According to the 45th US president, Washington needed the site in Afghanistan to keep an eye on a “Chinese nuclear plant”
A US Air Force transport plane lands at Bagram Air Base on July 1, 2021, Bagram, Afghanistan © AFP / Wakil Kohsar/AFP
Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan was of great significance to the US because of its proximity to China and one of Beijing’s strategic nuclear facilities, former President Donald Trump has claimed.
In an interview with India’s NDTV news channel on Thursday, Trump lamented that America’s standing in the world has suffered several major blows under his successor in the White House, Joe Biden. He claimed that the current US president has made many mistakes, citing as an example last year’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump described Biden’s handling of the pullout as “incompetent,” as Washington left behind American citizens and equipment worth some $85 billion.
According to the ex-president, withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan was the right thing to do, but it was not executed correctly. Trump argued that, had he still been in office at the time, the chaos would not have occurred.
He added that Washington “would have kept Bagram, by the way.” Explaining the importance of the airfield, Trump said: “Bagram is one hour away from the Chinese nuclear plant where they make nuclear weapons, right? We should have never given that up.”
Bagram Air Base in northeastern Afghanistan was seized by US and British troops soon after Washington and its allies launched their military operation in the country back in 2001. For years, the airfield served as one of the main Western military strongholds in the region. Prisoners were detained in a camp on its grounds.
In August 2021, Bagram fell to Taliban militants after Western-backed Afghan Army troops surrendered and the US contingent left the base.
Speaking to Indian journalists, Trump also claimed that America under Biden had become significantly weaker than ever before “in many ways.”
Apart from soaring inflation and “blackouts all over our country,” Washington has also lost its “voice and… respect worldwide,” the former head of state suggested. Trump went on to claim that Russia would not have started its offensive against Ukraine if he were still in office. He also warned that China could soon try to seize Taiwan by force.
“Our country is going to hell,” Trump concluded.
