KABUL: The Taliban have rejected the return of the US military to Afghanistan after President Donald Trump claimed that Washington sought to regain control of a key air base abandoned during the 2021 withdrawal.
Bagram Air Base, some 50 km north of Kabul, was built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Following the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, it was taken over by Americans and served as their largest base and center during the two-decade occupation.
Trump made the unexpected announcement of his administration’s efforts to reclaim the base during his UK visit, at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday.
He said his administration had been working to “get it back,” as it was an important foothold due to its proximity to China.
“We gave it to them for nothing,” he said. “One of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”
