Why does Trump want Bagram? Will Taliban take US one-on-one? Situation is explosive and any wrong move…

New Delhi: United States President Doland Trump, serving his second term in office, appears to be more vocal than in his previous tenure. He is raising numerous issues that are not only becoming controversial but also generating significant headlines. On September 21, Trump again used his Truth Social account to mention Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, igniting a new firestorm of controversy.

In the post, Trump stated, “If Afghanistan doesn’t return Bagram Air Base to its creators, the United States, it will be very bad!!!”

It’s worth noting that Trump recently mentioned Bagram during his visit to the UK. Furthermore, Trump’s recent promotion of Bagram as a major issue in March and May of this year suggests that he will pursue this issue until it reaches its conclusion.

Amid Trump’s aggressive stance on Bagram, the Taliban Foreign Ministry stated, “Afghans have never historically accepted a military presence, and this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement (before the Taliban came to power in 2021), but the door remains open for further discussions.” It also stated that there are currently no diplomatic relations between the USA and Afghanistan.

Since Bagram has become a major issue in recent times, we need to understand everything from its history, America’s role in its expansion, and now Trump’s intervention. This will confirm why this location is so important to both the US and Afghanistan.

Who contributed to the construction of Bagram Airbase?

Recognised as Afghanistan’s largest airbase, Bagram is located in Parwan Province, about 60 km north of Kabul.

Experts believe that Parwan holds the key to control over much of Afghanistan, with its links to major cities like Kabul, Kandahar, and Bamiyan. Originally built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s, the airbase served as a key base for the Soviet Union when both the United States and the Soviet Union were competing for influence in Afghanistan.

During the 1979-89 Soviet-Afghan War, Bagram became a key Soviet base against the Mujahideen. After the Soviet withdrawal in the 1990s, the abandoned Bagram base became a frontline in the war between the Taliban and Northern Alliance fighters.

When did the US Army capture Bagram?

After September 11, 2001, the United States and its allies occupied the area, overthrowing the Taliban regime. Over the next two decades, as the ‘War on Terror’ continued, Bagram became the centre of the US presence in Afghanistan.

The base was expanded to over 77 square km, and a new, improved runway was built, along with medical facilities and fast food outlets for US personnel. It is also said that an unused hangar was used as a detention centre, so notorious due to reports of torture and abuse by US troops that it was compared to Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay base.

The Trump administration initially signed an agreement with the Taliban in 2020, which provided for the withdrawal of all NATO troops from Afghan soil after two decades. The following year, the Taliban consolidated their position. The last US aircraft took off from Kabul airport on August 30, 2021. US forces evacuated Bagram on July 2. The base fell to the Taliban on August 15.

Due to a lack of domestic support for maintaining troops in Afghanistan, maintaining Bagram Airfield was never feasible. The then Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told the House Armed Services Committee in September 2021 that, “Maintaining, operating, and defending Bagram puts 5,000 U.S. troops at risk.”

What is Trump saying about capturing Bagram?

Bagram is currently under Taliban control. However, the US has long been concerned that China will gain a foothold there. However, Trump has made various claims on this issue. Earlier this year, he said that Bagram is “an hour’s drive from China’s nuclear weapons manufacturing site,” but “they abandoned Bagram.”

Interestingly, it is not at all clear which Chinese nuclear facility Trump was referring to. The nearest known test site is 2,000 km away in Lop Nur, Xinjiang, where China tested its first nuclear bomb in 1964. The nearest nuclear weapons facility is the Koko Nur complex, located in eastern Qinghai province.

Notably, when Trump made similar comments in March, the Taliban issued a strong denial. The Taliban then stated, “Bagram is controlled by the Islamic Emirate (Taliban), not China. Chinese troops are not present there, nor do we have any such agreement with any country.”

This does not mean that Afghanistan is not on China’s radar. Although most countries are apprehensive about fully engaging with the Taliban, China granted ambassadorial status to a Taliban representative in Beijing last year.

For China, relations with Afghanistan are important because it has a large Muslim population in the bordering Xinjiang. Beijing would like to ensure that radical elements in Afghanistan do not infiltrate its territory. To this end, it has tried to strengthen relations within a limited scope and has also made some investments in Afghanistan.

Following Trump’s recent comments, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that they respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty and support it in making decisions about the country’s future. The statement further stated, “Increasing tensions and creating conflict in the region is contrary to the aspirations of the people.”

Will Doland Trump’s dream of raising the American flag at Bagram Air Base remain a dream or become a reality? There are many questions that time will answer. But given the way Trump is currently portraying every other issue as a major issue, it’s clear that under President Trump’s guidance, the US is onto something major.