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‘BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN’: Trump warns Afghanistan over Bagram air base
Donald Trump said that the US had been seeking to regain control of the Bagram air base, which was used by American forces after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that “bad things” would happen to Afghanistan if it does not hand back control of the Bagram air base, while not ruling out sending troops to take it back.
“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 been seeking to regain control of the Bagram air base, which was used by American forces after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
He told reporters on Friday that discussions with Afghanistan were ongoing. The withdrawal of US troops in 2021 allowed the Taliban to take over American bases and overthrow the US-backed government in Kabul.
Current and former US officials have privately cautioned that any attempt to re-occupy Bagram air base in Afghanistan could resemble a re-invasion, potentially requiring over 10,000 troops and advanced air defence systems, Reuters reported
Trump, who has in the past expressed interest in acquiring strategic sites from the Panama Canal to Greenland, has reportedly kept his focus on Bagram for years, it added.
Asked on Saturday whether he would send US forces to retake the base, Trump did not give a direct answer, saying, “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.
The expansive airfield served as the primary base for American forces in Afghanistan throughout the two decades following the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington by al Qaeda.
At its peak, the base featured fast-food outlets such as Burger King and Pizza Hut for US troops, along with shops selling everything from electronics to Afghan rugs. It also housed a sprawling prison complex.
