Trump threatens ‘bad things’ if Afghanistan doesn’t return Bagram air base
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Photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows the Bagram Airfield base after all U.S. and NATO forces evacuated in Parwan province, eastern Afghanistan. All U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan have evacuated the Bagram Airfield near the Afghan capital Kabul, handing over the largest coalition base to the Afghan government troops, according to the Afghan Defense Ministry. The Bagram Airfield, some 50 km north of Kabul, served as a main U.S. and NATO military base in Afghanistan over the past two decades. (Photo by Rahmatullah ALizadah/Xinhua via Getty Images)
U.S. President Trump on Saturday threatened Afghanistan if it does not give back control of the Bagram air base to the United States.
“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.
Trump said on Thursday that the United States had sought to regain control of the base used by American forces following the attacks of September 11, 2001. He told reporters on Friday that he was speaking with Afghanistan about it.
The withdrawal of American forces in 2021 led to a takeover of the base by the Islamist Taliban movement.
Afghan officials have expressed opposition to a revived U.S. presence.
“Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another … 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.