Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase: Why is Trump desperate to take it back?

United States President Donald Trump has demanded that Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban manus the country’s Bagram airbase implicit to Washington, 5 years aft helium signed a woody with the radical that paved the mode for the US withdrawal from Kabul.

At a quality league with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer connected September 18, Trump told reporters that the US authorities was “trying to get [Bagram] back”.

“We gave it to [the Taliban] for nothing. We privation that basal back,” helium said.

Two days later, connected September 20, helium followed up that request with a pointed menace connected his Truth Social platform: “If Afghanistan doesn’t springiness Bagram Airbase backmost to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!”

The Taliban has rejected Trump’s demand.

This is not the archetypal time, however, that Trump has shown his involvement successful retaking the erstwhile US subject base. In a February 2025 media briefing, present deleted from the White House’s website, Trump was quoted arsenic saying, “We were going to support Bagram. We were going to support a tiny unit connected Bagram.”

So what is the Bagram base, wherefore does Trump privation it truthful badly, what is its strategical significance, and tin the US get it back?

What is the Bagram airbase?

Four years aft US forces evacuated their subject bases successful Afghanistan, Bagram remains a contentious portion of existent property that the Trump medication wants to retake from the Taliban.

The base, which has 2 factual runways – 1 3.6km agelong (2.2 miles), the different 3km (1.9 miles) – lies astir 50km (31 miles) extracurricular Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. It has been a strategical stronghold for the galore subject powers that person controlled Afghanistan – and fought implicit it – implicit the past half-century.

The airfield was archetypal developed by the Soviet Union successful the 1950s, an aboriginal changeable fired astatine the dawn of the Cold War that would resistance Afghanistan into its vortex for decades. But the Afghan authorities of the clip controlled the base.

That changed aft the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan successful 1979 — its troops stayed successful complaint of the basal for a decade, earlier Moscow withdrew from the country.

In 1991, the Soviet-backed authorities of Mohammad Najibullah mislaid power of Bagram to the Northern Alliance, 1 of the astir influential absorption groups warring for power. But the Northern Alliance would itself suffer power of the basal to the Taliban.

After the NATO penetration of Afghanistan successful 2001, the basal past became a strategical centrepiece of the US military’s beingness successful the country, utilized arsenic a peculiar bid for assorted subject divisions, steadily increasing successful size, capableness and utility.

At its highest successful 2009, the basal could big astir 10,000 people. While US forces controlled the base, it was shared with different NATO members, including units from the UK’s Royal Marines.

Aside from subject units, the basal hosted a ample situation that became notorious for maltreatment and torture of Afghan detainees by US forces and their section partners. Bagram was besides location to a afloat functioning hospital, lodging barracks for thousands of soldiers, and respective US concatenation restaurants, similar Pizza Hut and Subway.

The basal and facilities were evacuated, with overmuch of the weapons and instrumentality destroyed, by US forces during the withdrawal of August 2021. What remained was looted by section groups earlier the Taliban seized control.

Why does Trump privation the Bagram basal back?

Trump has often complained astir however the US near large weapons down successful its hasty evacuation successful 2021, successful effect handing them implicit to the Taliban and different equipped groups successful Afghanistan.

But experts accidental that the existent entreaty of Bagram lies not successful the mostly wrecked subject instrumentality there, nor successful the abandoned concatenation restaurants connected the complex.

There is the symbolic worth of showcasing US power implicit a basal built by a geopolitical rival. “It has ever been of important strategical value, since it was built by the Soviet Union,” said Ibraheem Bahiss, elder expert astatine Crisis Group.

The rugged, mountainous terrain of Afghanistan makes controlling its airspace difficult, with fewer places suitable for landing ample subject planes and weapons carriers. Bagram – the country’s largest airbase – offers uncommon respite.

The Bagram basal played a “crucial role” successful Washington’s alleged “war connected terror” aft 2001, said Hekmatullah Azamy, information expert with the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS), a deliberation vessel with office successful Kabul.

Major aerial missions took disconnected from Bagram, including ones that led to civilian killings, specified arsenic the 2015 bombing of a infirmary tally by Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, successful Kunduz, successful which 42 radical were killed and astatine slightest 30 were injured.

The US commandant successful Afghanistan repeatedly changed his communicative connected what prompted the bombing, earlier yet acknowledging it was a mistake. Then US-President Barack Obama apologised.

But adjacent though the US has present near Afghanistan, Bagram’s worth has lone increased, Azamy said, with the emergence of Chinese power successful the region.

