Sunday, 21 September 2025
Trump wants Bagram back (plus of course Greenland, Panama Canal...)
Donald Trumo has set his sights on getting the huge ex-US airbase at Bagram in Afghanistan back under American military control. Good luck with that. The Taleban has immediately said he can't have it which should be the end of it. But Trump remembers that the top military command in the US, prior to the embarrassing and humiliating withdrawal of all troops in August 2021, advised the then president Joe Biden to hang on to Bagram and leave 2.500 troops in place as a permanent force, not just to keep watch over the potential resurgence of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan but also as a strategic post vis a vis China. Biden said no. He wanted everyone out and quickly. It was a huge mistake, and now Trump wants to reverse that decision by seizing cntrol of Bagram for the future. I fear it's too late and too impractical. It would lead to another war with the Taleban and I doubt Trump wants that, since he is against all wars involving American troops. Also, he negotiated the deal with the Taleban for the US troop withdrawal. There was nothing in the small print about keeping Bagram. Meanwhile, Bagram which vovers a vast area is largely empty and wasting away. The US took everything out that they wanted and the base is pretty much a white elephant, with a few Taleban around to keep some sort of security watch. The problem with hanging on to Bagram - when Biden considered it - was the huge cost of maintaining the base and the vulnerability of the troops stationed there. The same will be the case if Trump contemplates taking Bagram back by force. It's probably just wishful thinking on Trump's part. Just like his declared desire to have both Greenland and the Panama Canal under US ownership.
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