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U.S. President Donald Trump has been privately directing national security officials to explore options for regaining control of Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base from the Taliban, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.
The president publicly acknowledged these efforts for the first time Thursday during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Buckinghamshire, England.
"We gave it to (the Taliban) for nothing," Trump told reporters. "We're trying to get it back, by the way."
The strategic discussions began as early as March, sources told CNN. Administration officials view the airfield, located roughly an hour north of Kabul, as critical for multiple national security objectives including surveillance of China, whose border lies within 500 miles of the base.
Trump and senior national security staff also see Bagram as essential for accessing Afghanistan's rare earth mineral deposits, establishing a counterterrorism hub to combat ISIS operations, and potentially reopening diplomatic facilities in the region, according to the sources.
However, any such mission would require deploying U.S. military personnel to Afghanistan – a move that would appear to contradict the 2020 agreement Trump negotiated with the Taliban during his first presidency that mandated complete withdrawal of American forces.
The Taliban seized control of Bagram following the collapse of Afghanistan's government and the U.S. military withdrawal in August 2021. It remains unclear whether Taliban leadership has engaged with American officials regarding potential transfer of the facility.
Trump suggested the United States maintains negotiating leverage over the group. "We're trying to get it back because (the Taliban) need things from us," he said Thursday. "We want that base back."
The president has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration's decision to abandon Bagram, arguing he would have retained control of the strategically positioned airfield. Trump has specifically highlighted the base's proximity to Chinese military installations.
"We were going to get out, but we were going to keep Bagram, not because of Afghanistan but because of China, because it's exactly one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles," Trump said in March. "We were going to keep a small force on Bagram."
Bagram Air Base served as the cornerstone of American military operations in Afghanistan for nearly two decades. The facility's two-mile runway accommodated cargo aircraft, fighter jets and attack helicopters, making it the primary launch point for missions across the country.
The base hosted visits from Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump, who used the platform to outline their Afghanistan strategies. Despite its strategic importance, Bagram endured numerous Taliban attacks over the years, including suicide bombings and rocket strikes.
When U.S. forces departed in July 2021, they removed equipment equivalent to nearly 900 C-17 cargo plane loads and destroyed approximately 16,000 pieces of military hardware, according to U.S. Central Command.
A 2023 State Department review concluded that abandoning Bagram likely worsened the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan, as it left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul as the sole option for emergency evacuations.
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