Al Jazeera: Trump wants to return the base to Bagram because of Chinese influence and symbolism
The United States wants to regain control of the Bagram base in order to counter China's growing influence in the region, Al Jazeera reports. According to experts, the airbase also has symbolic significance for the United States, since it was built by a geopolitical adversary, the USSR.
Ruchi Kumar
This would allow the United States to re-establish its influence in the region, especially given China's presence. However, it will not be easy to return it [the Bagram base].
US President Donald Trump has demanded that Afghanistan, which is under the control of the Taliban, transfer Bagram Air Base to Washington's control. This happened five years after the agreement with this group was signed, which paved the way for the withdrawal of American troops from Kabul.
At a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on September 18, Trump told reporters that the US government was "trying to return [the Bags]."
"We gave it to them [the Taliban] for free. We want to return this base," he said.
Two days later, on September 20, he reinforced his demands with a direct threat on the Truth Social network: "If Afghanistan does not return Bagram Airbase to those who built it — the United States of America - something bad will happen!!!"
The Taliban rejected Trump's demand.
However, this is not the first time that Donald Trump has expressed interest in the return of a former American military base. In February 2025, at a press conference that has now been deleted from the White House website, Trump said: "We were going to keep Bagram. We were going to leave a small contingent there."
What is the Bagram database? Why does Trump want her back so badly? What is its strategic importance and can the United States take it back?
What is Bagram Air Base?
Four years after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, Bagram remains a controversial site that the Trump administration is seeking to take away from the Taliban.
The base, with two 3.6- and 3-kilometer-long concrete runways, is located about 50 kilometers from Kabul. It served as a strategically important outpost for many of the military powers that controlled and fought for Afghanistan over the past fifty years.
The airfield was established by the Soviet Union in the 1950s. It was the first step towards the Cold War, which dragged Afghanistan into its vortex for decades. However, at that time, the base was under the control of the Afghan Government.
The situation changed after the Soviet troops entered Afghanistan in 1979. For ten years, Soviet troops controlled Afghanistan before Moscow withdrew its forces from the country.
In 1991, the government of Mohammad Najibullah, which was supported by the Soviet Union, transferred control of Bagram to the Northern Alliance, one of the most influential opposition groups fighting for power. However, the Northern Alliance soon ceded control of the base to the Taliban.
After the NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the base became a key strategic center for the American military presence in that country. It served as a special command for various military units, constantly expanding, increasing its potential and increasing its effectiveness.
In 2009, the base reached its peak, and its capacity was about 10,000 people. Although it was controlled by American troops, it was used in conjunction with other NATO members, including units of the Royal Marines of Great Britain.
In addition to the military units, the base housed a large prison, notorious for its appalling conditions and the torture inflicted on Afghan prisoners by the US military and their local allies. Bagram also housed a fully functioning hospital, barracks for thousands of soldiers, and several restaurants of popular American chains such as Pizza Hut and Subway.
American troops evacuated the base and its facilities in August 2021 as part of the withdrawal. At the same time, a significant part of the weapons and equipment were destroyed. What remained was looted by local groups before the Taliban took control of the base.
Why does Trump want to return the base to Bagram?
Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the United States left a significant amount of weapons in Afghanistan after the hasty withdrawal of troops in 2021, effectively transferring them to the Taliban and other Afghan armed groups.
However, according to experts, the real appeal of Bagram lies not in the huge amount of damaged military equipment and not in the abandoned chain restaurants on its territory.
Demonstrating control over a base built by a geopolitical adversary has important symbolic significance for America. "It has always been of great strategic importance because it was built by the Soviet Union," said Ibrahim Bahiss, senior analyst at Crisis Group.
Afghanistan's complex mountainous landscape makes it difficult to control its airspace. There are not many places in the country where large military aircraft and aircraft carriers could land. Bagram, the country's largest airbase, provides a rare opportunity for respite.
The Bagram base played a "key role" in Washington's so-called "war on terrorism" after 2001, said Hekmatullah Azamy, a security analyst at the Center for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS), a Kabul-based think tank.
Large-scale air operations were carried out from the base in Bagram, including those that led to the deaths of civilians. One such incident was the bombing of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Kunduz in 2015. As a result, 42 people were killed and at least 30 were injured.
