WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he is working to reestablish a U.S. presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, four years after America鈥檚 chaotic withdrawal from the country left the base in the Taliban鈥檚 hands.
Trump floated the idea during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he wrapped up and tied it to the need for the U.S. to counter , China.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get it back,鈥 Trump said of the base in an aside to a question about ending .
While Trump described his call for the U.S. military to reestablish a position in Afghanistan as 鈥渂reaking news,鈥 the Republican president has previously raised the idea. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether it or the Pentagon has done any planning around returning to the sprawling air base, which was central to .
Trump has seized on the U.S. withdrawal under Biden
During his first presidency, Trump by negotiating a deal with the Taliban. The 20-year conflict under President Joe Biden: The U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed, a grisly bombing , and thousands of desperate Afghans descended on Kabul鈥檚 airport in search of a way out before the final U.S. aircraft departed over the Hindu Kush.
The Afghanistan debacle was a major setback just eight months into Biden鈥檚 Democratic presidency that he .
Biden鈥檚 Republican detractors, including Trump, in a failed presidency. Those into the present day, including as recently as last week, when Trump claimed the move emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin to in February 2022.
鈥淗e would have never done what he did, except that he didn鈥檛 respect the leadership of the United States,鈥 Trump said, speaking of Putin. 鈥淭hey 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 鈥 one of the biggest air bases in the world. We gave it to them for nothing.鈥
Asked again about the proposal hours later on Air Force One, Trump offered no details but again bashed Biden for 鈥済ross incompetence鈥 and said the base should have 鈥渘ever been given back.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the most powerful bases in the world in terms of runway strength and length,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou can land anything on there. You can land a planet on top of it.鈥
No clarity if there have been discussions with the Taliban about Bagram
It is unclear if the U.S. has any new direct or indirect conversations with the Taliban government about returning to the country. But Trump hinted that the Taliban, who have , international legitimacy, internal rifts and rival militant groups since in 2021, could be game to allow the U.S. military to return.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get it back because they need things from us,鈥 Trump said of the Taliban.
The president repeated his view that a U.S. presence at Bagram is of value because of its proximity to China, the most significant to the United States.
鈥淏ut one of the reasons we want that base is, as you know, it鈥檚 an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Trump said. 鈥淪o a lot of things are happening.鈥
While the U.S. and the Taliban have no formal diplomatic ties, the sides have had . An American man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist was in March.
Last week, the Taliban also said they on an exchange of prisoners as part of an effort to normalize relations between the United States and Afghanistan.
The Taliban gave no details of a detainee swap, and the White House did not comment on the meeting in Kabul or the results described in a Taliban statement. The Taliban released photographs from their talks, showing their foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, with Trump鈥檚 special envoy for hostage response, .
Officials at U.S. Central Command in the Middle East and the Pentagon, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth鈥檚 office, referred questions about reestablishing a presence at Bagram to the White House.
