Trump warns Afghanistan over Bagram airbase: 'Bad things are going to happen'

US President Donald Trump on Saturday (September 20) warned that "bad things" would happen to Afghanistan if it did not give back control of the Bagram air base to the United States. He also did not rule out the possibility of sending troops to retake it.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has opposed any US presence inside their country. Meanwhile, experts and former military officials warned that regaining the airbase comes with certain risks, including being vulnerable to an advanced missile threat from Iran.

"If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

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History of Bagram Airbase

The debate around the Bagram Airbase started after Trump said, "gave it to them for nothing," at a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday (September 18).

Trump had said, “We want that base back,” and cited what he called its strategic location near China, adding that “It's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons".

On September 19, while addressing the reporters in his Oval Office in the US, he emphasised that the US should have never given it up and said that he has been talking about regaining control of the airbase with the Taliban government.

American forces used the airbase for more than two decades in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington by al Qaeda. US troops withdrew from the airfield following a deal signed during Trump’s first administration in 2020.

In Joe Biden’s presidency in 2021, American forces handed over the airbase to the Afghan military, shortly before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

Originally, the airfield was built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s. It served as its Soviet Union's main base in the 1980s during its occupation of Afghanistan. Later, in 2001, shortly after the US overthrew the Taliban, the US military occupied the airbase.

Bagram was in bad condition after being abandoned, but the American forces rebuilt the base and it eventually expanded to cover around 30 square miles (77 sq km).

A 'logistical' challenge

According to a Reuters report, current and former US officials have privately cautioned that any attempt to re-occupy Bagram air base in Afghanistan could resemble a re-invasion, potentially requiring over 10,000 troops and advanced air defence systems.

Trump, known for his past interest in acquiring strategic locations such as the Panama Canal and Greenland, has reportedly maintained a long-standing focus on Bagram.

When questioned on Saturday about the possibility of deploying US forces to reclaim the base, he declined to provide a direct response, stating simply, “We won't talk about that.”

An official speaking to Reuters, under the condition of anonymity, said that retaking the airbase would require tens of thousands of troops, a tremendous effort to repair it, and “a logistical headache to resupply the base, which would be an isolated US enclave in a landlocked country.”

The officials also warned of the possibility of being attacked by other forces actively working in the region. Experts suggested that even if the Taliban government agreed to accept the US regaining control of the Bagram airbase following the negotiations, it would need to defend against the threats from Islamic State and al-Qaeda armed militants inside Afghanistan.

The airbase could also be vulnerable to an advanced missile threat from Iran, which recently struck a major US airbase, al-Udeid in Qatar, in retaliation for American strikes earlier this June against Iran’s three nuclear sites — Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.

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Afghans oppose US presence

However, officials from the Taliban government have opposed the US presence on Afghan soil, citing the discussions that happened before the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another and can have economic and political relations based on mutual respect and shared interests without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan," Zakir Jalal, an Afghan foreign ministry official, said in a post on X on Thursday.

He also noted that Afghans have not accepted a military presence in history, and "this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement, but the doors are open for further interaction".

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