Taliban Rejects Trump’s Call to Retake Bagram Air Base
“If Afghanistan doesn't give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!,” President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The Taliban government on Sunday firmly rejected the idea of ceding control of Bagram air base to the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Afghanistan with unspecified consequences should Kabul refuse.
Trump, speaking during a state visit to the United Kingdom last week, floated the prospect of Washington reclaiming Bagram, the U.S. military hub north of Kabul.
The comment, delivered at a joint press conference alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, indicates a possible significant change in U.S. policy toward Afghanistan and adds a new layer to the geopolitical rivalry with China.
“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,” President Trump stated, directly addressing the assembled international press at the British Prime Minister’s country residence.
On Saturday, Trump escalated the rhetoric on his Truth Social platform, warning: “If Afghanistan doesn't give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!”
In response, Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of Staff of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense, dismissed the notion outright. “Recently, some people have said that they have entered negotiations with Afghanistan for taking back Bagram Air Base,” he told local media on Sunday.
“A deal over even an inch of Afghanistan's soil is not possible. We don’t need it.”
Bagram air base, the largest in Afghanistan, was central to the U.S.-led military campaign against the Taliban following the September 11, 2001 attacks. For two decades, it served as the backbone of American air operations, housing tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO troops as well as a major detention facility.
In July 2021, U.S. and NATO forces pulled out of Bagram in a hurried withdrawal, part of a Trump-brokered deal with the Taliban. The exit deprived the Afghan government of crucial air support, leading to the rapid collapse of Afghan security forces and paving the way for the Taliban’s return to power weeks later.
Trump’s renewed calls for regaining Bagram reflect his long-held criticism of how the withdrawal was carried out, though any attempt to retake the base would mark a dramatic escalation in U.S.-Taliban tensions.
While military experts caution that retaking Bagram would normally be considered unlikely due to the Taliban’s staunch defense of Afghan sovereignty and Washington’s broader focus on great power competition, analysts warn that Donald Trump’s history and assertive personality make it far more probable he will pursue the base by unconventional means.
Observers note that when Trump sets his sights on a goal, he tends to act relentlessly, often bypassing traditional negotiations—raising the prospect that his warning of “BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” could translate into concrete, forceful measures rather than empty rhetoric.
