US Should Not Have Abandoned Bagram Air Base, Says Trump
Donald Trump has again criticised the administration of Joe Biden over the manner of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Washington should not have left Bagram Air Base.
Donald Trump has again criticised the administration of Joe Biden over the manner of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Washington should not have left Bagram Air Base.
Speaking at a White House press conference on Tuesday, Trump described the withdrawal and the killing of 13 US service members in the Kabul airport bombing as “the lowest point” in American history.
Referring to his previous term in office, Trump said he had also been in the process of withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan but would have done so “with dignity and strength”. He added: “We were the boss. They wouldn’t do a thing against us.”
Trump said the United States should not have abandoned Bagram Air Base, which he described as a major military installation spanning hundreds of acres.
He also said Washington handed over large amounts of military equipment to the Taliban, calling the outcome a “disaster”. Trump said it was shameful to see the Taliban parading annually through streets with American military equipment.
At the same time, Trump said that during his previous presidency he rebuilt the US military, and that the equipment left behind in Afghanistan represented only a small fraction of that effort. He added that he continues to rebuild the US armed forces.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, both before and after returning to the White House.
Following the US withdrawal, large quantities of advanced American military equipment were left behind and fell into Taliban hands. According to a US Department of Defense assessment, the value of the equipment is estimated at more than $7 billion and includes military vehicles, advanced weapons, biometric devices and other technologies.
The Taliban have since repaired and reused some of the damaged US military equipment.
