U.S. Seeks to Regain Control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan
(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has declared his intention to reclaim Bagram Air Base Afghanistan, a strategic site abandoned by American forces in July 2021. The base’s evacuation occurred just weeks before the Taliban swiftly captured Kabul, dismantling the UN-backed government and ending two decades of US military presence.
“We should have never given it up,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Friday. He revealed that during his recent visit to the UK, the US was actively negotiating with Afghanistan’s new government on the issue. “We want that base back,” he insisted.
Highlighting the base’s strategic value, Trump added Thursday during a joint press briefing with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “One of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”
The abandoned base, littered with looted military equipment, became a stark symbol of America’s failure in Afghanistan. While Trump had orchestrated the handover of defense duties to Afghan authorities during his presidency, he attributed the Taliban’s takeover to Joe Biden, condemning the chaotic US withdrawal as “a disgrace.”
Responding to these claims, Afghan Foreign Ministry official Zakir Jalaly wrote on X that Afghan citizens reject any return of US troops. “Afghanistan and the US need to engage with one another, and can have economic and political relations based on mutual respect, without the US maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan,” he stated.
Since the US exit, the Soviet-era airfield has been controlled by the Taliban-led defense ministry. Trump’s repeated assertions that China is utilizing the base have been denied by Kabul and lack credible evidence.
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