It’s not every day that a U.S. president publicly demands the return of a military base from a former adversary. But that’s exactly what happened last week, when President Donald Trump said that his administration is “trying to get” Bagram back from the Taliban.
The statement sparked a mix of surprise and skepticism. Once the nerve center of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, the Bagram Airfield was abandoned during the messy 2021 U.S. withdrawal and quickly taken over by the Taliban. Now, four years later, it has resurfaced as Trump’s latest foreign-policy gambit, rekindling debate over the United States’ unfinished business in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Trump, who has repeatedly raised the issue of control of Bagram since the withdrawal, now appears to be ramping up his push. “We want it back and we want it back soon. Right away,” he warned on Sept. 20.
Media reports indicate that the White House is actively weighing options to reestablish a U.S. foothold at the base, citing both its counterterrorism value and its proximity to key Chinese nuclear facilities. Located 40 miles north of Kabul, the base remains fully capable of supporting large aircraft, drones and surveillance platforms, special operations forces, and rapid-response missions. Where its loss came to symbolize American retreat, regaining Bagram could mark a bold reassertion of U.S. power in a turbulent region.
While the Taliban quickly rejected Trump’s idea, the issue is far from settled. In recent years, internal fissures within the group have widened, driven by growing discontent over the emir’s consolidation of power and his merging of clerical authority with executive control over policy and personnel decisions.
Read more in Foreign Policy (paywall)
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