US President Donald Trump (AP photo)
Is the United States preparing to return troops to Afghanistan to reclaim its foothold in a strategically vital region and counter China? On Thursday, US President Donald Trump openly acknowledged his goal “to get back” the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, after Taliban takeover in 2021.Trump, speaking publicly about these discussions for the first time, told reporters his administration is working to regain control of the base, located about an hour north of Kabul. The Taliban seized Bagram following the collapse of the Afghan government and the US military withdrawal in 2021.”We gave it to (the Taliban) for nothing,” Trump said during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer on Thursday. “It’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” the US president said.”We’re trying to get it back, by the way, that could be a little breaking news. We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us. We want that base back,” Trump said at the press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.According to CNN sources, discussions about returning the base to US control began as far back as March. Trump and his senior national security officials see Bagram as vital for several reasons: monitoring China, whose border lies under 500 miles away; gaining access to Afghanistan’s rare earth elements and mining sector; establishing a counterterrorism node to target ISIS; and potentially reopening a diplomatic facility.Trump also reiterated on Thursday that Bagram is near where China makes missiles — a claim he had first made in March.”We were going to get out, but we were going to keep Bagram, not because of Afghanistan but because of China, because it’s exactly one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles,” he said in March. “We were going to keep a small force on Bagram.”The last US troops left Bagram Air Base in July 2021. For nearly two decades, it had been the center of US military power in Afghanistan.At the time of withdrawal, US forces removed the equivalent of nearly 900 C-17 cargo loads and destroyed nearly 16,000 pieces of equipment, according to US Central Command.
