Bagram Air Base is not just runways or military buildings; it is a mirror to Afghanistan’s modern history: from the Soviet occupation to the civil war, from the U.S. invasion to the Taliban’s return.
Bagram Air Base was established in the mid-1950s with direct support from the former Soviet Union. Located north of Kabul, about sixty kilometres away, Bagram represented a strategic point connecting the heart of Afghanistan to its geographic neighbours by land and air: China to the east, Iran to the west, Pakistan to the south, and Central Asian republics to the north.
With the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Bagram became the operational hub for Soviet Air Forces, from where thousands of air sorties were launched against Mujahideen positions.
The base acted as the “military brain” of Moscow’s campaign, housing fighter jets, bombers, and command and communications centres. After the Red Army withdrew in 1989, the Soviets left behind extensive infrastructure, but it was war-weary and damaged.
Following the fall of Dr. Najibullah’s government in 1992, Afghanistan entered a bitter phase of internal conflict among factions. Bagram was no exception; it became a recurring battlefield, as different groups seized control of it in successive periods.
Controlling the base meant possessing superior air and logistical power, making it a target for all parties. At the same time, it was exposed to destruction and neglect due to repeated wars.
The events of September 11, 2001, brought Bagram back to the forefront. After the U.S. invasion, the base became the “military capital” of the Western presence in Afghanistan.
New runways were built over three point six kilometres long, capable of accommodating the largest military aircraft.
The base became a full-fledged city, including hospitals, communications centres, international restaurants like “Burger King” and “Pizza Hut,” in addition to electronics stores and small markets.
The base also became infamous for its controversial prison, nicknamed the “Guantanamo of Afghanistan,” where hundreds of Afghans were held amid reports of torture and human rights violations.
Three U.S. presidents (George Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump) visited the base at different times, reflecting its symbolic and operational importance to the United States. In July 2021, U.S. forces withdrew from Bagram in a surprise nighttime operation without adequate coordination with the Afghan army. The major shock was that Afghan forces were unaware of the withdrawal until the last U.S. soldier had left. Within weeks, the government forces collapsed, and Kabul fell to the Taliban.
The Taliban’s takeover of Bagram was not an ordinary event; it symbolised their victory over a superpower and cemented the image of the end of twenty years of international intervention.
Why does the name Bagram continue to echo in international politics today?
The base is about an hour’s flight from China’s nuclear weapons manufacturing centres, which made Donald Trump repeatedly reference it as a potential leverage point against Beijing.
Controlling Bagram gives the U.S. or any other power a foothold on the borders of Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan.
Losing the base was a strategic defeat for Washington, and regaining it would mean turning the tables in influence equations.
Trump’s recent announcement about his intention to reclaim Bagram triggered a political and media storm. The Afghan government responded swiftly: “We will not give up a single inch of Afghan soil.”
Today, when Trump threatens to retake it, this does not merely reflect a military desire but embodies a clash of wills between a superpower that lost its most important base and a local movement that sees its control as the pinnacle of its victory.
[by Mohammad Qasim in Al Araby TV]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque
