On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, during a military parade held at Bagram Airfield in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, a UH-60 "Black Hawk" helicopter flew over the event marking the third anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan.

President of the United States Donald Trump demanded that the Taliban, who are currently ruling Afghanistan, hand over the Bagram Airfield to Washington. Five years ago, he signed an agreement with the group that paved the way for the American withdrawal from Kabul.

On September 18, Trump told reporters during a press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the US government was "working to regain (the Bagram) base."

"We gave it away for free (to the Taliban). We want that base back," he said.

Two days later, on September 20, he again issued a threat on his "Truth Social" platform: "If Afghanistan does not return the Bagram Airfield to the people who built it - the United States, bad things will happen"!!!

The Taliban rejected Trump's demands.

However, this is not the first time Trump has shown interest in regaining the former US base. During a media briefing in February 2025 (which has now been removed from the White House website), Trump stated: "We intend to keep the Bagram base. We plan to keep a small force at the Bagram base."

So what exactly is the Bagram Airfield? Why is Trump so eager for it? What is its strategic significance? Can the US reclaim it?

What is Bagram Airfield?

Four years after the US withdrew from Afghan military bases, Bagram remains a contested land, and the Trump administration hopes to reclaim it from the Taliban.

The base is located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, and has two concrete runways, one 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) long and the other 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) long. For the past half-century, it has been a strategic stronghold for numerous military powers that have controlled and vied for Afghanistan.

The airport was initially developed by the Soviet Union in the 1950s, foreshadowing the early Cold War, which dragged Afghanistan into decades of turmoil. However, at that time, the Afghan government controlled the base.

In 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the situation changed - the Soviet army had controlled the base for ten years until they withdrew from Afghanistan.

In 1991, the Soviet-backed Mohammad Najibullah government handed over control of the Bagram base to the Northern Alliance - one of the most influential opposition groups vying for power. But eventually, the Northern Alliance also handed over control of the base to the Taliban.

After the NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the base became the strategic core of the US in Afghanistan, serving as a special command center for various military departments, with its size, capacity, and utility steadily growing.

At its peak in 2009, the base could accommodate about 10,000 people. Although the US controlled the base, it was shared with other NATO member states, including units of the British Royal Marines.

Aside from military units, the base also housed a large prison, notorious for the abuse and torture of Afghan detainees by the US and its local allies. Bagram Airfield also had a fully functional hospital, barracks that could house thousands of soldiers, and multiple American chain restaurants such as Pizza Hut and Subway.

In August 2021, the US evacuated the base and facilities, destroying most of the weapons and equipment. The remaining supplies were looted by local groups before the Taliban seized control.

Why Does Trump Want to Regain Bagram Airfield?

Trump often complained that the US left major weapons behind when it hastily withdrew in 2021, effectively handing them over to the Taliban and other armed groups in Afghanistan.

However, experts say the real attraction of Bagram is not the destroyed military equipment there or the abandoned chain restaurants in the complex.

Controlling a base built by a geopolitical rival has symbolic significance. "Since the Soviets built it, it has always had significant strategic value," said Ibrahim Bashi, senior analyst at the Crisis Group.

Afghanistan's terrain is rugged, with dense mountains, and controlling airspace is extremely difficult, with few suitable areas for large military aircraft and cargo planes to land. Bagram Airfield - the country's largest airfield - provides a rare opportunity for airspace control.

Hekmatullah Azami, a security analyst at the Conflict and Peace Studies Center (CAPS) based in Kabul, said the Bagram Airfield played a "crucial role" in the US' so-called "war on terror" after 2001.

Main air strikes were launched from Bagram Airfield, some of which resulted in civilian deaths, such as the bombing of a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Kunduz in 2015, which killed 42 people and injured at least 30 others.

The US military commanders changed their explanations for the incident several times, finally admitting it was a mistake. President Barack Obama subsequently apologized.

But Azami said that despite the US' withdrawal from Afghanistan, the value of the Bagram base would only increase as China's influence in the region continues to grow.

He said, "As priorities shift, the US has begun to see China as its top threat, and this base seems to have become important again, mainly because it is close to China and has significant importance."

Bagram is about 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) from the Chinese border and about 2,400 kilometers (about 1,500 miles) from the nearest missile factory in Xinjiang, China.

Trump also sees China as a key reason for wanting to regain control of the Bagram base. This month, he said in London that the base was "just an hour's drive from where China produces nuclear weapons." In February this year, Trump also claimed that the base was "exactly an hour's drive from where China produces nuclear missiles."

Chinese officials responded. "The future of Afghanistan should be decided by the Afghan people themselves. Creating tension and confrontation in the region is unpopular," said Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, after Trump made his remarks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Can the US Regain Control of Bagram Airfield?

Experts doubt it.

"Theoretically, Bagram Airfield is a strategic base for the US to project power into the region," said Ashley Jackson, co-director of the Center for Armed Groups based in Geneva. However, she pointed out that "this move directly contradicts the US policy of ending its military mission in Afghanistan."

Jackson added, "The logistical challenges and time required for the negotiations of redeployment and return itself are highly challenging and time-consuming, and it is unclear whether this aligns with the strategic interests of both sides."

Azami and Bashi believe that the Taliban also has no incentive to give up Bagram.

Azami said that this move would "destroy the legitimacy of the Taliban."

Bashi said that the organization "is unwilling to accept foreign presence in Afghanistan, including Bagram Airfield."

Bashi, based in Kabul, noted that the Taliban movement is largely built on the concept of resisting foreign occupation and influence. The organization often claims, "As long as foreign armies occupy even a meter of land, jihad is a duty."

Bashi said, "Any negotiations with foreign armies would weaken their strength and could lead to a large number of members leaving the movement."

How Has the Taliban Responded?

In fact, the Taliban's position is very clear, and they have repeatedly rejected Trump's demands. On September 21, the organization cited the 2020 agreement signed by the Trump administration and the Taliban in Doha.

The Taliban's deputy spokesperson, Hamdullah Fadeel, said on social media: "It should be recalled that according to the Doha Agreement, the US promised [not to use or threaten to use force to infringe on the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor to interfere in its internal affairs]."

"The US must honor its promise."

Fadeel's comments came after Trump threatened that if the Taliban did not hand over Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan would face "bad things."

What Is the US Plan?

So far, the Taliban's refusal to negotiate about the base has not stopped Trump, analysts believe that the US may use the demand for Bagram Airfield as a bargaining chip.

Jackson of the Center for Armed Groups said that this could be "a means of demanding large-scale actions such as Bagram, and later settling for smaller, more symbolic actions, such as returning some weapons and equipment, which the president has previously mentioned."

The US Department of Defense (now the Department of War) found in an assessment in 2022 that more than $7 billion worth of weapons were abandoned in Afghanistan, most of which are now believed to be under the control of the Taliban.

Analysts say that if the demand for Bagram Airfield is just a strategy in a larger negotiation, it might also be good news for the Taliban. The Afghan rulers have been seeking broader international legitimacy, and negotiations with the US are a step towards that goal.

Bashi, based in Kabul, said: "In a way, the Trump administration has expressed willingness to engage with the Taliban." He pointed out that the US president has also expressed willingness to establish relations with leaders previously considered enemies by Washington, such as Ahmed al-Sarraj of Syria, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Kim Jong-un of North Korea.

But ultimately, Bashi said, whether Trump is willing to do business with the Taliban depends on what conditions he can get.

"What can the Taliban offer? Private investment, minerals, or military assets like Bagram?" Bashi asked.

"It really depends on what the Taliban can provide."

Source: Al Jazeera Plus News Agency

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7555697814186000942/

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