On September 18, whilst at a press conference amid his visit to Great Britain, Trump revealed that his administration is trying to reclaim Bagram airbase, the most significant American and allied airbase that was lost after the Taliban reasserted control over Afghanistan.
“We want that base back,” he said, calling it one of the biggest airbases in the world. “One of the reasons we want the [Bagram] base back is because it is an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. So a lot of things are happening,” he said.
Independent
The Taliban vehemently rejected this claim across several of its government agencies, including the foreign ministry.
Trump made a similar remark about retaking the base in March, which the Taliban refuted on April.
Current and former military officials have questioned the purpose and costs of reestablishing an American presence on the base. It would require about 10,000 troops to secure the facility against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda terrorists, who have been active in Afghanistan after the Taliban conquered the entire country. Iranian missiles also pose a threat to the base. While the base is close to China, a former defense official dismissed the military utility against that adversary; the base would face a lot of risks from internal and external instability, while most military activity against China would be concentrated around Taiwan and the South China Sea. The costs outweigh the benefits.
Blowing up Trump’s facade of meaningful policy, a current official informed Reuters that there is no real plan to retake Bagram.
The Taliban is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
