By Katharine Jackson and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened “dangerous issues” would occur to Afghanistan if it doesn’t give again management of the Bagram air base to the US, and declined to rule out sending in troops to retake it.
“If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase again to people who constructed it, the US of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN,” Trump mentioned in a Reality Social put up.
Trump mentioned on Thursday that the US had sought to regain management of the bottom utilized by American forces following the assaults of September 11, 2001. He instructed reporters on Friday that he was talking with Afghanistan about it.
The withdrawal of American forces in 2021 led to a takeover of U.S. bases, and the toppling of the U.S.-backed authorities in Kabul, by the Islamist Taliban motion.
Afghan officers have expressed opposition to a revived U.S. presence.
Present and former U.S. officers privately warning that re-occupying Bagram air base in Afghanistan would possibly find yourself trying like a re-invasion of the nation, requiring greater than 10,000 troops in addition to deployment of superior air defenses.
Trump, who has beforehand mentioned he needs the US to amass territories and websites starting from the Panama Canal to Greenland, has appeared centered on Bagram for years.
Requested on Saturday whether or not he would ship in U.S. troops to retake the bottom, Trump declined to present a direct reply, saying: “We cannot speak about that.”
“We’re speaking now to Afghanistan and we wish it again and we wish it again quickly, straight away. And if they do not do it – if they do not do it, you are going to discover out what I am gonna do,” he instructed reporters on the White Home.
The sprawling airfield was the primary base for American forces in Afghanistan through the twenty years of battle that adopted the September 11, 2001, assaults in New York and Washington by al Qaeda.
The bottom as soon as counted fast-food eating places like Burger King and Pizza Hut catering to U.S. troops in addition to outlets promoting every little thing from electronics to Afghan rugs. It additionally hosted a large jail advanced.
Consultants say the sprawling air base could be tough to safe initially and would require huge manpower to function and shield.
Even when the Taliban accepted the U.S. re-occupation of Bagram following negotiations, it might have to be defended from a bunch of threats together with Islamic State and al Qaeda militants inside Afghanistan.
It may be susceptible to a sophisticated missile menace from Iran, which attacked a serious U.S. air base in Qatar in June after the US struck Iranian nuclear websites.
(Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Modifying by Leslie Adler and Andrea Ricci)
