WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday suggests he is working to reestablish the US presence at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan four years later America’s chaotic withdrawal The base was left from the country to the Taliban.
Trump came up with an idea when he concluded at a press conference with British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer State visit to the UK And it tied it to the need for the US to counter. That top rivalChina.
“We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said of the base for questions about the ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has described his appeal to the US military to reestablish his position in Afghanistan as “breaking the news,” but the Republican president has raised the idea before. The White House did not immediately answer questions about it or whether the Pentagon had plans to return to its vast air force base. America’s longest war.
Trump seized the US withdrawal under Biden
During his first presidency, Trump Set conditions for US withdrawal By negotiating a deal with the Taliban. 20 years of conflict It ended in an unpleasant way Under President Joe Biden: US-backed Afghan government collapses, terrifying bombing He killed 13 US troops and 170 others.and thousands of hopeless Afghans descended at the airport in Kabul before the final US aircraft departed via the Hindu Kush.
Afghanistan’s fiasco was a big set-off just eight months after his Biden’s democratic presidency. I struggled to recover.
Biden’s Republican detractors, including Trump; It was seized as a signal moment In a failed presidency. Those Criticism continues As recently as Trump claimed that the move was encouraged by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, today Invade Ukraine February 2022.
“He would have never done what he did, except that he didn’t respect the leadership of the US,” Trump said of Putin. “They experienced the complete disaster in Afghanistan for no reason. We were about to leave Afghanistan, but we leave it with strength and dignity.
When asked again about the proposal in Air Force 1 a few hours later, Trump did not provide details, but once again defeated Biden “a terrible incompetent” and told the base should “never be returned.”
“It’s one of the most powerful foundations in the world in terms of runway strength and length,” he said. “You can land anything there, you can land a planet on it.”
If you have a discussion with the Taliban about Bagram, don’t make it clear
It is unclear whether the US has new direct or indirect conversations about returning to the country with the Taliban government. But Trump hinted at what the Taliban had I suffered from an economic crisisSince then, international legitimacy, internal rifts, rival extremist groups Their return to power It could be a game that allows the US military to return in 2021.
“They need things from us, so we’re trying to get it back,” Trump said of the Taliban.
The president reiterated his view that the US presence in Bagram is valuable because it is close to China. Economic and military competitors To the US.
“But one reason why we want that base is, you know, that China is an hour away from where it makes nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “That’s why a lot is happening.”
There is no formal diplomatic relations between the US and the Taliban, but the sides had one. Hostage conversation. Americans who were accused of while traveling to Afghanistan over two years ago as tourists Released by the Taliban In March.
Last week, the Taliban said they too Agreed with a US envoy On the prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalize relations between the US and Afghanistan.
The Taliban did not provide details of the detainee exchange, and the White House did not comment on the results stated in meetings in Kabul or in the Taliban statements. The Taliban released photos from their speeches, showing their foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaki, showing Trump’s special envoy for hostage response. Adam Borler.
Pentagonal officials, including the US Central Command in the Middle East and the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegses, presented questions about reestablishing their presence in Bagram in the White House.
