Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, February 26, that he has directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to assess the retrieval of American military equipment left in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal.
When asked whether the U.S. would retake control of Bagram Air Base, Trump did not provide a direct answer but emphasized the importance of reclaiming American equipment. "I think we should get our equipment back. I told Pete to look into it. We left behind brand-new weapons worth millions—tens of billions of dollars. The Taliban showcases them every year," Trump stated.
Trump had previously expressed frustration about the loss of American military assets during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. He said he becomes furious when he sees Taliban forces parading in U.S. military vehicles.
During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump cited reports that, after the U.S. withdrawal, "777,000 rifles and 70,000 armored vehicles" ended up in Taliban hands. "I think we should get them back," he insisted.
The former president once again criticized the withdrawal process, saying that if he had been in charge, he would have fired everyone responsible for the chaotic exit.
In addition to concerns over lost military equipment, Trump claimed that Bagram Air Base had fallen into Chinese control. He argued that if he had overseen the withdrawal, he would have maintained the base, not for Afghanistan, but to counter China. According to Trump, Bagram is located about an hour away from Chinese nuclear missile production facilities.
Trump had previously made similar claims, but the Taliban have denied any such agreement with China. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid dismissed the allegations on February 4, stating, "Afghanistan is an independent country. We do not allow any foreign nation to take control of our land. Bagram Airfield remains under Afghan control."
Bagram Air Base was the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan before American troops vacated it in July 2021, handing it over to the Afghan government. The Taliban took control of the base after seizing Kabul on August 15 of the same year.
The base had served as the operational hub for U.S. and NATO forces since 2002, playing a key role in air operations and housing thousands of detainees, including Taliban fighters. Originally built by Soviet forces in the 1980s, Bagram became the primary U.S. military stronghold in Afghanistan during the two-decade-long war.
