Kabul (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Sunday, an official from the Afghan Taliban government stated that an agreement on Bagram air base was “not possible,” after US President Donald Trump warned the country of bad things if it did not return the air base, AFP reported.
What did Trump threaten if Afghanistan refused the Bagram base?What challenges would America face in defending Bagram Base?What happened during the 2021 us withdrawal from Bagram?
“Recently, some people have said that they have entered negotiations with Afghanistan for taking back Bagram Air base,”
Said Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defence, in comments broadcast by local media.
“A deal over even an inch of Afghanistan’s soil is not possible. We don’t need it.”
What did Trump threaten if Afghanistan refused the Bagram base?
In a statement released on Thursday, Trump indicated that the US wanted to regain control of the base that American forces were using following the September 11, 2001, attacks, and on Friday, he told reporters he had spoken with Afghanistan about it, Reuters reported.
“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.
Trump has expressed interest in the US acquiring land and locations, such as the Panama Canal and Greenland, more than once in the past, and appears to have maintained an interest in Bagram for years.
Asked by reports whether he would send in US troops to retake the base, Trump refused to give a direct response, stating:
“We won’t talk about that.”
“We’re talking now to Afghanistan, and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don’t do it – if they don’t do it, you’re going to find out what I’m gonna do,”
He told reporters at the White House.
What challenges would America face in defending Bagram Base?
Analysts note that the large air base would initially be tough to defend and would require significant resources to sustain and defend operations. Even in the event that the Taliban legitimised the re-occupation of Bagram after negotiations, it still would have to defend the base against a multitude of threats, including Islamic State and al Qaeda fighters inside Afghanistan.
What happened during the 2021 us withdrawal from Bagram?
In 2021, the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was accompanied by the abandonment of Bagram Air Base, a significant US military asset located north of Kabul.
The last US troops left Bagram on July 2, 2021, with little notice or planning, and transferred it to the Afghans, and they soon looted it. The Taliban capture of Bagram Air Base was both a symbolic capture and an operationally pivotal event in the war, as it had been the hub of US and NATO operations for almost twenty years.
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