Donald Trump Wants Bagram Airbase In Afghanistan Back From Taliban: Here's Why

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump is now seeking back control of the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan from the Taliban. Trump suggested that he has entered negotiations with the leaders of the Taliban to try and get back control of this airbase, which becomes crucial to US security because of its geographical proximity to China.

"We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity, and we were going to keep Bagram, the big air base - one of the biggest air bases in the world," Trump said during a joint news conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as per news agency ANI.

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Trump has also slammed Joe Biden over the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that this left US military assets including weapons and bases in the hands of the Taliban leaders.

"They left all that equipment behind and every year they have a parade down from street with the equipment. With all that equipment that they left, they should have taken every ounce of it. Every screw, every bolt, every nail you take out of there. And Millie said, I remember one time, so we're better off leaving the equipment. Why? It's cheaper to leave USD 150 million airplane rather than flying it into Pakistan or India or some place. Yes, sir. That's when I knew he was not an idiot. Didn't take long to figure that one out. They left their dignity behind. It was the most embarrassing moment in my opinion in the history of my country," Trump said, as per the publication.

He also termed the US leaving Afghanistan in a hurry“the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.”

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Bagram becomes a strategic point for the United States because of its proximity to China. Trump has claimed that it is one of the biggest airbases in the world and its 3,600-metre runway was capable of serving cargo aircraft as well as bombers.

Trump had also said that China was in control of the airfield, a charge the Taliban have denied since.

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