President Donald Trump’s latest push to reclaim Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan has reignited fierce debate in Washington and beyond, exposing the deep geopolitical rifts and lingering resentments from America’s chaotic 2021 withdrawal. The proposal, floated publicly by Trump in mid-September 2025, has been met with outright rejection from the Taliban government and skepticism from security experts, while also drawing sharp political contrasts at home.
During a press conference alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump declared, “We’re trying to get it back, by the way.” He was referring to Bagram, the sprawling airfield north of Kabul that for two decades served as the epicenter of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. “We gave it to [the Taliban] for nothing,” Trump complained, according to TNND. “We want that base back because they need things from us.” He emphasized the strategic significance of Bagram, noting that it is “exactly one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles.”
Trump’s remarks were not a one-off. He has repeatedly voiced regret over the U.S. abandoning Bagram during the 2021 withdrawal, arguing that a continued presence there would have provided the United States with critical leverage over China, Russia, Iran, and regional terrorist threats. “It’s one of the most powerful bases in the world in terms of runway strength and length. You can land anything on there. You can land a planet on top of it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, as reported by TNND.
The Taliban’s response was swift and unequivocal. Zakir Jalal, a spokesperson for the Taliban foreign ministry, posted on social media, “Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another … without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan.” He added that Kabul is open to political and economic relations with Washington, but only on the basis of “mutual respect and shared interests.” The Taliban’s Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has, according to Taliban media outlet Hurriyat Radio, “adamantly stated on multiple occasions that not even a fraction of Bagram’s land will be relinquished.” Hurriyat News went further, calling the notion of Americans returning to Bagram “ridiculous.”
The U.S. military’s abrupt departure from Bagram on July 2, 2021—without informing Afghan allies—set the stage for the airfield’s rapid fall. The Afghan military briefly took control, but the Taliban seized Bagram on August 15, 2021, the day Kabul fell and the Afghan government collapsed. In the immediate aftermath, the Taliban freed thousands of prisoners, including members of the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State. Among them was Abdul Rahman al Logari, who would go on to carry out the Abbey Gate suicide bombing at Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, killing 182 people—169 Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. service members.
Trump’s push to return to Bagram comes as his administration has offered few specifics on how it would negotiate with the Taliban or reestablish a military presence in such a hostile environment. The Taliban, for their part, have been steadfast: “Military presence has never been accepted by Afghans in history, and this possibility was completely rejected during the Doha talks and agreement, but doors to other engagements have been opened,” Jalal stated, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Security experts warn that any attempt to return would be fraught with danger. Mark Chandler, a former director at the Defense Intelligence Agency, told TNND, “If everything was equal, having a military presence right there is a strategic advantage for the United States, but everything isn’t equal. That is not a friendly nation. The Taliban is a terrorist organization, so you’ve gotta look at all of those factors in the geopolitical and international sense.” Chandler also noted, “No one in that region is going to like this.” The risks to U.S. personnel would be significant, given the Taliban’s hostility and the base’s history as a target for militant attacks.
Despite the Taliban’s refusal to consider a U.S. return, Trump has insisted that the United States still holds leverage: “We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us,” he said. Yet, the Taliban’s position appears unyielding. Hurriyat Radio’s commentary summed up the prevailing sentiment: “The fantasy of Americans returning to Bagram Air Base is ridiculous.”
The U.S. has maintained only limited engagement with the Taliban since 2021, primarily confined to hostage negotiations and rare diplomatic contacts, such as a recent meeting in Kabul between U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. According to Al Jazeera, these talks centered on detained American citizens, not on military basing rights.
Meanwhile, Trump’s current stance on Afghanistan marks a dramatic shift from his earlier rhetoric. In June 2020, he told West Point graduates, “We are ending the era of endless wars. In its place is a renewed, clear-eyed focus on defending America’s vital interests. It is not the duty of U.S. troops to solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands.” Yet, as NBC News and other outlets have noted, Trump’s actions since returning to office—including military strikes abroad and renewed interest in Afghanistan—have led some former supporters to question his foreign policy consistency.
Trump’s critics, including some who once viewed him as an advocate of restraint, have expressed concern about the potential for renewed military entanglements. The political implications are significant. Congressional investigations and a fresh Pentagon review are probing the 2021 withdrawal, with some blaming Trump’s own agreement with the Taliban for the chaos, while others point the finger at President Biden’s execution of the exit. The deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans in the Abbey Gate attack remain a sore point in the national memory.
At the same time, Trump and his advisers argue that Bagram could provide not only security leverage but also access to Afghanistan’s vast mineral resources—a point cited in Al Jazeera coverage. However, the U.S. does not officially recognize the Taliban government, which remains largely isolated on the world stage, with only Russia having extended diplomatic recognition since 2021.
As the debate continues, the prospect of the United States regaining Bagram appears remote. The Taliban’s jihad was, from the outset, about ejecting foreign forces and establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. For now, the door to political and economic engagement may be ajar, but the runway at Bagram is, in the Taliban’s words, closed to American boots.
Trump’s renewed focus on Afghanistan underscores the enduring strategic importance of Bagram and the deep divisions over how best to secure U.S. interests in a volatile region. But with the Taliban’s stance unyielding and regional dynamics fraught, the path forward remains as uncertain as ever.