Trump criticizes Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal, says US should have kept Bagram

US President Donald Trump has again criticized former President Joe Biden’s handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, arguing that Washington should have retained control of Bagram Air Base while pulling troops out.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Trump said the US military was rebuilt during his first term and accused the Biden administration of abandoning large amounts of military equipment during the 2021 withdrawal.

“Biden gave so much away in Afghanistan,” Trump said. “We left brand new military vehicles, we left tanks, we left airplanes.”

Trump said he supported ending the US military presence in Afghanistan but argued the withdrawal should have been carried out differently.

“Getting out of Afghanistan was fine, but they should have kept Bagram, the Air Force base. They could have kept it very easily. We would have gotten out with dignity and strength,” he said.

He also claimed that if he had been president, the United States would either have won the war or withdrawn under better conditions.

“I would have won it, or gotten out,” Trump said.

Drawing comparisons with past US military conflicts, Trump said he had no intention of engaging in another prolonged war.

“We were in Vietnam for 19 years. We were in Afghanistan for like ten years. We were in the Korean War forever,” he said. “We were many, many years in every war. I’ve been there [in Iran] for four months. What have I done? I’ve defeated them militarily.”