Trump wanted to return Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to US control. What the media is writing

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to return the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan to the control of the US military. The Americans left it in 2021 during the withdrawal of troops, after which it was occupied by the Taliban. The desire of the head of the White House may turn into a new invasion. What the world's media write about Bagram is in the Izvestia digest.

Financial Times: Trump says it is necessary to return Bagram air base

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to return the Bagram air base in Afghanistan to the control of the United States in order to restore the American presence in the country from which the United States withdrew four years ago. Trump had previously announced such an ambitious plan, but now it seems to be increasingly occupying his thoughts.

Trump's statement came a day before he was due to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The parties are continuing trade negotiations that could lead to a meeting of the leaders in October. While Trump has launched a trade war with China, his administration has shied away from tough measures against Beijing, which experts say are necessary to combat the growing security threat it poses to the United States.

CNN: Trump has been pushing the White House for Bagram's return for months.

Three people familiar with the situation said that for several months now, Trump has been quietly pushing his national security officials to find a way to return Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from the hands of the Taliban. Trump told reporters that his administration is working to regain control of the base, located an hour's drive north of Kabul. The Taliban captured it after the fall of the Afghan government and the withdrawal of American troops in 2021.

The White House believes that the base is necessary for several reasons, including to monitor China, whose border is less than 800 km away; to gain access to rare earths and mining in Afghanistan; to establish a counterterrorism center and, possibly, to reopen a diplomatic mission.

Reuters: the desire to return Bagram may turn into a new invasion of Afghanistan

Trump's goal of retaking Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan may eventually turn into a second invasion of the country, requiring more than 10,000 troops, as well as the deployment of modern air defense systems. The sprawling airfield was previously the main base of American troops in Afghanistan during the two decades of war that followed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

A White House source said that capturing and holding Bagram Airbase would require tens of thousands of troops, heavy costs for repairs and supplies to the base, which would become an isolated enclave in a landlocked country. Even after the US military takes control of the base, huge efforts will be required to clear and maintain a huge perimeter around it in order to prevent the territory from being used for rocket attacks.

Politico: What does Bagram mean to Trump

Bagram was built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and served as the main military base during the Afghan War. At its peak, as an American base, it housed more than 100,000 troops and had extensive infrastructure, from long runways to a 50-bed hospital and prison. In 2021, the United States handed over Bagram to the Afghan forces. This was the most notable step in the withdrawal of American troops from the country at that time.

In February 2020, Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban on the withdrawal of American troops, but it did not mention Bagram Air Base. Trump made the bloody withdrawal of US troops under Biden the theme of his election campaign. Last year, he brought to the Republican Party convention the families of 13 Marines who died in a suicide attack near Kabul airport in August 2021.