Afghanistan has firmly rejected former U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand to retake control of Bagram air base, the country’s largest military installation during Washington’s two-decade war. Speaking on Sunday, Afghan defence chief Fasihuddin Fitrat dismissed the idea of any “political deal” over the base, stressing that “not an inch of Afghanistan’s soil is negotiable.” The official statement underlined that Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are paramount.
Trump, during his recent visit to Britain, had declared he wanted the base back and warned of “bad things” if Kabul refused. He repeated his criticism of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal, calling the loss of Bagram a strategic mistake given its proximity to China. Asked later by reporters in Washington if he might send troops to retake it, Trump gave no direct answer but said the United States “wants it back right away.”
The base, abandoned by U.S. and NATO forces in July 2021 under a Trump-brokered agreement implemented during President Joe Biden’s term, had been central to American military power. Its loss was swiftly followed by the collapse of the Afghan army and the Taliban’s return to power. Bagram’s history, from Soviet construction in the 1950s to its transformation into a sprawling U.S. hub with shops, fast-food chains, and visits by presidents Obama and Trump, makes it a symbol of shifting geopolitics and foreign interventions.
