How Trump Could Get Bagram Back

Internal fissures mean that the Taliban’s rejection of the issue is far from settled.

Helicopters fly above tanks on an airfield. October 1, 2025, 12:41 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Trump’s Second Term

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It’s not every day that a U.S. president publicly demands the return of a military base from a former adversary. But that’s exactly what happened last week, when President Donald Trump said that his administration is “trying to get” Bagram back from the Taliban.

The statement sparked a mix of surprise and skepticism. Once the nerve center of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, the Bagram Airfield was abandoned during the messy 2021 U.S. withdrawal and quickly taken over by the Taliban. Now, four years l

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