President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. is working to reestablish a military presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, signaling the most direct public confirmation yet that his administration is seeking to regain control of the installation nearly four years after the chaotic 2021 withdrawal.
"We're trying to get it back," Trump told reporters during a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, calling the base "one of the most powerful bases in the world." The president tied the push to its strategic location near China, adding, "One of the reasons we want that base is... it's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons."
Three people familiar with internal deliberations told CNN that Trump has been pressing national security officials for months to find a way to reclaim the base, which the Taliban took over after the fall of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. Those discussions date back to at least March, the sources said, and include potential objectives such as surveillance of China, establishing a counterterrorism hub against ISIS, reopening a diplomatic presence, and securing access to Afghanistan's rare-earth mineral resources.
During his remarks, Trump repeated criticism of the 2021 withdrawal under President Biden, calling it "gross incompetence" and arguing that Bagram "should have never been given back." He said his own plan had been to leave a small U.S. force at the airfield even after ending the war. "We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity. We were going to keep Bagram Air Base," Trump said.
Bagram, located about an hour north of Kabul, served as the centerpiece of U.S. military operations during the 20-year war. Its two-mile runway supported fighter jets, cargo planes, and attack helicopters, and the base was a frequent stop for visiting U.S. presidents. When the last American troops left in July 2021, the U.S. removed nearly 900 C-17 cargo loads of equipment and destroyed some 16,000 pieces of materiel, according to U.S. Central Command.
It remains unclear whether Washington has engaged the Taliban in formal talks about relinquishing the airfield. Trump hinted that leverage exists, saying, "They need things from us." But Taliban Foreign Ministry official Zakir Jalaly dismissed the idea of a U.S. return, writing on X that "the Afghans have not accepted a military presence in history" but left the door open to "economic and political relations based on mutual respect."
