NATO's founding charter, the day after the September 11 attacks. It remains the only time in NATO's nearly 80-year history that the obligation of common defense has been activated. All 28 members of the alliance at the time sent soldiers to Afghanistan. Many never returned. Consider these numbers: An estimated 3,500 soldiers from NATO countries died in Afghanistan."
"The United States suffered the most losses in absolute terms: Nearly 2,500 U.S. service members were killed in the 20-year war. But per capita, Denmark suffered even more severe losses, burying 43 soldiers in a population, at the time, of about 5.5 million. Other NATO members sacrificed, too. Britain lost about 450 soldiers, Canada more than 150. Other small countries, like Denmark, weren't spared: Estonia lost nine soldiers. Norway, 10. Czech Republic, 14. Romania, 27."
Benni Schmidt Pedersen lives on a small Danish farm and suffers PTSD from military service in Afghanistan where five members of his 130-person company died. A public dismissal of NATO's value provoked anger from him. The United States invoked NATO's Article 5 after September 11, and all 28 members at that time sent troops to Afghanistan. An estimated 3,500 NATO soldiers died there. The U.S. lost nearly 2,500 service members; Denmark lost 43 in a population of about 5.5 million. Britain, Canada, Estonia, Norway, the Czech Republic and Romania also suffered casualties.
Read at The Atlantic
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