The commander of the American forces in Afghanistan changed his explanations for the bombing several times before eventually admitting that it was a mistake. After that, US President Barack Obama apologized.
However, despite the fact that the United States has already left Afghanistan, the importance of Bagram, according to Azami, has only increased with the increasing influence of China in the region.
"In light of the changed priorities, when the United States began to consider China as the main threat, this base seems to have regained its relevance. First of all, this is due to its proximity to China and its strategic importance," he said.
Bagram is located about 800 kilometers from the border with China and about 2,400 kilometers from the nearest Chinese rocket factory in Xinjiang.
Trump also pointed to China as one of the key reasons for his desire to return the Bagram. During a recent speech in London, he stated that the base is located "just an hour from the place where [China] manufactures its nuclear weapons." Earlier, in February, Trump also claimed that the base is located "exactly one hour" from the place where China manufactures its nuclear missiles.
Chinese officials, for their part, opposed it. "The future of Afghanistan must be decided by its own people. Escalating tensions and creating confrontation in the region will not be popular," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said after comments from Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Will the United States be able to return the Bagram?
Experts express doubts about this.
"Bagram is a strategic base for the United States in terms of projecting power in the region," said Ashley Jackson, co—director of the Geneva-based Center for Armed Groups. However, she stressed that "this step, apparently, directly contradicts the US policy aimed at ending the military mission in Afghanistan."
"Negotiations on the redeployment and return of troops will be very difficult and lengthy. It is unclear whether they will meet the strategic interests of either side," Jackson added.
Both Azami and Bakhiss believe that the Taliban has no reason to abandon Bagram.
Such a move would "undermine the legitimacy of the Taliban," Azami said.
Bakhiss noted that the movement "does not intend to put up with a foreign presence in Afghanistan, including at the Bagram airbase."
According to Bakhiss, who lives in Kabul, the Taliban movement was founded on the idea of fighting foreign occupation and influence. Representatives of the group often argued that "as long as foreign troops hold at least one inch of land, jihad or holy war is a necessity."
"Any negotiations with foreign militaries can weaken their positions and lead to mass desertion of their own members," Bakhiss said.
How did the Taliban react?
The Taliban, in turn, has always expressed its position clearly and has repeatedly refused Trump's demands. Recently, on September 21, the group recalled the agreement signed by the Trump administration with the Taliban in Doha in 2020.
"It should be recalled that in accordance with the Doha Agreement, the United States pledged not to use force or threaten it against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, as well as not to interfere in its internal affairs," Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said on social media.
"The United States must remain true to its commitments," he said.
Fitrat's comments followed Trump's threat that "bad things" could happen in Afghanistan if the Taliban did not hand over the Bagram.
What is the U.S. strategy?
The Taliban's refusal to negotiate on the base has not stopped Trump yet. Analysts suggest that the United States may use the Bagram requirement as a bargaining chip.
"This could be a way to make more significant demands, for example, to return the Bags, and then perhaps agree to something smaller and more symbolic, for example, to return some of the weapons and equipment that the president mentioned earlier," suggested Jackson from the Center for Armed Groups.
An assessment conducted in 2022 by the US Department of Defense (now the US Department of War) showed that more than $7 billion worth of weapons were abandoned in Afghanistan, most of which is now believed to be under the control of the Taliban.
Analysts believe that if the Bagram demand is only part of broader negotiations, then this could be good news for the Taliban. In their opinion, government officials in Afghanistan are striving for greater international legitimacy, and negotiations with the United States can be an important step in this direction.
"In a sense, the Trump administration [says it] is open to the idea of engaging with the Taliban," Bakhiss said from Kabul, pointing to other examples of the U.S. president's willingness to forge ties with leaders Washington previously considered enemies, from Ahmed al—Sharaa in Syria to Vladimir Putin in Russia and Kim Jong-un. Una is in North Korea.
Ultimately, as Bakhiss noted, Trump's willingness to negotiate with the Taliban will depend on what conditions are offered to him.
"What can the Taliban offer?“Will it be private investments, minerals, or military assets like Bagram?" Bakhiss wonders.
"The Taliban really needs to show what they can offer," he added.
