Trump Threatens Afghanistan If Bagram Airbase Is Not Returned to the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose unspecified sanctions on Afghanistan if Bagram Airbase is not returned to the United States.
Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, on Saturday: “If Afghanistan does not return Bagram Airbase to those who built it, namely the United States of America, bad things will happen.”
This threat comes days after an official visit to the UK, where he raised the idea of regaining U.S. control over the base. During a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he said: “We are trying to get it back, and by the way, this might be breaking news, we are trying to get it back because they need things from us.”
Background
Bagram Airbase was the largest in Afghanistan and one of the most important U.S. military centers during the war against the Taliban following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
U.S. and NATO forces withdrew chaotically from the base in July 2021, before the Taliban took full control of the country.
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, criticized the U.S. presence at Bagram, accusing Washington of systematic abuses against detainees in the “War on Terror.”
Trump has long criticized the abandonment of the base due to its strategic location near China, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for the “chaotic” withdrawal.
