London [UK], September 19 : US President Donald Trump said that the US is trying to regain control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which is currently under the control of the Taliban government after the US troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
"We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity, and we were going to keep Bagram, the big air base - one of the biggest air bases in the world," Trump said during a joint news conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"We gave it to them for nothing. We're trying to get it back, by the way," he added.
Trump has repeatedly indicated that he would have kept control of the air base, given its strategic importance near the border between Afghanistan and China.
Trump has already called the decision to withdraw the troops from the air base "the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country."
Earlier, Trump had said, "They left all that equipment behind and every year they have a parade down from street with the equipment. With all that equipment that they left, they should have taken every ounce of it. Every screw, every bolt, every nail you take out of there. And Millie said, I remember one time, so we're better off leaving the equipment. Why? It's cheaper to leave USD 150 million airplane rather than flying it into Pakistan or India or some place. Yes, sir. That's when I knew he was not an idiot. Didn't take long to figure that one out. They left their dignity behind. It was the most embarrassing moment in my opinion in the history of my country."
"We had Afghanistan, which I think was the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country, and we would have gotten out. I was the one that got him down. I would have kept Bagram, the big air base, which right now is controlled by China. Among the most powerful runways in the world. Thick, thick with concrete and seal. Anything could land. And right now they were one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons," he added.