The Taliban on Sunday flatly rejected President Donald Trump’s declaration that the United States might seek to retake Bagram Air Base, the onetime hub of America’s longest war.
The swift response underscored both the fragility of Afghanistan’s sovereignty under Taliban rule and Washington’s lingering ambivalence about the chaotic 2021 withdrawal.
Trump, during remarks over the weekend, said the U.S. was “talking now to Afghanistan” about regaining Bagram, though he offered no details of such contacts.
He hinted at possible military options, saying only: “We want it back, and we want it back right away. If they don’t do it, you’re going to find out what I’m going to do.”
By Sunday, Taliban officials dismissed the notion outright. “Ceding even an inch of our soil to anyone is out of the question and impossible,” Defense Ministry chief of staff Fasihuddin Fitrat declared in a televised speech. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, posting on X, reminded Washington of its Doha Agreement pledge not to violate Afghanistan’s sovereignty. “Realism and rationality,” he wrote, should guide U.S. policy.
The exchange has reignited questions about what Bagram represents in the post-American era. Once the nerve center of counterinsurgency operations, drone strikes and detention facilities, the base has become a potent symbol of Taliban victory.
Last August, the group staged a parade of captured U.S. hardware there, reveling in what it called “the spoils of empire.”
Trump’s comments also reveal his dual strategy: criticizing President Biden’s handling of the 2021 withdrawal while signaling openness to transactional dealings with the Taliban, who remain diplomatically isolated and economically strained.
In recent months, U.S. envoys have held quiet talks in Kabul over prisoner exchanges and hostage cases, offering the Taliban potential openings for legitimacy even as they continue to harbor internal divisions and face threats from Islamic State affiliates.
Analysts say Trump’s gambit reflects broader geopolitical maneuvering. A U.S. return to Bagram — even symbolic — would reinsert American power at the doorstep of China, Russia and Iran.
It would also test whether the Taliban, seeking aid and recognition, could ever contemplate trading access for concessions. “Trump is daring the Taliban to choose between sovereignty and survival,” said one regional diplomat.
For now, Kabul’s response is unequivocal: no foreign troops. Yet Afghanistan’s economic desperation and the Taliban’s search for legitimacy mean the idea may not be as far-fetched as Sunday’s rhetoric suggested. The question is whether Washington sees Bagram as a bargaining chip — or a battlefield.
