US President Donald Trump has once again ignited ongoing tensions between the US and Afghanistan, after he issued a thinly veiled threat on Truth Social, ordering the country to surrender Bagram Airbase.
Recognised as one of the largest military airbases in the world, Trump issued a stark warning about “bad things” that what would happen if they didn’t comply with his order.
Writing online, late on Saturday evening, Mr.Trump wrote: “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!”
The comments marked the latest escalation in an ongoing row with the Taliban after the president announced during his London trip, that Washington intended to reclaim the strategic site.
On Thursday during his second state visit to the UK, Mr Trump said at a press conference alongside Sir Keir Starmer that he wanted to reclaim the airbase because of its strategic proximity to China.
In recent months Trump has repeatedly claimed that Bargram is under Chinese control, something that both Beijing and the Taliban have strongly refuted.
“We’re trying to get it back – by the way, that could be a little breaking news,” Mr Trump said. “We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us.”
He added: “One of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”
The Taliban however, dubbed the presidents remarks “baseless and strange”, while also strongly claiming they would “never hand Bagram over to anyone” much less Donald Trump.
The airbase, which is roughly 40 miles north of Kabul, was the corner stone of US-led operations in Afghanistan for two decades after the US operation to overthrow the Taliban began in 2001 following the September 11 attacks.
It was abandoned in 2021 as part of a withdrawal of US troops during Joe Biden’s tenure as president, just weeks before the Taliban seized control of the country.
Mr. Trump has strongly criticised his political rival for the decision, particularly as he claims it left $7 billion-worth (£5.1billion) of American weapons and other assets in the group’s hands.
