WASHINGTON, September 19. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump's plan to reoccupy control of Bagram Airbase could result in Washington's repeated invasion of Afghanistan, Reuters news agency reported citing former and current American officials.
According to them, regaining control of the airbase may require the US to deploy more than 10,000 troops and modern air defense systems. Ultimately, "it might end up looking like a re-invasion of the country," says Reuters. Agency sources note that the US has "no active planning to militarily take over Bagram air base." According to them, even if the airbase were returned to US control, "it would require a huge undertaking to clear and hold the massive perimeter around it to avoid the area from being used to launch rocket attacks against American forces inside."
On Thursday, at a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Trump said the American government was trying to regain control of the Bagram airbase. According to Trump, "it's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons."
In 2001-2021, the Bagram airfield served as the largest base of the international coalition led by the United States in Afghanistan. On July 1, 2021, the Americans left the airbase, and on August 15 it came under the control of the radical Taliban movement.