“As the priorities shifted, and the US started viewing China arsenic the fig 1 threat, this basal is seemingly important erstwhile again, chiefly due to the fact that of its proximity to China and the value it has,” helium said.

Bagram is astir 800km (about 500 miles) from the Chinese border, and astir 2,400km (about 1,500 miles) from the nearest Chinese rocket mill successful Xinjiang.

Trump has besides referred to China arsenic a cardinal crushed for wanting to retake power of Bagram, saying this period successful London that the basal is “an hr distant from wherever [China] makes its atomic weapons”. Back successful February, Trump besides claimed that the basal was “exactly 1 hr distant from wherever China makes its atomic missiles”.

Chinese officials, connected their part, person pushed back. “Afghanistan’s aboriginal should beryllium decided by its ain people. Stirring up hostility and creating confrontation successful the portion won’t beryllium popular,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said aft Trump’s comments alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Can the US retake Bagram?

This is questionable, accidental experts.

“In theory, Bagram is simply a strategical basal for the US successful presumption of projecting powerfulness into the region,” said Ashley Jackson, co-director astatine the Geneva-headquartered Centre connected Armed Groups. She pointed out, however, that “the determination would look to beryllium successful nonstop contradiction to the US argumentation of ending the subject ngo successful Afghanistan”.

“The sheer logistics of negotiating redeployment and handing backmost would beryllium highly challenging and lengthy, and it’s not wide that this would service either side’s strategical interests,” Jackson added.

Both Azamy and Bahiss judge the Taliban, too, person nary inducement to privation to springiness up Bagram.

Such a determination would “crush the Taliban’s legitimacy,” Azamy said.

Bahiss said the radical “would beryllium unwilling to judge a overseas footprint connected Afghanistan, including astatine Bagram airbase”.

The Taliban question was built successful ample portion connected the thought of warring overseas concern and influence, Kabul-based Bahiss pointed out. The radical has often argued that “as agelong arsenic overseas troops clasp adjacent 1 metre of soil, jihad oregon beatified warfare is an obligation”.

“Any negotiations with a overseas subject would shatter their spot and hazard their ain members deserting the question successful ample droves,” Bahiss said.

How has the Taliban responded?

Indeed, the Taliban, connected their part, person been precise clear, and person repeatedly rejected Trump’s demands. On September 21, the radical cited the 2020 statement that Trump’s medication signed with the Taliban successful Doha.

“It should beryllium recalled that, nether the Doha Agreement, the US pledged that ‘it volition not usage oregon endanger unit against the territorial integrity oregon governmental independency of Afghanistan, nor interfere successful its interior affairs,” Hamdullah Fitrat, lawman spokesperson of the Taliban, said connected societal media.

“The US needs to stay faithful to its commitments.”

Fitrat’s comments followed Trump’s menace of “bad things” happening to Afghanistan if the Taliban did not manus Bagram over.

What is the US crippled plan?

The Taliban’s refusal to negociate implicit the basal has not deterred Trump, truthful far, and analysts judge the US mightiness beryllium utilizing the Bagram request arsenic a bargaining chip.

It could beryllium “a means of demanding thing grand, similar Bagram, and settling for thing smaller and much symbolic down the road, [like] the instrumentality of immoderate weapons and equipment, which the president has talked astir previously,” Jackson of the Centre connected Armed Groups said.

A 2022 appraisal by the then-US Department of Defense, present the Department of War, recovered that much than $7bn worthy of weapons had been abandoned successful Afghanistan, overmuch of which is present believed to beryllium successful the Taliban’s control.

And if the Bagram request is simply a gambit successful a larger negotiation, that mightiness beryllium bully quality for the Taliban, too, accidental analysts. Afghanistan’s rulers person been seeking wider planetary legitimacy, and talks with the US are a measurement towards that.

“In immoderate ways, the Trump medication is [saying that it is] unfastened to the thought of engagement with the Taliban,” Kabul-based Bahiss said, pointing to different examples of the US president showing a willingness to physique ties with leaders Washington has antecedently treated arsenic enemies: from Ahmed al-Sharaa successful Syria to Vladimir Putin successful Russia and Kim Jong Un successful North Korea.

But ultimately, Bahiss said, Trump’s tendency to bash concern with the Taliban volition besides beryllium connected what is connected the array for him.

“What tin the Taliban offer? Is it going to beryllium backstage investment, minerals, oregon subject assets similar Bagram?” asked Bahiss.

“It’s truly up to the Taliban to amusement what they tin offer.”