President Trump on Thursday said the U.S. is working to return troops to Afghanistan by reestablishing a presence at Bagram Air Base, four years after the Biden administration’s bungled withdrawal left the base in Taliban hands.
Mr. Trump said returning troops to Afghanistan is critical to combat Chinese aggression while adding that his plan to withdraw from Afghanistan would have included keeping the base.
“We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity, and we were going to keep Bagram, the big air base — one of the biggest air bases in the world,” Mr. Trump said during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We’re trying to get it back, by the way.
“One of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Mr. Trump continued.
The president also said America has leverage over the Taliban that could force the Islamist militia to transfer the base back to the U.S. The Taliban has struggled with an economic crisis, a lack of international legitimacy and fighting with rival militant groups.
The U.S. and the Taliban have no formal diplomatic ties, but they have had discussions over a hostage — an American man who was abducted in 2023 while touring the country — who was released by the Taliban in March.
“We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us,” Mr. Trump said. “We want it back.”
It is not immediately clear whether the White House or Pentagon has done any planning around returning the massive air base to the U.S.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During his first administration, Mr. Trump established terms for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan by negotiating a deal with the Taliban. However, he left office before it could be fully executed.
The Biden administration prepared its own plan to end the 20-year conflict, but it quickly crumbled. Mr. Biden’s approval rating never recovered from the Afghanistan debacle.
Upon America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, its U.S.-backed government collapsed, returning the country to the hands of the Taliban.
With Bagram gone and the last U.S. aircraft departing the country at Kabul’s civilian airport, a suicide bombing at the airport’s entrance, overwhelmed by thousands of desperate locals, killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 Afghans.
Mr. Trump and his Republican allies seized on the moment, saying it symbolized Mr. Biden’s weak presidency. Those criticisms have persisted into the present day, including last week when Mr. Trump blasted his predecessor for the withdrawal.
“He would have never done what he did, except that he didn’t respect the leadership of the United States,” Mr. Trump said last week, speaking of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “They just went through the Afghanistan total disaster for no reason whatsoever. We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity. We were going to keep Bagram Air Base — one of the biggest air bases in the world. We gave it to them for nothing.”
