Speaking alongside UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Trump criticized former President Joe Biden’s handling of the exit from Afghanistan and suggested discussions are underway. “We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said to reporters. “We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us.”
Trump didn't specify who he meant or what the Taliban might “need” from the United States. He added that the airfield has strategic value because of its proximity to China. “We want that base back, but one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” he said.
Earlier this year, US special envoy Adam Boehler reportedly met Taliban officials at Kabul International Airport while working to secure the release of George Glezmann, per Fox News. Taliban officials have shown interest in normalizing ties with Washington, despite international isolation over their human rights record, the AP reported.
Talks between US envoys, including Boehler and Zalmay Khalilzad, and Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi touched on potential bilateral relations, citizen issues, and investment in Afghanistan, according to a statement released by the Taliban.
The US troop withdrawal began during Trump’s first administration in 2020, under an agreement that set a May 2021 exit date. When Biden extended the deadline to August 2021, Taliban advances quickly led to the group retaking control of the country, including Bagram Airfield. Trump has said ever since then that Biden botched the exit.
